WW1: The Western Front

Warfare

History Hit

History

4.5 • 943 Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Western Front of the First World War is a story of aristocratic generals sending ordinary men over the top to their deaths in futile frontal attacks against entrenched positions. Or is it? In this episode from Dan Snow's History Hit, Dan interviews the brilliant historian Nick Lloyd, author of The Western Front who tells a much more nuanced account of the Western Front. They talk about the myths and legends of these campaigns, the great leaps forward in technology between 1914-1918; and how the men in command, and those on the front line, desperately tried to grapple with the complexities of this unprecedently brutal war.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone welcome back to the history hit warfare podcast I'm your host James
0:03.7	Rogers and this is an episode we've taken from the Dan Snow's history hit archive
0:07.9	to mark the anniversary of the start of the first world In this episode, Dan deconstructs the myths around the Western
0:15.9	Front with the brilliant historian Nick Lloyd, the author of the book on the Western Front. Of course
0:22.1	we know about the ideas of
0:23.9	aristocratic generals sending ordinary men over to their death. Lions led by
0:29.7	donkeys. But in this particular discussion Dan and Nick they won't they take a bit more of a nuanced approach and understanding to the Western Front. Enjoy. Nick. Nick, good to have you back on the podcast.
0:57.0	Thanks very much, great to be here.
0:59.0	I can't believe it was 2017.
1:01.0	We talked about Pashondale. One of the battles that has come to define the Western Front in people's memories but now you've done the whole thing.
1:08.0	Yeah I haven't done the whole thing but I've done a whole Western Front yeah though I just think it's a natural move for a
1:14.0	story you do kind of campaign stuff or you do an element of a war and then you want to
1:18.6	branch out and do the whole thing so it was a sort of natural move for me I just felt
1:22.4	it was necessary and needed at this point.
1:24.8	It's difficult on this podcast because these people listen to this are history fans who will understand
1:28.8	that old myth of lions led by donkeys has significant problems with it, but let's quickly address that because that's one of the lots of things that people are talking about with your book.
1:38.0	How are you thinking at the end of this about command, first of all, about generals. Why do you think we have developed such a profound
1:47.2	critique of the generals of the First World War, and how is that connected with their
1:51.6	performance on the Western Front?
1:53.0	And how do you think they did perform?
1:55.0	Yeah, I mean, I think the myth of the lions and donkeys is a cultural cliche,
1:59.0	and it's not going anywhere. It's still sort of shorthand. You can use it as a shorthand means for all kinds of things.
	...

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