Welcome to "Not So Quiet On The Western Front," the podcast that takes you beyond the trenches and dives deep into the untold stories and surprising truths of the First World War. Join us as we lift the lid on one of the most pivotal periods in human history, busting myths and unravelling the complexities of a conflict that shaped the course of the 20th century. Host: Dan Hill & Dr. Spencer Jones More about Dan & Spencer: https://battleguide.co.uk/nsq#host To comment and ask questions, please join our community: https://not-so-quiet.com/supporters Use our code: Dugout and...
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Sep 28, 2026 · 57:02
Charles de Gaulle was wounded and captured at Verdun in March 1916, but this marked the beginning of a new phase of his First World War. Over the next two and a half years, he…
Sep 21, 2026 · 54:33
It is difficult to imagine Charles de Gaulle as a young man before the képi, the presidency, and his famous silhouette. But in August 1914, he was a 23-year-old lieutenant about…
Sep 14, 2026 · 50:06
1917 British patrols walked into Serre without firing a shot. The Germans had gone - withdrawn back to the Hindenburg Line, abandoning ground over which some one million men had…
Sep 7, 2026 · 57:06
On 13th of November 1916 the British Army attacked at Beaumont Hamel, Serre and Beaucourt - the ground of the first morning of the Somme. Four and a half months after the…
Aug 31, 2026 · 48:34
Today in popular memory the Battle of the Somme is often seen as titanic struggle fought between Britain and her vast Empire an the military might of the German War Machine. But,…
Aug 24, 2026 · 55:59
By late September 1916, the British Army stood ready to attempt something it had failed to do on the war's bloodiest day: capture Thiepval. Once a village, now a fortified maze…
Aug 18, 2026 · 1:00:43
In this episode we continue our exploration of the 1916 Battle of the Somme with a focus on a key crucial stage famed for the global debut of a new weapon - the tank - But the…
Aug 10, 2026 · 57:34
The struggle for Pozieres would become one of the most infamous campaigns of the Battle of the Somme: some 23000 Australians would become casualties over six weeks fighting on a…
Aug 3, 2026 · 57:55
There was no terrain on the Somme that soldiers feared more than woodland - a maze of broken stumps, fallen branches, and hidden barbed wire. In this episode we explore how and…
Jul 27, 2026 · 56:54
Just two weeks after the catastrophe of 1 July 1916, the British Army launched another major assault on the Somme - this time with dramatically different results. Attacking…
Jul 20, 2026 · 53:23
When people think of the Somme, they think of failure: men cut down in no man's land; shattered battalions; and catastrophic losses. Yet along much of the southern part of the…
Jul 20, 2026 · 1:02:09
What happens when an entire nation runs out of food? This is one of our favourite episodes from our sister podcast, Reichs and Republics: The German History Podcast, and we’d…
Jul 6, 2026 · 1:12:01
At 7.30am on the morning of 1st July 1916, whistles blew along a front stretching more than twenty miles. Tens of thousands of British soldiers climbed from their trenches and…
Jun 29, 2026 · 54:26
What turns a unit into an elite? Is it rigorous selection, a hard-earned reputation, or simply being thrown into the fiercest fighting and surviving? In today's episode, we…
Jun 22, 2026 · 1:03:26
For eight brutal months in 1915, every Allied plan at Gallipoli had failed. However, on the final night of the campaign, the Allies finally managed to pull off one perfectly…
Jun 15, 2026 · 53:11
In this week’s episode and in a long overdue collaboration between Not So Quite on the Western Front and WW2 Both Sides of the Wire, four of us sit down to explore what we feel…
Jun 8, 2026 · 1:09:03
In August, the Allies prepared for their largest offensive yet on the Gallipoli Peninsula. This was intended to be the decisive breakthrough that would break the deadlock and end…
Jun 1, 2026 · 1:03:00
Four miles from the beaches of Gallipoli stood a small village called Krithia. Allied commanders believed it could be captured in a single day. Instead, thousands of British,…
May 25, 2026 · 59:19
Have you ever wondered what it was actually like to survive in the trenches of the Gallipoli Front in the First World War? Not the battles we read about in textbooks, but the…
May 18, 2026 · 1:04:06
In July 1918, the German spring offensives had reached their high watermark, and it was time for the French army to strike back. This is the story of the Battle of Soissons, the…
May 11, 2026 · 1:00:44
In this episode, Spencer is joined by Professor Mark Connelly, a renowned expert in military and cultural history, to explore the cinematic legacy of the Gallipoli Campaign. From…
May 4, 2026 · 1:02:24
In 1915, France sent an army to Gallipoli. Few in the English speaking world know this, and few in France remember their efforts. In this episode, we recover the forgotten story…
Apr 27, 2026 · 1:03:40
