The Western Front

[Magaoidh]

Once upon a time!
I have visited this battle ground two or three times,my wife and I attended the Anzac Day service more recently.A moving experience.
One time I went on a guided tour with an Aussie Bob who told of events that aren’t in the history books.e.g.The Great Slaughter at the Somme where French units took all their objectives and the Anglos very few if any!
A haunting experience was the Beaumont Hamel battlefield which is in perpetuity to the Newfoundland regiment.
Upon passing through a gated fence I noticed grass covered craters around 2 and a half metres across.While walking on the crafted pathway I noticed the frequency of craters increasing as I approached the front line trenches!
It was nigh impossible to walk between the craters,no more than a metre separating the perimeter between craters.This battlefield is preserved as it was and is owned by the Canadians!
The Newfoundland regiment started the battle with around 800 men and at roll call the next day 68 men attended!
These brave young men had been slaughtered! What for?
There is a dead tree halfway across No man’s land.That was as far as these soldiers had advanced!
Most of these soldiers never got past their own barbed wire
I stood at that tree and wondered how I would have survived?

 

[Magaoidh]

Funny how these National Socialists don’t visit the Battlefields to remember our slaughtered heroes.
Too busy chanting their racism?

 

[Prowsey]

Most of these soldiers never got past their own barbed wire
I stood at that tree and wondered how I would have survived?

The fact is that you probably wouldn't have.

It was a killing field, and the English overlords hadn't learnt a thing from 3 odd years of war - and kept using the same stupid techniques to enure that thousands of people a day were slaughtered (their own troops).

 

[mexicanrabbit]

You would think we could learn from history. Learning the reasons why we were involved at all.
The fact Australia was still under control of the English for declaration of war. We got involved from an assasination of an Austrian archduke in Bosnia. It had nothing to do with us.
The poor bastards that lined up to be slaughtered, should be reason to be angry. Stupidity caused it and we are meant to think of the dead and wounded as heroes. They were expendable victims.

 

[chelseabree]

You would think we could learn from history. Learning the reasons why we were involved at all.
The fact Australia was still under control of the English for declaration of war. We got involved from an assasination of an Austrian archduke in Bosnia. It had nothing to do with us.
The poor bastards that lined up to be slaughtered, should be reason to be angry. Stupidity caused it and we are meant to think of the dead and wounded as heroes. They were expendable victims.

Reading a book Les Carlyon THE GREAT WAR. So sad. I have just read about the battle of Fromelles. The Aussies had no chance.

 

[Magaoidh]

Reading a book Les Carlyon THE GREAT WAR. So sad. I have just read about the battle of Fromelles. The Aussies had no chance.

And the English officers made sure of that,total utter incompetence and brutality by their aristocrats.
I have been reading the honour roll again re my relatives,the oldest to die was 26.The youngest the saddest,19y.o. a private in the Black Watch.d.o.w. in a hospital in Germany.
The Germans in WW1 were not barbarians as they were under Hitler and I presume this cousin was treated humanely.
Dying alone in a foreign country without friends or family,is that Glory?
For King and Country…….what bullshit?
I hate the monarchy for valid reasons! Slaughter of the innocent!
We had 60,000 war dead it was rumoured that another 60,000 died from wounds and suicide post 1918?

 

[chelseabree]

And the English officers made sure of that,total utter incompetence and brutality by their aristocrats.
I have been reading the honour roll again re my relatives,the oldest to die was 26.The youngest the saddest,19y.o. a private in the Black Watch.d.o.w. in a hospital in Germany.
The Germans in WW1 were not barbarians as they were under Hitler and I presume this cousin was treated humanely.
Dying alone in a foreign country without friends or family,is that Glory?
For King and Country…….what bullshit?
I hate the monarchy for valid reasons! Slaughter of the innocent!
We had 60,000 war dead it was rumoured that another 60,000 died from wounds and suicide post 1918?

There is no doubt that all the countries involved in the war had a surplus of idiots at the start. It did start to change later. Monash, in my opinion, was the best general Australia has ever had and is arguably the best in WW1. His conduct at the battle of Hamal was nothing short of brilliant.
WW2 was better. It is funny. If a Victoria Cross, a Congressional Medal of Honor and a Hero Of the Soviet Union could be combined together to be given to the man who was most responsible for the Allied victory it would be awarded to........ Adolf Hitler.
It is like the real Hitler was murdered in 1940 and a look a like was installed that had to make decisions that would guarantee Germany lost the war. Without being too obvious.

 

[Magaoidh]

Very true CB.
Monash was the man changed who modern warfare.
I visited Hamel and Monash showed his concern for the common soldier on numerous occasions throughout his career.!

 

[Magaoidh]

Some facts I learned from Hamel and the guide.
When the Allied tanks started up Monash had RAF planes flying up and down the German trenches.Can’t hear the tanks,thanks John!
prior to the attack our artillery was lobbing gas shells onto the German trenches everyday.On the morning of the attack the artillery changed to smoke shells.
The Germans put on their gas masks limiting their vision.
The Aussie Bobs took the positions within the time predicted!
Beamont Hamel was a Newfoundland slaughter under Anglo control.
Hamel a walk over under Aussie direction.
BIG DIFF.