Somme: Schwaben Redoubt

Posted on December 16, 2023 by

25 Comments

In our final main episode of 2023 we travel to the Somme battlefields and visit one of the most iconic parts of the 1916 landscape – the fields where the infamous Schwaben Redoubt once stood near the village of Thiepval. The Schwaben was a strong German defensive position that took over three months to capture, at the cost of tens of thousands of lives.

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Podcast Extras:

Category: Podcast Episode, Somme

25 Comments on “Somme: Schwaben Redoubt”

  7. My great uncle James was one of the 4/5th Black Watch killed on 14 October 1916 during the capture of the redoubt. I expect he’s one of the unknown 4/5th BW in Connaught. He had two brothers also in the 4/5th and they survived the war.

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    • Hello
      Sadly we share the experience of having a great Uncle LCpl Hugh Dingwall killed with the 4th/5th on Oct 14th, aged 19 years at the Schwaben. He lies at rest in Connaught. Do you have any knowledge of the movements of the 4th/5th in 1916 leading to this fateful day? Perhaps our people enlisted together? Where was your Great Uncle from? Mine was Dundee Sth Baffin St….Kind Regards Alistair

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  8. Another superb episode, thank you so much Paul. I went to boarding school in Northern Ireland, in Enniskillen, and several old boys from the school had served in the 36th (Ulster) Division and been killed in the attack on Thiepval on 1st July 1916. The memory of the terrible sacrifice made by so many on that day was seared into the ethos and history of the school and the wider Northern Irish society. We shall remember them.

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  9. Thanks again Paul, another excellent podcast. I completed this walk in September. You’ve added extra layers of information. Have a good Christmas and a happy new year. Mike

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  12. Many thanks Paul for highlighted this sorrowful place where my ancestor perished. Thoroughly enjoy your telling of this and all the other stories of the Great War. Merry Christmas from BC, Canada Alistair

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  13. Thanks Paul for another great Podcast. I walked round here in February en route from Sheffield Memorial Park to Albert. Have a great Christmas and I look forward to more from the Old Front Line in the new year.

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