Deleted User 11453
Striker
As you know were were historically more aligned with the Germans so I suppose if we hadn't have thrown hundreds of thousands of men at their bullets it'd have been against the French.
Battle of the Somme
- Thread starter North of the Smoke
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As you know were were historically more aligned with the Germans so I suppose if we hadn't have thrown hundreds of thousands of men at their bullets it'd have been against the French.
North of the Smoke
Striker
Crackers though eh? No real reason to be enemies, it's a mad world mate, and as has always been the way money talks.
My Great Grandad was there in Black Watch. He survived but nowadays would have been diagnosed as having PTSD. Drank himself to death less than 10 years after the war had finished.
Deleted User 11453
Striker
My great grandad who was gassed but survived apparently did the same in the Sun Inn in Newbottle.
The Lambton Worm
Striker
Especially when King George V, Tsar Nicholas II & Kaiser Wilhelm II were all related to each other.
jcrossan
Striker
July 1st is a Day of Remembrance in Newfoundland.
It was not part of Canada in 1916 and that day at the Somme The Newfoundland Regiment was almost wiped out. When roll call was taken that night, only 68 men answered their names - 324 were killed, or missing and presumed dead, and 386 were wounded.
It was not part of Canada in 1916 and that day at the Somme The Newfoundland Regiment was almost wiped out. When roll call was taken that night, only 68 men answered their names - 324 were killed, or missing and presumed dead, and 386 were wounded.
Son of Stan
Striker
My grandad was in 1st WW and my Dad was in 2nd WW but whenever I asked Dad if he discussed war with his Dad the answer was always 'No'.
Weremuthe
Striker
Dan 'the shit historian' Snow reckons it wasn't so bad in the trenches cos the front line were constantly rotated, the wanker.
mickb2112
Striker
60,000 casualties in the first day alone. What a total waste.
How Europe could have got itself into such a mess is beyond comprehension.
The Somme was instigated to take pressure of the French at Verdun and should also be remembered. The French suffered carnage there.
I visited the Somme battlefields last summer and am lining up a Verdun visit just this very day. I`d like to be back over The Somme for the centenary next summer as well.
I read that too. He suggested that because 90% of soldiers returned home it wasn`t as bad as the established historians would have us think. 20 million casualties is a pretty horrific statistic and what of the ones who survived but have terrible physical and mental injuries that they would never live normal lives.
No amount of re-telling the history can take away from the fact that WWI and ultimately WWII are stains on human history and could and should have been avoided.
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smoker
Striker
Myth.
The Germans had been pounded with artillery for seven days, they were understandably expected to put up less resistance. Reconnaissance and Intel simply underestimated the strength of the bunker system and insufficient HE shells were used.
British troops were instructed to start at a walk and switch to French rush and hide tactics if they met resistance.
mickb2112
Striker
The Beaumont Hammel Newfoundland Memorial Park is well worth a visit as is the museum at Peronne which is one of the best I`ve ever been too for WWI.
smoker
Striker
That sort of hand wringing, soft cock thinking is precisely why WW2 happened.
mickb2112
Striker
But as soon as it was known that the German positions had not been destroyed, why did the battle continue until November at such a high costs. Liddle Hart, an officer in WWI and a senior strategist in WWII said that a full frontal assault against a heavily defended position should never be attempted.
I know they were trying to break the deadlock but it still seems the height of idiocy to continue to launch attacks over a period of months. It didn`t work at Loos in 1915 and it failed badly the following year at Passchendaele after an initial success at Messines.
I don`t understand your comment. which bit was hand wringing, soft cock thinking??
As Harry Patch, the last veteran of WWI, and one more than qualified to talk, said, it was legalised murder. Why couldn`t they sort it around a table. They ended up negotiating around a table, why didn`t they do that and avoid all of those deaths.
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super sleeves
Striker
Anyone else done the battlefield tour in France and Belguim, amazing. One of the best things I've done.
mickb2112
Striker
Totally agree. I did Ypres (including Messines Ridge and Passchendaele), Arras, Vimy Ridge and The Somme last year. . That along with a trip to the D-Day beaches for the 70th anniversary last year are 2 of the best trips I`ve done.
super sleeves
Striker
I did vimy ridge, menin gate was brilliant on the night, Beaumont hamel, devills wood, Tyne cot cemetery.
Also the site of a huge explosion from the tunnellers
skullmeister
Striker
It's also mad that 3 grandsons of queen Victoria were fighting each other (well 2 on one side at least).
My great grandfather who served in the Northumberland Fusiliers survived the Somme but died in Jan 17 when killed by one of our own shells while digging a trench behind the front line. Visited his grave 2 years ago which was some experience. Really fancy visiting the battlefields next year as can track where he was and when from his units war diary.
My great grandfather who served in the Northumberland Fusiliers survived the Somme but died in Jan 17 when killed by one of our own shells while digging a trench behind the front line. Visited his grave 2 years ago which was some experience. Really fancy visiting the battlefields next year as can track where he was and when from his units war diary.
Red N White Baron
Striker
The type of man this country used to produce, in their millions.
mickb2112
Striker
Took in the Hooge Crater, Sanctuary Wood and Lochnagar Crater on the Somme which I think is the one you may be referring too.
Standing in Tyne Cot and looking down Passchendaele Ridge and seeing those graves and each one was a person and to think the British troops came up the hill towards the pill boxes that can still be seen the cemetery.
Went down Wellington Quarries at Vimy Ridge too. It`s incredible how the Canadians tunnelled along and appeared just in front of the German lines and over ran them.. One of Canada`s finest military moments and the monument at Vimy Ridge is one of the most impressive I have seen.
Probably the most moving part for me was standing at Boetleer`s Farm at Ypres where my Great Uncle was gassed, hit by shrapnel, shot and taken POW. He was one of the lucky ones, most of his mates in the DLI 8th battalion didn`t make it. Hhe came home and lived up until the end of the 1970`s and I remember talking to him about it when I was a kid. I went there just for him.
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