Cannon fodder. I'm sure to **** if some Rupert **** is telling me to get out the trench and attack the Jerry machine gun, he'll get a ****in' bayonet up his ring. Would you have done it?
No. Not the way I think today but 95 years ago there wasn't much thinking done by the 'lower classes'. A tragic waste of millions of lives used today by the likes of Medro to score points. I'm sure those guys who died would be disgusted how their memory is abused.
A completely avoidable war. If the working classes hadn't been a bunch of forelock tugging sycophants, Britain would never have become involved.
Unfortunately, the history surrounding WWI is largely fading from memory and people make utterly bizarre statements about it all the time. It should never be forgotten and the circumstances and social conventions that caused it should never again be allowed to happen.
too obvious. over the top into the nearest shellhole, shoot said officer if he's still being a knob about it, slice you're arm open with bayonet, drag officers body back to trenches with gallant story about trying to save him then off to the rear for tea and medals.
My mates Great-Grandad was the only guy left out of a unit of 300 men at the start of the battle. Also, that Normandy D-Day landing ****, **** THAT. I wouldn't be adverse to fighting for my country, but for **** sake, please don't just throw me in the mincer.
In WW1, one of the worst move was to use the "pals" companies, where soldiers would fight side by side with people from the same street, area, village or whatever. But when said company was decimated in a particular engagement, the whole community would be devastated back home in one fell swoop.
it must've seemed like such a good idea at the time on plus side there would've been some units that were all right so those communities would've won the pals battalion lottery every cloud
The problem is I wouldn't have wanted to do it but it was also known that if you didn't the Officer would shoot you there and then or put you before a Firing Squad for cowardice.
Marvellous. That's what we need. An angry bummer. None of this five-guys-fix-your-lifestyle ****. When I get pooved, I want to come home with legs trembling, trying not to cry and grateful to get out without anything more than minor internal damage. As far as the OP - there must be some deep-rooted psychological reason why we mindlessly obey those in positions of perceived authority; as evidenced by some rather nazi historical cases and documented in thought experiments. I'd like to think that my thought process would be along the lines of 'Hmmm...one officer. One me. I have a gun. he has a gun. On the other hand, loads of Germans entrenched in machine-gun nests...well, duh...' but I think I'd probably just do as I was told lest someone shouted at me. Really, if that weren't the case, you'd imagine that there would have been land mutinies by the barrel-load.
We must remember that going into the Great War working-class people had no one to protect them. What few trade unions there were, were still in their infancy so your average man and woman were still treated like ****. The great irony of the war is that having been treated like **** by the upper classes for so long, the working class cannon fodder who survived started to organise themselves and the class barriers started to come down.
My granda was at the Somme. Never talked about it much but described it as "hell on earth". 20.000 dead first day. Over 1,000,000 on all sides in total.
anyone refusing to fight back then was shot for cowardice so you had no choice but to go over the top. A stupid way of fighting though, blowing a whistle then watching all your men run into a hail of machine gun bullets! War what is it good for absolutely nothing say it again!
Only if you were stupid enough to wait till you got to the front line before registering your objection.
My Grandad was in the Normandy landings, I have a picture of him in St James park two days before they went. Selfish prick died when I was seven so never even got the chance to grill him on it
The funny thing to come out of the Somme, was that Hague and his fellow idiots, did start to learn lessons. They let the oficers in the trench, decide if it was safe to continue an attack. so by the end of the war the British has the best fighting army in the world. Sadly it cost so many lives, may they RIP