November 11 1918

[Louis VI the Fat]

It is the eleventh of November. Remembrance day.

A terrible war. One statistic that has haunted my thoughts ever since I first read it, is that in France in 1914 there were seven million males aged 18-45. By November 1918, 1,5 million were killed, 4,5 million wounded. Unbelievable. An entire lost generation.



The picture is from the northwest of France, a bit below where the front was, but similar in appereance. If you plough a field here, the north of France and Belgium, then leave it untended, these colourful weeds will spring up. As they did everywhere near the frontlines, with its intense disturbance of the soil. Little else will grow initially.

The blue-lila flowers are bleuets, French remembrance flowers. The red ones are poppies, to remember the British and Commonwealth. I shall think of the white flowers as representing the poor peoples of other nations who suffered in this dreadful war.

[gaelic cowboy]

The Green Fields Of France

[Strike For The South]

Holy Christ are those numbers real?

[drone]

Holy Christ are those numbers real?

It's not well known in the US just how much the Great War cost France, with our limited role and the focus on WWII we tend to overlook WWI. An terrible war, industrialized but with outdated tactics and a casual disregard for the common soldiery. A true meatgrinder, and France as the home side on the western front bore the brunt of it. Only the Russians lost more on the Entente side, but they always have more to spare.

[Lemur]

Hey Strike, here's a little history lesson aimed at the young'uns.

[Skullheadhq]

Hey Strike, here's a little history lesson aimed at the young'uns.

The German soldier icons have WWII helmets instead of pickelhaube helmets.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Holy Christ are those numbers real?

http://europeanhistory.about.com/cs/...casualties.htm

Welcome to war, Strike. War is not that video game footage of a high tech plane dropping a smart bomb on an enemy installation. War means death, suffering, humiliation, pain. Fear and despair. Unlike America's video game wars, industrial wars are wars you can lose. You live in mortal fear that your world might come to an end.

And even if you win, your family home has been destroyed. Your village no longer exists is is unrecognisable because of all the damage. Your sick child has starved for want of proper nutritional and medical care, which were unavailable. Your brother has returned. But he is cripple and got no place to go. Destitute, your family tries to care of their maimed relative, who has turned emotionally inwards, or has become aggressive.

War is not a video game. It is not glamorous, or heroic, or cool. It is dirty, nasty, dehumanising.
It has often been noted that war here, unlike in America, is not associated with a glamorous foreign expidition to spread freedom. War is associated with the end of the world. To be avoided, to be a means of last effort. One does not enter a war thumping a chest bearing an infantile flag pin. One enters a war with tears in one's eyes, because you've got no other choice, begging God for mercy on your soul.

For me, November 11th is a day of pacifism, anti-militaristic.

[The Stranger]

http://europeanhistory.about.com/cs/...casualties.htm

Welcome to war, Strike. War is not that video game footage of a high tech plane dropping a smart bomb on an enemy installation. War means death, suffering, humiliation, pain. Fear and despair. Unlike America's video game wars, industrial wars are wars you can lose. You live in mortal fear that your world might come to an end.

And even if you win, your family home has been destroyed. Your village no longer exists is is unrecognisable because of all the damage. Your sick child has starved for want of proper nutritional and medical care, which were unavailable. Your brother has returned. But he is cripple and got no place to go. Destitute, your family tries to care of their maimed relative, who has turned emotionally inwards, or has become aggressive.

War is not a video game. It is not glamorous, or heroic, or cool. It is dirty, nasty, dehumanising.
It has often been noted that war here, unlike in America, is not associated with a glamorous foreign expidition to spread freedom. War is associated with the end of the world. To be avoided, to be a means of last effort. One does not enter a war thumping a chest bearing an infantile flag pin. One enters a war with tears in one's eyes, because you've got no other choice, begging God for mercy on your soul.

For me, November 11th is a day of pacifism, anti-militaristic.

actually the when they first went to war many thought it would be glorious, over by christmass 1870-71 all over again. triumph and victory for home and fatherland. untill the war bogged down into trenches...

[lars573]

That's what Germany though anyway. France wanted a chance at sweet, sweet, vengance for 1870-71. Britain wanted to make sure that no one could in anyway threaten their precious (India). Russia wanted to prove that it could be big brother and protector to the southern slavs.


In other words nationalist horse excrement that served nothing accept sweeping away the 19th century world order and bringing in the 20th/21st century world order.

[lars573]

Holy Christ are those numbers real?

I wouldn't doubt them for an instant. I'll give you another example, The Royal Newfoundland Regiment. When the Great War started Newfoundland like all British imperial processions wanted to show their patriotism and raise an army unit. They raised a single Battalion regiment and sent it to Gallipoli, then France. Their first action in France was the battle of the Somme, July the 1st 1916. I actually heard an audio recording from one of the survivors on the Newfoundland regiments charge on that day at Beaumont-Hamel. 780 officers and men charged that morning, the next day when they took a role call 68 were still fit for duty. The first day of the Somme still holds the record in the British Army for the most casualties in a single day, 60,000 dead, wounded, or missing.

[gaelic cowboy]

I was just scanning the Wiki page on WW1 deaths and there is an interesting section on deaths by modern borders makes sobering reading.

[HoreTore]

Bah.

The ignorant puppets of the nobility threw themselves at each other for trivial reasons - that was the tragedy.