My Great-Grandfather's War: Lt-Gen Thomas Snow & The Somme

My Great-Grandfather's War: Lt-Gen Thomas Snow & The Somme

Dan explores his great-grandfather's part in the First World War. Lieutenant-General Thomas Snow was a senior officer in the British Army who commanded troops on the first day of the Somme. It was a disaster; thousands of men died for almost no strategic gains, and his legacy would be tarnished forever. But Snow's record is more complicated than that, having proved himself a competent defensive commander earlier in the conflict. So how should we remember the men who presided over catastrophes like the Somme? Were these disasters due to a lack of preparation, failures in leadership, or both?


Dan speaks to Paul Reed, a leading historian of the First World War, to find out more about his great-granddad's wartime service and his complex legacy.


Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.


Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.


We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1498)

The Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence against children and suicide.The Battle of Okinawa was the final, climactic battle of the war in the Pacific. The largest naval fleet in human h...

25 Mai 202539min

Captain Cook

Captain Cook

Dan tells the extraordinary tale of Captain James Cook. Born a labourer's son, he would rise to become one of history's greatest explorers. He went about as far as it was possible to go, sailing the P...

22 Mai 20251h 21min

Mount Hiei: Home of Japan's Warrior Monks

Mount Hiei: Home of Japan's Warrior Monks

Assassin's Creed: Shadows gives players the chance to visit the imperial capital of medieval Japan. But today, we're heading to a mountain lying just northeast of the capital: Mount Hiei, a sacred sit...

20 Mai 202538min

The Nazi Occupation of Jersey

The Nazi Occupation of Jersey

The only British territory ever occupied by the Nazis was the Channel Islands. From 1940 to the end of the war, the Germans turned Jersey, and some of the islands around it, into an impenetrable fortr...

18 Mai 202550min

Why is Timbuktu Famous?

Why is Timbuktu Famous?

Synonymous for somewhere far away, Timbuktu has been mythologised by the stories of old European explorers. But in fact, for centuries it was in fact a key trading post on the edge of the Sahara and t...

15 Mai 202531min

The Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution

In this episode we hear all about the Glorious Revolution, a pivotal moment in British history that saw the overthrow of King James II and the accession to the throne of William III and Mary II.For th...

13 Mai 202546min

The Siege of Vienna

The Siege of Vienna

In the summer of 1683, Vienna was under siege. A vast Ottoman army surrounded the city, poised to breach the walls and clear the way for Ottoman expansion into Central Europe. Inside the city, famine ...

11 Mai 202547min

The History of Alcatraz

The History of Alcatraz

Home to the likes of Al Capone and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly, Alcatraz was once the jewel in the American prison system. The wind-swept island fortress was the final stop for the nation's most danger...

8 Mai 202536min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-katastrofe
henrettelsespodden
historier-som-endret-norge
historier-som-endret-verden
aftenposten-historie
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
med-egne-oyne
rss-benadet
sektledere
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
historiepodden
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-gamle-greier
rss-historiske-romanser-svik-drap-og-kjarlighet
taakeprat
liberal-halvtime
vare-historier
virkelig-grusomt
historiepodden-ww2