Beyond the front - Epehy

Send us Fan Mail

In today's podcast we visit one of the forgotten battlefields of the Great War, the tiny farming village of Epehy.  While small in size, it proved a formidable obstacle to be captured as the Allies advanced towards the Hindenburg Line.

We look at the origins of the Hindenburg Line and the fighting for villages and copses that the British had to undertake in order to get near to this masterpiece of German military engineering.  We hear about new British tactics involving armoured cars, the first village to be captured by British cavalry since the opening months of the War, and a Canadian officer whose bravery saw him awarded a Victoria Cross.  The battlefield will always be associated with the soldiers of Leicester and we look at the actions of the Leicestershire Regiments in some of the brutal fighting that took place around Epehy.

Having lost the village in the German offensive of March 1918, the British recaptured it in late 1918, where the Territorial Battalions of London showed their spirit and bravery.

Support the podcast:
https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen
https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen