Fix Bayonets! - First World War Podcast

Fix Bayonets! - First World War Podcast

By Nicole Chicarelli, Mike Cunha, Cullen BurkeSociety & CultureDocumentaryEducationHistoryCourses
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Fix Bayonets! - First World War Podcast episodes

  • Battle of the Frontiers - South
    “Attaque a outrance” — “attack to excess”
    As Europe approached the precipice of war in 1914, France's military thinkers were unwaveringly committed to the idea that an outright, relentless, and wholehearted offensive was not only the key to victory... but the only method of waging war that should be put into action whatsoever. Soon the French armies would crash into the Germans and punish them for their dastardly preemptive strike, and the "Lost Provinces" of Alsace-Lorraine would once again be French. Or so men like Joffre thought, but as events unfolded throughout the complicated, layered Battle of the Frontiers, those misconceptions would soon be exposed.
    If this kind of theoretical dissection sounds interesting to you, we have some good news! The French obsession with "the offensive" and how it began to affect real events in 1914 is precisely what we're going to study in the next episode of Fix Bayonets! First World War Podcast.
    47 min
  • Whizz-Bang - Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898)
    In this Whiz-bang, Cullen dives into the life and times of a true titan, Bismarck! From his early life to his meteoric rise as the virtual ruler of Germany, Otto regularly put on political masterclasses. Using a flare for the dramatic and brilliant diplomatic insight, Bismarck built the German Empire and eventually the fragile system of European treaty's that ensured peace - while he was in charge. His loud and public fall from grace with the young Wilhelm was stunning, moving the world ever closer to the inevitable World War to come. Also, this episode went on way longer than planned because Bismarck has way too many great quotes, and Cullen refused to skip any!
    28 min
  • Whizz-Bang - 420mm Big Bertha Siege Howitzer
    In this Whiz-bang Nicole talks guns, big guns! The German arms manufacturer Krupp produced the 420mm M-Gerat and these monster field guns went on to play a large role in the artillery duels of the Western Front. Affectionately known as "Big Berthas" these guns were able to lob huge shells great distances, even helping to smash up the modern forts at Liege.
    14 min
  • Whizz-Bang - What's a Whizz-Bang?
    Hey Folks, this is Mike and I’m coming to you here with the very first Whiz-bang episode that we will feature on this Fix Bayonets! podcast. In these episodes, Nicole, Cullen, and I will be exploring various topics of interest or topics that may need a little more detail than we have given them in our main episodes. Whiz-bangs are intended to be short, quick, and dirty, just like...you know, the real Whiz-bangs was.
    8 min
  • The Schlieffen Plan
    The Schlieffen Plan (in all it's various iterations) was Germany's blueprint for a swift victory if and when she ever found herself in a two-front war against France and Russia. The man behind the plan, Count Alfred Von Schlieffen, understood a military maneuver like this would require precision, detail, and strict obedience to the timetables involved. Of course, even the most careful peacetime planning isn't foolproof when bullets begin to fly, gaps in logistics, and continuous tinkering by his successor would put Schlieffen's precious plan to the acid test in the Summer of 1914.
    31 min
  • The July Crisis
    The July Crisis of 1914 was the moment of decision, the moment that Bismark's intricate treaty and alliance system finally collapsed in the prelude to World War One. The Crisis ignited after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (which we covered in episode one!). Tensions grew rapidly as Europe's nations sought retribution, issued ultimatums, made threats, or bolstered alliances.
    When it became clear that peaceful mediation was no longer an option… armies everywhere mobilized, millions of men marched to war in the sweltering summer sun, and the "War To End All Wars" had begun.
    31 min
  • The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
    Franz Ferdinand: Archduke of Austria, heir to his ancient nation’s throne, and victim of a brutal assassination in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The murder of the would-be emperor and his wife is often cited as THE cause of the Great War. But the truth is a bit more complicated than that…
    The European continent had been simmering with unrest for years by 1914. And as the heads of state for the world's mightiest empires grew ever more distrustful of each other, the delicate web-like balance of world power was ready to unravel. With the fatefully fatal pulling of a trigger, a Serbian teen named Princep queued the music for War to take center stage in Europe once again (and not for the last time!).
    39 min

About Fix Bayonets! - First World War Podcast

From the publisher's feed

The story of World War One has been told from every point of view, from every angle, by countless historians, amateurs, authors, and soldiers, a thousand times over and a bit more than that. Brilliant scholars, popular podcasters, and authors ranging from Keegan to Hemingway have scoured the Great War for truth and answers. For decades they have been shining a light into every trench, wading through every muddy decision and its deadly results, collecting the millions of tales about life during the Great War. With each passing year, we move further from the events themselves. Time has marched to its eternal drum beat, inexorably erasing the collective memories of the horrors that followed that idyllic 1914 summer.