Questions and Answers Episode 63

In this latest Old Front Line Q&A, we answer four more listener questions exploring the history, technology and experience of the First World War on the Western Front.

How valuable were captured guns, ammunition and horses during the Battle of the Somme? Did British and German forces routinely put captured artillery and equipment back into service, and could soldiers face disciplinary action or a court martial for abandoning guns, horses and ammunition to the enemy?

We also explore some of the more unusual and thought-provoking examples of battlefield art and memorials along the Old Front Line, including abstract installations that challenge traditional ways of commemorating the fallen.

Another question takes us into the complexities of trench warfare. When an attack succeeded in capturing part of a trench, what happened to the troops on either side of the breach? How did defenders prevent themselves being outflanked, and could opposing armies sometimes occupy different sections of the same trench?

Finally, inspired by Martin Middlebrook’s classic book The First Day of the Somme, we examine the role of the bugler in the British Army during the First World War. What battlefield purpose did buglers serve by 1916, and how important were they as communications technology evolved?

Four fascinating questions, covering captured weapons and horses, battlefield art, trench warfare tactics and the bugler’s role in the British Army during the Great War.

Main Image: Les Fantômes on the Marne (OFL Archives)

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