World War I Podcast

How does World War I poetry help us understand the complexity of the experience of the war? Why was poetry so important then? Why does the poetry of World War I continue to have such resonance? To answer these questions, the World War I Podcast hosted two subject matter experts: Dr. Connie Ruzich, Professor of English at Robert Morris University and editor of International Poetry of the First World War: An Anthology of Lost Voices, and Dr. Jennifer Orth-Veillon, a professor at Georgia Tech - Metz and editor of Beyond Their Limits of Longing: Contemporary Writers and Veterans on the Lingering Stories of WWI. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

When most people think of World War I on the Western Front, they probably think of trenches. Trench systems were present along most of the 475 miles from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps. It wasn’t just one straight continuous line, however. The system had many layers that supported the daily life and movement of millions of soldiers. If laid end to end, the trench systems would have stretched an estimated 35,000 miles. Trenches play a prominent role in most WWI movies. They are often depicted as sites of suffering, terror, and boredom. But what was day to day life really like in the trenches? How do the movies get this right or wrong? To explore this topic, the World War I Podcast welcomed Andrew Robertshaw, a historian, archaeologist, and a film advisor, to the podcast. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

Part II In early October 1918, several companies of the US 77th Division found themselves surrounded in the Argonne Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Led by Major Charles Whittlesey, the Lost Battalion, as it came to be known, survived a hellish six days. It’s a story many are aware of – but like most such stories – it’s likely that the popular version we are familiar with doesn’t have the richness or nuance of what actually happened. To explore the story of the Lost Battalion, the World War I Podcast hosted Robert J. Laplander, author of Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legend of America’s WWI Epic. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

Part I In early October 1918, several companies of the US 77th Division found themselves surrounded in the Argonne Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Led by Major Charles Whittlesey, the Lost Battalion, as it came to be known, survived a hellish six days. It’s a story many are aware of – but like most such stories – it’s likely that the popular version we are familiar with doesn’t have the richness or nuance of what actually happened. To explore the story of the Lost Battalion, the World War I Podcast hosted Robert J. Laplander, author of Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legend of America’s WWI Epic. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

Between September 1814 and June 1815, against the backdrop of Napoleon’s exile to Elba and his brief return, the Congress of Vienna worked out a new way to balance the power of the Great Powers and avoid future conflict. This system was called the Concert of Europe. It was supposed to keep the peace, and indeed, on the eve of World War I, many people in Europe were celebrating a century of relative peace on the continent – a golden age of European power and civilization. There had been regional conflicts in Europe and colonial wars, but nothing on the scale of the Napoleonic Wars. And yet, what started as a small regional conflict in 1914 spiraled quickly into world war. WWI was a war with a long fuse. Was the Congress of Vienna and the system it set up a long-term root cause of the war? Was a system designed to keep the peace the instrument that disrupted the peace? To discuss these questions, the World War I Podcast sat down with Professor Greg Jackson, creator, host, and head writer of the US history podcast, History That Doesn't Suck and star of the live tour THE UNLIKELY UNION. Tour Dates — History That Doesn't Suck (htdspodcast.com) Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

In 1914, as German forces quickly outmaneuvered Allied armies in the opening days of the war, there was some suspicion among the Allies that the circuses that had traveled around Europe in the years before the war – many of which were owned by German families or had German names – had helped prepare the German army by perfecting the art of rapid and efficient mobilization and transport. Even Americans – not yet involved in the war – suspected this to be the case and looked at circuses like the Ringling Brothers with suspicion. Was this true? Did armies prior to World War I study circus logistics? If so, how did they adapt this expertise? To help explore this topic, the World War I Podcast hosted Matthew Fraas, Education Specialist at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum. US Army Transportation Corps Museum Home Page Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

