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“Insert Laugh Track Here:” A Cross-Cultural Conversation on Visiting France

Release Date: 01/29/2020

Battles of the First World War Podcast

The story behind an often erroneously captioned photograph of the First World War, and remembering the man in it. The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast. Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on BlueSky at @WW1podcast.bsky.social: and the BFWWP website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Second Marne - Friedensturm

Battles of the First World War Podcast

This episode will visit the German strategic situation in June 1918 and the resulting plans for their next offensive, which would be called “Friedensturm:” the Peace Offensive. The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast. Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on BlueSky at @WW1podcast.bsky.social: and the BFWWP website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or concerns. ...

Memorial Day - "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak"

Battles of the First World War Podcast

A short exploration of the American poet Archibald MacLeish’s connection to the First World War, and his poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak.” The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak Nevertheless they are heard in the still houses: who has not heard them? They have a silence that speaks for them at night and when the clock counts. They say, We were young. We have died. Remember us. They say, We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done. They say, We have given our lives but until it is finished no one can know what our lives...

Citizen of the Shadows - The Lives and Lies of Lothar Witzke

Battles of the First World War Podcast

Authors Paul Friedland and Robert Hornick join us on the podcast to discuss their thoroughly researched, well-argued and thrilling biography of a now-forgotten German spy during WW1. One of the most notorious German spies of the twentieth century, Lothar Witzke lived a life that reads like a thriller. Convicted of espionage in 1918, he was the only German spy sentenced to death by the United States during World War I. After the war, he was pardoned by President Calvin Coolidge, only to be later accused of responsibility for one of the most spectacular acts of sabotage in US...

There Will Come Soft Rains - with Briana Gervat

Battles of the First World War Podcast

In 2022, just as the world began to open after the isolation of a global pandemic, Briana Gervat set out to walk the length of the Western Front. Beginning at the border that France shares with Switzerland she went into the wild in search of hope and in search of peace. For 500 miles, she climbed over the mountains of the Vosges, through the battle-scarred landscapes of Verdun, the Marne, and the Somme, all the way to the North Sea in Belgium. It was not only a journey of thirty-six days, but a journey through a history that we have learned nothing from, only how better to repeat it. ...

John McCrae: Beyond Flanders Fields - with Susan Raby-Dunne

Battles of the First World War Podcast

Author, historian, and battlefield guide Susan Raby-Dunne joins us to discuss her book “John McCrae: Beyond Flanders Fields.” Most Canadians are familiar with John McCrae through his iconic poem “In Flanders Fields,” which was penned on the battlefields of the First World War and remains a symbol of remembrance to this day. Although he will always be remembered as a war poet, the Guelph, Ontario, native was a physician, a university professor, and a veteran of the Second Boer War before he ever laid eyes on the carnage at Flanders Fields. Citing rarely seen diary entries...

The French Army in the First World War, a Discussion: Pt 7, Pt 1

Battles of the First World War Podcast

Part 7 of the ongoing discussion continues to look at the French Army in 1917. We look at the state of the French Army going into 1917, where the army itself was in good shape but its leadership was an entirely different story. The rising star of GEN Robert Nivelle and the politics around his ascension is discussed, as well as the offensive that bears his name and destroyed his career. The indiscipline of the French Army is visited through the question of “Were there mutinies in 1917, or were they more like military labor strikes?” The replacement of Nivelle with GEN Philippe...

British Doctrine in the Great War with Phil Watson

Battles of the First World War Podcast

British Army veteran and University of Wolverhampton PhD candidate Phil Watson joins the podcast for a fascinating discussion on British doctrine in the Great War. (Which YES, they did have a doctrine.) Phil has a couple of questions for the listeners as well, in the interest of generating discussion: Regarding the “chateau generals,” why were chateaus the place for generals? Regarding the idea of mission command and decentralized leadership, were some BEF officers not used to using initiative? Email Phil directly at with your ideas! Be sure to watch...

The Extraordinary Life of Henri Langie with Eric and Tom Langie

Battles of the First World War Podcast

Independent historians Eric and Tom Langie, a father and son duo, come on the podcast to discuss the extraordinary life of their ancestor Henri Langie and the book they have written about him, “Henri Langie: From War Volunteer in WW I to Honorary Major in WW II.” Henri went from a schoolteacher to a stretcherbearer and officer in WW1, to professiona soldier and later a battalion commander and POW during WW2, to becoming a beloved “Kleine Bompa” in his peaceful years of retirement. Henri lived a truly extraordinary life, and this is a story you will enjoy. ...

A Penny a Shell - A Discussion with Antony Bell

Battles of the First World War Podcast

Author Antony J. Bell comes on the podcast to discuss his novel “A Penny a Shell.” From the author’s website: “In a WWI munitions factory, the lives of three women converge on a dangerous production line where a single spark means the difference between a bonus and a burial. Eliza Wren, a desperate mother, races to pay a looming debt to save her family from eviction. Sarah Jennings, a defiant outcast, endures the factory’s poison to fund an escape from a life of cruelty. Lucy Atkinson, a grieving daughter, works to honor her brother’s memory and support her...

More Episodes

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the idea of visiting France, or felt it was something too foreign and too out of reach?

In this episode, I speak with Carol Kieffer and Randy Gaulke, two experienced residents and tourists of France. Carol, author of “Living and Working in France: Thriving through Understanding” and cross-cultural training coach, and Randy, seasoned tourist of the Meuse-Argonne region of France and battlefield tour leader, come on the show to strip away some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings many Americans may have about France and visiting it.

What follows is a nearly hour-long conversation where we discuss traveling through France, proper social etiquette, what to expect from French restaurants, shops, and supermarkets, how to prepare, and how to set yourself up to make the most of your experience. We even bring up squat toilets...really, it’s worth the listen.

Ultimate credit for the realization of this podcast goes to Mrs. Laurie Gaulke, whose connections created the conditions that allowed everyone to come together. Thank you so much!

Links to Carol Kieffer and her book, “Living and Working in France: Thriving through Understanding”

amazon.com/author/carolkieffer

For cross-cultural coaching contact Carol at kiefferculture@gmail.com

Carol is on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/carol-kieffer-trainer/

For Randy Gaulke’s excellent website on the Meuse-Argonne

https://meuse-argonne.com, and his new tour company website, https://kneedeepintohistory.com.

For an overview of Randy’s travel tips: http://meuse-argonne.com/?page_id=278

“La Vie en France” blog entries: http://meuse-argonne.com/?cat=275

Mike and Rob Laplander are also offering WW1 battlefield tours through Lost Battalion Tours.

Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.

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