The Old Front Line

In this week's Question and Answer Episode we look at: why did German intelligence understand so much about the coming Battle of the Somme, yet the Allies were caught so badly off guard by the German Spring Offensive of 1918? 
We also examine the changing role of cavalry after the war of movement ended in 1914. How did commanders such as Haig reconcile traditional cavalry doctrine with trench warfare, and why were substantial cavalry formations maintained even as infantry numbers fell?
We then turn to the fascinating problem of errors on war graves and memorials. How common were mistakes in names, dates and details when thousands of headstones were produced without modern databases, and what happens when an error is discovered?
Finally, we follow the story of Private Arthur Wickes of the 11th Sherwood Foresters, whose battalion's Somme battle plan placed him on prisoner duties at Battalion HQ rather than in the first assault. Why were men selected for these duties, and could his previous wounds have influenced the decision? 
Main Image: Cavalry in reserve halted in the Authie River to water the horses, Auxi-le-Chateau, 17th September 1918. (IWM Q9317).
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As the Battle of the Somme entered its final, bitter weeks, fighting continued across the ground between Thiepval, Grandcourt and Courcelette. In this episode of The Old Front Line, we explore the October and November 1916 battles as autumn turned to winter and the Somme battlefield became a landscape of mud, rain and continuous shell craters.
We follow the fighting, examining the attacks around Regina Trench, Stuff Trench, Grandcourt and Courcelette, and the challenges faced by British and Commonwealth troops as they attempted to push forward.
Then we walk the battlefield, visiting Stump Road Cemetery, Grandcourt Road Cemetery and Regina Trench Cemetery. These cemeteries provide a direct connection to the men who fought and died here, revealing the human cost of the Somme's final phase.
From Thiepval to Grandcourt and Courcelette, this is the story of the Somme after 1 July: the forgotten battles of October and November 1916 and the men who fought through them.
Main Image: Grandcourt Road Cemetery (Stephen Kerr). 
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In this Old Front Line Q&A, we explore four fascinating questions from the First World War, taking us from the Ypres Salient to German-occupied France and Belgium, and from wartime prisoners to the fate of battlefield cemeteries during the Second World War.
We begin in the Ypres Salient and the often-overlooked French presence in 1914–15. When did French troops arrive, how was the Allied sector divided, why did the British eventually take over, and what was the relationship between French and British soldiers on the Western Front?
We then investigate the experience of British officers who became prisoners of war. Were former POWs really interrogated by British military authorities after 1918, and what happened when they returned home?
Our third question takes us behind the German lines to examine everyday life for French and Belgian civilians under occupation. How did German rule affect schools, currency, local government, communication and families separated by the new front line?
Finally, we look at the impact of the Second World War on First World War cemeteries, memorials and battlefields. Were Great War sites deliberately targeted, accidentally damaged or protected? And what is the truth behind the story of Hitler and the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge?
Main Image: British Officer Prisoners of war in Germany c.1916. (OFL Archives).
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Between August and December 1914, the British Expeditionary Force fought its first battles of the First World War across Belgium and northern France and some 19,000 officers and men were missing. From Mons and Le Cateau to the Retreat and the First Battle of Ypres, thousands of men were killed and never recovered, becoming part of the great story of the Missing of 1914.
In this episode of The Old Front Line, we explore the history behind the 1914 campaign and discuss the memorials that commemorate those who have no known grave and who died in 1914. But this time, we go beyond the just the names by using a specially developed AI tool. 
With this we analyse the data behind the Missing of 1914 to uncover patterns and statistics: which were the costliest days of the campaign, which regiments suffered the greatest losses, how old were the men who disappeared, where did they come from, and how many had previous military experience?
By combining battlefield history, memorials, military records and data analysis with the expert eye of an historian, we take a different look at the men who went missing during those iconic opening months of the First World War.
Main Image: La Ferte sous Jouarre Memorial (Old Front Line Archives). 
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In this episode of The Old Front Line Podcast, we answer another fascinating selection of listener questions that explore the realities of life, death, remembrance and battlefield tactics on the Western Front during the First World War.
How much safer were soldiers when they left the front line? We examine the British Army's system of rotating troops through front-line, support and reserve positions, and ask whether moving away from the trenches really improved a soldier's chances of survival, or whether artillery, snipers and long-range shellfire meant danger was never far away.
We also travel to Sidcup in Kent and explore the legacy of families who suffered devastating losses during the Great War. From the pioneering work of Sir Harold Gillies and the famous "blue benches" to the story of the Crombie family, we investigate whether Britain had its own "Saving Private Ryan" stories and look at families who lost multiple sons in the conflict.
A visit to Hooge Crater Cemetery prompts a question about multiple burials in Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries. Why do some headstones commemorate several men? How common are collective graves, and what do they tell us about the conditions of battle and battlefield burial?
Finally, we delve into the world of breastwork trenches. Common across the low-lying landscapes of French Flanders, these unusual battlefield defences posed unique challenges for attackers and defenders alike. How were breastworks built, assaulted and protected, and were they more vulnerable to artillery fire than conventional trenches?
Book Recommendations: 
Roy, R.H. - The Journal of Private Fraser (Canada 1985, later CEF books 1998)
Dr Lindsey Fitzharris - The Facemaker (London 2022)
Main Image: New Zealand troops of the 9th (Wellington East Coast Rifles) Regiment holding a well constructed breastwork near Fleurbaix during June 1916. Note one of the troops using a periscope rifle. (IWM Q666). 
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