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The Old Front Line

Paul Reed
First World War
World War I
Great War
Battle Of the Somme
Ypres
Trench Warfare
British Army
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Royal Flying Corps
Western Front
Menin Gate
Hindenburg Line
Somme
Flanders
German Army
Passchendaele
American Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force
Gallipoli
Western Front Association

Walk the battlefields of the First World War with Military Historian, Paul Reed. In these podcasts, Paul brings together over 40 years of studying the Great War, from the stories of veterans he interviewed, to when he spent more than a decade living on the Old Front Line in the heart of the Somme battlefields.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes311Founded7 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
HistoryEducation

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Artwork for The Old Front Line

Latest Episodes

In this Old Front Line Q&A, we explore four fascinating questions from the First World War, taking us from the Ypres Salient to German-occupied France and Belgium, and from wartime prisoners to the fate of battlefield cemeteries during the Second Wor... more

YouTube

Between August and December 1914, the British Expeditionary Force fought its first battles of the First World War across Belgium and northern France and some 19,000 officers and men were missing. From Mons and Le Cateau to the Retreat and the First B... more

YouTube

In this episode of The Old Front Line Podcast, we answer another fascinating selection of listener questions that explore the realities of life, death, remembrance and battlefield tactics on the Western Front during the First World War.

How much saf... more

YouTube

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing is the largest British war memorial in the world and one of the most powerful places where we remember the sacrifice of the Missing on the Western Front. In this episode, we explore the story behind "Mighty Thiepv... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Tom Isitt
Author, historian, photographer
Thunder in the Mountains; Riding in the Zone Rouge
Episode: Thunder in the Mountains with Tom Isitt
Donald Fraser
Private, 31st Battalion; Canadian infantryman and memoir author
Canadian Army (31st Battalion)
Episode: St Eloi Craters 1916
Harold McGill
Captain and Regimental Medical Officer, 31st Battalion
31st Battalion
Episode: St Eloi Craters 1916
Arthur Meek
New Zealand playwright and filmmaker, historian
Voices of Gallipoli Project
Episode: The Bad Luck Battalion
Mark Connelly
Professor of History, guest on the episode
[unconfirmed]
Episode: Chalk, Englishness and the Great War
Alex Sotheran
Archaeologist, historian, and war gamer
Storm of Steel YouTube channel
Episode: From The Battlefield to the Tabletop
Jon Gedling
Director of Estates for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Episode: Caring For The Silent Cities
Peter Doyle
Historian, Geologist, and Author
Episode: Battle of Loos with Peter Doyle
Josh Levine
Historian and author, frequent broadcaster
Episode: The Air War in WW1 - with Josh Levine

Host

Paul Reed
Host and military historian focusing on the Great War; long-term field researcher and interviewer with extensive work on battlefield archaeology, memory, and memorial culture.

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 1.2k ratings
  • Magnificent

    As per the title.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    GPez84
    United Kingdom2 months ago
  • Amazing

    This podcast really knows how to talk topics about war, go in depth, and all in a calm voice that is a relief from modern days Fast-Paced-Talking culture.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Itscoolbeatle64
    United States2 months ago
  • Superb

    Thanks Paul! Thank you for honoring the fallen and the veterans of the Great War. I have an endless fascination with the history, heritage and lessons of WWI.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    bp12579
    United States6 months ago
  • High Quality WW1 Podcast

    A high-quality podcast. Highly recommended for people interested in the First World War.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    fwfam3
    United States8 months ago
  • Best podcast for the Great War around

    If you are looking for a podcast on the First World War look no further, Paul is so incredibly knowledgeable and has a way of delivering stories that will always keep you interested

