Terri Blom Crocker
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813166155
- eISBN:
- 9780813166650
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813166155.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter sets the scene for the Christmas truce by examining the letters British soldiers wrote home during the first winter of the war, which included forthright descriptions of the horrors of ...
More
This chapter sets the scene for the Christmas truce by examining the letters British soldiers wrote home during the first winter of the war, which included forthright descriptions of the horrors of the trenches, the respect they had for the German soldiers, and occasional friendly relations with their enemies. Letters that were printed in the British newspapers containing this information conditioned the public to accept a reality about the front lines that deviated from the official reports. The frankness with which the British soldiers wrote home during this time anticipates how they would report the truce, and the way it would be received by the home front.Less
This chapter sets the scene for the Christmas truce by examining the letters British soldiers wrote home during the first winter of the war, which included forthright descriptions of the horrors of the trenches, the respect they had for the German soldiers, and occasional friendly relations with their enemies. Letters that were printed in the British newspapers containing this information conditioned the public to accept a reality about the front lines that deviated from the official reports. The frankness with which the British soldiers wrote home during this time anticipates how they would report the truce, and the way it would be received by the home front.
Hew Strachan
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198222996
- eISBN:
- 9780191678561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198222996.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Military History
This chapter compares the works of influential historians B. H. Liddell Hart, C. R. M. F. Cruttwell, and Cyril Falls on the historiography of World War I. It suggests that the pre-war and wartime ...
More
This chapter compares the works of influential historians B. H. Liddell Hart, C. R. M. F. Cruttwell, and Cyril Falls on the historiography of World War I. It suggests that the pre-war and wartime experiences of these historians influenced their initial approach to writing war history. It explains that Liddell Hart became increasingly critical of the whole Western Front campaign while Cruttwell was deferential on this point. Falls, on the hand, was able to prepare a balanced and unjustly neglected masterpiece.Less
This chapter compares the works of influential historians B. H. Liddell Hart, C. R. M. F. Cruttwell, and Cyril Falls on the historiography of World War I. It suggests that the pre-war and wartime experiences of these historians influenced their initial approach to writing war history. It explains that Liddell Hart became increasingly critical of the whole Western Front campaign while Cruttwell was deferential on this point. Falls, on the hand, was able to prepare a balanced and unjustly neglected masterpiece.
Terri Blom Crocker
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813166155
- eISBN:
- 9780813166650
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813166155.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the conventional narrative of the Christmas truce and then introduces the popular narrative of the First World War, demonstrates how the standard view of the Christmas truce ...
More
This chapter discusses the conventional narrative of the Christmas truce and then introduces the popular narrative of the First World War, demonstrates how the standard view of the Christmas truce supports that narrative, and reviews recent historiography that challenges the conventional war narrative. The truce is then reexamined to illustrate how it can contribute to a more complete understanding of the First World War.Less
This chapter discusses the conventional narrative of the Christmas truce and then introduces the popular narrative of the First World War, demonstrates how the standard view of the Christmas truce supports that narrative, and reviews recent historiography that challenges the conventional war narrative. The truce is then reexamined to illustrate how it can contribute to a more complete understanding of the First World War.
Terri Blom Crocker
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813166155
- eISBN:
- 9780813166650
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813166155.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Works from the interwar and immediate post–World War II period, when everyone in Britain was supposed to be thoroughly disillusioned with the conflict, demonstrate that in fact the narrative of the ...
More
Works from the interwar and immediate post–World War II period, when everyone in Britain was supposed to be thoroughly disillusioned with the conflict, demonstrate that in fact the narrative of the war was still at this point hotly disputed, and remained so through the late 1950s. Memoirs, treatises, novels, general histories, and polemics all took different attitudes toward the war, and the truce was an important part of this contested narrative: some dismissed it as a mere curiosity, while others contended that the cease-fire signified an important moral about the conflict.Less
Works from the interwar and immediate post–World War II period, when everyone in Britain was supposed to be thoroughly disillusioned with the conflict, demonstrate that in fact the narrative of the war was still at this point hotly disputed, and remained so through the late 1950s. Memoirs, treatises, novels, general histories, and polemics all took different attitudes toward the war, and the truce was an important part of this contested narrative: some dismissed it as a mere curiosity, while others contended that the cease-fire signified an important moral about the conflict.
