Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Category: Poilu
Colonel Driant’s Command Post
In this episode of The Old Front Line, we explore the dramatic opening moments of the Battle of Verdun, focusing on the heroic stand of Lieutenant Colonel Émile Driant and his men in the Bois des Caures on 21st/22nd February 1916. Commanding the 56th and 59th Battalions of Chasseurs à… Continue Reading “Colonel Driant’s Command Post”
Beyond The Somme
The Great War on the Western Front was much more than Flanders and the Somme, and the experience of British and Commonwealth soldiers. When we travel ‘Beyond the Somme’ – what does that mean, and what do we find on these battlefields where soldiers… Continue Reading “Beyond The Somme”
Verdun In A Day
In the latest of our series of Battlefields in a Day, we travel to Eastern France and look at the Battlefields around Verdun. Verdun was the longest single battle of the Great War, lasting some 300 days and 300 nights, fought between February and… Continue Reading “Verdun In A Day”
Verdun: The Trench of Bayonets
In December 1920 a large concrete shelter financed by an American millionaire marked the spot where French soldiers had fallen in one of the many small actions around Verdun in 1916. The story of the Trench of Bayonets was born, but what is the… Continue Reading “Verdun: The Trench of Bayonets”
The Champagne Battlefields
In this episode, we have an introduction to the battlefields east of Reims in the vast open fields of the Champagne. We discover a surprisingly diverse battlefield where men of many nations fought during the Great War and hear the story of a disgraced… Continue Reading “The Champagne Battlefields”
Old Front Line 