In this Old Front Line Q&A, we explore four fascinating questions from the First World War, taking us from the Ypres Salient to German-occupied France and Belgium, and from wartime prisoners to the fate of battlefield cemeteries during the Second World War.

We begin in the Ypres Salient and the often-overlooked French presence in 1914–15. When did French troops arrive, how was the Allied sector divided, why did the British eventually take over, and what was the relationship between French and British soldiers on the Western Front?

We then investigate the experience of British officers who became prisoners of war. Were former POWs really interrogated by British military authorities after 1918, and what happened when they returned home?

Our third question takes us behind the German lines to examine everyday life for French and Belgian civilians under occupation. How did German rule affect schools, currency, local government, communication and families separated by the new front line?

Finally, we look at the impact of the Second World War on First World War cemeteries, memorials and battlefields. Were Great War sites deliberately targeted, accidentally damaged or protected? And what is the truth behind the story of Hitler and the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge?

Main Image: British Officer Prisoners of war in Germany c.1916. (OFL Archives).

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