Living History with Mat McLachlan

On September 26th, 1917, at Polygon Wood, three cousins from the same Australian pioneering family waited in the pre-dawn darkness. Raymond Single would soon be shot by a sniper who saw his luminous watch glow. Within hours, Hubert Thompson and Wilfred Single would also be dead. At 5:50 AM, a thousand guns opened simultaneously in what Frank Hurley called "a blinding sheet of flame." The Battle of Polygon Wood had begun. Six days after the success at Menin Road, General Plumer launched his second "bite and hold" attack. In this episode, Mat McLachlan reveals how Polygon Wood became both a perfect victory and a terrible revelation: the British Empire had finally learned how to win battles, but winning provided no relief from the slaughter. From Pompey Elliott holding the line while his brother died, to Patrick Bugden's five rescue missions into no-man's land, we follow the 4th and 5th Australian Divisions through what Charles Bean called possibly Elliott's greatest achievement—and one of the bloodiest days in Australian military history. Why did German commanders admit they had "no idea what to do"? How did 21,000 men become casualties in a victorious battle? What made the 5th Division choose this costly triumph for their memorial? "We are living through truly abominable days." - Colonel von Thaer, German High Command Episode Length: 45 minutes Features: The Single family tragedy, German crisis conference at Roulers, Company Sergeant Major Dewey's eyewitness account, and the moment when even perfect tactics couldn't change the arithmetic of death. Next Episode: Broodseinde—the black day that ended in rain. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Ready to walk the battlefields? Join Mat's exclusive European tours: https://battlefields.com.au/ Find everything Mat is doing at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan For more history: https://www.LivingHistoryTV.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

On September 20th, 1917, at the Battle of Menin Road, Private Roy Inwood lay in the mud east of Ypres. His brother had died at Pozières the year before. In three hours, Roy would earn the Victoria Cross. The day after, he'd be dead. Nearby, three brothers from Petersham waited with their unit. By nightfall, their mother would have lost all three sons. After weeks of catastrophic failures under General Gough, Field Marshal Haig transferred command to General Herbert Plumer. In this episode, Mat McLachlan reveals how Plumer's methodical genius transformed the offensive: three weeks of preparation, limited objectives, overwhelming firepower—one gun for every five yards of front—and revolutionary tactics that reversed traditional doctrine. From predawn assembly through torrential mist to the devastating creeping barrage, we follow the 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions executing what Charles Bean called "probably their zenith"—the most perfectly coordinated attack of the war. Why did German counter-attacks fail so catastrophically? How did Plumer's "bite and hold" change tactical doctrine? What drove Roy Inwood to advance alone through his own barrage—twice? "Nothing I have heard in this world or can in the next could possibly approach its equal." - Australian soldier describing the barrage Episode Length: 42 minutes Features: Frank Hurley's battlefield diary, German assessments of defensive collapse, and the Seabrook brothers' final day. Next Episode: Polygon Wood—the high point of the offensive. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Ready to walk the battlefields? Join Mat's exclusive European tours: https://battlefields.com.au/ Find everything Mat is doing at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan For more history: https://www.LivingHistoryTV.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

When Field Marshal Douglas Haig launched his great Flanders offensive in July 1917, he believed he was unleashing the battle that would end the war. Instead, he condemned three-quarters of a million men to fight and die in what would become synonymous with the horror of the Western Front. In this opening episode, Mat McLachlan reveals how the stage was set for Third Ypres through a deadly convergence of strategic necessity and catastrophic weather. Through authentic accounts, we explore the crisis that made the battle inevitable: the French Army's collapse into mutiny after the disastrous Nivelle Offensive; the devastating U-boat campaign threatening to starve Britain into submission; and Haig's fateful decision to entrust his decisive battle to the aggressive General Hubert Gough rather than the methodical Herbert Plumer. From the spectacular success of Messines Ridge - where 19 massive mines vaporized 10,000 German soldiers in 19 seconds - to the opening disaster of July 31st when torrential rain transformed the battlefield, Mat captures the human drama and strategic miscalculations that defined the campaign's tragic opening. Why did Haig reject Plumer's plea to continue after Messines? How did catastrophically wrong weather predictions shape the battle? What drove Irish divisions from both sides of the religious divide to advance together into the slaughter at Langemarck? "In my opinion the war can only be won here in Flanders." - Field Marshal Douglas Haig, August 13, 1917 Episode Length: 43 minutes Features: Authentic diary entries, Crown Prince Rupprecht's battlefield assessments and firsthand accounts from German blockhouses to Irish trenches. Next Episode: The Australians enter the battle at Menin Road, testing new tactics against German steel and concrete. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Ready to walk the battlefields? Join Mat McLachlan's exclusive European battlefield tours: https://battlefields.com.au/ [https://battlefields.com.au/] Find everything Mat is doing at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan [https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan] For more history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com [http://www.LivingHistoryTV.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

