In this wide-ranging listener Q&A episode of Old Front Line, we dive into some intriguing and human questions thrown up by the Great War.

We begin with the fate of the missing. With hundreds of thousands of men listed as “missing” across the Western Front, is there any real evidence that some chose to disappear, seizing the chaos of war to start new lives elsewhere? We explore the realities of desertion, the systems used to record the dead, and whether the idea of men slipping away into anonymity holds up under historical scrutiny.

From there, we head to the contested borderlands of Alsace-Lorraine. Annexed by the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War, the region produced soldiers who often found themselves fighting for Germany despite deep cultural ties to France. Were these men treated with suspicion? Were they deliberately dispersed among regiments, and how did questions of identity and loyalty shape their wartime experience?

We also turn to the modern landscape of the First World War, answering a question about relationships with landowners across the former front lines. What happens when cemeteries and forgotten sites lie on private land? Do landowners welcome visitors, and how connected do they feel to the history beneath their fields? 

Finally, we tackle casualty comparisons. While 1 July 1916 stands as the British Army’s darkest day on the Battle of the Somme, what were the equivalent days of devastation for the French and German armies? From the Battle of the Frontiers to the Offensive in the Champagne, we examine when losses peaked and what that tells us about the wider war.

As always, this episode blends thoughtful listener questions with grounded historical analysis, uncovering the personal stories and bigger truths behind the conflict.

Research by David O'Mara: Casualties in 1914 and 1915.

315eRI on Substack: The Day Flesh Met Steel.

Main Image: The Dawn: Propaganda Poster During the First World War with Two Women Representing Alsace and Lorraine by Henri Royer. 

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