WW1 Centennial Thread

[Montmorency]

Belated, but might as well.

Modern travelogue/meditation on the 1916 storming of the Castelletto in the Battle of the Dolomites.

The Austrian platoon commander, Hans Schneeberger, was 19 years old. He arrived on the Castelletto after an Italian sniper killed his predecessor. “I would gladly have sent someone else,” Capt. Carl von Rasch told him, “but you are the youngest, and you have no family.” This was not a mission from which Schneeberger, or his men, were expected to return.

“It’s better that you know how things stand up here: They do not go well at all,” von Rasch said during a late-night visit to the outpost. “The Castelletto is in an impossible situation.” Nearly surrounded, under incessant artillery bombardment and sniper fire, with too few men and food running low. Throughout the valley, the Italians outnumbered the Austrians two to one; around the Castelletto it was perhaps 10 or 20 to one. “If you do not die from hunger or cold,” von Rasch said, “then someday soon you will be blown into the air.” Yet Schneeberger and his few men played a strategic role: By tying up hundreds of Italians, they could ease pressure elsewhere on the front.

“The Castelletto must be held. It will be held to the death,” von Rasch told him. “You must stay up here.”

In the Austrian camp, Schneeberger reported to von Rasch, who stood at his window with stooped shoulders and wet eyes, hands clasped behind his back.

“It was very hard?” he asked.

“Sir,” Schneeberger said.

“Poor, poor boy.”

[Fragony]

Just finnished 'Somme' by Lyn Macdonald, it's full of letters and anecdotes. What keeps baffling is that such horrible things are taken for granted by those (of all ranks) writing them. Clynically saying we 'lost a hundred men' as if losing a game of cards, it must have been w nightmare I would be kiiiinda upset

[Montmorency]

For fun, this rock was the battlefield of the article linked:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Fragony]

I am no expert but how can you either hold that or take it, both seems impossible

[Montmorency]

The Austrians held it with a platoon. The Italians could not dislodge them, so they drilled tunnels and blew them up.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

About the only assault that might work would be assaulting down from the peak....and that would be chancy. Going UP to it? Sucker's bet.

[Fragony]

About the only assault that might work would be assaulting down from the peak....and that would be chancy. Going UP to it? Sucker's bet.

Those up can't be resurplied, just as screwed

[spmetla]

For those that aren't aware already the Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar The Great War does a weekly summary of what happened a century ago during WW1 and does more informative specials etc... about the topic and has been doing it since a bit before the centennials started three years ago. Short, informative, and well researched clips. Will make you wonder how folks like Cadorna and Hotzendorf managed to become so important when so incompetent when you see their week to week decisions and impacts!

[Fragony]

Have been reading up a bit lately, I am starting to have my doubts about alledged imcompetence of military commanders, a lot of thought went into this insanity on a tactical level, they just thought completily different about extreme loss of life I guess, what they did wasn't just simply stupid, just unimagible for us in our time, there was actually a lot of stratigec thinking, but at enormous cost of life

[Pannonian]

For those that aren't aware already the Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar The Great War does a weekly summary of what happened a century ago during WW1 and does more informative specials etc... about the topic and has been doing it since a bit before the centennials started three years ago. Short, informative, and well researched clips. Will make you wonder how folks like Cadorna and Hotzendorf managed to become so important when so incompetent when you see their week to week decisions and impacts!

The most difficult part of high level command is supposedly building an army. Whatever these guys' strategic incompetence, they were the best in their country at that one task. Pershing wasn't too hot in the field either, and one wonders how Marshall might have fared had he got the European command.

[Fragony]

Competence kinda deserves it's own thread. German officers, usually of prussian military heritage were often amazed (and shocked) by the recklessness of especially the Brittish generals, in the book mentioned earlier there a lot of anecdotes, about recklessness but also genuinely inguiniously smart things. WW1 is pretty fascinating the scale is mind-blowing