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Remembered Today:

First World War Lectures/Presentations/Discussions on YouTube


The Ibis

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In this presentation, Ian van der Waag discusses the German South-West Africa campaign and the battle at Sandfontein.

 

This battle marked the first foreign deployment of the Union Defence Forces (UDF), as well as its first active participation in a war – both of which are almost forgotten. Yet, this was an important campaign and a significant first-battle experience. Sandfontein was significantly unlike subsequent military operations in the German South-West Africa and the wider South African participation in the First World War.

 

This presentation will use the South African mobilisation and the first phase of the campaign as a lens through which to view the nature and organization of the UDF in 1914 and to assess the difficulties the South African staffs faced.

 

 

 

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On 27/04/2021 at 09:27, David Tattersfield said:

'lions led by donkeys'

 

actually I thought this theory was resurfacing in the thread on intelligence failure on the Somme.  ;)

 

"Cannon fodder" was the expression used by a relative of SWMBO who fought in the Middle East.  Apparently, he wouldn't wear his medals after WW1 because of "all those who were left behind in the Jordan Valley".  Each to their own I guess.  I suppose it is actually somewhere in-between.

Edited by Don Regiano
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In this presentation Andrea Hetherington tells the story of deserters who disappeared from camps and barracks within Great Britain - something which happened at an alarming rate. She will explore their motivations and survival strategies and looking at the punishments incurred both by the soldiers themselves and by those who sheltered them from arrest.

 

Whilst the story of the deserters who were shot at dawn then pardoned nearly a century later has often been told, these 300 or so soldiers represent a tiny proportion of deserters from the British and Dominion forces, so this is a useful reminder of the 'untold story' of those who deserted even before they arrived in France.

 

Andrea's talk is based on her forthcoming book 'Deserters of the First World War- the Home Front' which is due to be published by Pen & Sword in June 2021.

 

 

 

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In this video, Dr William Mitchinson talks about the second line territorials which took part in the fighting on 21 March during the German 'spring offensive'.

 

When the German onslaught of Operation Michael broke on 21 March, four of the 2nd Line Territorial Force formations held divisional sectors in the forward areas. Distributed across four corps between the Oise and Bullecourt, they suffered from the same ferocious bombardments and at times overwhelming enemy assaults as the other British divisions. By the evening, three of the four were still in possession of much of their Battle Zones; the fourth had withdrawn in accordance with its prepared Defence Scheme. Two 2nd Line divisions recorded the highest numbers of casualties of any of the 19 formations involved in infantry action that day.

 

When the 2nd Line divisions deployed in 1916 and early 1917 little was expected of them. The failure of 61st Division at Fromelles seemed to confirm the suspicions of many of their doubters. Although 58th (2/1st London) had fought well on the Gravenstafel Ridge, and others had achieved some minor successes during 3rd Ypres, several of their performances in early encounters had again fostered only limited confidence in their capability. In early 1918 the three 2nd Line divisions in Fifth Army inherited sectors whose defences were hugely under developed. Defence schemes were devised but with labour in short supply their troops had almost incessantly to dig, wire, and construct. In what little time remained they trained according to a doctrine which to them was both unfamiliar and incongruous. The German attack of 21 March was their first test in a defensive role and one which they met with mixed fortunes.

 

 

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Hi David,

 

Many thanks for posting this. I have a specific interest in 59 Division, and 21st March 1918. Really enjoyed the webinar.

 

Regards

Chris

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In this presentation Clive looks at the introduction, development and refinement of British Propaganda during the Great War from the manipulation of the domestic press, through to the ingenious influencing of neutral countries.

 

This fascinating story of Britain's Propaganda war offers a number of memorable incidents.

 

 

 

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On 21/03/2018 at 19:09, The Ibis said:

Trench Humour in World War One

 

 

 

To anyone who served in His/Her Majesty forces, then 'black humour' will be familiar. The ability to find humour in tragedy, as a way of insulating ones self from the tragedy just witnessed, will probably have dated from the Roman Legions and will have been familiar to a lot of WW1 citizen soldiers, life was precarious especially so in working life, death and maiming were a constant companion in them days. So transferring this to the battlefield wouldn't seem unusual I would have thought. Good lecture though...and yes I sniggered at all of his examples. Graves and his cohort of public schoolboy, I perceive thought battle would be a heroic adventure and so had no concept of the messy and degrading, experiences that the citizen soldier had gone through every day of his civilian working life...  

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On 03/05/2021 at 17:57, Don Regiano said:

 

actually I thought this theory was resurfacing in the thread on intelligence failure on the Somme.  ;)

 

"Cannon fodder" was the expression used by a relative of SWMBO who fought in the Middle East.  Apparently, he wouldn't wear his medals after WW1 because of "all those who were left behind in the Jordan Valley".  Each to their own I guess.  I suppose it is actually somewhere in-between.