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    harperslj
    United Kingdom8 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Deep, respectful analysis and engaging storytelling about war memories.
Thoughtful episodes with clear, well-researched insights into WWI memory.
High production quality and thoughtful exploration of memorials and landscapes.
Calm, knowledgeable host with a strong sense of veterans' stories.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#61
United Kingdom/History
Apple Podcasts
#175
Australia/History
Apple Podcasts
#171
Singapore/History
Apple Podcasts
#172
Hong Kong/History
Apple Podcasts
#173
Argentina/History
Apple Podcasts
#186
Austria/History

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Questions and Answers Episode 61
Q: Question number four asks about large-scale destruction of Great War cemeteries or memorials in Belgium and France during the Second World War. What happened to these sites in 1940 and later?
In 1940 many cemeteries and memorials were not destroyed on a systematic scale; some structures were damaged or destroyed in targeted acts, but most memorials were left intact, with notable exceptions where German operations or propaganda goals led to intentional destruction, while many sites were preserved and later restored after the war.
Questions and Answers Episode 61
Q: Question number three concerns what everyday life was like for civilians and whether there was resistance, including small acts of defiance in towns like Tournai and Lille. What is known about resistance and daily life?
There was limited organized resistance in those areas, but there were acts of defiance and underground activity; civilians continued daily life under occupation, with some towns showing pockets of resistance and risk, including a mayor in Tournai who paid with his life, illustrating the personal costs of opposition.
Questions and Answers Episode 61
Q: Question number two asks about the fate and status of French and Belgian civilians under German occupation, including schooling, currency, and movement controls. How did civilian life change during the occupation and what happened to those displaced?
Civilians were moved from frontline zones into safer towns, while many remained in occupied areas under German control; schooling tended to emphasize German perspectives, movement was tightly controlled, currencies and newspapers were regulated, and many communities faced displacement, with some civilians later returning or being resettled as the front lines shifted, and others becoming permanently altered by occupation and war.
Questions and Answers Episode 61
Q: Question number one comes from Davy on email. Apparently, the French held the biggest part of the Ypres Salient in the winter of 1914. When did the British take over in that area, and how did the lines evolve by 1915?
The British initially fought a broad front from northeast of Ypres and near Zonnebeke, with French forces occupying much of the sector; by end-1914 and into 1915, the line around Ypres shifted to the French, while the British expanded their front lines south and west before assuming a larger, more continuous British-dominated sector by mid-1915 as the front stabilized.
Questions and Answers Episode 60
Q: How common is multi-soldier graves in cemeteries like Hooge Crater and what does that say about battlefield fragmentation and identification after the war?
Cemeteries like Hooge Crater contain graves with multiple soldiers buried together due to fragmentary remains recovered after battles, which illustrates the industrial scale of casualties and the difficulty of identifying every individual; such graves provide poignant evidence of mass loss and the chaos of late-war burial practices.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About The Old Front Line

What is The Old Front Line about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A thoughtful history podcast focused on the First World War, especially the Western Front and memory culture. It blends battlefield geography, veterans' recollections, and memorial landscapes with expert analysis from historians, researchers, and writers. Episodes often center on ground-level storytelling—walking battlefields, visiting cemeteries, and exploring how memory, place, and artifacts shape our understanding of the war. A distinctive trait is the host's long-term immersion in the subject, including battlefield fieldwork and interviews with authors and archivists, which yields a calm, deeply informed style and a strong emphasis on memory and place rather than just battles. Potential listeners include history enthusiasts, battlefield... more

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Which podcasts are similar to The Old Front Line?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Old Front Line:

1. WW1: Not So Quiet On The Western Front!
2. Footsteps of the fallen
3. WW2: Both Sides of The Wire
4. WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk
5. Tales from the Battlefields

How many episodes of The Old Front Line are there?

The Old Front Line launched 7 years ago and published 311 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on The Old Front Line?

Recent guests on The Old Front Line include:

1. Tom Isitt
2. Donald Fraser
3. Harold McGill
4. Arthur Meek
5. Mark Connelly
6. Alex Sotheran
7. Jon Gedling
8. Peter Doyle

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