When World War I began, the famed historian, sociologist, and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois was at the height of his influence. When the United States entered the war, he encouraged African Americans to “close ranks” and support the Allied cause. Tasked with writing a definitive history of the African American soldier in World War I, Du Bois ultimately came to be haunted by his support for the war. The manuscript for that project remains unpublished. To discuss Du Bois and World War I, the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Chad L. Williams, author of The Wounded World: W.E.B. Du Bois and the First World War. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

In the winter of 1918, General John J. Pershing presented then Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur with his second Distinguished Service Cross. The award was for actions in France at the Côte de Châtillon between October 14-16, 1918. The citation ends with an interesting sentence: “On a field where courage was the rule, his courage was the dominant feature.” What happened there? What do we know about the circumstances behind this award? To answer these questions, MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel sat down to discuss this WWI chapter in Douglas MacArthur's career. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

In 1890, half of the US Government’s budget was devoted to disability pensions for Civil War veterans. This enormous financial burden combined with medical advances led to a different approach when it came to the US Army’s care of wounded soldiers in World War I. Far from the passive convalescent homes of previous wars, in World War I the US Army’s commitment to rehabilitation would mark a new chapter in the care of the wounded. To share the story of these rehabilitation programs, the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Sanders Marble of the Office of Medical History, US Army Medical Command. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

Between 1914-1916, Portugal walked a delicate line. While actively engaged in an undeclared war with Germany in Africa, Portugal was not a combatant in Europe, nor did it officially declare neutrality. It stayed out of the war, but it provided support in a variety of ways to Britain – its historical ally. Britain hoped to maintain this arrangement for the duration of the war. In contrast, the Portuguese government was anxious to join the war. In March 1916, it got its way. By 1917, the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP) was fighting in France. In the decades after WWI, the dominant trend in scholarship was to view the CEP as incapable and even cowardly. More recent scholarship provides a more balanced picture of the CEP. To further explore Portugal and the CEP in WWI the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Jesse Pyles, an expert on the CEP. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

When WWI began in 1914, Catholic priests were virtual pariahs in France. This was the result of a trend towards anti-clericalism that began with the French Revolution and continued in fits and starts into the 20th century. Prior to WWI, to further eliminate perceived privilege, France’s Third Republic made priests eligible for military service. Ironically though, this attempt to erase them as a distinct social class provided French priests the opportunity to be seen as patriots. Tens of thousands of priests served in the French Army during WWI – alongside nearly 2/3’s of France’s male population. To explore this novel chapter in WWI history, the World War I podcast was joined by Dr. Anita Rasi May, author of Patriot Priests: French Catholic Clergy and National Identity in World War I. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

On Feb. 8, 2022, a local undertaker was digging a grave in the cemetery at Villers-sur-Fère, a small village in northeastern France near the Ourcq River, where the U.S. Army’s 42d Infantry Division pushed back German forces in 1918. At about four feet down, the undertaker unearthed human bones. He didn’t know it at the time, but he had found an American Doughboy. Michael G. Knapp, Director of Historical Services for the American Battle Monuments Commission, joined the World War I Podcast to discuss the identification process and what we know about this soldier. The soldier will be buried with full military honors in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery on June 7, 2023. Livestream link: Unknown U.S. WWI Soldier Burial Ceremony at Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, France - YouTube Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

On October 8, 1918, seventeen American soldiers of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 328th Infantry, 82nd Division flanked a German machine gun nest, surprising and capturing dozens of German soldiers. Acting Corporal Alvin York – a conscientious objector turned warrior – was credited with leading the squad and singlehandedly killing 20 Germans, knocking out 35 machine guns, and capturing 132. York later received the Medal of Honor for this action, and his exploits were forever immortalized in the 1941 movie Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper. The World War I Podcast covered the story of York in an episode in 2017, but since then, there has been additional scholarship. What about the other sixteen members of the patrol? What role did they play in the action? Why is so little known about them? Is there more to the story? To answer these questions, the World War I Podcast welcomed James P. Gregory Jr. to the podcast. Gregory is a PhD candidate and the author of Unraveling the Myth of Sgt. York: The Other Sixteen. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby tells the novel’s narrator about his World War I military service and a particularly heroic engagement in the Argonne Forest. He ends his story by explaining: “I was promoted to be a major, and every Allied government gave me a decoration – even Montenegro, little Montenegro down on the Adriatic Sea.” The decoration he displays is the Order of Prince Danilo I. Fitzgerald’s description of the award might not be the most accurate, but it is a real order and members of the AEF did receive it. To discuss the order and it's AEF recipients, the World War I Podcast talked with Dr. Frank Blazich, Military History Curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Dr. Blazich is an expert on the AEF recipients of the Order of Prince Danilo I and is also a contemporary recipient of the award. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