Omer Bartov
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195079036
- eISBN:
- 9780199854455
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195079036.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Between the year 1941 and 1942, the Wehrmacht's combat units underwent a radical process of demodernization, just as the Third Reich's economy was being mobilized for a total industrial war. This ...
More
Between the year 1941 and 1942, the Wehrmacht's combat units underwent a radical process of demodernization, just as the Third Reich's economy was being mobilized for a total industrial war. This chapter examines the contradiction between the Wehrmacht's image as the most modern army of its time, and the profound process of demodernization it underwent particularly on the Eastern Front. Through a detailed reconstruction of life at the front, the chapter demonstrates the effects of the immense material attrition on the troops' physical condition and state of mind. Strong emphasis is given on the winter of 1941–2, when the majority of Germany's soldiers were forced into trench warfare highly reminiscent of the Western Front of 1914–18, while facing, however, an increasingly modernized enemy. Several consequences of the demodernization of the front are also presented in this chapter.Less
Between the year 1941 and 1942, the Wehrmacht's combat units underwent a radical process of demodernization, just as the Third Reich's economy was being mobilized for a total industrial war. This chapter examines the contradiction between the Wehrmacht's image as the most modern army of its time, and the profound process of demodernization it underwent particularly on the Eastern Front. Through a detailed reconstruction of life at the front, the chapter demonstrates the effects of the immense material attrition on the troops' physical condition and state of mind. Strong emphasis is given on the winter of 1941–2, when the majority of Germany's soldiers were forced into trench warfare highly reminiscent of the Western Front of 1914–18, while facing, however, an increasingly modernized enemy. Several consequences of the demodernization of the front are also presented in this chapter.
Kaushik Roy
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199485659
- eISBN:
- 9780199093939
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199485659.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter details the story of the IEFA (Indian Corps), which fought in France. We tackle the question whether the IEFA faced a breakdown of morale; if not, how was it able to cope with the ...
More
This chapter details the story of the IEFA (Indian Corps), which fought in France. We tackle the question whether the IEFA faced a breakdown of morale; if not, how was it able to cope with the challenges of mass industrial trench warfare in the cold damp region of north France and the Low Countries? How the sepoys and sowars were able to make a transition from waging small wars to conducting mass industrial warfare centring round mud-filled trenches and mass infantry attacks supported by voluminous heavy gunfire is an issue discussed here. The first section deals with tactics and techniques of warfare for which the sepoys and sowars were prepared before the onset of the Great War, and the second section discusses the adaptation and adoption on part of the Indian troops in face of combat along the Western Front. The third section relates the soldiers’ experiences with issues of morale and discipline.Less
This chapter details the story of the IEFA (Indian Corps), which fought in France. We tackle the question whether the IEFA faced a breakdown of morale; if not, how was it able to cope with the challenges of mass industrial trench warfare in the cold damp region of north France and the Low Countries? How the sepoys and sowars were able to make a transition from waging small wars to conducting mass industrial warfare centring round mud-filled trenches and mass infantry attacks supported by voluminous heavy gunfire is an issue discussed here. The first section deals with tactics and techniques of warfare for which the sepoys and sowars were prepared before the onset of the Great War, and the second section discusses the adaptation and adoption on part of the Indian troops in face of combat along the Western Front. The third section relates the soldiers’ experiences with issues of morale and discipline.
Brian Bond
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198222996
- eISBN:
- 9780191678561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198222996.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Military History
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the historiography of World War I. This book was inspired by the need for a historical counterpart of Paul Fussell's The ...
More
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the historiography of World War I. This book was inspired by the need for a historical counterpart of Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory and John Kenyon's The History Men. It focuses on the Western Front of the War and examines the role of Great Britain in it. It highlights the most heated and enduring controversies of the war and its participants.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the historiography of World War I. This book was inspired by the need for a historical counterpart of Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory and John Kenyon's The History Men. It focuses on the Western Front of the War and examines the role of Great Britain in it. It highlights the most heated and enduring controversies of the war and its participants.
Terri Blom Crocker
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813166155
- eISBN:
- 9780813166650
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813166155.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
In this chapter, the popular narrative of the truce is challenged by the letters and diaries of the soldiers involved. Although there were soldiers who joined in truces that mirror the conventional ...
