WW1 Digger History Podcast29 Jun 2016

Episode 1.8 Blinkin' bleedin' mad

This episode covers much of 1917 including The 2nd Battle of Bullecourt and "Passchendaele" or the 3rd Ypres offensive. Len as usual provides great insight into the life of a digger on the western front. His description of signalling during the Battles of Polygon Wood and Broodseinde Ridge are awesome. You'll never forget the "s"es beers!

This episode covers Len's Chapter 8 of his memoirs and is quite long, but that is how he wrote it. Here is some of it:

"In charge of a sergeant, off we went, quite a mob, for Division was also sending up a wireless set. We were loaded with scopes and lamps and we were shelled all the way. Heavy stuff. We missed a lot of congestion going across country, but the ground! It was quite spongy, for underneath were mules, horses, Fritzes and Tommies of 1914 vintage on. And the stench rising from cracked, drying ground was pretty awful. Many of the division chaps, new to this smell, were not looking too good and one chap was promptly very sick over some brand new accumulators he carried. We had some narrow escapes, for we just had to plod on heavily laden. Anyway, he was 'sweeping' all over the place. Looking across to that dreadful Menin Road, I saw mules, men and ammo go up with a roar. Noise everywhere and up aloft scores of planes: Fritz planes, very aggressive. In fact, he seemed definitely to be 'on top', new Fokkers, etc. The dog fights fascinated us but on we went."

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Episoder(111)

Episode 2.44 Fritz is on the run

In the last of the battle episodes, Percy is somewhat on the sidelines but we get his interesting insights into what is going on around him and around the world. Meuse-Argonne, Bellicourt, Montbrehain...

28 Mar 20181h 14min

Episode 2.43 The Battle of Mont St Quentin

I have no doubt that this is the best from Percy Smythe, absolutely full on account of one of the main defeats of the Germans in 1918. Don't believe me? Here is an extract; "A heavy, probably a 9.2 in...

7 Mar 20181h 25min

Episode 2.42 Percy takes some prisoners

Percy: "I ordered the men to get the Hun gun, but again nobody seemed willing to go forward. I decided to go over first to encourage them, and sprang up on to the earth block. As I did so, a man calle...

13 Feb 20181h 9min

Episode 2.41 Ludendorffs black day

August 8th, 1918. Here is a some of what Percy saw, "Moving on from Villers Bretonneux, we passed the wrecked aerodrome that we could see from the Villers line at the time of the Hamel stunt, the form...

26 Jan 201849min

Episode 2.40 Battle of Hamel

Wait for Zero Hour in the Battle of Hamel. Percy experienced this one from the sidelines. Learn about camouflage counter battery work, tanks, new kinds of shells, sneezing gas, German prisoners and mu...

15 Jan 20181h 6min

Episode 2.39 Priceless Percy

Percy gets his commission on 1 June 1918, although he doesn't say a lot about it. This covers the final weeks up to departure and the trip through to Base Camp. Dorrie's Dad, Mr Jewel remains a gem, h...

25 Des 201759min

Episode 2.38 A traitor and mongrel

Percy gets a letter from his old friend, Jack Elliott, and you can guess the response from the Episode title! Here is a bit of what Percy wrote back: "Jack, if you've got any manhood left in you, cut ...

1 Des 201743min

Episode 2.37 Viv sees King George

Frustration and more frustration, bloaters again and more bloaters. Percy does something to Dorrie and is full of remorse, what it was, who knows? The engagement is on and off. Nonchalant brother Viv ...

21 Nov 201750min