Footsteps of the fallen

Welcome to Season 7! In our first episode, we look at poison gas, its development and use on the battlefield, and how the science of chemical weapons saw the militarisation of academia in the pursuit of developing more lethal and deadly weapons. We discover how the Allies combated the German gas threat, what it was like to be a gas victim and how a common garden pest was, in fact, nature's most effective gas detector. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

Welcome to the final episode of Season 6 and our 150th podcast! In this episode, we look back at the podcast since it began 3 1/2 years ago, examine some of the statistics about the pod, and contemplate some of my favourite episodes that have been released. We then head over to Belgium and travel from Essex Farm to Elverdinghe, where we visit some of the smaller and less visited cemeteries in this part of the Ypres salient, including Talana Farm, Bleuet Farm and Ferme Olivier cemeteries. The podcast will be back with Season 7 on Sunday 28th April 2024. Support us: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In this latest podcast, historian and author Tom Isitt joins us. Tom has a passion (or, he might say, obsession) with the Italian Front in the Great War. An inhospitable battlefield with appalling weather conditions and treacherous terrain, the fighting around the Isonzo River proved to be the graveyard of the Italian army in a series of 12 battles that cost hundreds of thousands of casualties. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about the fighting at Isonzo and Caporetto, the Asiago plateau, the problems of supply and fighting in the mountains, and meet a belligerent commander who dismissed no fewer than 270 Generals during the course of the War. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

With the sad news of the passing of Martin Middlebrooke, this podcast heads to the Somme battlefield where we walk across the battlefield at the village of Fricourt. Our journey takes in some of the cemeteries and memorials that cover this part of the Somme battlefield, and we look at some of the literary figures whose output provides so many insights into Fricourt and its surroundings during the Great War, including John Masefield, Siegfried Sassoon and Bernard Adams amongst others. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

Many of you who listen to the podcast aren't on social media and are not followers of me on Twitter so please find attached a very brief update on what's happening with the podcast going forward. I posted a video on Twitter on Sunday 18th February and this is the audio recording of that video. You can view the video on YouTube with the following link: https://youtu.be/AmNHLbK_rWk?si=TVvX8atZEBm5sSNF

In this latest episode of Trench Talk, it's a real pleasure to be joined by military historian, battlefield guide and author Roger Steward. Lockdown allowed Roger to write the book he always wanted to write about the German Cemetery at Langemarck. Very few places on the Western Front have as many myths attached to them, and in this wide-ranging chat we discuss the cemetery, what there is to see, the unpalatable history it played in the mindset of the Third Reich and debunk some of the myths. You can buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Studentenfriedhof-Soldatenfriedhof-Langemark-Cemetery-Self-guided/dp/1913491676/ref=sr_1_1?crid=372C8DU76FNP1&keywords=Langemark&qid=1707776314&sprefix=landmark%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-1 Interested in engaging Roger as a guide? https://www.ypresbattlefieldtours.be/ SUPPORT THE PODCAST: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

In this latest episode, we visit the battlefield where my journey through the Great War began some 35 years ago - Vimy Ridge. We look at what happened in this part of the front and have a brief look at the battle of the 9th April 1917, before we travel around some of the cemeteries and memorials that cover this part of the battlefield. We begin at the French National Cemetery at Notre Dame de Lorrette where we discover the story behind how the Basilica got its name. We hear about the death of a great French cyclist before we visit the remarkable Ring of Peace memorial. Heading down into the valley, we hear about General Barbot, and visit the massive cemetery at Caberet Rouge before visiting the Canadian memorial on top of Vimy Ridge. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

