WW1: Not So Quiet On The Western Front!
Welcome to "Not So Quiet On The Western Front," the podcast that takes you beyond the trenches and dives deep into the untold stories and surprising truths of the First World War. Join us as we lift the lid on one of the most pivotal periods in human history, busting myths and unravelling the complexities of a conflict that shaped the course of the 20th century.
Host: Dan Hill & Dr. Spencer Jones
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Credits:
- Host: Dr. Spencer Jones & Dan Hill
- Production & Editing: Linus Klaßen
1
Episode 132: Battles that Shaped the 20th Century
In this week’s episode and in a long overdue collaboration between Not So Quite on the Western Front and WW2 Both Sides of the Wire, four of us sit down to explore what we feel are the battles that, for one reason or another, shaped the course of the 20th century.
49 min
2
Episode 131: The August Offensive: Gallipoli’s ...
In August, the Allies prepared for their largest offensive yet on the Gallipoli Peninsula. This was intended to be the decisive breakthrough that would break the deadlock and end the stalemate once and for all. The plan involved a new landing, a night march and a dash for the heights. But how did the campaign's most imaginative plan become its most bitter failure?
65 min
3
Episode 130: Why the Allies Failed at Krithia —...
Four miles from the beaches of Gallipoli stood a small village called Krithia. Allied commanders believed it could be captured in a single day. Instead, thousands of British, French, Australian and New Zealand troops would die trying to reach it. Beneath the heights of Achi Baba, repeated assaults collapsed in gunfire, confusion and bloodshed, turning the southern tip of Gallipoli into a battlefield of trenches, shattered scrub and mass graves. This is the story of the Battles of Krithia
59 min
4
Episode 129: What Was It Really Like to Survive...
Have you ever wondered what it was actually like to survive in the trenches of the Gallipoli Front in the First World War? Not the battles we read about in textbooks, but the heat, the flies, the constant shellfire, and only metres from the enemy. In this episode we ask, and answer those very questions.
56 min
5
Episode 128: The Real Black Day of the German A...
In July 1918, the German spring offensives had reached their high watermark, and it was time for the French army to strike back. This is the story of the Battle of Soissons, the largest French tank attack of the entire First World War and a turning point for the Allied cause.
60 min
6
Episode 127: From 1915 Newsreels to Mel Gibson ...
In this episode, Spencer is joined by Professor Mark Connelly, a renowned expert in military and cultural history, to explore the cinematic legacy of the Gallipoli Campaign. From the earliest newsreels of 1915 to the monumental impact of Peter Weir’s 1981 masterpiece, we discuss how film has shaped and sometimes rewritten our visual and cultural understanding of the Great War.
57 min
7
Episode 126: Gallipoli 1915 - France's Forgotte...
In 1915, France sent an army to Gallipoli. Few in the English speaking world know this, and few in France remember their efforts. In this episode, we recover the forgotten story of the French contribution to the campaign. The landing on the Asian shore and the colonial soldiers who held the right flank at Helles is for eight brutal months.
59 min
8
Episode 125: Gallipoli 1915: What Really Happen...
In 1915, Anzac troops landed on the rugged coastline of Gallipoli in an attempt to break the Ottoman defences from the north. What they encountered were steep cliffs, chaos and devastating fire from concealed Turkish positions. This is the story of the Anzac landings.
60 min
9
Episode 124: Gallipoli 1915: The Brutal Landing...
In 1915, allied Forces tried to storm the beaches of Gallipoli and push in land through the heavily fortified ottoman positions. Instead, they faced devastating fire from determined defenders. This is the story of the Hellers landings and their bloody opening hours.
59 min
10
Episode 123: The Dardanelles Naval Assault: Cat...
In 1915 the allies tried to force their way through one of the most heavily defended waterways in the world - what they found was a deadly combination of mines, artillery and determined Ottoman resistance. This is the story of the doomed attempt to force the Dardanelles
46 min
11
Episode 122: The Fatal Plan Behind Gallipoli
In 1915 Winston Churchill had a plan to end the war with a single blow: he called it a master stroke of strategy, history remembers it as a catastrophe. This is the story of how Gallipoli was born and why it was doomed before a single soldier set foot on the beaches.
48 min
12
Episode 121: Myths of the French army
48 min
13
Episode 120: From the Home Front to the Alps
In this episode, we turn the show over to you, our listeners. We delve into questions posed for the podcast and our fourth war site, the dugout, covering everything from post-war veterans to the Italian front and much, much more.