In 1915, Anzac troops landed on the rugged coastline of Gallipoli in an attempt to break the Ottoman defences from the north. What they encountered were steep cliffs, chaos and…
Apr 20, 2026 · 1:02:21
In 1915, allied Forces tried to storm the beaches of Gallipoli and push in land through the heavily fortified ottoman positions. Instead, they faced devastating fire from…
Apr 13, 2026 · 48:47
In 1915 the allies tried to force their way through one of the most heavily defended waterways in the world - what they found was a deadly combination of mines, artillery and…
Apr 6, 2026 · 51:24
In 1915 Winston Churchill had a plan to end the war with a single blow: he called it a master stroke of strategy, history remembers it as a catastrophe. This is the story of how…
Mar 30, 2026 · 51:46
In this episode alongside regular guest James Taub, we delve into some of the most enduring myths surrounding the French Army in World War I. Why did they start the war with blue…
Mar 23, 2026 · 56:49
In this episode, we turn the show over to you, our listeners. We delve into questions posed for the podcast and our fourth war site, the dugout, covering everything from post-war…
Mar 16, 2026 · 1:05:31
Today we’re diving into courage and fear on the Western Front: what made men fight? What soldiers were frightened of, how they learned to function anyway, and what the sources…
Mar 9, 2026 · 1:09:13
In this episode, we follow the Great War’s deadliest marksmen into action. What made an elite sniper and what effect did these individuals have on the battlefield? We’ll trace…
Mar 2, 2026 · 59:48
In this episode, a continuation of our series exploring the story of the German Army on the Western Front, we look at the formation of the Western Front and explore the early…
Feb 23, 2026 · 49:51
In this episode we continue our journey into the story of the German Army on the Western Front. This week our focus lies with the early battles of the great war and the bloody…
Feb 19, 2026 · 49:32
We really hope you enjoyed this episode, and if you did, it would mean a huge amount if you could head over to the Untitled History Podcast channel right now, give it a follow…
Feb 16, 2026 · 50:22
In this episode, part 2 of our Germany on the Western Front series, we take a detailed look at the famous Schlieffen Plan. What led to its creation? By who? What were its…
Feb 9, 2026 · 1:01:22
In this episode the first in a new series from the ‘other side of the wire’ along with guest historian Professor Matthias Strohn, we begin a much requested deep dive into the…
Feb 1, 2026 · 54:45
In 1915 the German Army introduced the world to the power of the flamethrower - but by 1916 the Allies had caught up with their own weapons. As the war continued flame stopped…
Jan 26, 2026 · 54:21
In 1915, the German army began using a terrible new weapon in organized assaults. The flamethrower capable of clearing a trench in seconds, few weapons the First World War…
Jan 19, 2026 · 57:17
In the early months of the Great War, a hand grenade was almost an anachronism — a relic of fortress warfare associated with seventeenth-century “grenadiers” rather than modern…
Jan 12, 2026 · 55:45
In this ‘seasonal’ episode,and one with particularly close links to current world events, we explore the story of winter life in the trenches. From frostbite and fraternisation…
Jan 5, 2026 · 58:47
Join us in 2026: https://battleguide.co.uk/nsq-tour-2026 In this week’s episode we delve into the often overlooked and murky world of prostitution in the Great War. From back…
Dec 22, 2025 · 53:46
Join us in 2026: https://battleguide.co.uk/nsq-tour-2026 In this week’s episode we head to the Somme battlefields to explore a battle that even today is covered in controversy.…
Dec 15, 2025 · 1:11:31
Join us on Tour in 2026: https://battleguide.co.uk/nsq-tour-2026 In this week’s episode we head to the Ypres Salients to explore an area that even today is covered in…
Dec 8, 2025 · 59:36
In this week’s episode we continue our look into the vital role of Snipers on the Western Front. From informal and disorganised beginnings, we explore the emergence of the ‘art’…
Dec 1, 2025 · 52:35
In this week’s episode we begin a multi-part journey into the secretive and highly dangerous world of sniping in the Great War. From its ad-hoc early employment, to the…
Nov 24, 2025 · 55:35
In today’s episode, we discuss sanitation in the trenches: Why the trenches were so filthy, what that did to soldiers’ bodies and minds, and how armies tried - with varying…
Nov 17, 2025 · 52:41
Today we’re looking at African Americans at war in 1917-18 - nearly 400,000 thousand men in uniform, most assigned to hard, essential labor, a smaller number fighting in…
Nov 10, 2025 · 52:47
This week we return to the oceans and consider the top U-Boat skippers of WW1. What made a skipper an ace? What tactics made them so lethal? And why were some of them so…
Nov 3, 2025 · 54:57
In this week’s episode we return to the trenches to explore the often overlooked experiences of life in the frontlines at night. From trench raids to fatigue parties, wire…
Oct 27, 2025 · 56:05