More
In this chapter, the popular narrative of the truce is challenged by the letters and diaries of the soldiers involved. Although there were soldiers who joined in truces that mirror the conventional view of the cease-fire—including fraternization and even the occasional football match—an examination of the contemporary documents demonstrates that there were many types of truces. Some were held only to bury the dead, whereas others were cease-fires with no fraternization. There were soldiers who refused to participate out of mistrust of the Germans, and others who resented the enemy more after meeting with them. This chapter demonstrates that the truce was a much more nuanced and complex event than the current narrative allows.Less
In this chapter, the popular narrative of the truce is challenged by the letters and diaries of the soldiers involved. Although there were soldiers who joined in truces that mirror the conventional view of the cease-fire—including fraternization and even the occasional football match—an examination of the contemporary documents demonstrates that there were many types of truces. Some were held only to bury the dead, whereas others were cease-fires with no fraternization. There were soldiers who refused to participate out of mistrust of the Germans, and others who resented the enemy more after meeting with them. This chapter demonstrates that the truce was a much more nuanced and complex event than the current narrative allows.
Terri Blom Crocker
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813166155
- eISBN:
- 9780813166650
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813166155.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The 1914 Christmas truce, when enemy soldiers met, fraternized, and even played football in No Man’s Land during the first year of the First World War, is commonly perceived as a manifestation of the ...
More
The 1914 Christmas truce, when enemy soldiers met, fraternized, and even played football in No Man’s Land during the first year of the First World War, is commonly perceived as a manifestation of the anger that soldiers felt toward the meaningless war that they had been tricked into fighting. Contemporaneous sources, however, show that the truce was not an act of defiance; rather, it arose from the professionalism of the soldiers involved, the conditions of static trench warfare, foul weather on the Western Front, the absence of major battles, and memories of traditional celebrations of Christmas. The truce, in short, was caused by rain, mud, curiosity, lack of personal animosity toward the enemy, and homesickness, rather than by frustration and rebellion. No soldiers were punished for their participation in the 1914 truce, and no troops refused to fire on their enemies afterward. Newspapers published accounts of the armistice openly, and many regimental histories later featured the event prominently. An examination of references to the truce over the past century reveals the myths that have defined it and contrasts those myths with the words and actions of participants in the armistice. By examining the support the soldiers felt for the war, as well as their willingness to return to fighting after Christmas 1914 ended, the book argues that the Christmas truce, which would seem to confirm the dominant view of the First World War, instead challenges the war’s popular narrative.Less
The 1914 Christmas truce, when enemy soldiers met, fraternized, and even played football in No Man’s Land during the first year of the First World War, is commonly perceived as a manifestation of the anger that soldiers felt toward the meaningless war that they had been tricked into fighting. Contemporaneous sources, however, show that the truce was not an act of defiance; rather, it arose from the professionalism of the soldiers involved, the conditions of static trench warfare, foul weather on the Western Front, the absence of major battles, and memories of traditional celebrations of Christmas. The truce, in short, was caused by rain, mud, curiosity, lack of personal animosity toward the enemy, and homesickness, rather than by frustration and rebellion. No soldiers were punished for their participation in the 1914 truce, and no troops refused to fire on their enemies afterward. Newspapers published accounts of the armistice openly, and many regimental histories later featured the event prominently. An examination of references to the truce over the past century reveals the myths that have defined it and contrasts those myths with the words and actions of participants in the armistice. By examining the support the soldiers felt for the war, as well as their willingness to return to fighting after Christmas 1914 ended, the book argues that the Christmas truce, which would seem to confirm the dominant view of the First World War, instead challenges the war’s popular narrative.
Timothy Bowman
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719062841
- eISBN:
- 9781781700648
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719062841.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter begins with a consideration of disciplinary problems in Irish regular battalions serving on the Western Front during 1916. The discipline and morale of the 10th (Irish) Division at ...