When 35,000 Allied paratroopers dropped into Holland in September 1944, four Australians from opposite corners of the continent found themselves at the heart of one of World War Two's most catastrophic operations. In this remarkable episode, Mat McLachlan reveals the forgotten Australian stories of Operation Market Garden. Through authentic accounts and personal testimonies, we follow Keith Prowd from Gympie as his burning bomber falls from the sky at 550 feet; Alan Wood from Sydney, typing dispatches while German mortars explode around him; John Hackett from Perth, leading bayonet charges before being hidden by three Dutch sisters who risk everything to save him; and Tom Hall from Melbourne, whose Typhoon rockets try desperately to keep Hell's Highway open. From Prowd's Death March through frozen Poland to Hackett's months in hiding during the Hunger Winter, these four men experienced Market Garden from every angle - in the air, on the ground, and through the typewriter keys that would preserve its history. Their stories capture not just the military disaster, but the extraordinary humanity that emerged from catastrophe. Why did the de Nooij sisters risk execution to hide a stranger? How did Alan Wood keep typing as the battle raged? What drove Keith Prowd's mates to carry him through freezing temperatures when dropping him would save their own lives? Mat explores these questions through the actual words of the men who were there. A powerful testament to the Australians who fought at Arnhem - and the Dutch civilians who saved them. "If in years to come any man says to you, 'I fought with the Arnhem airborne force,' take your hat off to him and buy him a drink." - Alan Wood, September 1944 Episode Length: 24 minutes Features: First-hand accounts from Keith Prowd's 2003 interview, excerpts from personal memoirs and on-location insights from Arnhem and Oosterbeek Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Ready to walk in the footsteps of heroes? Join Mat McLachlan on an exclusive river cruise that visits the battlefields of Waterloo, WWI and WW2 in 2027: https://battlefields.com.au/history-cruises/ Find out everything Mat is doing with books, tours and media at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan For more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTV ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

While the world watched Iwo Jima and Okinawa, over 70,000 Australian soldiers were fighting and dying in what many would later call the 'unnecessary wars' - the final campaigns in Bougainville, New Guinea and Borneo. In this powerful episode, Mat McLachlan tells the forgotten story of Australia's last battles of World War Two. From November 1944 to August 1945, Australian forces fought through some of the war's most grueling conditions, losing over 2000 men in campaigns that history has largely overlooked. Through authentic accounts from the soldiers who were there - including seven Victoria Cross recipients - we experience the mud, monsoons and malaria of jungle warfare. We meet young men like 20-year-old Frank Partridge, who became the war's youngest Australian VC recipient, and veterans like George Palmer, who carried the memory of a Japanese soldier he killed for the rest of his life. Were these campaigns strategically necessary, or were they, as critics claimed, a waste of Australian lives for political purposes? Mat explores the controversy while never losing sight of the human story - of ordinary Australians who did extraordinary things when their mates needed them most. A moving tribute to the men who fought on after the world had stopped watching. "We weren't soldiers, we were heavily-armed civilians... for the most part, we were just ordinary people." - Les Cook, veteran Episode Length: 21 minutes Features: Original veteran testimonies, detailed battle accounts and expert historical analysis Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Ready to walk in the footsteps of heroes? Join Mat McLachlan on an exclusive river cruise that visits the battlefields of Waterloo, WWI and WW2 in 2027: https://battlefields.com.au/pre-register-for-2027-battlefield-river-cruises/ Find out everything Mat is doing with books, tours and media at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan For more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTV ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.