Scarred.

This is coolbert:

"It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it." -R.E. Lee.

"Tragedy of the lost generation: Map shows the towns and cities where WWI wiped out tens of thousands of people - including whole circles of friends - as Britain was left scarred forever"

From https://www.dailymail.co.uk | By RACHAEL BURFORD |  FOR MAILONLINE | 11 November 2016. Image thanks to The Mail.

" * 'About 700,000 British soldiers lost their lives in WWI and level of loss was higher in some areas than others'  *  'Newly released research shows that some British towns and cities lost nearly one in ten residents'  *  'Some smaller northern England and Scottish towns saw entire generations completely wiped out'  *  'Durham, in the north east, was worst hit with 6,300 men lost - nearly eight per cent of the total population' "

Comments:

* Something needs to clarified about this graphic. As best as I can determine in societies such as Great Britain and USA at any given moment about 10 % of the population consists of young males of conscription age [ages 18-35years].

* That being the case about 75 % of that cohort Durham doing their military service during the Great War PERISHING. And we are not even talking about wounded-in-action disabled maybe for life.

* Eight percent of the total Durham population gone, but that number DECEASED in combat being of the most able persons, the breadwinners and those whom the rest of the society relies on to make things work.

 * Other sources such as the wiki suggest the number Durham KIA about 50 % higher..

coolbert.

WW1 VR.

This is coolbert:

I highly recommend without qualification or reservation this You Tube video!

Once more, war by computer simulation? See within context of previous blog entry.  https://tinyurl.com/4wahen3p

"War Remains - At the National WWI Museum and Memorial"  https://tinyurl.com/ytdxru3k

"For anyone who is interested in history, The National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri is a must see. This is the only museum in the world that fully interprets The Great War from a global perspective. Adding to this amazing place is a VR experience like no other"

If visiting the WW1 Museum Kansas City, MO. USA also check out in the adjacent Memory Hall what for many decades was the world's largest painting. As dedicated and as a commemoration to the victors of the Great War. Most impressive!

"The colossal war painting that time forgot"  https://tinyurl.com/38ptk96h

An art of work nearly destroyed but should now be listed as international treasure.

coolbert.

Promulgated.

This is coolbert:

Justice was done? 

"1915: 22 Singapore mutineers"

From ExecutedToday.com ^ | March 25, 2012. The tip from Freeper.

"On this date in 1915, 'the sentences of the court-martial on a batch of 45 mutineers of the 5th Light Infantry were promulgated in public' — as the Straits Times reported — 'and, in the case of 22 who were condemned to death, the sentences were executed on the spot.'”

"A crowd of fifteen thousand watched the spirited Indian sepoys shot dead for revolting the previous month."

"This demoralized 800-strong garrison of Punjabi Muslims — who had, it need hardly be added, a noble history of insurrection to think upon — was already deployed far from home to look after the imperial interests of the London gentry while British lads mustered for bayonet charges in No Man’s Lands."

"The last straw for these sepoys was a rumor that they were to be shipped to the European theater and made to turn their weapons against the Turkish sultan, their Muslim coreligionist."

Comments:

* Mutineers guilty without question. A collective disobedience to orders. But more than that. Those guilty went on a rampage and murdered innocent civilians.

* This mutiny too suppressed in part by Japanese soldiers. Yet one contribution of the Japanese WW1 effort in concert with other allied nations.

* See yet more the Siege of Al Kut, WW1. An episode of the Great War a mass surrender of British Indian army troops fighting the Ottoman. Mistreatment of captured sepoy at the hands of the Turk extreme. 

coolbert.

Ravel.

This is coolbert:

Herewith the topic of the middle-aged man volunteering for military service, his behavior and demeanor exemplary.

The great French composer Maurice Ravel. A true patriot.

"Joseph Maurice Ravel . . . was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer."

A man too of the same type as a Frederick Selous, a H. H. Munro or a Karamojo Bell!

See the You Tube Short:

See additionally an Internet article devoted to Ravel and his WW1 military service.

Maurice hardly a slacker/goldbrick/malingerer!

He DIDN'T have to go but he did!

coolbert.

R & M.

This is coolbert:

R & M = Rats and Mice.

Eternal warfare the Ukraine Conflict. Rats, mice, and other vermin bearing disease.

"Rats and mice swarm trenches in Ukraine in grisly echo of World War I"

From https://www.cnn.com | By Christian Edwards and Olga Voitovych | CNN | January 21, 2024.

"grisly: adjective - Causing repugnance; gruesome. synonym: ghastly."

"The frontlines of Russia’s war in Ukraine have become infested with rats and mice, reportedly spreading disease that causes soldiers to vomit and bleed from their eyes, crippling combat capability and recreating the gruesome conditions that plagued troops in the trench warfare of World War I."

Traditionally disease has been the biggest cause of death among soldiers during wartime. Generally more deaths from illness than deaths from battle field injury. Rats, mice and other vermin carrying disease which is spread to soldiers.

The Ukraine Conflict has now devolved into a stalemated carve-up, neither side able to prevail. both sides now resorting to trench warfare with active defense as the only option. Expect that a long and stalemated period of inconclusive and positional warfare will now occur. Conditions most favorable for of all types of verminous critters. 

See my previous blog entry the rat problem as existed in the trenches of World War One:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/03/rat-i.html

coolbert.

11.11.18.

This is coolbert:

Courtesy here, the Internet website of the distinguished Israeli, historian and military theoretician Martin van Creveld.

"Disabled"

POSTED ON DECEMBER 14, 2023 BY MARTIN VAN CREVELD.

