Strider Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 July 1 marked the 100 anniversary of the start of one of the worst, maddeningly bloody and wasteful battles in the history of warfare. The Great War's (World War One) Battle of the Somme is the very definition of "War is Hell". Thousands of books have been written on the subject...almost one for every victim on the first day. To think, the battle would blunder on for 5 more months, ending in November 1916. It is the rare book on the Battle of the Somme that doesn't reduce me to tears at the sheer insanity and hubris of some of the people involved that led to such decimation of life. The Telegraph had a very well-done timeline of the first day of battle, sourced from a variety of informative accounts. If you are unfamiliar with WWI and the Battle of the Somme, this will get you started. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/01/the-battle-of-the-somme-as-it-happened-on-july-1-1916/ When I was in Europe, I made it a point to visit as many significant landmarks of WWI and WWII as I could, the battlefields of the Somme being high on my list. It is a somber place...you could almost still smell the stench of blood. Of course, given the march of human progress, any day now it will be the site of a Starbucks and Chipotle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Of course, given the march of human progress, any day now it will be the site of a Starbucks and Chipotle. I believe that. Even WW2 is fading to memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klape Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 6 hours ago, redrum said: Of course, given the march of human progress, any day now it will be the site of a Starbucks and Chipotle. I believe that. Even WW2 is fading to memory. What are you talking about ? those site are protected and you will never be able to built such thing there. Maybe that's the case in the US and you are use to it (and that is sad) but in France you will not see that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 9 hours ago, Klape said: What are you talking about ? those site are protected and you will never be able to built such thing there. Maybe that's the case in the US and you are use to it (and that is sad) but in France you will not see that. That is nice to know. But then I never thought I would see McDonald's and Disneyland in France, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klape Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 13 hours ago, Strider said: That is nice to know. But then I never thought I would see McDonald's and Disneyland in France, either. not on historic site that's for sure. I have no problem with Mcdonald's Disneyland or Starbuck don't get me wrong but peoples can't say that without even knowing about the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rm2551 Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Strider, I have to say that seems sadly pessimistic. Here, ANZAC day is always a profound reflection and tribute to diggers past and present. Stories of sacrifice and waste and courage and honour. And of course, the chance to buy a Digger a beer for a humble thank you. The dawn services are always well attended and always a solemn respectful affair. The main news outlets of the day are awash with an understated patriotism and always a clear and poignant reminder of why ANZAC Day is so important. And why we truly owe so much to those who fought. I really do hope your lot have a profound appreciation of what it is to serve and the sacrifices your fathers, Grandfathers etc. made in fighting for your freedoms. That kind of hommage, respect paying, and honouring is important for a countries soul. Sounds a bit contrite, but I stand by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarter690 Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 On 7/2/2016 at 0:55 AM, Strider said: July 1 marked the 100 anniversary of the start of one of the worst, maddeningly bloody and wasteful battles in the history of warfare. The Great War's (World War One) Battle of the Somme is the very definition of "War is Hell". Thousands of books have been written on the subject...almost one for every victim on the first day. To think, the battle would blunder on for 5 more months, ending in November 1916. It is the rare book on the Battle of the Somme that doesn't reduce me to tears at the sheer insanity and hubris of some of the people involved that led to such decimation of life. The Telegraph had a very well-done timeline of the first day of battle, sourced from a variety of informative accounts. If you are unfamiliar with WWI and the Battle of the Somme, this will get you started. