[CheshireTheCat]

I was busy working on house stuff yesterday, hence the date being a day off.

[econjack]

I once saw an ad on eBay for a WWI French army rifle. I can't remember the exact wording, but it was essentially:

For Sale: French WWI infantry rifle. Never fired, dropped once.

[READINABLUESTATE]

The 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) (nicknamed Rock of the Marne) My dad’s unit in WW2.

[dfwgator]

Paths of Glory - Execution Scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt37sGBqtEg

[Pete Dovgan]

Horrific event.
Horrific tactics.
Horrific casualties.
Horrific conditions.
Horrific shelling.
Horrific disregard for life.

These WWI soldiers who left the trenches to fight are some of the bravest people in history. I find it hard, from the privacy of my computer terminal in a temperature controlled room without rats and roaches, to judge any of these people harshly.

[pierrem15]

The Battle of the Marne may have been -the- most pivotal battle of WWI, as the German failure to advance and cut-off the French defenders made it impossible to fulfill the Schlieffen plan. The French dug in and after falling back, the British did also, starting the line of trenches that would define the war. My great-grandfather served all four years in WWI, with a year off to go chase after natives who revolted in North Africa during the festivities in Europe. He was mentioned in dispatches in 1918 for pontoon bridges put in place under heavy German artillery fire as the Germans retreated.