Tales from the Battlefields

In this week's episode we speak to Michael LoCicero, the author of the book called "A Moonlight Massacre". Michael tells the story of what happened on 2nd December 1917 when the BEF launched another offensive against German positions on the Passchendaele Ridge. A forgotten action, we discover what happened to the British soldiers when they were lit up by the moon and snowfall in this night time attack.

In this episode we discover what the Great War battlefields looked like in the 1920's and 1930's through the eyes of the veterans who returned to follow in their own footsteps on the Western Front. We also discover their emotions when they trod the battlefields and looked for signs of the old front line.

In this week's episode we tell the story of the horror of the Butte de Warlencourt at the end of the Battle of the Somme in October and November 1916. Through the eyes of the British, South African and German soldiers we look at what happened on and around the Butte during those dreadful few weeks. And there is important news from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission too.

In this episode we look at the story of the fight for Crest Farm and the village of Passchendaele itself in November 1917. We tell the story through the eyes of the soldiers who were there and discuss the story of one of those thousands of Canadians who fell during the battle, Private Graham Adam. 

In this episode we join the son of a World War soldier as we follow in 2nd Lt Herbert Dudley's footsteps across the Western Front in 1916 and 1918. What did we discover on this emotional tour? How did Herbert become a casualty on the Somme without being wounded? And what did the tour mean to his 83 year old son as we recreated his father's journey in the Great War? 

In this episode we walk from the Somme to Ypres with ABF The Soldiers' Charity "Frontline Walk". We hear the stories of the fallen as we pass their graves. Listen to an emotional interview with a British Army veteran, who explains how the Charity and this 100K trek have helped him overcome PTSD. We discover all sorts of stories along the way and how a piece of classical music found its way onto a soldier's headstone." 

In this episode we tell the tragic stories of fathers and sons who served in the Great War. We examine the unbreakable bond between father and son and how some of them died together on the battlefields of the Western Front, Gallipoli and Eastern Africa. We also look at the extraordinary lengths that some fathers went to to be reunited with their sons after they were killed. 

In this episode we talk to former England cricketer Jack Russell about his relative Edward Hogg who died in the Great War. Jack talks emotionally about how Edward died near Ypres and he describes how a pilgrimage to the location where Edward died inspired Jack to produce a painting that he called "Seconds from Hell". 

Through the eyes of the soldiers who were there we tell the story of how the German fortress finally fell to the 18th Division on 26th September 1916. This hill top bastion had been attacked several times but discover how the the BEF finally overcame Thiepval.

In this episode we follow the story of the tanks from their design and manufacture in Lincoln, to the testing fields in Suffolk where a mock battle was held. We then go to the Somme and discover, through the eyes of the soldiers on both sides of the wire, what happened on 15th September 1916 when tanks were used for the first time.