The Battle of Gallipoli was fought on the Gallipoli Peninsula from February 19, 1915 to January 9, 1916. The Entente Powers hoped to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war by seizing control of the Dardanelles and then putting the capital city of Constantinople in the crosshairs. The goal was to break the stalemate on the Western Front, relieve pressure on Russia, and ensure access to the Black Sea. The operation was a brainchild of Winston Churchill and the landings on April 25, 1915, involved the use of ANZAC troops. After months of difficult fighting, the Allied troops were withdrawn in defeat. Despite this defeat, historians point to Gallipoli as a pivotal moment in the formation of a national consciousness in Australia and New Zealand. Similarly, the Ottoman victory had a profound impact on the formation of modern Turkey. To examine the Battle of Gallipoli from the Ottoman and Turkish perspectives the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Yucel Yanikdag, Professor of History at the University of Richmond and an expert on Turkey, the Ottoman Empire and World War I. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

When WWI broke out in 1914, women in eight states – mostly in the west – had the right to vote. Women in the other 40 states that made up the US at that time did not have the right to vote. America’s involvement in the war spurred on many suffragists – who while not all united in their response to the war – viewed with hope President Woodrow Wilson’s framing of America’s involvement in World War I as a defense of democracy. They hoped such a commitment to democracy would encourage accountability at home – for how could you make the world safe for democracy with half the nation disenfranchised? As with the Preparedness movement and the war, Wilson’s public position on women’s suffrage evolved during his two terms. To discuss this evolution and Wilson's role in women's suffrage, the World War I Podcast hosted Andrew Phillips, curator of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, VA. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

The ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 removed obstacles to American women exercising their right to vote, but it didn’t happen without a fight - and the final stage of that fight took place against the backdrop of World War I. Unlike their British counterparts who largely paused their activism during the war, some American suffragists redoubled their efforts during the war. To discuss American women and the fight for suffrage during World War I and its immediate aftermath, the World War I Podcast interviewed Tina Cassidy, author of Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait?: Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight for the Right to Vote. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

In 2022, US Army COL Charles Young was posthumously promoted to brigadier general – a rank he likely would have advanced to during World War I. In 1917 he was the highest ranking African American officer in the US Army. A veteran of the 1916 Mexican Expedition, his name even appeared on a list of the campaign’s officers that GEN John J. Pershing recommended for future brigade command. Then, months into World War I, he was controversially sidelined after failing a medical exam. To discuss Young's career and why he was sidelined in World War I, the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. David Kilroy, author of For Race and Country: The Life and Career of Colonel Charles Young. Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

Part 3 of 3. Andrew Phillps, curator of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, VA returns to the World War I Podcast to discuss Wilson and the aftermath of World War I as well as Wilson's legacy as a wartime president. This is the last interview in a series of discussions that examined Woodrow Wilson’s presidency and World War I. Learn more about the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: https://www.woodrowwilson.org/ Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

Part 2 of 3. Andrew Phillps, curator of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, VA returns to the World War I Podcast to discuss Wilson’s evolving response to World War I and his role as a wartime president. This is the second of several interviews that examines Woodrow Wilson’s presidency and World War I. Learn more about the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: https://www.woodrowwilson.org/ Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org