More
This chapter begins with a consideration of disciplinary problems in Irish regular battalions serving on the Western Front during 1916. The discipline and morale of the 10th (Irish) Division at Gallipoli and Salonika are evaluated. The experiences of the 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions in adapting to active service are considered, especially in terms of their courts martial records. The experiences of the 10th (Irish) Division at Gallipoli and Salonika, the 16th (Irish) Division at Hulluch and Ginchy, and the 36th (Ulster) Division at Thiepval are also assessed with an emphasis on discipline. Furthermore, the impact of the Easter Rising on Irish units serving on the Western Front is assessed. Finally, consideration is given to the development of measures, official and unofficial, designed to maintain morale.Less
This chapter begins with a consideration of disciplinary problems in Irish regular battalions serving on the Western Front during 1916. The discipline and morale of the 10th (Irish) Division at Gallipoli and Salonika are evaluated. The experiences of the 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions in adapting to active service are considered, especially in terms of their courts martial records. The experiences of the 10th (Irish) Division at Gallipoli and Salonika, the 16th (Irish) Division at Hulluch and Ginchy, and the 36th (Ulster) Division at Thiepval are also assessed with an emphasis on discipline. Furthermore, the impact of the Easter Rising on Irish units serving on the Western Front is assessed. Finally, consideration is given to the development of measures, official and unofficial, designed to maintain morale.
Terri Blom Crocker
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813166155
- eISBN:
- 9780813166650
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813166155.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The popular narrative of the truce further maintains that the event was “hushed up” by the military leadership and the government, and that the British public would have been horrified to learn that ...
More
The popular narrative of the truce further maintains that the event was “hushed up” by the military leadership and the government, and that the British public would have been horrified to learn that their soldiers had fraternized with the enemy. An examination of six nationally available newspapers from the end of 1914 through the beginning of 1915, however, shows that many letters from soldiers freely discussing the truce were published during that time. As a result, the British public was fully aware of the event; additionally, no letters or editorials critical of the soldiers who participated or of the truce itself appeared in those papers.Less
The popular narrative of the truce further maintains that the event was “hushed up” by the military leadership and the government, and that the British public would have been horrified to learn that their soldiers had fraternized with the enemy. An examination of six nationally available newspapers from the end of 1914 through the beginning of 1915, however, shows that many letters from soldiers freely discussing the truce were published during that time. As a result, the British public was fully aware of the event; additionally, no letters or editorials critical of the soldiers who participated or of the truce itself appeared in those papers.
Kaushik Roy
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199485659
- eISBN:
- 9780199093939
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199485659.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Military History
The Indian Army was not very successful in Gallipoli and Salonika. In the Gallipoli Campaign, the Ottoman infantry made the same mistake that the British and French infantry committed in the Western ...
More
The Indian Army was not very successful in Gallipoli and Salonika. In the Gallipoli Campaign, the Ottoman infantry made the same mistake that the British and French infantry committed in the Western Front: launching mass infantry charges against entrenched enemy positions defended by barbed wire and machine guns. This probably saved the Allied bridgeheads. The Allied infantry assault at Gallipoli faced the same problem that the Allied infantry encountered in the Western Front till 1916: the inability of the artillery to support the advancing assaulting infantry as it neared the hostile defensive positions. The Gurkhas displayed their expertise in mountain warfare, but in general Indian infantry failed to develop flexible infantry–artillery coordination in a mobile battle. At Gallipoli, Indian artillery also learnt the techniques of indirect fire, counter battery bombardment, harassing fire, and so on.Less
The Indian Army was not very successful in Gallipoli and Salonika. In the Gallipoli Campaign, the Ottoman infantry made the same mistake that the British and French infantry committed in the Western Front: launching mass infantry charges against entrenched enemy positions defended by barbed wire and machine guns. This probably saved the Allied bridgeheads. The Allied infantry assault at Gallipoli faced the same problem that the Allied infantry encountered in the Western Front till 1916: the inability of the artillery to support the advancing assaulting infantry as it neared the hostile defensive positions. The Gurkhas displayed their expertise in mountain warfare, but in general Indian infantry failed to develop flexible infantry–artillery coordination in a mobile battle. At Gallipoli, Indian artillery also learnt the techniques of indirect fire, counter battery bombardment, harassing fire, and so on.
Robert E. Lerner
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691183022
- eISBN:
- 9781400882922
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691183022.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This is the first complete biography of Ernst Kantorowicz (1895–1963), an influential and controversial German– American intellectual whose colorful and dramatic life intersected with many of the ...
