Posted on 06/30/2022 3:36:00 PM PDT by DFG
The brutal horror of the Battle of the Somme is unveiled in colourised photos released ahead of the 106th anniversary of World War One, with July 1st marking the start of the battle.
The battle was one of the most bloody of World War One which saw such figures as JRR Tolkien, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, Otto Frank - the father of Anne Frank - and Adolf Hitler fight in the battle.
Over three million men fought in the battle which saw over a million killed or injured, scarring the earth in one of the deadliest battles in human history.
On the first day of the Somme, the German 2nd Army suffered a severe defeat. It was the first World War One battle to see tanks brought to the battlefield.
Despite a decisive victory, 57,470 casualties were confirmed by the British, including 19,240 deaths - marking the largest loss of life suffered by the British Army in one day.
Hitler would ultimately receive a leg wound, while Tolkien developed trench fever and had to be taken to a military hospital.
By the end of the battle, the British and French had gained 10 kilometres of German-occupied territory, the largest gain since the First Battle of the Marne in 1914, revealing the slow and excruciatingly slow pace of the bloody war.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
And we fought, almost continuously the prior thousand years.
The relative peace we’ve experienced the last 75 years is rare. I hope we’ve enjoyed it.
I loved that! I was especially moved by the soldier’s rendition of “Mademoiselle from Armentierres’
I like the beeb docus.
Like we all know..the treaties after that war set up every war since.
IIRC, the British citizenry, even at that time, were forbidden from using firearms, unless under strict management.
As a result, despite their bravery, they had meager, if any experience with long rifles. Nice going, Britannia..
I read Barbara Tuchman’s Guns Of August. Great read.
We remember. May it never happen again.
I think Kitchener was dead by then ( lost at sea). This may have been Haig who squandered thousands in useless assaults.
I think you are correct.
My grandfather and His brother served in France. Gramps was gassed his brother killed. I played Army as a kid wearing a officers German Picklehaube that he brought home. Wish I still had it.
It’s said the Battle of the Somme was Tolkien’s inspiration for Mordor.
I’d add the Dead Marshes, the desolated land in front of the Black Gate, and Sam’s encounter with the dead warrior were likely inspired by his war experiences.
Forward he cried from the rear
And the front rank died
And the general sat
And the lines on the map
Moved from side to side
“He survived a dose of gas but wheezed for the rest of his life which earned him the nickname of “Weary”.”
Knew a similar elder gentleman in my youth. Tall, lanky man who always wore a brown suit. We called him “Goober” because he was always coughing and spitting into hankerchefs. We’d mostly see him when he’d walk into town to go into the bank. He’d just give a warm, bemused smile to us. He seemed to enjoy his encounter with us. One day a kid said his parents told him he’d been injured in a mustard gas attack in France during WWI. That shut us up good. From then on we waved.
Kitchener died on 5 June 1916.
Thank you. He had been replaced by Haig and was on the way to Russia when his ship was torpedoed and sank
Churchill's verdict on Haig: "Brilliant - to the top of his boots."
The amount of work done on the silent real footage, the lip readers who transcribed the comments they could “read”- and then putting the words to a Cockney, or Yorkshire etc accent— just fantastic, chilling and very much admiration for these now long gone Soldiers.
And yes— the real lyrics to Mademoiselle From Armientierres-— ...”She’ll do it for wine she’ll do it for rum And sometimes for chocolate or chewing gum
Hinky-dinky parlez-vous...and in the film, lyrics not found very much in print.....: “moved her axx like a Maxim gun, hinky dinky Parles Vous!” Some tough and many later broken men. God Bless Them and their memory. And incredible work by Jackson (he, of the Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings epics).
I remember reading about one of the last surviving UK soldier of World War I who died in Bethlehem Hospital, ( ie Bedlam). He was over 100 years old.
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