Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.

What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,

poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.

Welcome to the Witness History Podcast on the BBC World Service. I'm Mike Lanchin.

And today we're taking you back to the First World War and one of the

most ambitious offensives of the conflict.

In the summer of 1917 the Allied forces of Britain and France launched what became known as the Third Battle of

Ibra or the Battle of Fashondale. from Ephres I long to be.

It's the summer of 1917,

hundreds of thousands of British soldiers, mud caked and weary, are packed into trenches

on the plains around the Belgian city of Iqbren. Above them on a ridge close to a tiny village called Passendale line upon line of German troops.

It's the third year of a grueling war. As first light breaks on July 31st, the British troops clamber out of their trenches and

begin their march towards enemy guns.

As the grey dawn began to appear, we rose to move forward to a signal from our officer,

and the guns behind crashed out.

The earth shook with the discharges.

The air above seemed to be roofed in with rushing shells.

Up past four in the morning, my best friend. He said, I think I'm going to get it this

morning, Ian. And the whistle went for us to go over. Now as soon as he went over the top, he got shot in the head.

...