More
This is the first complete biography of Ernst Kantorowicz (1895–1963), an influential and controversial German– American intellectual whose colorful and dramatic life intersected with many of the great events and thinkers of his time. Born into a wealthy Prussian-Jewish family, Kantorowicz fought on the Western Front in World War I, was wounded at Verdun, and earned an Iron Cross. Later, he earned an Iron Crescent for service in Anatolia before an affair with a general's mistress led to Kantorowicz being sent home. After the war, he fought against Poles in his native Posen, Spartacists in Berlin, and communists in Munich. An ardent German nationalist during the Weimar period, Kantorowicz became a member of the elitist Stefan George circle, which nurtured a cult of the “Secret Germany”. Yet as a professor in Frankfurt after the Nazis came to power, Kantorowicz bravely spoke out against the regime before an overflowing crowd. Narrowly avoiding arrest after Kristallnacht, he fled to England and then the United States, where he joined the faculty at Berkeley, only to be fired in 1950 for refusing to sign an anticommunist “loyalty oath.” From there, he “fell up the ladder” to Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, where he stayed until his death. Drawing on many new sources, including numerous interviews and unpublished letters, this book tells the story of a major intellectual whose life and times were as fascinating as his work.Less
This is the first complete biography of Ernst Kantorowicz (1895–1963), an influential and controversial German– American intellectual whose colorful and dramatic life intersected with many of the great events and thinkers of his time. Born into a wealthy Prussian-Jewish family, Kantorowicz fought on the Western Front in World War I, was wounded at Verdun, and earned an Iron Cross. Later, he earned an Iron Crescent for service in Anatolia before an affair with a general's mistress led to Kantorowicz being sent home. After the war, he fought against Poles in his native Posen, Spartacists in Berlin, and communists in Munich. An ardent German nationalist during the Weimar period, Kantorowicz became a member of the elitist Stefan George circle, which nurtured a cult of the “Secret Germany”. Yet as a professor in Frankfurt after the Nazis came to power, Kantorowicz bravely spoke out against the regime before an overflowing crowd. Narrowly avoiding arrest after Kristallnacht, he fled to England and then the United States, where he joined the faculty at Berkeley, only to be fired in 1950 for refusing to sign an anticommunist “loyalty oath.” From there, he “fell up the ladder” to Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, where he stayed until his death. Drawing on many new sources, including numerous interviews and unpublished letters, this book tells the story of a major intellectual whose life and times were as fascinating as his work.
Thomas I. Faith
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038686
- eISBN:
- 9780252096624
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038686.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter focuses on the American Expeditionary Force's (AEF) experiences with poison gas on the Western Front and the logistical effort made by the United States to support chemical warfare ...
More
This chapter focuses on the American Expeditionary Force's (AEF) experiences with poison gas on the Western Front and the logistical effort made by the United States to support chemical warfare during World War I. The nascent Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) had to support battlefield operations in 1918 as the AEF faced poison gas in Europe. On the whole, the CWS found itself seriously challenged by conditions on the Western Front and dependent on U.S. allies for information and equipment. This chapter examines the CWS's efforts to train the AEF, manufacture chemical weapons, and use poison gas on the battlefield throughout 1918. It discusses the comparatively heavy gas casualties suffered by the AEF in the fighting due to the inadequacy of the gas-mask training that its soldiers were given. It also considers the AEF's limited use of chemical weapons against the Germans and the U.S. Army's inability to organize for chemical warfare jeopardized the gas warfare program's status after World War I ended.Less
This chapter focuses on the American Expeditionary Force's (AEF) experiences with poison gas on the Western Front and the logistical effort made by the United States to support chemical warfare during World War I. The nascent Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) had to support battlefield operations in 1918 as the AEF faced poison gas in Europe. On the whole, the CWS found itself seriously challenged by conditions on the Western Front and dependent on U.S. allies for information and equipment. This chapter examines the CWS's efforts to train the AEF, manufacture chemical weapons, and use poison gas on the battlefield throughout 1918. It discusses the comparatively heavy gas casualties suffered by the AEF in the fighting due to the inadequacy of the gas-mask training that its soldiers were given. It also considers the AEF's limited use of chemical weapons against the Germans and the U.S. Army's inability to organize for chemical warfare jeopardized the gas warfare program's status after World War I ended.
