Footsteps of the fallen

By Matt Dixon

History

What's Footsteps of the fallen about?

A journey through the Great War

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Footsteps of the fallen episodes:

05.26.2024
Palestine
In this episode, we visit one of the forgotten fronts of the Great War and look at the fighting in Palestine in 1917-1918. This was an unforgiving landscape that saw numerous battles, the removal of a Corps Commander and...
05.12.2024
Festubert - a walk round a battlefield
In this episode, recorded live on the battlefields, we are at Festubert, the forgotten battle of 1915, and we visit some of the cemeteries around the battlefield to hear the personal stories of the men buried within them. Support the...
04.28.2024
The Devil's breath
Welcome to Season 7!In our first episode, we look at poison gas, its development and use on the battlefield, and how the science of chemical weapons saw the militarisation of academia in the pursuit of developing more lethal and deadly...
03.31.2024
The farm cemeteries - Ypres
Welcome to the final episode of Season 6 and our 150th podcast!In this episode, we look back at the podcast since it began 3 1/2 years ago, examine some of the statistics about the pod, and contemplate some of my...
03.17.2024
Trench Talk - Tom Isitt and the Italian Front
In this latest podcast, historian and author Tom Isitt joins us. Tom has a passion (or, he might say, obsession) with the Italian Front in the Great War. An inhospitable battlefield with appalling weather conditions and treacherous terrain, the fighting...
03.03.2024
Fricourt
With the sad news of the passing of Martin Middlebrooke, this podcast heads to the Somme battlefield where we walk across the battlefield at the village of Fricourt.Our journey takes in some of the cemeteries and memorials that cover this...
02.19.2024
Special podcast update
Many of you who listen to the podcast aren't on social media and are not followers of me on Twitter so please find attached a very brief update on what's happening with the podcast going forward.I posted a video on...
02.18.2024
Trench Talk - Roger Steward in conversation about Langemarck German Cemetery
In this latest episode of Trench Talk, it's a real pleasure to be joined by military historian, battlefield guide and author Roger Steward.Lockdown allowed Roger to write the book he always wanted to write about the German Cemetery at Langemarck....
02.11.2024
Where it all began - Vimy
In this latest episode, we visit the battlefield where my journey through the Great War began some 35 years ago - Vimy Ridge.We look at what happened in this part of the front and have a brief look at the...
02.04.2024
Beyond the front - Kemmel
Welcome to this latest episode of Footsteps of the Fallen.In this episode we travel to Flanders and visit one of the lesser-visited corners of the Great War in this part of Belgium, the area around the mighty Kemmelberg.Our journey begins...
01.14.2024
Cambrai - one day on the battlefield
In our latest podcast, we visit the battlefield around Cambrai, where, on the 20th of November 1917, the first mass tank battle in military history took place. The Allies smashed a 5-mile hole in the German's lines. Still, poor...
01.07.2024
Cobbers - Australia on the Somme
Welcome to our first podcast of 2024!In this episode, we visit the battlefields around Villers Brettoneux on the Somme, an area of Picardy that will be forever associated with the Australian Army.We tour the battlefield and discover the military history...
12.24.2023
Trench talk - Peter Doyle and the Princess Mary Christmas Box
Welcome to our Christmas episode of Footsteps of the Fallen!In this special Trench Talk I'm joined by Professor Peter Doyle who tells us all about the history behind one of the most iconic of all Great War artefacts, The Princess...
12.17.2023
Dud Corner - a journey through a cemetery
In our latest podcast, we travel to Dud Corner Cemetery and the Loos Memorial in Artois to discover the stories of some of the men who lie here. The podcast begins with an overview of the Battle of Loos,...
12.10.2023
Trench Talk: Jules the Poilu - in conversation with Alexandre Lyons
The discovery of a huge collection of letters, postcards and writings of his great-great-grandfather has taken Alex on a fascinating journey through the wartime experiences of his ancestor, Jules Destrigniville. A Parisian police officer by trade, Jules was conscripted...
11.26.2023
The end of the line
In our latest podcast, we visit the end of the Western Front and take a whistlestop tour around the Lys battlefield near the North Sea coast of Belgium.We look at the military actions that took place in this part of...
11.19.2023
The Foresters of Flanders
During the Great War the demand for timber for the front line exceeded at one stage 50,000 tonnes a month. But where on earth could this amount of timber be sourced and who would be capable of felling that...
11.12.2023
Bunkers and bards - Boesinghe to Ypres
In today's episode, we travel the Ypres salient from Boesinghe to Ypres and visit some of the many cemeteries and memorials that dot this part of the battlefield. We begin at the Ziegler Bunker and one of the finest bunkers...
10.29.2023
The most dangerous man I ever knew.
Our latest podcast begins at the Guards Grave in the Retz Forest near the village of Villers Cotteret on the Aisne battlefield. It contains the graves of 98 men of the Guards Brigade who fought one of the most...
10.22.2023
Mazengarbe - a journey through a cemetery
In today's episode, we visit the communal cemetery and extension at Mazengarbe on the Loos battlefield and discover the stories of some of the men who lie buried within.We begin by reminiscing on an encounter in a cemetery on All...
10.08.2023
Mount Sorrel
In this episode, we travel to Flanders and look at the fighting of June 1916 for Hill 62, or Mount Sorrel as it was known. Standing on the top of the ridge today overlooking Sanctuary Wood is a Canadian...
10.01.2023
The Nivelle Offensive
In 1917 French general Robert Nivelle launched an offensive against the Germans on the River Aisne which he was convinced would break the Western Front once and for all. After nine days of fighting 187,000 French soldiers had been...
09.10.2023
Farming the front
During the course of the Great War, the problem of feeding the vast numbers of men and animals in the military was a constant source of concern for Army command. The Army contained many men whose background was in...
09.03.2023
Le Cateau - one day in August
In this episode, we visit the battlefield of Le Cateau. In August 1914 Horace Smith-Dorrien's II Corps stood and fought when they had been ordered to retreat. This disobedience delayed the Germans and has been described by one...
08.27.2023
Surrender be damned! The Battle of Frezenberg Ridge
Between the 8-13th of May 1915, the Germans attempted to smash their way through the British lines in the Ypres salient launching an attack against the Frezenberg Ridge. The British were subjected to an artillery bombardment of a ferocity never...