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/01/the-battle-of-the-somme-as-it-happened-on-july-1-1916/ When I was in Europe, I made it a point to visit as many significant landmarks of WWI and WWII as I could, the battlefields of the Somme being high on my list. It is a somber place...you could almost still smell the stench of blood. Of course, given the march of human progress, any day now it will be the site of a Starbucks and Chipotle. Very poignant post, Strider. I think we all should visit the battlefields of our respective countries...especially WW1 and WW2. The younger generation have almost no awareness of the massive and tragic events and sacrifices that occurred to enable them to be where we are today. Almost no awareness whatsoever. My grandfather was in WW1-on the German side. He was forced into service after the assassination of the Archduke. He almost died of hunger and frostbite and didn't ever speak of the horrors he must have seen. And if you really want to see something poignant, check out the videos of men suffering shell shock of WW1. It's horrific what those men endured and were haunted by for decades after the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 On Sunday (3rd July), I watched this incredible 30 minute documentary on BBC World, called The Man Who Filmed The Somme. It was here that I came to know of Geoffrey H. Malins, a.k.a Malins of No Man's Land, the brave soul who put his own life on the line in order to give the British public, a taste of the sacrifices and hardship at the trenches that young men had to endure, thanks to The Great War. They interviewed his great-grand daughter and also, the son of a WWI veteran, who happened to recognize himself in one of Malins' films, after 50 years! Malins' descriptions are spine chilling, to say the least! I hope to get my hands on his book, How I Filmed The War. If anyone living in the UK or other parts of Europe are interested, there are to be screenings of Malins' film of The Battle of the Somme! I strongly urge you, to seize the opportunity to go see this film, as IMHO, this film is nothing short of a powerful testament to the horrors of life at the trenches! It looks like someone has been kind enough to upload the entire documentary on Youtube. Do see it, before it gets purged by the copyright police! A few years ago, I spent a Saturday visiting the Auckland War Memorial Museum. I was there for about 5 hours and sad to say, I seemed to be the only one who was visiting the WWI, Holocaust and Second Boer War exhibits on the second floor, that day! There was not another soul to be seen! But interestingly, there was quite a massive crowd of people at the Natural History exhibit on the first floor. These people were mostly tourists, taking plenty of selfies and making nuisances of themselves! I read somewhere that apparently, two-thirds of the 'younger people' between the ages of 16 and 24 in the UK, don't know when The Great War ended! Tip of my tongue to ask: 'Haven't you people ever heard of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918?! '. I've heard of living in the present, but this beyond ridiculous! I'm 28 years old and I do believe that my generation and beyond, needs to show a lot more respect and awareness! Life isn't always about Facebook, Twitter, selfies or smart phones!! It's a bloody shame that people of my age and younger, don't seem to want to visit places like these during their spare time! Anyway, apologies for my ranting. Needless to say, that Saturday was one of the most moving and educational Saturdays that I spent. I was fortunate enough to capture 100's of photos that day, from the WWI memorial cum exhibit, the Holocaust gallery and the Second Boer War exhibit. I am going to refrain from posting photos from the Holocaust gallery and the Second Boer War exhibit, as I don't wish to overcrowd this thread, unnecessarily. There was such a lot to take in! So many stories and so many lives! Honestly, my emotions were running high that day!! The curator was a lovely lady who was nice enough to allow me to take these photos! Here are some of the photos I took of the WWI memorial cum exhibit and of course, the entrance to the museum: Entrance to the museum on the Ground Floor: A glimpse of the beautiful atrium on the second floor, dedicated to the memory of New Zealand's servicemen who lost their lives in WWI. Etched on the walls, you can see the names of the 1000's of servicemen who died as a result of The Great War : A magnificent memorial sculpture made of marble, with a wreath on top. If you look closely, you will be able to see the following inscription in roman numerals: MCMXIV - MCMXVIII which translates to 1914-1918: Just some of the names of the brave servicemen who lost their lives: Another photo of the interior of the WWI memorial cum exhibit: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 On 7/4/2016 at 5:06 AM, rm2551 said: Strider, I have to say that seems sadly pessimistic. Here, ANZAC day is always a profound reflection and tribute to diggers past and present. Stories of sacrifice and waste and courage and honour. And of course, the chance to buy a Digger a beer for a humble thank you. The dawn services are always well attended and always a solemn respectful affair. The main news outlets of the day are awash with an understated patriotism and always a clear and poignant reminder of why ANZAC Day is so important. And why we truly owe so much to those who fought. I really do hope your lot have a profound appreciation of what it is to serve and the sacrifices your fathers, Grandfathers etc. made in fighting for your freedoms. That kind of hommage, respect paying, and honouring is important for a countries soul. Sounds a bit contrite, but I stand by it. I would love for your experience and optimism to be the norm, but as bcarter's and Kiwi's following posts show, ignorance seems to be the norm. Hell, even something as recent as the Gulf War might as well be the Boer War to today's generation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjin-san Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Read John Keegan: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4619485.John_Keegan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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