Questions and Answers Episode 57

In this Questions and Answers episode we head beneath the battlefields to explore the hidden world of First World War dugouts and bunkers, asking whether the Ypres Salient saw more extensive underground construction than the Somme, and how geology shaped the way British, German, Australian and other armies built and occupied these remarkable underground shelters.

We also examine one of the most fascinating aspects of post-war battlefield recovery by looking at the concentration of casualties from High Wood into Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, and ask how the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission decided where recovered soldiers would ultimately be buried. Why were men from the same battalion sometimes reburied in different cemeteries years apart?

From there we consider the impact of mist and fog on the Western Front. Did poor visibility and weather bring fighting to a halt, or was it an opportunity for trench raids, wiring parties, patrols and surprise attacks?

Finally, we look at one of the ‘what ifs’ of the First World War. Following Russia’s armistice in late 1917, how much artillery and equipment did Germany transfer west alongside its infantry? Could the Kaiserschlacht have happened without the collapse of the Eastern Front, and how might the war have unfolded if Russia had remained in the conflict?

Main Image: Battle of Albert, 1916. The steps leading down to a huge German underground shelter at Bernafay Wood, near Montauban, captured by the 9th Division. The picture gives a good idea of the size and depth of many German dugouts on the Somme. (IWM Q4307). Image by John Warwick Brooke.

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