08.20.2023
The sculpting soldier
Standing at Hyde Park Corner in London, the Royal Artillery Memorial has been cited by one art critic as the finest work of sculpture of the 20th Century. Its creator, Charles Sergeant Jagger, was once described by Auguste Rodin...
08.06.2023
The lost cemetery
Our journey today begins at Berkshire Cemetery Extension near Ploegsteert Wood, home of a stunning memorial to the missing, and two magnificent stone lions guarding the entrance in allegorical perfection. We hear the story of a short-sighted 2nd Lt...
07.30.2023
Fricourt to Flatiron
Welcome to Season 6!My wife went away with the kids and instructed me not to anything rash while she was away. So I got on a ferry and went to the Somme....In this episode, recorded on the Somme battlefields we...
07.02.2023
I died in hell....
Welcome to the final episode of Season 5!In today's episode, we look at the 3rd Battle of Ypres, more commonly, but incorrectly, referred to as the Battle of Passchendaele. A campaign flawed in its inception, and blighted by the...
06.25.2023
The Astrologer of Flanders
During the course of WW1 over 34 million maps were produced by the Royal Engineers and the Ordnance Survey. From primitive beginnings, by the end of the war, the British Army was in possession of the finest and most...
06.18.2023
Mr Tickler's Suicide Squad
In this episode, we look at the weapons of war used by men in the trenches. The standard rifle of Tommy Atkins was the Short Magazine Lee Enfield, a highly effective rifle, that was deadly in the hands...
06.11.2023
Trench Talk: Dr Lindsey Fitzharris - The Facemaker
In our latest podcast, it's a privilege to be joined by the writer and historian Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris, who wrote the superb book "The Facemaker" about the pioneering WW1 surgeon Dr. Harold Gillies.Gillies was determined to give wounded and disfigured...
06.04.2023
Le Touret - a journey through a cemetery
Standing at the side of the main road from Bethune to Armentieres, the Le Touret Memorial commemorates over 13,400 men who died on this part of the battlefield between October 1914 and September 1915.In our latest podcast, we discover the...
05.28.2023
The sound of sadness - a journey round The Birdcage
In our latest podcast, we visit the hulking mass of Plugstreet Wood and look at the actions of December 1914 around the German strongpoint known as The Birdcage.Formed of trenches captured from the Worcestershire Regiment and three ruined farm buildings,...
05.21.2023
Was I brave?
In this latest episode of the podcast, we look at bravery on the battlefield through the stories of six remarkable men.Between them, they won 4 Victoria Crosses, 4 Distinguished Service Orders, 8 Military Crosses, 6 Military Medals, 2 Distinguished Conduct...
05.14.2023
"Take one more step and I'll bloody shoot you!" - Aubers Ridge
On the 9th May 1915, the British launched an attack on the billiard table flat fields of Artois against the Aubers Ridge. What was supposed to be a gentle stroll across the Artois countryside, turned into one of...
04.30.2023
Trench Talk: William Stroock - "Blackjack"
In this episode, it's a real pleasure to be joined by the American writer and former History professor, William Stroock.William's historical interests are many, but his book on the WW1 American general John J "Blackjack" Pershing is a fascinating insight...
04.23.2023
Conchies - the men who wouldn't fight
During the Great War over 16,000 men registered as Conscientious Objectors; men whose conscience wouldn't allow them to take the life of another human. Ridiculed in the press, humiliated by the Government, and shunned by friends and neighbours, the...
04.16.2023
Gully Ravine
The Gallipoli campaign presents military historians with some of the great "what-ifs" of Great War history, and perhaps nowhere more so than the fighting around Gully Ravine in June 1915.The ravine was a barren strip of land running from the...
04.02.2023
Here we fight and here we die!
1917 was a difficult year for the Allied high command. With the British and the French suffering from the exertions of the Somme and Verdun, the French army was in a state of mutiny on the Chemin des Dames,...
03.26.2023
Beyond the front - Epehy
In today's podcast we visit one of the forgotten battlefields of the Great War, the tiny farming village of Epehy. While small in size, it proved a formidable obstacle to be captured as the Allies advanced towards the Hindenburg...
03.12.2023
God wears velvet........
In our latest episode we visit a group of cemeteries that were attached to the Casualty Clearing Stations and discover the stories of some of the men and women who lie buried within them.Our journey begins at Dozinghem, Bandaghem, and...
03.05.2023
One day in Artois
In today's podcast, we visit the battlefields of Artois, the scene of so much fighting during the spring and summer of 1915. It's a battlefield region that provides so much for the battlefield tourist in a very small place....
02.26.2023
Footsteps in the city - six magnificent memorials
Welcome to our latest podcast, which was recorded live on the streets of London. In this episode, we travel around the capital to discover the stories behind six memorials, all of which have a connection to the Great War....
02.19.2023
Trivial, Treatable, Terrible - medicine goes to War
The Great War saw casualties on an industrial scale. The changing face of warfare placed demands on the medical profession like no conflict before or since. How did medicine adapt to cope with the demands of Great War casualties?We...
02.05.2023
Trench talk - Tim Godden illustrating the Great War
In our latest episode of Trench Talk it's a real pleasure to be joined by illustrator Tim Godden (http://www.timgodden.co.uk)Tim is an artist and illustrator with an instantly recognisable style of cartoon drawings illustrating scenes of life in the trenches and...
01.29.2023
Croisilles - a journey through a cemetery
In today's podcast, we visit Croisilles cemetery near Arras to discover the personal stories of some of the men who lie within.Many of the men who lie dead in the cemetery were killed in the actions against the formidable German...
01.22.2023
Suvla - catastrophe in the salt marsh
In today's podcast, we make a welcome return to the battlefields of Gallipoli and look at the fighting at Suvla. It was a disaster that spelled the end of a disastrous campaign.Ian Hamilton, the commander of the British Mediterranean...
01.15.2023
Carnoy - a story on the Somme
Welcome to our first podcast of 2023!In today's podcast, we are off to Carnoy on the Somme, a farming hamlet between Mametz and Montauban that was the scene of terrific fighting on the 1st of July 1916. Dominated by the...
12.26.2022
"No War today" - a soldier's view of the Christmas Truce
Welcome to our Christmas episode of Footsteps of the Fallen.The Christmas Truce has often been portrayed as a mass act of rebellion by soldiers tired of fighting, who wilfully disobeyed the instructions of senior officers not to fraternise with the...

