Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Somme: Schwaben Redoubt
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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25 Comments on “Somme: Schwaben Redoubt”
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Excellent, as usual, Paul! Best wishes to you and yours for Xmas and the New Year
Thanks Andy, and a Merry Christmas!
Thanks for this Paul. Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you and your family. 🎄🎄
Thank you, Jim, and a Merry Christmas!
Thankyou….. a very interesting presentation.
Have a good Christmas 🎄
Thanks Matt and Merry Christmas!
That’s a great picture – whose is it, and where can it be seen?
It’s called The Attack of the Ulster Division. More details here: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/attack-of-the-ulster-division-1-july-1916-168112
thank you and a happy christmas to you and yours
Thanks Ray, and Merry Christmas!
Beautifully told story of those tragic events !
Thank you, Nigel.
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.
Thanks – interesting to hear of your personal connection.
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
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.
Thank you, John.
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
One
One of my favourite podcast episodes so far, as i was walked the ground may times over the years
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
Thanks, Alistair.
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.
Another excellent episode Paul, thank you. Have a very happy Christmas and happy new year! Cheers, Jon
Thank you, Jon!