Great War - 2
Oct 14, 2015 18:46:13 #
After posting yesterday and too late to make changes, I realized I hadn't explained the significance of the photos I had added. So before I continue my history lessons, I will explain about those shots and todays.
The first three are of the Cloth Hall and Cathedral located in Ypres, Belgium. As can be seen in the B&W one, the place was utterly destroyed by the Germans. In fact, the entire town was completely levelled until all that was left were enormous mounds of rubble. In the 1920's it was completely rebuilt using restitution funds paid by the German government.
Ypres was smack in the middle of the route the Germans would need to take in order to invade France so was an important town for both sides to control. Luckily, the allies got hold of it early on and managed to keep it throughout the four years of the war.
Ypres was once surrounded by a moat and huge defensive walls, some of which still remain. The main entry is through the portal known as the Menin Gate. Every evening since the war ended, at 8 o'clock the road is closed off and a group of Ypres Firemen march into the middle of the gate where they play the last post. It's incredibly moving to watch. They have been doing this every evening since the end of the war other than during the German occupation in WW2. One man has been doing it for 57 years and has never missed an evening.
The walls and ceiling bear the names of the 54,338 Commonwealth soldiers who died between August 1914 and August 1917 and who have no known grave.
The Great War - Part2
As mentioned yesterday, Serbia was basically owned by Austria and really didnt like it. The Serbian Nationalist terrorist group, the Black hand, decided to do something about it. As luck would have it, whether good luck or bad depending on your point of view, the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife just happened to be visiting Sarajevo for their anniversary, June 28, 1914. The assassination of the Archduke and his wife is well documented so I wont go into it here. Suffice to say, they were both shot and killed.
Now, the Archduke wasnt a very popular guy .. actually, nobody seemed to really like him at all so the assassinations werent considered all that big a deal in Austria. But they decided to make it a big deal and use his death as an excuse to gain more power and control over Serbia. It took almost a month to do so, but eventually they delivered a ten point ultimatum that would have been so onerous to the Serbian government and the people that they would refuse it outright, giving the Austrian a perfect excuse to start a war with them.
But the Serbs surprised them and everyone else by conceding to every demand, thus denying the Austrian a reason to prepare to invade. They did anyway.
This, of course, immediately became a bit of a problem. Austria was planning to invade Serbia, but Serbia had a treaty with Russia. But Austria had a treaty with Germany.
On the other hand, Russia had a treaty with France, France had an agreement with Great Britain, Great Britain had an agreement with Belgium and no one knew who the hell Italy was going to agree with. Austria hoped that it would be with them and the rest didnt much care.
On August 1st, 1914, more than a month after an unpopular Archduke was killed, war was finally declared. The strange thing was, that for two or three days no one was actually sure who was at war with whom, there were just too many countries involved.
Eventually they got it all sorted out and by August 4th Russia was at war with Austria who was at war with Serbia, Great Britain had declared war on Germany because Germany had invaded Belgium on her way to Paris and France had declared war on Germany.
The Germans had cheated a little by already having in hand a plan to invade France through Belgium that they had drawn up ten years before. This was called the Schlieffen Plan and depended upon a number of events happening in the right places and the right order. Although a little too complicated and almost certainly doomed to failure, it still came extremely close to succeeding.
In order to succeed, Von Schlieffens plan needed the following to occur:
Most importantly, Russia could not enter the war for at least 6 weeks while:
Germany attacks AND defeats France within those 6 weeks, then
Germany would move all her troops from France and across Germany to the Russian border where they would ..
Attack Russia and defeat her.
All the while hoping that Great Britain didnt enter the war.
Unfortunately, the plan was a little weak in places.
If Russia managed to mobilize her army sooner than was ideal, Germany would have to attack France even if she wasnt ready to do so.
The plan assumed that Germany could defeat France within 6 weeks, and
Germany hoped that Great Britain wouldnt come to the aid of France and Belgium.
Although the plan did not succeed, it did come very close to doing so and a war that was supposed to end in 6 weeks lasted for 50 and took the lives of 17 million people.
The first three are of the Cloth Hall and Cathedral located in Ypres, Belgium. As can be seen in the B&W one, the place was utterly destroyed by the Germans. In fact, the entire town was completely levelled until all that was left were enormous mounds of rubble. In the 1920's it was completely rebuilt using restitution funds paid by the German government.
Ypres was smack in the middle of the route the Germans would need to take in order to invade France so was an important town for both sides to control. Luckily, the allies got hold of it early on and managed to keep it throughout the four years of the war.
