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A Soldier Explains What It Was Like in the World War I Trenches (1916)
- mr_spothawk 12y agoIf you're into this sort of historical record, check out this free podcast: http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-50-blueprint-for-armageddon-i/ http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-50-bluepri...
- aeturnum 12y agoMy first thought on seeing the subject of WW1 trench warfare was to drop a link to the Hardcore History WW1 podcasts. They are excellent at getting across the sheer horror and enormity of WW1, something that was lost on me growing up in the US (we tend to focus on WW2). I suspect European listeners will be surprised by less, but for any American who doesn't know what I'm talking about if I mention Verdun or the Somme, I _highly_ recommend the podcasts. They are ~12 hours (so far) and riveting.
- maroonblazer 12y agoExactly right about how U.S. education seems to put more emphasis on WWII than WWI. And then even within WWII you don't get the whole story. Carlin's "Ghosts of the Ostfront" series gave me an entirely new perspective on the side of the war the U.S. didn't fight. In many ways - certainly in terms of lives lost - it's an even more tragic story.
- kiiski 12y agoIt's not just the USA. Here in Finland I was pretty much only taught how the war started and how it affected Finland (which gained independence from Russia in 1917, and then fought a civil war in 1918 with some involvement from Russia and Germany). My teacher openly told us that we don't need to know any details about ww1, since ww2 is much more important (although the teaching about that one also emphasized the Finnish wars (winter war, continuation war and Lapland war) more than the ww2 itself).
- simonh 12y agoEvery country focuses on teaching history relevant to itself. Before I married my wife, who is Chinese, I knew next to nothing about the wars of Japanese expansionism in east asia that lead up to WW2.
- JonnieCache 12y agoIf you've ever wondered why europe has been so secular/atheistic for the last 100 years, in comparison to the rest of the word, the Somme is basically your answer.
- ygra 12y agoCould you elaborate? To me it's not particularly obvious why a particular battle should change the religious landscape of a continent for a century to come.
- lbrdn 12y agoI've recently started listening to Dan Carlin, specifically the Blueprint to Armageddon series about WWI, and I second this recommendation. Carlin's a wonderfully engaging storyteller, who helps you get into the mind of the soldiers, generals, and citizens affected by this awful world event while tying it all together to an overall narrative of events. A great listen.
- ChrisLTD 12y agoI can also heartily recommend Dan Carlin's WWI episodes. I've learned a lot listening to them the last few weeks.
- tdicola 12y agoYeah Carlin's WW1 series has been outstanding. I really had no idea just how hellacious things were in the trenches during WW1. History lessons in school really didn't get across the shear terror of being shelled by gigantic artillery for hours and days on end.
- DanAndersen 12y agoLove Dan Carlin's podcasts. The thing I love the most about the first part of that WW1 series is the horror-movie sense of a moviegoer yelling out "don't open that door!" at a character on screen. You know what's coming, you know all the horror that will unfold, and you just have to watch/listen as bit by bit the machine of war starts up.
- SCdF 12y agoCarlin is really good. To the non-Americans out there, push past his movie trailer voice, it doesn't mean it's tosh, he is actually rather good.
- barking 12y agoIt's an unsatisfying read, not enough background. I can't imagine that your average American was so knowledgeable of Gallipoli that none was required. The writer makes the soldier out to be simple and quaint but for me he's the more eccentric.
- barking 12y agoActually, I take it back, Ferdinand Reyher, the author, has quite an interesting life story http://digital.lib.umd.edu/archivesum/actions.DisplayEADDoc.do;jsessionid=70DE4C4AA9DEA7BCEE01DC7C2C8645ED?source=MdU.ead.litms.0037.xml&style=ead http://digital.lib.umd.edu/archivesum/actions.DisplayEADDoc....
- novalis78 12y agoAn incredible account of WWI trench warfare - fascinating and extremely intimate - was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_of_Steel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_of_Steel for those interested
- farmdve 12y agoDid not expect my country to be mentioned in there.