Terri Blom Crocker
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813166155
- eISBN:
- 9780813166650
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813166155.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Although the myths about the truce insist that military leadership was horrified by it and punished the junior officers involved, the official war diaries kept by each regiment, brigade, and division ...
More
Although the myths about the truce insist that military leadership was horrified by it and punished the junior officers involved, the official war diaries kept by each regiment, brigade, and division instead demonstrate that the frontline officers involved in truces generally had no compunction about including them in their units’ official records. Two-thirds of the fifty-five regiments involved in the truce reported it in their war diaries in some form, from simple one-sentence summaries to multipage narratives, contradicting the conventional view that the truce was covered up by those in the lines for fear of retribution from military headquarters. Additionally, reports of the truce found their way into both regimental histories and the British official history of the war, demonstrating that no authority was particularly bothered by the event.Less
Although the myths about the truce insist that military leadership was horrified by it and punished the junior officers involved, the official war diaries kept by each regiment, brigade, and division instead demonstrate that the frontline officers involved in truces generally had no compunction about including them in their units’ official records. Two-thirds of the fifty-five regiments involved in the truce reported it in their war diaries in some form, from simple one-sentence summaries to multipage narratives, contradicting the conventional view that the truce was covered up by those in the lines for fear of retribution from military headquarters. Additionally, reports of the truce found their way into both regimental histories and the British official history of the war, demonstrating that no authority was particularly bothered by the event.
Sean McMeekin
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300098471
- eISBN:
- 9780300130096
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300098471.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter focuses on Munzenberg's exploits in Stuttgart, where he found his friends Edwin Hornle and Max Barthel upon his arrival at the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof. Barthel, while retaining ...
More
This chapter focuses on Munzenberg's exploits in Stuttgart, where he found his friends Edwin Hornle and Max Barthel upon his arrival at the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof. Barthel, while retaining intermittent contact with his prewar co-conspirator in the publication of hack proletarian literature, had spent the war in Germany, and had even served a tour of duty on the Western Front. After finishing his service, he moved on to become a member of the editorial board of the Stuttgart Rote Fahne, the paper of the left-wing Spartacist viewpoint in the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD), the faction of the prewar SPD that had broken off to oppose the war in 1917. Munzenberg, with the help of Barthel, promptly published a recruiting appeal to the “young workers of Wurttemberg” in Rote Fahne. Two days after his arrival in Stuttgart he was given an office in the state parliament house for his International Youth Secretariat.Less
This chapter focuses on Munzenberg's exploits in Stuttgart, where he found his friends Edwin Hornle and Max Barthel upon his arrival at the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof. Barthel, while retaining intermittent contact with his prewar co-conspirator in the publication of hack proletarian literature, had spent the war in Germany, and had even served a tour of duty on the Western Front. After finishing his service, he moved on to become a member of the editorial board of the Stuttgart Rote Fahne, the paper of the left-wing Spartacist viewpoint in the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD), the faction of the prewar SPD that had broken off to oppose the war in 1917. Munzenberg, with the help of Barthel, promptly published a recruiting appeal to the “young workers of Wurttemberg” in Rote Fahne. Two days after his arrival in Stuttgart he was given an office in the state parliament house for his International Youth Secretariat.
Carol Acton and Jane Potter
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719090363
- eISBN:
- 9781781708965
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719090363.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter considers how nurses and doctors on the Western Front during the First World War negotiated and represented their experiences in terms of what they constantly define as ‘strain’. It ...
More
This chapter considers how nurses and doctors on the Western Front during the First World War negotiated and represented their experiences in terms of what they constantly define as ‘strain’. It discusses way these men and women articulate the psychological stresses of their situation with a range of responses, from the heightened language of sacrifice and duty and the desire to endure, to utter despair at the apparent futility of the war manifested in the thousands of dead and wounded that pass through their aid posts, casualty clearing stations, ambulances and hospitals. The discussion shows that the conditions themselves can have contradictory effects in that they may lead to breakdown on the one hand, but on the other can reinforce the need for endurance.Less
This chapter considers how nurses and doctors on the Western Front during the First World War negotiated and represented their experiences in terms of what they constantly define as ‘strain’. It discusses way these men and women articulate the psychological stresses of their situation with a range of responses, from the heightened language of sacrifice and duty and the desire to endure, to utter despair at the apparent futility of the war manifested in the thousands of dead and wounded that pass through their aid posts, casualty clearing stations, ambulances and hospitals. The discussion shows that the conditions themselves can have contradictory effects in that they may lead to breakdown on the one hand, but on the other can reinforce the need for endurance.
