YouTube video by Old Front Line

We begin Season 10 of The Old Front Line with a journey into The Great War Around Us: the First World War history that can still be found in the places where we live. In this episode, we visit the East Sussex village of Wadhurst and explore how the impact of the Great War can still be discovered more than a century later.

YouTube video by Old Front Line

How do you find the hidden story of the First World War landscape? In this special bonus episode of The Old Front Line, we explore the fascinating world of WW1 trench maps and discover how they can transform your understanding of the Western Front and beyond. We begin by looking at the Blue Series IGN maps that first inspired a deeper exploration of the battlefields, before uncovering the remarkable trench maps created during the Great War.

For our final Bonus Episode before Season 10 begins in September, we look at a rare Roll of Honour for the Gravesend and Dartford area of Kent, and discuss the whole history of these Rolls of Honour and then look through this example seeing what it can tell us about the wider history of the Great War. Main Image:

In this episode of the Old Front Line Podcast, we explore one of the most successful British attacks of the Battle of the Somme: the Dawn Attack of 14 July 1916. Launched before first light, the assault captured key objectives including Bazentin-le-Petit, Bazentin-le-Grand and Longueval, bringing British troops to the edge of High Wood and changing the course of the campaign.

How a World War One battle still affects people and communities

For our 300th Episode we reflect on six years of the Old Front Line Podcast and go back to where we started in March 2020 by retaking a virtual walk through the battlefields and village of Pozières on the Somme. We start at the Pozieres British Cemetery and Memorial and then walk into the village seeing memorials, and discussing some of the 'characters of the Somme', walking up to…

YouTube video by Old Front Line

In this latest Questions & Answers episode of the Old Front Line podcast, we tackle another fascinating collection of listener questions that uncover some of the lesser-known aspects of the First World War. We begin by exploring the German tradition of Sterbebilder or Death Cards, the memorial cards issued to commemorate fallen soldiers. How were these cards produced, who organised them, and where did the photographs that often appeared on them come from?

In the first of a three-part series marking the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, we explore the fighting in the northern sector of the battlefield on 1 July 1916. This episode examines the attacks at Serre, Beaumont-Hamel and Thiepval, where some of the most dramatic and costly actions of the opening day unfolded. We look at the ground over which the soldiers advanced, the plans behind the attacks, the units involved, and how the battle developed.

For this episode of the Old Front Line podcast, we open the virtual mailbag once again for another Questions & Answers special covering some fascinating and lesser-known aspects of the First World War. From observation balloons hanging silently over the trenches to trench foot, white feathers and booby traps in No Man’s Land, this episode explores the realities of life on the Western Front beyond the better-known battles.

In this special edition of the podcast we explore a lesser-known theatre of conflict from the First World War in Northern Italy with historian Tom Isitt. Tom's new book - Thunder in the Mountains - follows a journey he made across those battlefields and with him we discover the unique challenges of mountain warfare, the diverse nations involved, and personal stories from the battlefield.

YouTube video by Old Front Line

With a special edition for ANZAC Day, in this insightful interview, playwright Arthur Meek discusses his project to bring to life the voices of Gallipoli veterans through oral histories and verbatim theatre. The conversation explores the power of personal stories, memory, remembrance, and the impact of war on individuals and collective memory. A bonus for TOFL pod listeners - 50% off for the first 50 TOFL listeners with coupon: TOFL50…

In the quiet village of Montbrehain in Northern France, Australians who had fought at Gallipoli, and in some of the key battles on the Western Front, went into battle for the last time on a misty m…

YouTube video by Old Front Line

In this episode of The Old Front Line, we explore the dramatic opening moments of the Battle of Verdun, focusing on the heroic stand of Lieutenant Colonel Émile Driant and his m…

In this first Episode of the Old Front Line, Military Historian Paul Reed takes you on a walk across the Somme battlefields at Pozières, the scene of heavy fighting in 1916. We visit the cemetery a…

In this special episode of the Podcast, Paul Reed speaks with archaeologist and wargamer Alex Sotheran about his journey in battlefield archaeology and the evolution of wargaming. They discuss the …

YouTube video by Old Front Line

In this special Q&A episode of the Old Front Line podcast, recorded on location at Hooge, near Ypres, we answer questions about the battlefields of the Western Front and the legacy of the First World War. We begin by exploring what happened to the woods and forests on the Western Front during World War One. Were they completely destroyed by shellfire?

In this special episode, Paul Reed discusses the Ypres League’s mission to preserve the history of the Ypres Salient and the significance of Demarcation Stones that mark the furthest advance …

In this latest Questions & Answers episode, we tackle some intriguing, and often misunderstood, aspects of life and fighting on the Western Front during the First World War. Who actually decided what a battle was called? Did the ordinary soldier know, at the time, which battle he was fighting in – or even when one battle had ended and another begun, during almost four years of near-continuous combat?

YouTube video by Old Front Line

Is the First World War slowly fading from public memory, or has our relationship with the Great War simply changed? In this episode, Are We Forgetting The First World War?, we explore how inte…

YouTube video by Old Front Line

YouTube video by Old Front Line

In this episode, we delve into a lesser-known but essential aspect of First World War life: the use and organisation of latrines on the battlefield. Where did soldiers actually go to…

YouTube video by Old Front Line

In this episode, we unpack the meaning and origins of the term Downland, and explore how this distinctive landscape helps us better understand the geography and terrain of the First World…

In this special edition, we’re joined by Jon Gedling, Director of Estates for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, to discuss the challenges and responsibilities involved in caring for…

YouTube video by Old Front Line

In this 40th Questions and Answers episode, we explore some of the lesser-known battlefields of the Western Front, uncovering places where traces of the First World War fig…

In this episode we ask what is the current size of the ‘Zone Rouge’ and are there plans to clear it? We then look at the use of morphine to treat pain and was this misused? We then look…

Life on the World War I front line near Ypres is pieced together by archaeologists.

In this latest QnA episode, we tackle a fresh set of listener questions about the First World War, ranging from battlefield geography to the realities of supply and discipline at the front. We star…

In a special episode we are joined by Professor Peter Doyle who delivered this talk on Loos at a Podcast Supporters Evening for the 110th Anniversary of the battle last month. Peter’s new edi…

Podcast Episode · The Old Front Line · 09/27/2025 · 1h 7m

What was the “Forgotten Front” of Northern France? In this episode, we explore the stretch of battlefield from Armentières on the Belgian border through La Bassée to the ground near Loos,…