- greendesk 12y agoI did not expect Bulgaria to be mentioned in there as well. When reading the article's name one does not associate 'trenches' with battles in the Balkans. The story shows how one soul ended up 3000 km away from his birthplace. Nowadays, after a hundred years after those events, one can travel on a flight between Dublin and Sofia in a few hours. The point that I found interesting is that about mismanagement. The claim that the colonel did not prepare his troops, permitted them to stay without guidance in the tranches, without food or proper clothes. How the other side - in this case, Bulgarians - were more acutely aware of how to operate their guns. It rings true the disillusionment and disappointment when organisation or institution fails to organise its efforts.
- omegant 12y agoI highly recommend "Storm of steel" by Ernst Jünger. He has incredible descriptions of the terror felt at the trenches. http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-J%C3%BCnger/dp/0142437905 http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-J%C3%BCng...
- tcopeland 12y agoInteresting, that's on the USMC reading list: http://militaryprofessionalreadinglists.com/search?keywords=steel http://militaryprofessionalreadinglists.com/search?keywords=...
- brudgers 12y agoI recently read Poetry of the First World War: an Anthology. There's a reason people make a big deal about the British poets. http://www.amazon.com/Poetry-First-World-War-Anthology/dp/0198703201/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414018033&sr=1-7&keywords=War+Poets http://www.amazon.com/Poetry-First-World-War-Anthology/dp/01...
- state 12y agoI'm in the middle of it, and am so glad to see this comment. I can't recommend it enough. Excellent.
- zafka 12y agoAnother good reference is "Johny Got his Gun" by Dalton Trumbo. I read it when I was about 16. It gave me a new perspective on war.
- nerfhammer 12y agoThis was a POW, in case that wasn't clear to anyone else
- afarrell 12y agoFor those interested in why there was fighting in the Dardanelles, read Guns of August by Barbera Tuchman. It covers the timeline from Serajevo to The Marne. http://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-Guns-of-August-Audiobook/B002V5CUFK http://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-Guns-of-August-Audiobo...
- tormeh 12y agoIf anyone wants some haunting footage: Berlin, Pre-War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-m9A8mY-U0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-m9A8mY-U0 It's bizarre that Berlin once looked like this. It's OT, but here's how Berlin turned into what it is today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=592ZXOuG7yE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=592ZXOuG7yE German side of the war: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CErUTpuDbd8&src_vid=B-m9A8mY-U0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CErUTpuDbd8&src_vid=B-m9A8mY... More German: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPb_hJcno3g&src_vid=CErUTpuDbd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPb_hJcno3g&src_vid=CErUTpuD... German, with poison gas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8EJc7RAXDk&src_vid=CErUTpuDbd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8EJc7RAXDk&src_vid=CErUTpuD... Multiside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP_0DkpFOKs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP_0DkpFOKs
- Spooky23 12y agoI always find early video like the first one kind of sad -- you know that everyone you see and most of their children are dead. It's doubly sad here in that most male children pictured here were of military age in 1914, and were likely cut down in the slaughter.
- frozenport 12y agoDon't worry a few of them grew up to join the NSDAP and do it all over again!
- simonh 12y agoI was going to vote this comment down, but stopped myself and reconsidered. The thing is, it's actually true and is important context. Sentiment is all well and good, but wars are started by people making a choice. They aren't natural disasters we have no control over or responsibility for.
- tormeh 12y agoYou have to remember what kind of society Germany was. It was very disciplined and Japan-y. It's not that Germans were specially inclined to be Nazis, but they were specially inclined to follow crazy orders. It was the inheritance from Prussia. Japan was, of course, even worse. When you visit the two countries you can still notice it. Germany is mostly rid of it except an excruciating attention to detail, bureaucracy and status. Japan is more recognizably hierarchical and disciplined. Be wary of people who are patriotic and proud of following orders.
- oska 12y ago> He added, with comical appreciation of the irony of his position, “We were glad to get out of the Dardanelles and be shipped to Saloniki.” For some explanatory background on the two fronts this soldier fought on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonian_Front http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonian_Front
- Travis-FD 12y agoFantastic Read