Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Despatches: By Train to Ypres
Railways were an essential part of the Great War, and the line which ran from Northern France to Poperinghe and Ypres became the route in and out of the battlefield for millions of men during the conflict. What can we learn of the history of the railways in Flanders and what do we find of it on the landscape of the Western Front today?
BATTLEFIELD MAP:
Podcast Extras:
12 Comments on “Despatches: By Train to Ypres”
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Another great piece. Thanks. The story of the old Somme railway is also worth telling I suspect.
I did a bit on that with the Albert episode.
excellent again Paul, on my driving route from Calais to Ypres I invariably call in Abeele cwg and Lisjenhoek and one time ‘God wears velvet’ cwg so it’s good to hear you mention them. What draws us to these places so that we visit them time and again 🤔
A very good question!
YET AGAIN ANOTHER HIGH QUALITY PODCAST .LOOK FORWARD TO MORE ON THE RAILWAYS. CHEERS PAUL GRAHAM
Thank you!
Yet another very informative episode. Many thanks for highlighting this important aspect of the conflict even if it is often overlooked.
regards,
Stuart.
Thank you!
Thank you Paul, another great episode. Some years ago I went to the East coast of the USA to look at the Civil War there, and it was very interesting to compare & contrast that war with WW1. Both were tactically very steep learning curves of course, but logistics were very important, particularly in the the US when the North needed to bring their superior numbers and superior supplies to bear. There’s a book in there somewhere but I would think it’s probably already been done!
Thanks, Phil – good comparison with the ACW!
A fascinating podcast of the often overlooked area of the logistical “tail” of an army, without which the “teeth” arms wouldn’t be able to function.
Catching up with your podcasts. This one resonated with me, as 25 years later my father was in RE Movement Control and in France 1 month after war was declared getting the railways ready for the BEF. He was literally taken out of his job with London Midland Railway as I cannot find any record of him in the Army before then.