British Army 1914-18

In this episode, I talk about the battle of Neuve Chapelle, which began on 10 March 1915. I look at how the British Expeditionary Force fared in its first trench warfare attack of the Great War. Then we see how communication and reinforcement problems brought the advance to a standstill, and how the Germans reacted to the breakthrough on their front.

In this episode, I look at the fighting which took place around Messines Ridge, Ploegsteert Wood, Aubers Ridge and the La Bassée Canal in October and November 1914. Although the main German attacks were aimed at Ypres, any breakthrough in these areas would have resulted in the evacuation of the Salient.

In this episode, I talk about the end of First Battle of Ypres, looking at the fighting over the first days of November. It culminates with the last big attack, which nearly broke the British Expeditionary Force's line on 11 November. I then summarise the BEF's precarious situation as the winter weather set in. It was short of men, guns and ammunition, as the survivors dug in and tried to protect themselves from the winter weather.

In this episode, I discuss the British Expeditionary Force's transfer from the Aisne to Flanders, in what was called the Race to the Sea. Then we see how it had to fight for its life around Ypres, with the German attacks becoming bigger every day. I conclude with the attack around Gheluvelt and Messines on 31 October. The November fighting is covered in another episode.

In this episode, I talk about the British Expeditionary Force's long march south to the River Marne at the end of August and into the first week of September 1914. Then we see how it turned around and headed north, in pursuit of the Germans, Then I explain how the advance ended on the north bank of the River Aisne. I close with a description of the early days of trench warfare on the Chemin des Dames, the ridge north of the river.

In this episode, I talk about the British Expeditionary Force's first two battles, at Mons and Le Cateau in August 1914. We also see how the soldiers learnt to fight against superior numbers before marching away, so they could fight another day.

Having come to the end of the podcasts on the workings of the British Army, it is time to look at its campaigns. In this podcast I explain the background behind the 55 podcasts planned for the campaign sector and how to get the best out of them. I then explain how each of the ten campaigns are divided into between four and ten short podcasts, which allows you to get the information you want as quickly as possible.

In this episode, I look at how the war came to an end on 11 November 1918 and the long demobilisation process that followed. After explaining the cost of the war, I talk about the British Legion and the post war clearance of the battlefields. The we shall see the legacy of the Great War; the memorials across Britain and the cemeteries across France and Flanders.

In this episode, I talk about two sorts of Auxiliary services which supported the soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force, both behind the front line and across Great Britain.
The first type are the religious organizations which gave spiritual guidance to the troops, either through services, entertainment or moral support. The second type are the many Women’s organizations which gave support to the troops, in many cases caring for the welfare of the wounded and soldiers on leave.

In this episode, I am explain how mapping the battlefield started with large scale maps, with few details. We then see how trench maps developed into sophisticated gridded maps, designed to all the arms; infantry, artillery, tanks and planes. I also explain how the unusual map referencing system worked and why all locations and trenches were named.