Things Noticeable this week

[vo1v0d]

While I believe in honouring those who made the ultimate sacrifice it always tears me apart thinking sbout the sheer fucking waste of lives

[Wendigo]

Originally Posted by vo1v0d

While I believe in honouring those who made the ultimate sacrifice it always tears me apart thinking sbout the sheer fucking waste of lives

20th century wars cost many millions lives of ordinary people sent to fight by their leaders, many died to fight tyranny and sheer evil, others because it was their duty but they fought anyway
That makes it even more damning that the leader of the most powerful country on the planet couldn't even be bothered to join other leaders in paying respect for those who died, even the many Americans who died on European soil.
I didn't think he could go further down in my estimation but he has plumbed new depths of bloody minded ignorance.

I'd be happy if the feeble minded cowering jellyfish never visits Britain again.

[Roubignol]

Originally Posted by vo1v0d

While I believe in honouring those who made the ultimate sacrifice it always tears me apart thinking sbout the sheer fucking waste of lives

30 to 40'000 French soldiers refused to be "sacrificed".
554 mutineers were sentenced to death, among them 45 were shot.

There was a song written by WWI French soldiers that ended by :
"On va laisser sa peau, car nous sommes tous condamnés, nous sommes les sacrifiés."
"We will all let our skin (to die), because we all are condemned, we are "the sacrificed".

Here is a little story about one French General called Charles Mangin.

En 1917, le général Mangin participe à l'offensive de Nivelle, sur le Chemin des Dames, à la tête de la 6e Armée.

Celle-ci atteint la plupart de ses objectifs, conquiert six kilomètres de profondeur sur des points stratégiques, capture des milliers de soldats allemands, au prix de 30 000 hommes (8 % de son effectif tués, blessés ou disparus) en deux semaines. Des mutineries de soldats refusant de remonter en ligne se produisent ensuite : une centaine de désertions et de refus d'obéissance en mai à la 6e armée.

google translate

In 1917, General Mangin took part in the Nivelle offensive, on Chemin des Dames, at the head of the 6th Army.

It reaches most of its objectives, conquers six kilometers deep on strategic points, captures thousands of German soldiers, at the price of 30,000 men (8% of its workforce killed, wounded or missing) in two weeks. Mutinies of soldiers refusing to go back online then occur: a hundred desertions and refusal of obedience in May to the 6th Army.

Infantrymen and mutineers rarely get their name mentioned in history books, but Generals...

[Devius]

Originally Posted by Wendigo

20th century wars cost many millions lives of ordinary people sent to fight by their leaders, many died to fight tyranny and sheer evil, others because it was their duty but they fought anyway
That makes it even more damning that the leader of the most powerful country on the planet couldn't even be bothered to join other leaders in paying respect for those who died, even the many Americans who died on European soil.
I didn't think he could go further down in my estimation but he has plumbed new depths of bloody minded ignorance.

I'd be happy if the feeble minded cowering jellyfish never visits Britain again.

Criticism of Trump's WW1 no-show appears to be growing...

A British minister has appeared to join growing criticism of US President Donald Trump's decision to miss a memorial event on Saturday due to rain.

Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood took an apparent swipe at the president on Twitter, saying "rain did not prevent our brave heroes from doing their job".
Details:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46168995

[Greenman]

Notable 'Blackadder Goes Forth' quote for today:

Captain Darling: Listen. Our guns have stopped.

Lieutenant George: You don't think...

Private Baldrick: Maybe the war's over. Maybe it's peace.

Lieutenant George: Oh, hurrah! The big knobs have got round the table and yanked the iron out of the fire!

Captain Darling: Thank God! We lived through it! The Great War, 1914 to 1917.

Soldiers: Hip-hip-hooray!

Captain Blackadder: I'm afraid not. The guns have stopped because we're about to attack. Not even our generals are mad enough to shell their own men. They think it's far more sporting to let the Germans do it.

Lieutenant George: So we are, in fact, going over. This is, as they say, it.

Captain Blackadder: I'm afraid so. Unless I can think of something very quickly.

Officer: Company! One pace forward!

[the company steps forward to the ladders]

Private Baldrick: Oh, there's a nasty splinter on that ladder, sir, a bloke could hurt himself on that.

Officer: Stand ready!

[the company braces]

Private Baldrick: I have a plan, sir.

Captain Blackadder: Really, Baldrick? A cunning and subtle one?

Private Baldrick: Yes, sir.

Captain Blackadder: As cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University?

Private Baldrick: Yes, sir.

Officer: On the signal, company will advance!

Captain Blackadder: Well, I'm afraid it'll have to wait. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was better than my plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would've noticed another madman round here?

[whistles blow in the distance]

Captain Blackadder: Good luck, everyone.

[Mal Hombre]

That last Blackadder series was garbage,This is not the Quotations thread,You're usually a stickler about this thread..

[Greenman]

True but I thought as it was such a special day and the anniversary it was relevent-feel free to move it if you wish.

[bowlinggreen]

30 to 40'000 French soldiers refused to be "sacrificed".
554 mutineers were sentenced to death, among them 45 were shot.

There was a song written by WWI French soldiers that ended by :
"On va laisser sa peau, car nous sommes tous condamnés, nous sommes les sacrifiés."
"We will all let our skin (to die), because we all are condemned, we are "the sacrificed".

Well, look on the bright side, during the same war the Russian masses revolted, saved many of their comrades from dying for the Tsar, and started Communism.

WWI was truly a sheer waste in so many ways. The idiocy of officers encouraging their men to 19th century style "heroics" by ordering them to charge machine guns over open ground with bolt action rifles.

And just a decade before that war started, the world was a pretty peaceful and prosperous place for many, according to historians.

I guess there are places over there where you can still stumble over unexploded shells from that war and bones coming out of the ground.

[Roubignol]

Originally Posted by bowlinggreen

I guess there are places over there where you can still stumble over unexploded shells from that war and bones coming out of the ground.

Did you know that there are villages of 100 to 700 people that disappeared (destroyed by bombs) and never were built again or rebuilt in another place ?

Like:

Beaumont-en-Verdunois
Bezonvaux
Cumières-le-Mort-Homme
Douaumont
Fleury-devant-Douaumont
Haumont-près-Samogneux
Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre
Ornes
Vaux-devant-Damloup
Vauquois

Liste des villages français détruits durant WWI

[bowlinggreen]

Did you know that there are villages of 100 to 700 people that disappeared (destroyed by bombs) and never were built again or rebuilt in another place ?

No, actually, I didn't, but I believe it.

I do know there were so many anonymous dead from that 4 years long massacre that they have whole crypts filled with the bones of unknown soldiers.