11th of november

[titoburito]

on this field there was this tree and exactly where that tree was the germans would of shot you down, and on the germans side there was a massive ditch sorta thing and they hid there at night when the germans were getting bombed

That's Newfoundland Memorial. I remember that from our wargraves trip with school about 5 years ago.

If anyone gets the chance go to Ypres for the Last Post at the Menin Gate. I was almost in tears looking up at my great uncle's name whilst there's this Bugler playing. Everyone's completely silent. Harrowing to say the least.

Any person who serves our country deserves to be remembered whether they die, are injured or not. They are prepared to sacrifice themselves for each and every one of us. Kids should know that and above all respect it

 

[Cook$]

The Germans had fully motorised divisions. Particularly the "Big Three" in the Waffen SS (Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, Das Reich, Totenkopf) and the big divisions in the Wehrmacht (Panzer Lehr, Grossdeutschland and some others) were fully motorised. Unless they had suffered losses offcourse (which happened a lot after the Western Allies landed, they were quite good at taking out equipment rather than men). Some of the German Panzer (Armoured) and Panzergrenadier (Motorised) divisions had artillery that was not self propelled, but they did employ prime movers for these. In fact, the Germans more or less invented the self propelled artillery.

I think he was talking about WWI. In which case he may be right. Or you might still be right, I don't know.

Regardless, those guys had balls. All of them, even the bad guys. I'd be proud if my son signed up.

 

[Ralph]

On a side note, i can't think of many worse places to go than the Somme?

It's a lovely part of France and they actually like Brits. I've been there many times, there and Ypres and have had some moving, spooky and funny adventures with Jerry Ward-Barber. ( Which i'll have to write up in the future )

"Now somebody explain to me why they thought it would be a good idea to form an orderly line and then walk towards a machine gun posistion"?

In the army you do as your told. That aside most the the soldiers were part of kitcheners new army. All volunteers, most uneducated ( by todays standards) and up for adventure.

They were told that after the then largest artillary bombardment in history there would be nothing left. Not even a rat. What went wrong, apart from blindingly following orders, was that the cloud cover was too low for the RFC to fly and send back their obsevations and that once the time table had been set, others had to press home the attack later in the day because some had reached the enemy's trench's and their flank's were exposed.

Good books to read.

First World war by Martin Gilbert.
A long book but easy to read. It gives you the build up to the war and then go's on with personal stories from the trench's,the home front and at sea. With the political, economic, social, royal aspects from both sides to build up a really good idea of why, and the effects that still influence our world today.

Storms of Steel by Ernst Junger
Life in the Trench's from the German point of view. He was underneath the British bombardment at the Somme.

Mud, Blood and Poppycock by Gordon Corrigan.
This book dispels lots of folklore about the WW1 without demeaning the sacrifices made on both sides.

The Unknown Soldier by Niel Hanson.
Drawn form letters and diaries he builds a picture of three combatents from Britain, Germany and the USA that have no known grave. Most intriging is the tomb of the the unknown warrior in St.Pauls. It doesn't tell you who it is, but it does tell you who it isn't.

Any of the ' Pal's' books by various people.
You local area would have raised a 'Pals' regiment for Kitcheners new army (especially up north) check them out. The one about the Birmingham Pals tells about a man from Barnet (my home town) who joined them. It even names his house, Hawthorn Cottage in Bells Hill. The house is still there, so it just go's to show that history is never that far away.

WW1 is my favourite subject but i have been to Normandy as well. How anyone got off Omaha beach is a miracle and if you do a WW1 trip around Ypres (Leper) make some time to go to the Waterloo battlefield which is not to far away near Charloi.

 

[Ralph]

on this field there was this tree and exactly where that tree was the germans would of shot you down, and on the germans side there was a massive ditch sorta thing and they hid there at night when the germans were getting bombed,

That's Vimmy ridge. I remember that from our wargraves trip with school about 5 years ago.

I'm sorry but i think your memory is letting you down. The place he is describing is the Newfoundland memorial at Beaumont Hamel not Vimy ridge. Vimy ridge is the place that has the underground tunnels that you can visit and again it is Canadian memorial.

If anyone gets the chance go to Ypres for the Last Post at the Menin Gate. I was almost in tears looking up at my great uncle's name whilst there's this Bugler playing. Everyone's completely silent. Harrowing to say the least.

I've been there on the eve of Rembemerance Sunday. They do a dress rehersal for the following day with troops in period uniforms and Marching bands playing , Long way to tipperary, Pack up your troubles,etc,etc. They march through the Menin Gate in the direction of where the front was which is followed by the Buglar from the Belgian FireBrigade who plays the last post.

I defy anyone not to have a lump in their throat while all this go's on. It is truly inspireing.

 

[Buddha 3]

I think he was talking about WWI. In which case he may be right. Or you might still be right, I don't know.

Regardless, those guys had balls. All of them, even the bad guys. I'd be proud if my son signed up.

He'd be right then, since pretty much all armies did that back then: Manpower, horsepower, a few trucks, lots of trains.

On of the problems at the Somme (and most other battles of WW1) was that communications were slower than the battle itself.

The story the men were told about the bombardment is the same one that men in all armies of all ages are being told. The guys that went into Omaha Beach were convinced the big battle ships and the bombers would have killed everything on the beach. They were wrong.
New recruits (and there were many at the Somme) tend to believe it, old hands are somewhat more apprehensive (to put it mildly).

 

[Kat]

What do you get taught in history in schools now????

In GCSE we spent half a year doing American Indians (Which I hated) and half a year doing History of Medicine (Which I loved) but that was about it.

I didn't take history to A-level so I can't comment there but I don't remember doing basic history since Primary School.

Katxx

 

[snax]

In GCSE we spent half a year doing American Indians (Which I hated) and half a year doing History of Medicine (Which I loved) but that was about it.
Katxx

ye some schools do american history others do about the rise of the germans etc as a case study and america in ww2 and coursework but it changes every year, so im doing the rise of the germans and america in the exam bt last year students would of done america for courseowork and germans for the exam

 

[Maddogwhitey]

rememberance sunday is one of those things I have always done, it deeply pisses me off that too many seem not to know, but not to care. for example:

I wore a poppy to work and was pretty well ripped on by one of my co workers. it angered me so so much. there is just no need for it at all.

I also heard in passing that a local city council has labeled the folk who go round handing out poppies as nusance callers...im going to sit and look up the article. if its true i am for once truly speechless.

i think so many posts on here have hit the nail on the head, I for one am happy to stand up and pay my respects to those who have fallen to give me what I have today. i dont agree with everything that the Brisith armed forece have done over the years, but that is beside the point. I will respect those who have had the balls to go to war, I will take my 2 minutes on sunday regardless of what im doing and I hope those around me will if not understand what im doing, atleast have the courtesy not to belittle it.

 

[Buddha 3]

A French farmer that could overlook Omaha Beach and so witnessed the American landings there once told a veteran that returned there: "If we were to say thank you 1000 times a day for the rest of our lives, it could still not describe our debt of gratitude to those who gave their all for our freedom."

 

[Cook$]

Anyone who has played the Welsh Open will know the cricket club. One of the old regulars there fought in WWII, and had a few stories. He was a bit forgetful, and told the same one quite a lot, about how he and some of his friends stole some carrots from a French farmer's field. So we are sitting there one day and we get to the subject of the war, and I think, here we go, bet he tells the carrot story (not that I was complaining, I'd just heard it 3 times), and he went on to tell us how he and his friends fought their way up Sword Beach on D-Day and started blowing up panzers. What an awesome guy.
I bought him a whisky, and then he told the carrot one again.