I have to agree, the popular narrative in that vain seem to be slowly countered. Watching Peter Bartons Somme form both sides is a very good narrative in that vain, I had no idea that the Germans may have known a lot of what was planned purely from telephone intercepts...

 

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This presentation by Lt Col Simon Shepherd is the latest lecture to be published.

 

In this talk Simon seeks to assess the performance of the British Expeditionary Forces artillery during the preparation for, and conduct of, the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917. To carry out this assessment, it uses a set of Principles of War which Col J F C Fuller published in the February 1916 edition of the RUSI Journal. These are often referenced as the start point for the way the British Army has subsequently developed its use of the Principles of War.

 

The presentation focuses on the conduct of the artillery battles at Army, Corps and Divisional level for:

Pilckem Ridge, 31 Jul - British Fifth Army;

Menin Road Ridge, 20 Sep - British Second Army;

and Second Passchendaele, 26 Oct to 10 Nov - Canadian Corps.

 

 

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As a change National Army Museum crowdcast Horsepower in the Great War. Special interest for ASC and other mounted 'Corps' but lots of 'fascinating facts', an more myths exploded. I pre-registered andwatched live this morning but I guess it can still be accessed through this link.

 

https://www.crowdcast.io/e/horsepowerww1/1

 

 

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It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words but during the First World War magazine illustrations were worth even more, not only conveying the news to anxious families at home and soldiers in battle, but also entertaining and lifting the spirits of a nation at war.

 

 

In this talk, which was delivered 'live' to an online audience, Luci Gosling will consider the importance of cartoons and illustration in boosting morale, and the role of drawing for the ordinary soldier.

 

 

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The failure of the German offensive at Verdun in 1916 led to major changes of leadership and the sector became a secondary front. The French Army mutinies of spring 1917 meant a more limited offensive than was originally intended but careful planning, the massive use of artillery and air power, highly trained infantry and high morale brought quick results. The operations of August 1917 dashed any remaining German hopes at Verdun and, with American observers already present, they paved the way for the Franco-American Meuse-Argonne offensive of September 1918.

 

In this presentation by Christina Holstein, we will learn how for the French 1917 became an opportunity for aggressive action.

 

 

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In this talk Bill Stewart talks about the capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 which is the best known and most celebrated Canadian victory of the First World War.

 

Whilst this presentation provides an overview of the battle and its preparations, its primary focus will be on the changes made by the Canadian Corps, like the larger BEF, to dramatically transform its doctrine and approaches between the Somme and Arras 1917 to deliver this triumph.

 

 

 

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In this talk, Tim Cook discusses Sir Arthur Currie who was Canada’s greatest battlefield general.

Currie's art of command was learned on the Western Front through defeat and victory. This illustrated presentation will explore Currie’s rise from lieutenant-colonel to corps commander, with an emphasis on his wartime experience after the April 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge.

 

 

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In this presentation Dr Spencer Joneslooks at the tactics of the British Army between the end of the Boer War and the start of the Great War.

Rudyard Kipling reflected in his poem 'The Lesson' how the hard-fought Boer War (1899-1902) had provided 'no end of a lesson' for the British Army. Between 1902 and 1914 these lessons would shape the Army's approach to future conflict.

Although not without controversy, this era of reform gave the army crucial skills that would prove their worth in 1914 - and beyond.

 

 

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On the evening of October 2nd, 1918, Major Charles W. Whittlesey of the 77th Division of the A.E.F. led nearly 700 men under his command into the narrow Charlevaux Ravine, deep in the heart of the Argonne Forest in north-eastern France. That night, German troops occupied the high ground around them, surrounding and cutting them off a kilometer and half behind enemy lines. Five days later 194 survivors walked out... and into history. This is the true story of the Lost Battalion as told by Robert J Laplander. 

 

 

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One of the most iconic photographs of the Great War is that of the Territorials of 137 (Staffordshire) Brigade lining the eastern bank of the St Quentin Canal while being addressed by their Brigade Commander, Brigadier John Campbell VC, from the rampart of the Riqueval Bridge.

Beyond the photographs of mud and slaughter that epitomise what many think of the war, this photograph, taken late in the day on 30 September 1918 – the day after these men had stormed and broken the German defences of the Hindenburg Line – symbolises the victory that was about to be achieved. And this was to be the greatest of victories.

What had been anticipated as another “sacrificial stunt” by the 46th (North Midland) Division, while the Americans and Australians in the north achieved the expected breakthrough, was a stunning success. David Lloyd George, not known for heaping praise on his Army, called this “the greatest chapter in our military history”.

In the presentation shown below Jim Tanner tells the story of the Brigade’s successful assault, against the odds, within the context of the 46th Division and the wider context of the Allies’ ‘grand offensive’ in the autumn of 1918.