Welcome to this latest episode of Footsteps of the Fallen. In this episode we travel to Flanders and visit one of the lesser-visited corners of the Great War in this part of Belgium, the area around the mighty Kemmelberg. Our journey begins at Underhill Farm cemetery before heading to Nieuwkerque and across to Kemmel and Dranoutre. On route, we visit some of the cemeteries, memorials and monuments that commemorate the men from France, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Germany who fought and died on this part of the Western Front during the Great War. Supoort the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In our latest podcast, we visit the battlefield around Cambrai, where, on the 20th of November 1917, the first mass tank battle in military history took place. The Allies smashed a 5-mile hole in the German's lines. Still, poor communication and placement of the reserves failed to exploit the advantage and when the campaign ended 12 days later, over 40,000 men had become casualties. If you have only one day to visit the battlefields, what should you see? We visit some of the cemeteries and memorials on the battlefield, discover the stories behind some VC winners who are commemorated here, hear the story of "Deborah", and conclude with a poignant poem written by one of Scotland's great war poets. Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

Welcome to our first podcast of 2024! In this episode, we visit the battlefields around Villers Brettoneux on the Somme, an area of Picardy that will be forever associated with the Australian Army. We tour the battlefield and discover the military history of this part of the Somme, discover just how close the Germans came to Amiens in 1918, and visit some of the many cemeteries and memorials which cover this part of the battlefield. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

Welcome to our Christmas episode of Footsteps of the Fallen! In this special Trench Talk I'm joined by Professor Peter Doyle who tells us all about the history behind one of the most iconic of all Great War artefacts, The Princess Mary Tin. In this fascinating talk, we hear about the history of the box, the minute attention to detail that went into ensuring that its contents catered to all creeds and nationalities. We hear the incredible story of trench lighters, dispel some of the myths that surround the tins, and discover what receiving these gifts did for the men on that cold Christmas Day in 1914. You can buy Peter's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Every-Sailor-Afloat-Soldier-Front/dp/1913491536 Footsteps of the Fallen will be back in 2024, and I wish you all a very happy Christmas. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In our latest podcast, we travel to Dud Corner Cemetery and the Loos Memorial in Artois to discover the stories of some of the men who lie here. The podcast begins with an overview of the Battle of Loos, and we look at what went wrong with the offensive in September 1915. Like all cemeteries, every story and every name on a memorial is a tale to be told. We encounter a formidable boxer, known as the "Widowmaker", as well as two officers whose indiscipline landed them in front of the Courts, one for assault and the other for running over a police officer while joyriding on an unlicensed motorbike. No less than five VC winners are commemorated here, and we hear the stories of the deeds behind their medals. One of the finest poets of the Great War, Charles Sorley, is commemorated on the memorial. Found in his kit bag after his death was the least known of the great poems of WW1, and we hear the poem in full and consider why it is such a powerful piece of Great War literature. We hear the tragic story of the Mochrie family, who lost three sons in a single day and discovered how the showboating of a deaf rugby-playing Scottish officer sparked a near riot in the 1913 Scotland vs France game in Paris. Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefall

The discovery of a huge collection of letters, postcards and writings of his great-great-grandfather has taken Alex on a fascinating journey through the wartime experiences of his ancestor, Jules Destrigniville. A Parisian police officer by trade, Jules was conscripted into the 315th Infantry Regiment in October 1915 and promised to write home every day. The letters provide a fascinating insight into the life of a French infantry soldier who went through the hell of Verdun, was wounded and gassed, but ultimately survived the Great War. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In our latest podcast, we visit the end of the Western Front and take a whistlestop tour around the Lys battlefield near the North Sea coast of Belgium. We look at the military actions that took place in this part of the battlefield including the famous flooding to stem the German advance and look at the heroic actions of French Marines in their stemming the tide of the German advance. We visit the Nieupoort Memorial to the Missing, and the Albert Memorial and then head inland to the German cemetery at Vladslo where we hear the story of the creation of poignant statues "The Grieving Parents". We visit Dixsmuide and hear about the terrible fighting that destroyed the town, visit the Ijer Tower, and finish at the infamous Death Trenches adjacent to the Yser Canal. Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

