In the last few weeks, we've reached two milestones with the 'I Was There!' project.
Episode 100 was published in early October being "The British Slipped Through My Fingers, by Liman von Sanders" - in this episode, read by volunteer Linus Klassen, we hear how von Sanders revealed the bewilderment of the German and Turkish Staffs at this time. They feared that the British manoeuvres might be only a prelude to a renewed attack. In effect, he and his Turkish Staffs had been completely bamboozled when they allowed the British forces to escape practically without casualty.
Episode 101 has also been published which is entitled "Heroic Last Days of the ANZACs on Gallipoli, by Gen Sir John Monash". Read by Tim Pearce, in this we hear from General Monash, then commanding the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade. In this account he tells the astounding story of this bloodless and silent retreat, which he reasonably enough considers to be 'the greatest joke-and the greatest feat of arms in military history.'
The entire Gallipoli 'final days' playlist is entitled Gallipoli - The Last Days, August 6, 1915 - January, 1916
Explore more
The videos are being grouped (following the format in the original magazine) into 'Chapters' (on YouTube these are 'playlists') and can be seen here:
- The War Clouds Break: July 29 - Aug 9 1914 Chapter/Playlist 1
- Mons: The Going Up to Battle: August 9 - August 23, 1914 Chapter/Playlist 2
- Mons: The Fighting Retreat: August 24 - September 6, 1914 Chapter/Playlist 3
- The Marne and the Aisne: September 5 - September 22, 1914 Chapter/Playlist 4
- The Antwerp Adventure: September 25 - October 13, 1914 Chapter/Playlist 5
- The First Battle of Ypres: October 14 - November 11, 1914 Chapter/Playlist 6
- Last Days of the Year: November - December 1914 Chapter/Playlist 7
- Winter and Neuve Chapelle: January 1 - March 13 1915 Chapter/Playlist 8
- Gallipoli: Bombardment and Landings: March 17 - April 27 1915 Chapter/Playlist 9
- Ypres: The Second Battle: April 22 - May 7, 1915 Chapter/Playlist 10
- Gallipoli: Summer Interlude: May - July, 1915 Chapter/Playlist 11
- The Western Front: Summer 1915 May 9 - August 13, 1915 Chapter/Playlist 12
- Home Front, First Bombs on England: May 31 - October 12, 1915 Chapter/Playlist 13
- Loos: Ill-starred offensive: September 25 - October 19, 1915 Chapter/Playlist 14
- Gallipoli: The Last Days: August 6, 1915 - January 1916 Chapter/Playlist 15
Searchable Magazine Archive
I Was There! magazine was originally published in 51 weekly issues between 1938 and 1939. The Western Front Association has undertaken a long-term project to digitize and narrate these historical accounts. The digital scans are available to members as PDF files in the Searchable Magazine Archive.
Not a member? Join us and get access to a wealth of digitised resources.