In November 1916, when the great Somme offensive ground to its bloody halt, over 20,000 Australians would become casualties not from enemy fire, but from the winter itself.

In this powerful episode, Mat McLachlan reveals the forgotten story of the Somme winter of 1916-17—an ordeal that historian Bill Gammage called "the worst experience the AIF ever endured." Through authentic accounts and personal testimonies, we follow Charles Bean through the devastated moonscape near Gueudecourt on Christmas Day, where the mud was so terrible he couldn't bring himself to wish the men a Merry Christmas; Private Albert Edwards enduring his first 56 hours in two feet of water on an empty stomach; and Private Herbert Harris, recording that most of his mates hadn't had dry feet for a month and some didn't even have socks.

From the trench foot epidemic that claimed ninety percent of the 27th Battalion to the frozen nights when tea froze solid before reaching the front lines, from Captain Harry Murray's Victoria Cross action at Stormy Trench to the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, these men faced the most severe winter in northern France in thirty-six years.

Why did more men become casualties from frostbite than from some battles? How did soldiers survive weeks in waterlogged trenches that sprouted grass from their sandbag walls? What kept them going through months of suffering designed to break them? Mat explores these questions through the actual words of the men who were there.

A sobering testament to the Australians who held the line through the Somme's frozen hell—and a reminder that some victories come not from charging, but from simply refusing to break.

"We live in a world of Somme mud. We sleep in it, work in it, fight in it, wade in it and many of us die in it. We see it, feel it, eat it and curse it, but we can't escape it, not even by dying." - Private Ted Lynch, 45th Battalion

Episode Length: 28 minutes

Features: Excerpts from Charles Bean's war diaries, Herbert Harris's diary entries, Albert Edwards's personal accounts, and on-location insights from the Somme battlefields

Presenter: Mat McLachlan

Producer: Jess Stebnicki

Ready to walk in the footsteps of those who endured the Somme? 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/@MatMcLachlanHistory

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Ep261: Somme Winter, 1916-17