Not So Quiet hits triple digits! For Episode 100 we’re handing the wheel to you, the listeners, answering your questions and discussing many of the thoughts you’ve shared with us…
Oct 20, 2025 · 1:03:07
In this episode we continue our exploration of the fascinating story of Sportsmen at War on the Western Front. From world champions to local legends, and across all combattant…
Oct 13, 2025 · 55:23
In this week’s episode we return to the frontlines to explore the fascinating and varied experiences of Professional Sportsmen in the Great War. From Wimbledon Champions to…
Oct 6, 2025 · 48:12
In this week’s episode, alongside guest historian Dr Rob Lyman, we will take a deep dive into the story of the British Army between 1918 and 1940, and the remarkable, and in many…
Sep 26, 2025 · 1:00:36
In this episode night we follow a road that runs from the Sahara to the Somme, tracing the story of the French Army of Africa as it marched from the outposts of the empire and…
Sep 22, 2025 · 53:31
In this episode, we return to the story of the French Army and examined the history of France's colonial troops, how they were raised, what made them unique, and they're often…
Sep 12, 2025 · 56:03
Dawn on the Somme, 15 September 1916. At 06:20, the whistles blew and men climbed from their trenches into the attack. But this morning, something else moved with them - steel…
Sep 8, 2025 · 52:59
In this episode we take a literally deep dive, beneath the Western Front to return to an olf favourite, the story of Mining in the Great war, but this time with a specific focus…
Sep 1, 2025 · 50:59
In this episode we explore how early histories of the First World War were shaped. We’re marching into the Official Histories and Britain’s “Battle of the Memoirs,” where…
Aug 25, 2025 · 49:20
In this episode we take to the air once more, but this time on the trail of one of the unsung heroes of the great war - the carrier pigeon. Equally vital for communication on the…
Aug 18, 2025 · 1:08:06
In this episode we take a look at the formations of the British and Commonwealth forces who served on the Western Front and ask what made certain units ‘Elite’ and how did their…
Aug 11, 2025 · 51:11
In this episode we discuss one of the ever-present and universally hated aspects of life in the frontlines - Trench Rats. What were they? How common were they? And how did the…
Aug 4, 2025 · 50:58
This week we continue the fascinating story of Q ships and their role in the war at sea. By 1917, German U-Boat skippers were well aware of the dangers of Q ships, which forced…
Jul 28, 2025 · 47:14
In 1915, a strange new type of vessel emerged at sea—one that looked like a harmless fishing trawler or a weary merchantman, but concealed hidden guns, carried hardened crews,…
Jul 21, 2025 · 52:06
In our final episode on the U-Boat we look at how the Allies struck back against the U-Boat menace. How did the Royal Navy turn the tide of the war and why did the U-Boat arm go…
Jul 14, 2025 · 47:49
In this episode we continue our deep dive into the history of U-boats in the First World War with a focus on the Second Unrestricted campaign against Britain. Why did Germany…
Jul 8, 2025 · 53:34
At the outbreak of war in 1914, most still believed that the key sea battles would be fought above the waves. But beneath the surface, a revolution was beginning. Germany’s…
Jun 30, 2025 · 1:06:02
This week, we dive into one of the Great War’s most remarkable transformations— the birth of the French tank arm. Link from James:…
Jun 23, 2025 · 58:00
In this episode, with the aid of regular guest and French Army expert James Taub, we delve your questions on France in WW1. What exactly is a French Colonial unit? What did the…
Jun 16, 2025 · 53:16
In this episode, we unravel the story of the assassination that changed the world. On a summer morning in 1914, a teenage revolutionary fired two shots on a Sarajevo street - and…
Jun 9, 2025 · 59:50
In this episode of Not So Quiet on the Western Front, we explore the rise and tragic fall of the Pals Battalions - units of friends, neighbours, and co-workers who marched to war…
Jun 2, 2025 · 1:04:34
When we think of the Western Front, we think of the trenches of mud, gunfire, and death. But there was another side to the war - the quieter spaces just behind the lines. In this…
May 26, 2025 · 1:02:14
In this episode we take our study of the French Army into the final, decisive Allied offensive of 1918. How did the French army finally weather the storm of the German spring…
May 19, 2025 · 48:13
In this week’s episode we follow the French Army as they emerge from the extremely trying year of 1917 into a year that would ultimately lead to Victory on the Western Front,…
May 9, 2025 · 56:04
In this week’s episode we explore the vital period following the French ‘mutinies’ of 1917 and look at how the Army recovered in the face of intense fighting all along the…
May 2, 2025 · 1:05:39
This week we continue our study of the French Army in the First World War as we examined one of France's most controversial commanders, Robert Nivelle, and the April 1917…
Apr 25, 2025 · 55:23