Elleke Boehmer
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198744184
- eISBN:
- 9780191804076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198744184.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
The Coda, ‘Indian Salients’, touches briefly on three paradigmatic Indian–British 1910s ‘scenes’, one mathematical, one military, and one poetic. It observes how, at around the same time as the ...
More
The Coda, ‘Indian Salients’, touches briefly on three paradigmatic Indian–British 1910s ‘scenes’, one mathematical, one military, and one poetic. It observes how, at around the same time as the Indian mathematician Ramanujan began collaborating in Cambridge with his British counterpart G. H. Hardy, just before the beginning of the 1914–1918 war, Indian sepoys or troops at Ypres and Neuve-Chapelle on the Western Front helped to hold this crucial salient for the Allies. Finally, when Wilfred Owen was killed in the final days of the First World War, a poem from Rabindranath Tagore’s 1912 Gitanjali was found in the breast pocket of the uniform he had been wearing. Taken together, the vignettes of these arrivals powerfully signify how intimately Indian knowledge and awareness had been incorporated into the heart of the empire.Less
The Coda, ‘Indian Salients’, touches briefly on three paradigmatic Indian–British 1910s ‘scenes’, one mathematical, one military, and one poetic. It observes how, at around the same time as the Indian mathematician Ramanujan began collaborating in Cambridge with his British counterpart G. H. Hardy, just before the beginning of the 1914–1918 war, Indian sepoys or troops at Ypres and Neuve-Chapelle on the Western Front helped to hold this crucial salient for the Allies. Finally, when Wilfred Owen was killed in the final days of the First World War, a poem from Rabindranath Tagore’s 1912 Gitanjali was found in the breast pocket of the uniform he had been wearing. Taken together, the vignettes of these arrivals powerfully signify how intimately Indian knowledge and awareness had been incorporated into the heart of the empire.
Graham Dominy
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040047
- eISBN:
- 9780252098246
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040047.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter examines the last few years of the garrison, the fate of the last regiment on the Western Front after the outbreak of World War I, the fate of Fort Napier, and its place in folk ...
More
This chapter examines the last few years of the garrison, the fate of the last regiment on the Western Front after the outbreak of World War I, the fate of Fort Napier, and its place in folk memories. From May 31, 1910, Natal was no longer a separate colony within the British Empire, and Pietermaritzburg ceased to be a colonial capital. Pietermaritzburg in particular suffered a loss of political status and economic influence. This chapter first recounts the Battle of Ypres that saw the South Staffordshire Regiment and the British Army's 7th Division suffer heavily at the hands of the German troops. It then considers the closure of the internment camp at Fort Napier in early 1919, along with the red tape involved in dealing with ex-servicemen returning after World War I. It also discusses the passage of the Union Defence Act and the eventual withdrawal of British troops from Natal and concludes with an overview of the absorption of the garrison's military traditions into popular culture.Less
This chapter examines the last few years of the garrison, the fate of the last regiment on the Western Front after the outbreak of World War I, the fate of Fort Napier, and its place in folk memories. From May 31, 1910, Natal was no longer a separate colony within the British Empire, and Pietermaritzburg ceased to be a colonial capital. Pietermaritzburg in particular suffered a loss of political status and economic influence. This chapter first recounts the Battle of Ypres that saw the South Staffordshire Regiment and the British Army's 7th Division suffer heavily at the hands of the German troops. It then considers the closure of the internment camp at Fort Napier in early 1919, along with the red tape involved in dealing with ex-servicemen returning after World War I. It also discusses the passage of the Union Defence Act and the eventual withdrawal of British troops from Natal and concludes with an overview of the absorption of the garrison's military traditions into popular culture.
