Europe falls silent to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme

[rooster59]

Europe falls silent to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme



At 8.28am Central European Time, thousands of people across Europe fell silent to commemorate the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme.

Members of the British Royal Family joined the French president at the Thiepval memorial in northern France.

The five-month battle in the middle of the First World War was one of the bloodiest in European history. More than 1.2 million people were killed or wounded as the British and French fought German forces along a 24 kilometre front near the River Somme.

July 1, 1916 has gone down on record as the bloodiest day in the history of the British army. 19,240 soldiers were killed as the troops advanced just 4.8 square kilometres.

Initially billed as the battle to bring about a decisive victory for Britain and France, the allies had advanced just 11 kilometres and were unable to break the German defence.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-07-02

[NumbNut]

So ironic that Brexit is happening now almost 100 years to the day after this shambles. If the only thing the EU has achieved so far is stopping the worst excesses of Nationalism amongst it's members then it has more then served its purpose.

Nothing scares me more then mindless flag waving.

Nationalism, jingoism, flag waving is all the same to me, all over the world and in every country and culture. Very few positives come out of it, but an awful lot of blood, sweat and tears do. It is much, much more then being the last refuge of the true scoundrel, as Samuel Johnson reckoned. On the Somme in 1916 it was a blank cheque written by the upper class 'born to rulers' and cashed in blood by the common people of all combatant nations involved. Kitchener's 'Your Country Needs YOU' posters, the Pals Battalions, just so bloody stupid and sad.

And who benefits out of all this misery? Here's a hint... it ain't the shitkickers!

Indeed, the flower of a generation was lost... from everyone involved, all the combatants, not just 'my' side. I wonder what the dead of the Somme, from all nations, think of what's happening now

[tonbridgebrit]

One hundred years on, and not forgotten.

And hopefully, never will be forgotten.

[shunter]

My English mothers English grandfather survived The Somme and he told her of the horrors in his last few weeks of life when dying of cancer. The Somme was a dreadful experience from what she later told me.

We have much to thank those of both wars who fought to keep our freedom from a European Germanic dictatorship.

[Mr Moo]

Shunter,

Apologies for quoting you:

'We have much to thank those of both wars who fought to keep our freedom from a European Germanic dictatorship'.

But aren't we still doing battle against the same foe, only now they use the pen instead of the sword?

[Mr Moo]

Shunter,

Apologies for quoting you:

'We have much to thank those of both wars who fought to keep our freedom from a European Germanic dictatorship'.

But aren't we still doing battle against the same foe, only now they use the pen instead of the sword?

[RuamRudy]

My English mothers English grandfather survived The Somme and he told her of the horrors in his last few weeks of life when dying of cancer. The Somme was a dreadful experience from what she later told me.

We have much to thank those of both wars who fought to keep our freedom from a European Germanic dictatorship.

Undeniably WWII was a fight against an evil regime, but WWI had much less noble roots. It was basically millions of ordinary people dying so that a handful of rich people could keep their positions of power and privilege - and it put in place the conditions that led to WWII and the subsequent cold war.

[nanoth]

To all these courageous soldiers:Thanks!

[NumbNut]

My English mothers English grandfather survived The Somme and he told her of the horrors in his last few weeks of life when dying of cancer. The Somme was a dreadful experience from what she later told me.

We have much to thank those of both wars who fought to keep our freedom from a European Germanic dictatorship.

Undeniably WWII was a fight against an evil regime, but WWI had much less noble roots. It was basically millions of ordinary people dying so that a handful of rich people could keep their positions of power and privilege - and it put in place the conditions that led to WWII and the subsequent cold war.

Agreed. WWII was a direct consequence of the mishandling of the end of WWI. The Allies may have won the war, but I reckon they lost the peace. We are still living with the aftershocks of the First World War today, all caused because the real elites on both sides, the 1%ers of their day, thought their side was right, their side was honourable, oh and how could I almost forget, that God was on their side too. That God bloke is versatile eh... he can be everywhere at once, but that's not his best trick... his best trick is he can support two completely different war aims and outcomes from two combatant nations at the same time... how good is that?

One of the greatest con acts played last century was from August 1914 up to the first day of the Somme, 1st July 1916. Flag waving jingoistic white-feather BS finally came home to roost that day, with barely a single community throughout the British Isles unaffected by the first days carnage alone. And the greatest pity of all is that WWI should never have been fought.

It is not correct to say the allied powers were fighting against a European Germanic dictatorship at the start of hostilities. There's no reason to believe that if the Schlieffen Plan had succeeded that the end result would have been any different to the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, where at the end of the war the Prussian forces retreated back to the borders of Germany once an armistice had been signed and France had paid an indemnity and satisfied other aspects of the armistice.

So much European blood and misery down the ages... your shared history alone is good reason for some sort of EU arrangement. When Nationalism enters the picture you blokes want to kill each other. Look at the Balkans following the collapse of Communism and tell me you still haven't learned your lesson. And don't give me any BS about the Balkans being about religion, it was about Nationalism, pure and simple. My flag is better then yours, and I'll die for it. Hmmm, on second thought, let me correct that last sentence. My flag is better then yours, and I'll KILL for it. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Nationalism is the enemy of the common people! Always has been, and always will be.

Edited July 2, 2016 by NumbNut

[7by7]

"Forward" he cried, from the rear.

and the front rank died.

The general sat, and the lines on the map

moved from side to side.........

Roger Waters.

[bannork]

Every war by its very definition has its own horrors, but there is something particularly terrible about living your life in cold, rain soaked trenches, only to be cut down by machine guns or shells in the inevitable over the top charge.The insanity of old fashioned infantry advances against modern warfare.

I caught a glimpse of this at boarding school when we had to participate in the CCF third year high school.On the outside shooting range we fired .303 bullets at targets, cardboard outlines of attacking soldiers, held up by our school mates for a few seconds, standing below the sand embankments. Fire! The gun kicked back unless you had it fitted tightly into your armpit.

Then we reversed roles.

It was horrible,the smell of cordite,the power,(instant death) of those.303 bullets smashing into the sand above the targets.

And the khaki uniforms.

To the fallen who died innocently in an utterly foolish war.I hope theyare reborn, for they surely deserve to be so.

.