Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Questions and Answers Episode 27
Our questions and answers in this episode look at what happened to trench systems when they met a road, was the Battle of the Somme a victory, how France remembers the Great War, and the role of the Army Service Corps in the conflict.
Somme Book Recommendations: Gary Sheffield Forgotten Victory and also Paddy Griffith Battle Tactics on the Western Front.
Book Recommendations: Michael Young Postcards of the Army Service Corps and Michael Young Army Service Corps 1902-1918.
Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast.
2 Comments on “Questions and Answers Episode 27”
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Paul, thanks so much for airing and answering my question and providing such an interesting and thought provoking answer. I studied French demography at university in the mid 80s and have always been interested in the impact of the Great War on the modern French collective memory.
I wasn’t surprised at the prominence of Verdun, less so though the Nivelle Offensive and the mutinies, which would have I thought that they would have preferred to forget. That said, the French fought three wars with Germany between 1870 and 1945, losing one in 1870 and the Battle of France in 1940, so I’m sure that their collective memory of these events will be by British standards, “complicated” to say the least.
Thanks also for pointing out the coalition aspect which I think that many Brits overlook.
I’ll leave the final point to a French lady I was chatting to in the Three Pigeons Bar in Albert in February 2023. She asked why I visited France. I said because of the military history, mainly the World Wars. She replied by saying that her country’s destruction was my hobby. Needless to say I tried to change the topic of conversation after this!
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Thanks very much for the question about the ASC, Paul. It made me smile because, many years ago, I took my grandfather’s medals and a picture of him in uniform to be framed and the guy in the shop said: “You might be disappointed to know that he was in the Army Service Corps, so he wouldn’t have been in the trenches.” Disappointed? I was delighted – for my grandfather!
I have his service record, but it never occurred to me that there might be war diaries, so thanks for that suggestion. I shall look out his details when I return to the UK and see what I can find.
He was a librarian in civilian life, so I always assumed he did some sort of clerical job in the ASC. He was certainly sent to Le Havre very quickly after signing up – just a few days (he had been in the London Territorials).
Thank you too for your question, Stephen. I have always said that if you were to ask the person in the street which countries fought the First World War, most would say it was Britain and Germany. When we walked the front line, it was striking how quickly the Linesman maps of the British trenches ran out.
I often remind people that we were partners, but France and Belgium were both fighting – on their own soil – for their very existence.
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