Battles of the First World War Podcast

Battles of the First World War Podcast

Author: Mike Cunha Language: English Episodes: 100
Hosted by Mike Cunha, Battles of the First World War Podcast is a dedicated exploration of the Great War’s defining confrontations. Each episode focuses on a single battle, moving beyond dates and maps to examine the intricate decisions, tactical realities, and human experiences that shaped these events. Cunha’s approach is to unpack the how and why, piecing together the sequence of command choices, logistical challenges, and frontline conditions that led to each clash’s outcome. Within this framework, the podcast gives voice to the individuals-soldiers, nurses, officers, and civilians-whose personal stories are woven into the larger narrative of this titanic twentieth-century struggle. Listening feels less like a lecture and more like a detailed, respectful reconstruction, where the scale of history is measured in both grand strategy and individual courage. For anyone seeking to understand the First World War beyond the textbook summaries, this series offers a thorough and compelling audio journey into the battles that changed the world.
Episodes
Second Marne - Friedensturm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:13
This episode will visit the German strategic situation in June 1918 and the resulting plans for their next offensive, which would be called "Friedensturm:" the Peace Offensive. The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreo…
Memorial Day - "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:13
A short exploration of the American poet Archibald MacLeish's connection to the First World War, and his poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak." The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak Nevertheless they are heard in th…
Citizen of the Shadows - The Lives and Lies of Lothar Witzke [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:12
Authors Paul Friedland and Robert Hornick join us on the podcast to discuss their thoroughly researched, well-argued and thrilling biography of a now-forgotten German spy during WW1. One of the most notorious German spie…
There Will Come Soft Rains - with Briana Gervat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:28
In 2022, just as the world began to open after the isolation of a global pandemic, Briana Gervat set out to walk the length of the Western Front. Beginning at the border that France shares with Switzerland she went into…
John McCrae: Beyond Flanders Fields - with Susan Raby-Dunne [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:34
Author, historian, and battlefield guide Susan Raby-Dunne joins us to discuss her book "John McCrae: Beyond Flanders Fields." Most Canadians are familiar with John McCrae through his iconic poem "In Flanders Fields," whi…
The French Army in the First World War, a Discussion: Pt 7, Pt 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:18
Part 7 of the ongoing discussion continues to look at the French Army in 1917. We look at the state of the French Army going into 1917, where the army itself was in good shape but its leadership was an entirely different…
British Doctrine in the Great War with Phil Watson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:42:49
British Army veteran and University of Wolverhampton PhD candidate Phil Watson joins the podcast for a fascinating discussion on British doctrine in the Great War. (Which YES, they did have a doctrine.) Phil has a couple…
The Extraordinary Life of Henri Langie with Eric and Tom Langie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:58
Independent historians Eric and Tom Langie, a father and son duo, come on the podcast to discuss the extraordinary life of their ancestor Henri Langie and the book they have written about him, "Henri Langie: From War Vol…
A Penny a Shell - A Discussion with Antony Bell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:47
Author Antony J. Bell comes on the podcast to discuss his novel "A Penny a Shell." From the author's website: "In a WWI munitions factory, the lives of three women converge on a dangerous production line where a single s…
Second Marne - Mangin on the Matz [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:16
The guns of Blücher-Yorck were still smoking when the Germans reoriented and hastily launched a new offensive between Montdidier and Noyon. The goal was to straighten the line between two bulging German salients, seize m…