Ypres was once surrounded by a moat and huge defensive walls, some of which still remain. The main entry is through the portal known as the Menin Gate. Every evening since the war ended, at 8 o'clock the road is closed off and a group of Ypres Firemen march into the middle of the gate where they play the last post. It's incredibly moving to watch. They have been doing this every evening since the end of the war other than during the German occupation in WW2. One man has been doing it for 57 years and has never missed an evening.
The walls and ceiling bear the names of the 54,338 Commonwealth soldiers who died between August 1914 and August 1917 and who have no known grave.
The Great War - Part2
As mentioned yesterday, Serbia was basically owned by Austria and really didnt like it. The Serbian Nationalist terrorist group, the Black hand, decided to do something about it. As luck would have it, whether good luck or bad depending on your point of view, the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife just happened to be visiting Sarajevo for their anniversary, June 28, 1914. The assassination of the Archduke and his wife is well documented so I wont go into it here. Suffice to say, they were both shot and killed.
Now, the Archduke wasnt a very popular guy .. actually, nobody seemed to really like him at all so the assassinations werent considered all that big a deal in Austria. But they decided to make it a big deal and use his death as an excuse to gain more power and control over Serbia. It took almost a month to do so, but eventually they delivered a ten point ultimatum that would have been so onerous to the Serbian government and the people that they would refuse it outright, giving the Austrian a perfect excuse to start a war with them.
But the Serbs surprised them and everyone else by conceding to every demand, thus denying the Austrian a reason to prepare to invade. They did anyway.
This, of course, immediately became a bit of a problem. Austria was planning to invade Serbia, but Serbia had a treaty with Russia. But Austria had a treaty with Germany.
On the other hand, Russia had a treaty with France, France had an agreement with Great Britain, Great Britain had an agreement with Belgium and no one knew who the hell Italy was going to agree with. Austria hoped that it would be with them and the rest didnt much care.
On August 1st, 1914, more than a month after an unpopular Archduke was killed, war was finally declared. The strange thing was, that for two or three days no one was actually sure who was at war with whom, there were just too many countries involved.
Eventually they got it all sorted out and by August 4th Russia was at war with Austria who was at war with Serbia, Great Britain had declared war on Germany because Germany had invaded Belgium on her way to Paris and France had declared war on Germany.
The Germans had cheated a little by already having in hand a plan to invade France through Belgium that they had drawn up ten years before. This was called the Schlieffen Plan and depended upon a number of events happening in the right places and the right order. Although a little too complicated and almost certainly doomed to failure, it still came extremely close to succeeding.
In order to succeed, Von Schlieffens plan needed the following to occur:
Most importantly, Russia could not enter the war for at least 6 weeks while:
Germany attacks AND defeats France within those 6 weeks, then
Germany would move all her troops from France and across Germany to the Russian border where they would ..
Attack Russia and defeat her.
All the while hoping that Great Britain didnt enter the war.
Unfortunately, the plan was a little weak in places.
If Russia managed to mobilize her army sooner than was ideal, Germany would have to attack France even if she wasnt ready to do so.
The plan assumed that Germany could defeat France within 6 weeks, and
Germany hoped that Great Britain wouldnt come to the aid of France and Belgium.
Although the plan did not succeed, it did come very close to doing so and a war that was supposed to end in 6 weeks lasted for 50 and took the lives of 17 million people.
Inside during the Last Post Ceremony
Names of the Lost
The Menin Gate from atop the walls
wall & moat surrounding the town.
Oct 15, 2015 14:59:59 #
World War 1 was the most crazy war, it was a family spat. The Germans, English
crown heads where all related, as was the Russian Czar! It killed millions, I was
stationed in Verdun France, and the Foret duomont memorial, will show
you the amount of French dead, The windows in the cellar are bin s, that are
filled with bones. The Germans suffered just as badly, only to do the same thing
20 years later, and make the world even more of a mess
crown heads where all related, as was the Russian Czar! It killed millions, I was
stationed in Verdun France, and the Foret duomont memorial, will show
you the amount of French dead, The windows in the cellar are bin s, that are
filled with bones. The Germans suffered just as badly, only to do the same thing
20 years later, and make the world even more of a mess
Oct 15, 2015 15:03:27 #
Yes, it certainly was a crazy war. I've been to Verdun and will later be doing a photo essay as part of this series.
I hope you enjoy this. Thanks for commenting and for looking.
I hope you enjoy this. Thanks for commenting and for looking.
Oct 15, 2015 21:22:15 #
Oct 17, 2015 00:28:15 #
Oct 17, 2015 00:30:29 #
Thank you. I hope you continue to read and enjoy them.
dragonswing wrote:
Very interesting. I enjoy reading your posts.
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