During the Great War the demand for timber for the front line exceeded at one stage 50,000 tonnes a month. But where on earth could this amount of timber be sourced and who would be capable of felling that many trees? In WW1 over 35,000 men served in the Canadian Forestry Corps; recruited from the millions of acres of Canadian wilderness, these were physically tough men who thrived on the backbreaking work of lumberjacking. In this episode we look at a little-known aspect of the war, but one which was utterly vital to the wider war effort. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In today's episode, we travel the Ypres salient from Boesinghe to Ypres and visit some of the many cemeteries and memorials that dot this part of the battlefield. We begin at the Ziegler Bunker and one of the finest bunkers left on the Western Front before continuing to a roadside memorial bedecked with the tricolor of Ireland, and hear the sad tale of one of Ireland's finest poets. Our journey continues taking in demarcation stones and memorials before we had back toward Ypres and pay a visit to Talana Farm cemetery. We stop at Duhallow ADS cemetery and here the story of a tragic incident for men of the Labour Corps and discover the story of Private Seymour who was shot dawn for desertion. Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefalle

Our latest podcast begins at the Guards Grave in the Retz Forest near the village of Villers Cotteret on the Aisne battlefield. It contains the graves of 98 men of the Guards Brigade who fought one of the most remarkable rear-guard actions of the Great War near this spot on the 1st of September 1914. We meet the eccentric and dangerous-to-know Irish Guards officer Lt Aubrey Herbert. A loose cannon with a volcanic temper, Herbert was almost blind, but despite this, he proved to be a capable officer. Opinionated, argumentative, and dangerous to know, Herbert successfully delivered a vital message that allowed reinforcements to be rushed up into the forest to help rescue the beleaguered Guards Division. We also discover the story behind one of the most impressive private memorials anywhere on the Western Front, and the remarkable perseverance of a formidable woman, desperate to find out what happened to her only son. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblo

In today's episode, we visit the communal cemetery and extension at Mazengarbe on the Loos battlefield and discover the stories of some of the men who lie buried within. We begin by reminiscing on an encounter in a cemetery on All Souls Day, hear the story of a Scottish VC winner who performed two remarkable acts of heroism on the battlefield at Hill 70, and meet one of the lesser-known poets of the Great War, the idealistic Canadian Bernard Trotter. We meet a man of the cloth who was awarded a Military Cross for bravery, hear the stories of some of the men who were shot at dawn and lie buried in the cemetery, and discover how the Mayor of Laventie and a parish priest ended up brawling in a British dugout, having tried to take on the Germans single-handed armed only with a bottle of eau de vie and stolen British rifle. Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

In this episode, we travel to Flanders and look at the fighting of June 1916 for Hill 62, or Mount Sorrel as it was known. Standing on the top of the ridge today overlooking Sanctuary Wood is a Canadian Memorial and this is a battlefield always associated with the soldiers of Canada. We begin at Hooge Crater Cemetery and hear the story of two remarkable VC winners, before we move to Hill 62 and examine the ebb and flow of the fighting in June 1916. We hear the remarkable story of the Colour of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, hear about the unfortunate fate of the 3rd Canadian Divison commander, and meet Colonel Buller, whose foresight and determination helped prevent a German breakthrough. We hear about the encounter between a Canadian heavyweight boxer and a German officer and look at the deserved reputation gained by Canada's soldiers during the fighting. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In 1917 French general Robert Nivelle launched an offensive against the Germans on the River Aisne which he was convinced would break the Western Front once and for all. After nine days of fighting 187,000 French soldiers had been killed, wounded, or missing, and the French Army was in a state of mutiny. In this episode we look at the Nivelle Offensive, why it happened, and what went so wrong for the French Army. We look at the mutinies and discover a story where fact and fiction are sometimes hard to separate, and hear about a vitriolic soldier's song deemed so inflammatory it was banned in France for over 50 years after the Great War ended. Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen