188 episodes

Walk the battlefields of the First World War with Military Historian, Paul Reed. In these podcasts, Paul brings together over 40 years of studying the Great War, from the stories of veterans he interviewed, to when he spent more than a decade living on the Old Front Line in the heart of the Somme battlefields. 

The Old Front Line Paul Reed

    • History
    • 4.9 • 432 Ratings

Walk the battlefields of the First World War with Military Historian, Paul Reed. In these podcasts, Paul brings together over 40 years of studying the Great War, from the stories of veterans he interviewed, to when he spent more than a decade living on the Old Front Line in the heart of the Somme battlefields. 

    Etaples to Arras: A Journey

    Etaples to Arras: A Journey

    In a special edition of the podcast which marks the end of Season 6, this episode was recorded on The Old Front Line where we take a journey from the vast Etaples Military Cemetery, look at the Tank Gunnery School at Merriment, Douglas Haig and 'GHQ' at Montreuil, and then travel via a small village up to Arras and the Arras Memorial.
    Season 6 will continue with two more Question & Answers episodes and then after a short break the Podcast will return in early May. 
    Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast.
    Support the Show.

    • 1 hr 15 min
    Podcast Questions & Answers Ep 2

    Podcast Questions & Answers Ep 2

    In our latest Old Front Line Podcast Questions & Answers Episode we answer four questions from listeners covering subjects like the 'Learning Curve' on the Western Front to how to visit battlefields beyond the Somme. 
    The Naval Flank of the Western Front project I mentioned was this one: Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War.
    Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast.
    Support the Show.

    • 22 min
    Despatches: Somme - Redan Ridge

    Despatches: Somme - Redan Ridge

    We travel to the familiar landscape of Picardy and visit one part of the 'Forgotten Somme' - the battlefields on the Redan Ridge. Here we see look at the fighting on 1st July 1916 and at the end of the battle in November 1916, examine the story of a soldier 'Shot at Dawn' and discuss the writer H.H. Munro ('Saki') who fell here during the Battle of the Somme.

    Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast.
    Support the Show.

    • 41 min
    Aftermath: The Myth of the Red Zone

    Aftermath: The Myth of the Red Zone

    At the end of the Great War, vast areas of France were left devastated by the fighting: this became the 'Zone Rouge' or the 'Red Zone'. Reconstruction and recovery of ground brought that Red Zone to an end in the 1920s but stories of it circulated once more during the Great War Centenary. So what are the Myths of the Red Zone, and what are its truths?

    Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast.


    Support the Show.

    • 55 min
    Podcast Questions & Answers: Episode 1

    Podcast Questions & Answers: Episode 1

    In the first of our new 'your questions answered' episodes we answer six questions sent in by listeners to the podcast covering subjects like how the army saw itself in the Great War, why the podcast is called 'the Old Front Line', how the opposing armies held the Western Front, and what kind of methods did I use to check the accuracy of Great War veterans interviews made in the 1980s and 90s.

    Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast.


    Support the Show.

    • 55 min
    Despatches: A Weekend in Ypres

    Despatches: A Weekend in Ypres

    We've just had the first ever Old Front Line Podcast Supporter's meet-up on the battlefields of Flanders near the Belgian city of Ypres. What was the weekend all about, what plans have we got for more of these, and in the episode we share some of the stories we discussed at Ypres on our walks.


    Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast.


    Support the Show.

    • 37 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
432 Ratings

432 Ratings

British mixk ,

Congratulations

Congratulations and well done on your 4 year anniversary a exceptional podcast thanks

Luke Hassan ,

Fantastic, informative and really well delivered.

Fantastic descriptions of the past bought to life. The care taken to deliver the stories of those veterans and of those lost is touching.

minteyey ,

Excellent and informative.

These podcasts are excellent and very informative. Learning a lot of stuff from these that I didn’t know about! Keep up the good work Paul!

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