90 years ago

[DirtyHarry]

The story of Gallipoli is pretty heartwarming though. The British commanders accidently misjudged where the ANZAC forces should land on the Turkish Coast sending them into an incredibly fortified death trap. Once they realized this they were too pompous and arrogant to admit they had made a mistake and withdraw, so the ANZACs just got massacred.

[Fairweather]

 

Has anybody anywhere ever really figured out what got that bastard Woodrow Wilson, the "peace candidate", to commit so many good lives to what was clearly a ghastly horror show?

 

 

...of course, there's more to the story - like sending an unescourted liner into waters where Germany had promised to do just this very thing. I'm not a big proponent of active conspiracies, but Wilson (and the Brits) had to know the outcome beforehand....

[cj001f]

 

Has anybody anywhere ever really figured out what got that bastard Woodrow Wilson, the "peace candidate", to commit so many good lives to what was clearly a ghastly horror show?

 

 

...of course, there's more to the story - like sending an unescourted liner into waters where Germany had promised to do just this very thing. I'm not a big proponent of active conspiracies, but Wilson (and the Brits) had to know the outcome beforehand....

Among other things the Germans trying to get Mexico to go to war with us didn't help (Zimmerman telegram). Actual, factual evidence of another nation meaning to do us harm.

 

My GreatGrandfather volunteered as a medical officer; first he was detailed to a camp somewhere in the US South where he wrote notes in triplicate (!) instructing soldiers not to defecate while standing on the latrine seat, among other fine things, then he was shipped to Europe where he contracted the flu on the boat over, almost died in a hospital, then returned home. His maxim thereafter was "never trust the government"

[murraysovereign]

Another vote for "The Guns of August"- after a lifetime of only a vague, confused sense of how that war started, Barbara Tuchman's book gave a clear explanation that even my addled brain could comprehend. The war itself still doesn't make sense (how could it, really?), but the events leading up to it, and the first month of the fighting I now understand. I highly recommend that book to anyone who, like me, found the history classes in school/college more confusing than helpful.

[Mal_Con]

The story of Gallipoli is pretty heartwarming though. The British commanders accidently misjudged where the ANZAC forces should land on the Turkish Coast sending them into an incredibly fortified death trap. Once they realized this they were too pompous and arrogant to admit they had made a mistake and withdraw, so the ANZACs just got massacred.

The person in charge of that operation was a young naval man by the name of Winston Churchill who the Aussies never forgave

[cj001f]

The person in charge of that operation was a young naval man by the name of Winston Churchill who the Aussies never forgave

With the highest casualities of any serving nation, out of a population of some 5 million people 331,000 served overseas of whom 215,000 were captured, missing, killed or injured is that suprising? The Australia War Memorial is a sobering sight in Canberra.

[snugtop]

[billcoe]

Good call on Tuchmans book, maybe one of the very best books: period. It made me want to read of bunch of her books, and "The Guns of August" still stands out. ("A Distant Mirror" would be my vote for second best Tuchman work)

 

To take that obtuse sequense of events and put it down so it is both accurate and interesting is a major coup for her. I have read it twice. Very, very good book.

 

Still don't know why that lying prick Wilson entered the US into the war.

 

Bueller.......

 

 

 

Bueller........?

[DirtyHarry]

Website with some somewhat interesting WW1 color photos:

 

http://www.worldwaronecolorphotos.com/index.html

 

Including this one of French colonial troops.

[olyclimber]

Do we need a new HISTORY FORUM in spray????

[G-spotter]

90 million years ago, it was my birthday every 30 minutes. Now it's only once a week.

[archenemy]

According to my grandfather, the earth is only seven thousand years old.

[G-spotter]

Who says my birthday was on Earth? How old does your grandpa say Saturn is? Cause Saturn is the natural home of black people. Sun Ra told me.

[snugtop]

...and a geology forum while you're at it

[G-spotter]

 

It doesn't look like there were nearly as many countries in Africa back then.

[jordop]

Yeah but look how huge the I-5 was

[G-spotter]

You fool, that's the Inland Sea. You could swim to Yamnuska as long as a giant squid or a supercroc didn't eat you.

Edited June 29, 2006 by G-spotter

[archenemy]

Oh, that's a supercroc of shit.

[crackers]

The story of Gallipoli is pretty heartwarming though. The British commanders accidently misjudged where the ANZAC forces should land on the Turkish Coast sending them into an incredibly fortified death trap. Once they realized this they were too pompous and arrogant to admit they had made a mistake and withdraw, so the ANZACs just got massacred.

 

That's not actually true. That is a myth perpetuated by the ANZAC soldiers.

 

What actually happened is a bit better and a bit worse. The Brits went in and put in wooden poles to direct the landings. That night Turks moved the poles to make the ANZACs land in their kill zones. The ANZAC officers in charge of the landing decided to go through with it although they knew the landing poles were in the wrong place.

 

Go to Gelibolu on Rememberence day for a sober day of being drunk. They say that 1 in 5 Australians has a direct relative that died there.

[DirtyHarry]

Wow. Thanks for the history, and correction.

[olyclimber]

ya, it made my day too. thanks.

[cj001f]

That's not actually true. That is a myth perpetuated by the ANZAC soldiers.

 

What actually happened is a bit better and a bit worse. The Brits went in and put in wooden poles to direct the landings. That night Turks moved the poles to make the ANZACs land in their kill zones. The ANZAC officers in charge of the landing decided to go through with it although they knew the landing poles were in the wrong place.

 

Go to Gelibolu on Rememberence day for a sober day of being drunk. They say that 1 in 5 Australians has a direct relative that died there.

 

That's not the history I've read, but it makes sense the Turks would say that......

[G-spotter]

what's the point of having colonies if you can't send the colonials swarming in on certain death assaults?

[layton]

 

Climbers camping at a SW BC trailhead

[G-spotter]

Where are all the paper plates then, Mike?