In this episode, we continue our discussion of the Zeppelin campaign in the skies over Great Britain. How did Britain’s air defences adapt to the threat, and what was it like to…
Apr 18, 2025 · 53:34
In this episode, with the support of guest historian Ian Castle, we delve into the ever popular ‘lighter than air’ subject of Airships in the Great War. We look at their initial…
Apr 11, 2025 · 1:02:24
In this week's episode we return to an old favourite - Air Power in the Great War. And with the help of Guest Historian Dr Victoria Taylor, we explore the life of the…
Apr 4, 2025 · 54:49
In this week’s episode we return to a well-known battlefield, but look at it with an almost unknown perspective, as we explore the story of the French Army in the battle of the…
Mar 28, 2025 · 59:33
This week we take one of our periodic dives into the many questions and comments you have shared with us in previous weeks and address everything from books and films to…
Mar 21, 2025 · 57:04
In this week’s episode we continue our exploration of perhaps the best known battle of the First World War - Verdun. From the initial German assault and descent into attritional…
Mar 14, 2025 · 48:19
In this episode we begin a deep dive into the defining battle of the First World War for the French Army - Verdun. How did it come about? What were its objectives and what…
Mar 7, 2025 · 1:00:31
In this episode we delve into the day to day life of a French soldier in WW1. How were French soldiers equipped and uniformed? How did they view the war? And what were the key…
Feb 28, 2025 · 46:38
This week we delve into the strange world of privately purchased kit and equipment in the First World War. Why was there such a demand for private purchase items and what did the…
Feb 21, 2025 · 48:37
In this podcast, we continue our in-depth look at the story of the French army on the western Front with a focus on the vital and extremely bloody actions in the second half of…
Feb 14, 2025 · 53:08
This week we turn our focus with the French to the major and extremely bloody battles fought in late 1914 and the first half of 1915 on the Western Front, with a focus on…
Feb 7, 2025 · 47:10
In this week’s episode we continue our exploration of the story of the Poilu on the Western Front, with a focus on the crucial period from August to Xmas of 1914 which saw huge…
Jan 31, 2025 · 48:36
In this week’s episode we continue our journey exploring the story of the French Army in the great war with a look at the outbreak of war, how the French people and military…
Jan 24, 2025 · 59:01
In this week’s episode, alongside historian James Taub, we begin an exciting new mini-series a deep dive into the story of the French Army on the Western front in the Great War.…
Jan 17, 2025 · 47:26
In this week's episode we look back and answer some of the excellent questions you have sent in recently and announce an exciting new addition to the Not So Quiet Podcast! Join…
Jan 10, 2025 · 44:23
In this episode we go back to an old favourite - First World War Myths. We look at some of the most enduring beliefs, where they came from, if there is any truth behind them and…
Jan 3, 2025 · 44:04
In this episode we go back to an old favourite - First World War Myths. We look at some of the most enduring beliefs, where they came from, if there is any truth behind them and…
Dec 20, 2024 · 1:07:09
In this week’s episode we’ll return once more to a festive favourite, with a detailed look at the famous 1914 Xmas Truce. We’ll explore the timeline of that day, what took place…
Dec 13, 2024 · 1:10:29
In this episode we’ll explore the fascinating, and brutal story of the machine gun on the western Front. We’ll look at its early deployment, evolution on the battlefield and…
Dec 6, 2024 · 1:01:50
In this week’s episode we return to an old favourite to explore more of the famous ‘Trench Slang’ of the Western Front - how and when famous phrases came about, where they came…
Nov 29, 2024 · 1:17:41
In this episode, we continue our story of the Battle of Cambrai. What happened on its dramatic first day, and how did the battle progress? Find out more about the story of…
Nov 22, 2024 · 1:04:28
In this week’s episode we’ll take a deep dive into perhaps one of the most influential battles of the Great war on the Western Front - Cambrai. Famed as the first mass use of…
Nov 14, 2024 · 1:10:39
In this episode we’ll head into the frontlines and explore what a period of 24 hours in a trench looked like for the Average ‘tommy’ during the war on the Western Front. Use our…
Nov 8, 2024 · 1:04:47
In this episode we continue our canter through the story of cavalry in the great war. From it’s impressive performance in the mobile warfare of 1914, we’ll explore its changing…
Nov 1, 2024 · 1:11:06
In this episode, on our one-year anniversary, we again delve into some of the excellent questions that you have kindly sent us over the last year and offer our unscripted take on…
Oct 25, 2024 · 1:11:14
In this episode, we’ll explore the vital role played by Cavalry in the early role of the Great War. We’ll look at its purpose, training, employment and performance on the…
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