 

 

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The Western Front is often considered a theatre of sterile stalemate. In reality, it formed a crucible of violent military transformation, where two sides raced to adapt to the challenges of industrial war. This dynamic drove a measure/counter-measure race which not only helped determine the outcome of the conflict but also spawned a new form of modern warfare which lasts to this day.

This presentation by Dr Jonathan Boff explores how the British and German armies learned and adapted to the changing character of war between 1914 and 1918, arguing that organisational cultures – and deep understanding of those cultures – were critical to battlefield outcomes and so victory and defeat.

 

 

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In this presentation Professor Lambert talks about Admiral Sir Jacky Fisher's Baltic plans, which were far more complex, and sophisticated than the parody that Churchill published.

 

Fisher's resignation in April 1915 was driven by his anxiety to restore national strategy to the appropriate British maritime basis. Sir Julian Corbett, the official historian of the war, not only wrote the Cabinet paper on this plan, which Fisher published in 1919, but it would have been the capstone of Naval Operations, the Official History of British Grand Strategy had he not died in 1922.

 

 

 

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The units of 21st Division disembarked on French soil between 9 and 12 September 1915. Two weeks later, with absolutely no battlefield experience, and with very little in the way of acclimatisation to the realities of the Western Front, they were thrown into action on the second day of the Battle of Loos. Their performance has been a topic of controversy ever since: the popular perception is that they “disgraced themselves by retiring before the enemy” (Edmonds).

The seemingly widely accepted narrative is that they advanced on the German second line of defence and were routed by enemy machine gun fire. Derek’s presentation shows that this view is far too simplistic, and that the true picture is much more complicated and far less damning of the division’s performance.

 

 

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For the many thousands of British people who crossed the channel to see the battlefields in the 1920s and 1930s, the experience was very much shaped by the specific section of the front they visited. Ypres was by far the easiest place to site to visit: close to the channel ports, quickly re-connected to road and rail communications, it presented no great logistical problem. Things were very different on the Somme front. The battlefield was huge in terms of width and length, which at certain points meant a vast wasteland almost impossible to traverse. Those attempting to visit it had to be ready to face difficulties and challenges from first to last lest they find themselves seemingly marooned in this sea of devastation.

In this presentation, Prof Mark Connelly explains how, as the years passed and reconstruction commenced, many places on the Somme appeared to be ghostly remnants of the past incapable of full rehabilitation. Even though its fields returned to cultivation, the Somme remained a place of melancholy and loneliness, which few visitors failed to sense as they wandered its sunken lanes and scattered villages.

‘From this point the tourist should go on foot’: experiencing the Somme, 1919-1939 | Mark Connelly

 

 

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Many viewers may be familiar with the unique photographic exhibition 'Fields of Battle, Lands of Peace' created by photographer Mike St Maur Sheil for the 2014-18 centenary period. In capturing more than 16,000 images of the WW1 battlefields Mike covered all of the western front and visited many places which are seldom visited, some of which are, even to this day, known only to a few.

Whilst many who visit the battlefields limit themselves to the British battlefields of Ypres, Artois and the Somme, in this presentation, which was delivered to a live audience, Mike hopes to encourage a wider appreciation as to how the well preserved state of French battlefields of eastern France provide valuable insights into the nature of First World War combat.

Ranging along the western front, from the Somme to Point Zero on the Swiss border, this talk introduces you to some of the most extraordinary remains of the war, including a unique Schlieffen plan railway station, intricately carved underground chapels, the closely guarded last remaining battlefield grave on the Western Front and even a largely forgotten British battlefield.

 

 

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In this talk, Professor Gary Sheffield argues that the First World War represented a turning point in the history of conflict. The conduct of war underwent a profound, revolutionary change.

He will examine the nature of that change, setting it in the context of theories about Revolutions in Military Affairs, looking at the consequences not only for the fighting in 1914-18 but also for future warfare.

 

 

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In this presentation, which was delivered live to an on-line audience, Nick Lloyd talks about his latest book, 'The Western Front', the first of a trilogy on the history of the Great War.

Drawing upon the latest scholarship, Nick will re-examine the fighting in France and Belgium between 1914-18, and explain the achievements that have been too long obscured by legends of mud, blood and futility.

Far from being an arena of static, stale attrition - and despite mistakes and wrong turns along the way - the Western Front was a 'cauldron of war' that saw unprecedented innovation, adaptation and tactical development.

 

 

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This is a recreation - by WFA volunteers - of two WW1 courts martial. The first is the case of Willie Stones (who famously claimed he blocked the trench with his rifle to stop pursuing Germans) and the second is a "mass" court martial of six men from the DLI. These two courts martial were recreated "back to back" and enable us to see how these 'Field General Courts Martial' were carried out.

This is not a fictionalized but the exact, verbatim, account of the events at two 'trials' which took place in 1916 extracted from the transcipts of the courts martial. At the end of the proceedings, we ask: would you consider the men on trial here were guilty? Should they have been executed?

 

 

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