Remembering the Somme

[Lex Luthor]

This

 

And if they chose not to give or risk their lives, they were shot. If they could not take any more and broke under the strain, they were shot.

 

Fear of mutiny was a massive issue amongst higher ranks and politicians. Towards the end of the war smaller mutinies became much more commonplace. Tommy Atkins was a terrified, shell-shocked young lad put where no human being should ever be put. Tommy Atkins was a confused and scared young lad that saw his pals dying and wondered what the hell for. Tommy Atkins was torn between hating the swine that shot his mate, and wondering if the real swine spoke English and drank tea from china cups safely behind the lines. Tommy Atkins was right about that last bit.

 

And the same applied to young Fritz in the opposite trench.

 

That is not to dishonour them. That is to remember what political games and elite power struggles did to ordinary men across Europe. And remember that, to honour them in the best way possible - to ensure that their descendants never go through what they went through.

 

Sadly we're not doing a very good job of that bit...

 

Amen to that.

[Nagel]

What exactly was the point of WW1?

[Lex Luthor]

Brilliant programme on BBC2 at the moment about the Somme.

[Mr Miyagi]

What exactly was the point of WW1?

 

There was no point.

Not unless you were funding it or or had a stake in the arms industry then the point was money and power.

[janie48]

Brilliant programme on BBC2 at the moment about the Somme.

I'm watching it, very moving!

[whiteowl]

This

 

And if they chose not to give or risk their lives, they were shot. If they could not take any more and broke under the strain, they were shot.

 

Fear of mutiny was a massive issue amongst higher ranks and politicians. Towards the end of the war smaller mutinies became much more commonplace. Tommy Atkins was a terrified, shell-shocked young lad put where no human being should ever be put. Tommy Atkins was a confused and scared young lad that saw his pals dying and wondered what the hell for. Tommy Atkins was torn between hating the swine that shot his mate, and wondering if the real swine spoke English and drank tea from china cups safely behind the lines. Tommy Atkins was right about that last bit.

 

And the same applied to young Fritz in the opposite trench.

 

That is not to dishonour them. That is to remember what political games and elite power struggles did to ordinary men across Europe. And remember that, to honour them in the best way possible - to ensure that their descendants never go through what they went through.

 

Sadly we're not doing a very good job of that bit...

 

Best post ever on SF - Amen.

[Kidorry]

There was no point.

Not unless you were funding it or or had a stake in the arms industry then the point was money and power.

The shells we were using in the first world war all had a timing fuse that was patented to a German company,and, we were paying them for every shell we fired until 1916 when someone in authority found out and stopped it.

[Obelix]

If you are talking about the Vickers-Krupp issues then the shenanigans that were found to be going on were quite interesting It makes for a rather interesting reading, there are a few sites about it on there web to read with varying amounts of credulosity.

[Lex Luthor]

Kidorry, Obelix, thanks for that. I'll be having a look when I get a bit of spare time. That's very interesting.

[Shogun]

They were all sacrificed for nothing young lives taken,our generation would not do the things that those brave lads did, we learned from their mistakes and sacrifice,the germans had occupied those trenches for years they had walked the ground planed everything and made it into a killing field with their maxim machine guns set to cut them down like straw. what ever those generals were thinking of sending those lads into entrenched positions like that god knows,I was in the army and it goes against everything we were ever taught as soldier's one percent casualties is a bad thing nowadays to the army, in those times eighty percent casualties was acceptable....everytime I think of the first world war my heart sinks with pain as I think of all those brave young lads who walked to their deaths I certainly would have run away from that slaughter.god bless them for their ultimate sacrifice may nothing like that ever happen again.