American Operators on WW1's Front Line

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2024

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When the First World War ended at 11am on 11 November, 1918, how did army command relay the ceasefire to their troops? In fact, before radios and computer systems, in the early years of the telephone, how were messages passed along trenches at all?

In this episode, Don is joined once again by Elizabeth Cobbs, award-winning historian and novelist. Elizabeth's book on this subject is 'The Hello Girls: America's First Women Soldiers'.

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Literally hundreds if not a thousand needles came down like the heavens were falling.
0:07.5	I'm Natalia Petrozella.
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0:30.0	Listen wherever you get your podcast. Sui France, France, October 30th, 1918.
0:45.0	A half dozen telephone operators work their switchboards in the autumn cold.
0:51.0	The sounds of battle are well with an earshot. The operators all wear helmets in case of stray
0:56.3	shelling. Hardened by the proximity of war, they are well accustomed to the risks. They hear
1:02.2	the constant sound of ambulances racing
1:04.4	casualties to the field hospital nearby. Suddenly an officer bursts into the
1:10.0	room. A fire sparked by an oil stove kicked over by a German POW, is spreading through the building.
1:17.5	The operators glance at him distractedly, then refocus on the job at hand.
1:22.6	Smoke builds as the fire moves through other rooms.
1:26.0	More officers urge the operators to leave,
1:28.6	but they remain at their stations.
1:30.7	These young women, known as the Hello Girls Girls have a vital and urgent duty,
1:35.0	coordinating Allied infantry advances, artillery placements, and troop movements.
1:40.0	They won't budge until it's absolutely necessary. Hi everyone I'm Don Wildman and this is American History Hit.
1:58.4	Over there was the George M Cohen tune popularized in 1917, encouraging Yank youths to head over there to Europe
2:07.9	and take care of the business the Allies had started but couldn't quite finish.
	...

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