What's Footsteps of the fallen about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Footsteps of the fallen episodes:

Palestine

Festubert - a walk round a battlefield

The Devil's breath

The farm cemeteries - Ypres

Trench Talk - Tom Isitt and the Italian Front

Fricourt

Special podcast update

Trench Talk - Roger Steward in conversation about Langemarck German Cemetery

Where it all began - Vimy

Beyond the front - Kemmel

Cambrai - one day on the battlefield

Cobbers - Australia on the Somme

Trench talk - Peter Doyle and the Princess Mary Christmas Box

Dud Corner - a journey through a cemetery

Trench Talk: Jules the Poilu - in conversation with Alexandre Lyons

The end of the line

The Foresters of Flanders

Bunkers and bards - Boesinghe to Ypres

The most dangerous man I ever knew.

Mazengarbe - a journey through a cemetery

Mount Sorrel

The Nivelle Offensive

Farming the front

Le Cateau - one day in August

Surrender be damned! The Battle of Frezenberg Ridge

The sculpting soldier

The lost cemetery

Fricourt to Flatiron

I died in hell....

The Astrologer of Flanders

Mr Tickler's Suicide Squad

Trench Talk: Dr Lindsey Fitzharris - The Facemaker

Le Touret - a journey through a cemetery

The sound of sadness - a journey round The Birdcage

Was I brave?

"Take one more step and I'll bloody shoot you!" - Aubers Ridge

Trench Talk: William Stroock - "Blackjack"

Conchies - the men who wouldn't fight

Gully Ravine

Here we fight and here we die!

Beyond the front - Epehy

God wears velvet........

One day in Artois

Footsteps in the city - six magnificent memorials

Trivial, Treatable, Terrible - medicine goes to War

Trench talk - Tim Godden illustrating the Great War

Croisilles - a journey through a cemetery

Suvla - catastrophe in the salt marsh

Carnoy - a story on the Somme

"No War today" - a soldier's view of the Christmas Truce

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