Battle of the Somme
January 19th, 2008 5 comments link to (permalink) posted by david
If America had been continuously fighting the Iraq War from before the Mayflower landed, the US death toll would be less than the fatalities in this single battle.
If there was a specific date for the beginning of American hegemony and the death of Imperialist Europe, it would be the first day of the Somme. The Somme was the most brutal of WWI battles with over a million casualties, part of a pointless conflict fought between one country whose ruler had known the others’ as his ‘grandma’.
The Commander in Chief of the British Army at the time, was Douglas Haig, an antiquated buffoon who refused to prepare for modern methods of warfare, calling the machine gun a ‘vastly overrated weapon’. Countless tens of thousands of people died as a result, yet Haig is the name embossed at the center of every poppy worn in Britain in commemoration of both world wars, every year, to this date. This is what one might politely call – a fucking disgrace.
1 hr 19 min 7 sec Jan 2, 2008
www.caltonradio.com
tags: history
5 responses so far »
Johnson : Jan 19, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Due to a stunningly well written and delivered narrative accompanied by a perfectly matched soundtrack the images are almost completely unnecessary. This is one of the most effective 60 minutes of video I have ever heard. Thanks for posting this for us.
Hugh : Jan 20, 2008 at 3:25 pm
It’s a shame that you find the need to make derogatory and insulting comments about Haig, your supporting commentary is usually better researched, and I suspect you have not researched the subject, but merely followed the common popularly publicised criticisms levelled after the numbers lost in the conflict struck home. Much of this can be traced back to assumptions made by ‘Armchair Analysts’ who have little understanding of the the forces and conditions Haig was countering, and are guilty of applying modern thinking to events and circumstances where it does not apply.
This in no way negates Haig’s reluctance to adopt thinking that was modern in his time, but recognises that the resources he actually had available may not have made them usable.
In recent times, more balanced analysis has taken place, without the preconceived notion that he was the “Butcher of the Somme”, and Haig’s losses have been found to be proportionately less than those suffered in similar encounters during WWII, although the mechanics of the two conflicts in terms of men and resources is quite different.
It may please you to know that the Earl Haig Fund Scotland was renamed the Poppyscotland in 2006.
admin : Jan 20, 2008 at 4:25 pm
@Hugh – your reasoned response has inspired me to dig around and find out more.
If I remember rightly the casualty rates amongst officers was much higher in WWI, something which sticks in the craw of people who would have it that suffering was drawn along class lines. That notion of class seems to perpetuate the stereotype of Haig or Haig inspired satirical figures such as Lord Melchett in Black Adder Goes Forth.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the truth about Haig were a lot more complicated.
However, people who make fallible decisions that lead to the life or death of hundreds of thousands of people need to be judged without polite restraint. If that judgement errs on the side of severity, then its a safer strategy. And if that judgement is unfairly harsh, it is ultimately less so than their own judgement which dealt with life and death not legacy.
In other words, Haig’s reputation is ultimately less important than 300,000 lives, but the truth is still worth something.
james : Jan 21, 2008 at 10:58 pm
richard Dawkins explains game theory
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3966434788109805830&q=richard+dawkins+duration%3Along&total=176&start=0&num=100&so=1&type=search&plindex=0
Johnson : Jan 28, 2008 at 7:28 am
James, thanks for the link.
Leave a Comment