53 min
14
Episode 119: What Made Men Fight?
Today we’re diving into courage and fear on the Western Front: what made men fight? What soldiers were frightened of, how they learned to function anyway, and what the sources reveal when the mask slips - in letters, diaries, medical reports, and the hard edge of military discipline.
62 min
15
Episode 118: The 5 Deadliest Allied Snipers of WWI
In this episode, we follow the Great War’s deadliest marksmen into action. What made an elite sniper and what effect did these individuals have on the battlefield? We’ll trace the lives of men like Francis Pegahmagabow, Henry “Ducky” Norwest, Billy Sing, Neville Methven, and Johnson Paudash - how they fought, how they earned their medals, what their victories cost them, and what happened when the war finally ended
65 min
16
Episode 117: The Battle that Created a Myth: Th...
In this episode, a continuation of our series exploring the story of the German Army on the Western Front, we look at the formation of the Western Front and explore the early battles of Trench Warfare which highlighted the brutal nature of that new phase of the Great War.
56 min
17
Episode 116: The Battle Germany Had to Win: The...
In this episode, a continuation of our series exploring the story of the German Army on the Western Front, we look at the formation of the Western Front and explore the early battles of Trench Warfare which highlighted the brutal nature of that new phase of the Great War.
46 min
18
Bonus Episode: The Wartime origins of words and...
We really hope you enjoyed this episode, and if you did, it would mean a huge amount if you could head over to the Untitled History Podcast channel right now, give it a follow and leave a quick review! https://open.spotify.com/show/1pVhf1zLs05L1hPwsB2tJI https://www.youtube.com/@UntitledHistoryPod listen.untitled-history.com
48 min
19
Episode 115: Germany’s 6-Week Gamble - 1914
In this episode, part 2 of our Germany on the Western Front series, we take a detailed look at the famous Schlieffen Plan. What led to its creation? By who? What were its objectives? And how did it unfold in the early weeks of the Great War? - We answer all that and more!
47 min
20
Episode 114: How Germany Prepared for the Great...
In this episode the first in a new series from the ‘other side of the wire’ along with guest historian Professor Matthias Strohn, we begin a much requested deep dive into the story of the Germany Army on the Western Front. This week our focus lies with the German pre-war military and how the early phases of the war unfolded from their perspective.
58 min
21
Episode 113: Flamethrowers in WW1: How Effectiv...
In 1915 the German Army introduced the world to the power of the flamethrower - but by 1916 the Allies had caught up with their own weapons. As the war continued flame stopped being a novelty and instead became a system - specialist troops, evolving equipment and developing tactics. We delve into that story in this episode and ask whether the flame thrower was a weapon whose bark was worse than its bite?
51 min
22
Episode 112: Flamethrowers in WW1: The Weapon T...
In 1915, the German army began using a terrible new weapon in organized assaults. The flamethrower capable of clearing a trench in seconds, few weapons the First World War produced such immediate revulsion or such rapid imitation. In this episode, we dive into the story of liquid fire on the Western front, tracing its evolution, its most notorious actions and its overall effect on the battlefield.
51 min
23
Episode 111: How Grenades Took Over the Trenche...
In the early months of the Great War, a hand grenade was almost an anachronism — a relic of fortress warfare associated with seventeenth-century “grenadiers” rather than modern industrial armies. And yet, by 1918, it had become one of the most important and feared weapons on the Western Front. This episode is the story of that transformation. From improvised “jam tins” and crude bombs to engineered patterns like the Mills bomb and the German Potato Masher stick grenade we’ll follow the technology, the tactics, and the hard, dangerous lessons learned in close combat.
54 min
24
Episode 110: The Season Soldiers Feared Most: W...
In this ‘seasonal’ episode,and one with particularly close links to current world events, we explore the story of winter life in the trenches. From frostbite and fraternisation to surviving in a harsh and deadly climate, we look closely at a universally disliked experience, from both sides of the wire…
52 min
25
Episode 109: Prostitution & VD on the Western F...
In this week’s episode we delve into the often overlooked and murky world of prostitution in the Great War. From back alley entrepreneurs to Army run brothels, and from morale affects to disease, we discuss one of the most common, but least spoken of aspects of the war on the Western Fronts.
55 min