Beyond the front - Givenchy

Our latest podcast brings us to the small village of Givenchy, a non-descript farming hamlet on the banks of the La Bassee canal, which was, for six days in December 1914, the scene of brutal fighting between the men of the Indian Corps and the Germans.

Against a backdrop of some of the worst weather experienced by troops anywhere, the Indians were outnumbered, outgunned, and out-supplied, but managed to fight with the tenacity to hold onto the ground they gained.  The attacks were confused, and the situation was not helped by the absolution of any responsibility in the event that the attack failed, by Sir John French, the commander of the BEF. We look in detail at the complex series of attacks and counter-attacks that took place on this small snow-covered corner of Artois just before Xmas 1914.

We hear stories of incredible bravery and loyalty, the terror caused by the German's first encounter with Nepalese Ghurkhas, and conclude by looking at what the battle teaches us about the belligerents at this stage of the Great War.

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