Part 4 of the ongoing discussion looks at the French Army in 1915: an often overlooked year, it was a year of “carnage, optimism, and learning,” as Alex says in the talk. Fighting to keep pressure on the German invader and relieve pressure on the WW1 Russian Front, the French faced a long year where that optimism took several body blows; it was a year where the French Poilu learned this would be a long and terrible war.
This was a fascinating conversation as always, and you really need to listen for the part where Jim Taub talks about handling and firing a Chauchat light machine gun!
Joining us for this discussion are:
Alex Lyons, the man who spends his free time telling us the story of his Poilu great-grandfather on Twitter,
Steve Marsdin, a student and researcher of the 1914 Battle of the Frontiers and its effects,
Jim Smithson, author of “A Taste of Success: The First Battle of the Scarpe. The Opening Phase of the Battle of Arras 9-14 April 1917” and two guide books on the Arras battlefields
James Taub, Associate Curator at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, PA, and a public historian with a specialty in French history, and its presentation to American audiences.
The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.
Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.
Tannenberg - Flank and Collision
The New Ypres League with Roger Steward & Prof Mark Connelly
A Review of “Pershing’s Tankers: Personal Accounts of the AEF Tank Corps in World War I,” edited by Lawrence M. Kaplan
Tannenberg - Stallupönen and Gumbinnen
Tannenberg - Eastern Promises
Forgotten Veterans, Invisible Memorials, a Discussion with Dr. Allison Finkelstein
2024 Meuse-Argonne Tour Dates are Here
Fismes and Fismette - House to House in the Great War
Support a Congressional Gold Medal for the WWI Hello Girls
“The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers,” a Discussion with Elizabeth Cobbs
“Bullets, Bandages and Beans:” A Talk on United States Army Logistics in France in World War I
Meuse Argonne - An Oppressive Silence
Sir Philip Gibbs: A Conversation with Clint Heacock
Meuse Argonne - A Total D–k Move
Forgotten Warriors: The US 7th Infantry at Belleau Wood
Meuse Argonne - “We Can Kill Them But We Can’t Stop Them”
Meuse Argonne - Continuous Pressure
Meuse Argonne - Wings Over the Meuse
The Wounded World: W.E.B. Du Bois and the First World War, a Discussion with Dr. Chad Williams
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