The Somme : 1/7/16
- Thread starter summerisle
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deipnosophist
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...and as for that Douglas Haig fella; take down his statue, he was a disgraceful commander
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Won the War though.
deipnosophist
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hmmm...I think the sinking of the Lusitania 'won' the war
Lots of academic research seems to suggest the opposite: that he was actually quite an astute leader when compared with many of his time.
The whole 'lions lead by donkeys' concept is engrained because of writing a decade or two after the war, and was not popular thinking at the time.
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Too much to go into really. I highly recommended this book which dissolves many of the accepted truths about the war.
deipnosophist
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...damned by faint praise
deipnosophist
Player Valuation: £80m
Too much to go into really. I highly recommended this book which dissolves many of the accepted truths about the war.
I'll have a read
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Another book, by the sadly missed Richard Holmes, dismisses many of the myths about the War.
And yet another, possibly the best, as it says, turns upside down everything you thought you knew about the war.
And yet another, possibly the best, as it says, turns upside down everything you thought you knew about the war.
deipnosophist
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Thanks for those references. It has been a while since I read about the 'Great War'...I will redress that.Another book, by the sadly missed Richard Holmes, dismisses many of the myths about the War.
And yet another, possibly the best, as it says, turns upside down everything you thought you knew about the war.
*logs onto my Amazon account
That wasn't my intention. This whole belief that our generals such Haig simply regurgitated the same plans with bludgeoning ease is incorrect.
There were failings and some were incompetent, but the British Army in 1917-1918 was much more professional and tactically advanced.
The problem is that individuals failings (such as the artillery at the Somme) and subsequent factors long forgotten paint a different picture.
It also ignores the primarily stronger lines the Boch had over us. What if the French had been at the Somme as originally planned? Lots of stuff...
What really happened though was as our tactics enhanced and our army matured (dilution of the pals battalions), we began to prosper.
Look at Arras. Look at the Canadians under Byng at Vimy Ridge. Unfortunately however, up until 1917 we had little else we could actually do.
Haig in the latter years of the war was shown to be an astute general who was willing to adopt more flexible tactics.
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
It was a little disconcerting to find out what you thought you knew proved false.
peteblue
Welcome back Wayne
Isn't it always so.......
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Roberto Ma, nah, he's gone now.
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