"As the Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the Gaza Strip drags on and on, it is time to say a word about the human cost of war. Of all war, let me quickly add, and on both sides. To my knowledge, no one has tackled this difficult topic better than Wilfred Owen did. A British officer who fought in World War I, he was killed in action just a week before the ceasefire of 11.11.1918. He left behind the following lines"

"Disabled"

"He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,

And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,

Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park

Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,

Voices of play and pleasure after day,

Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him."

                *       *        *        *        *

Devoted readers to the blog are strongly encouraged without reservation or qualification to read the remainder of the poetry by Wilfred Owen. Wilfred I am sure would appreciate things as they are now, and in an instant heartfully understand what is occurring among civilians and military personnel, both.

And thank you, Professor Van Creveld.

coolbert.

Noted.

This is coolbert:

The Shell Crisis of 1915 and the shell crisis of 2023 how similar they are!

And as has been duly noted by the American military commentator Colonel Austin Bay. 

From https://www.strategypage.com | the article by Colonel Austin Bay.

"On Point: The Shell Crisis of 2023: Artillery Munition Shortages Undermine Ukraine and Israel War Efforts"

"In 1914, quick-firing field artillery could fire more shells than domestic industries, geared to peacetime consumption levels, could supply. Armies, although recognizing the dangers, had underestimated them. By late autumn (1914) they were having to limit the number of shells each gun was permitted to fire each day. Industry's conversion to wartime production would not be complete until 1916, and in 1915 the shells crisis had political consequences for most belligerents." - Hew Strachan.

The problem in 1915 not so much as expenditure of ammunition so great but the inability of industry to keep pace with consumption, replace what has already been fired and MAINTAIN suitable stockpiles for emergency and crisis use. 

Mobilizing existing resources USA and Europe and fabrication facilities to produce more ammo bang-stuff to meet demand I think lacking. Asquith in 1915 the British Prime Minister his leadership as a result of the Shell Crisis questionable.

I might even suggest that Colonel Bay has been reading some of my blog entries the shell crisis 2023 and has taken a cue for his own article.

Same problem in 2023 as it was in 1915. 

See all my previous blog entries the Ukraine Conflict shell crisis:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/07/skimpiness.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/03/creation.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/03/production.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/01/expanded.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/11/ramp-up.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/10/inflation.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/03/production.html

coolbert.

Mercy.

This is coolbert:

“There should be no mercy for the cowardly ones leaving their ranks or surrendering; rifle, machine-gun and cannon fire should be directed at surrendering soldiers, even if it requires ceasing fire on the enemy; we should act in the same way on those retreating or running away, and, if necessary, a mass shooting should be carried out… The weak-willed have no place among us and they must be eliminated.” - Alexei Brusilov.

Before there were NKVD blocking units The Great Patriotic War [WW2] and before there were Chechen blocking units the Ukraine Conflict there was Brusilov.

"The 3 most effective Russian military leaders of World War I"

From  https://www.rbth.com | HISTORY | JULY 28 2022 | BORIS EGOROV.

Honestly other than Brusilov I think the general historical consensus of the Russian high command during The Great War is that of senior military flag-grade officers rather inept and incompetent. Chosen for political reasons and loyalty to the Czar more than battlefield ability. 

That contention that the Russian during the Great War had commanders in addition to Brusilov of marked ability a surprise? Devoted readers to the blog will have to read the entire article and decide for themselves.

Brusilov generally given high marks and most famous for that most [?] successful Russian campaign of the Great War.

Read further from the wiki that entry devoted to Brusilov. Alexei perhaps surprisingly so in the aftermath of the war: "he sided with the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War and aided in the early organization of the Red Army until retiring in 1924."

coolbert.

Le Prieur.

This is coolbert:

As it was in 1916 during the period of the Great War so as it is in 2023?

Le Prieur where are we when we need you?

Modern military balloons almost impossible to shoot down using conventional fighter warplane machinegun and cannon fire.

Having reviewed the move "The Red Baron | FULL MOVIE | 2008 | Action, Fighter Pilots | Joseph Fiennes" one scene [1:26:16 / 1:46:01 into the movie] especially I find to have such a modern context.

German  pilot firing a round from a flare gun into a World War One observation balloon. Setting alight the flammable hydrogen 

Gas-bag military balloons of the observation balloon type as during the Great War relatively impervious to conventional weapons fire. Holing a balloon hardly enough to bring it down. Incendiary rounds not becoming widespread in use until 1917 or so?

"An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery. The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War I, and they continue in limited use today. Synonyms include espionage balloon, reconnaissance balloon, spy balloon, and surveillance balloon."

The Frenchman combat aviator Le Prieur and his innovation of firing rockets into the balloons a partial solution to the combat observational balloon problem.

"Historically, observation balloons were filled with hydrogen. The balloons were fabric envelopes filled with hydrogen gas, the flammable nature of which led to the destruction of hundreds of balloons."

In the modern context those Chinese ESPIONAGE/RECONNAISSANCE/SPY/SURVEILLANCE balloons even more difficult to shoot down. Gas-bags filled with helium instead of flammable hydrogen making the modern war-making balloon an ever more difficult target.

Read here courtesy the BBC from 1998 a "rogue" weather balloon the attempted shoot-down by cannon fire from Canadian and NATO air forces, even one-thousand rounds not adequate to bring down the errant balloon.

coolbert.

Vickers.

This is coolbert:

Think yet in addition the Maxim machinegun of the Great War primarily if not almost exclusively used in the direct fire mode of action.

"Indirect fire with the #VickersMG (principles apply elsewhere though): First need to understand that in #VickersMG parlance: DIRECT fire is targets that can be seen from the gun position; INDIRECT fire is for targets that are obscured."

The Maxim machinegun the Ukrainian have an abundance of these old-fashioned but still effective weapons the usage of which during the Ukraine Conflict cannot be denied!

The British during the Great War employing the famous Vickers machinegun [a contemporary of the Maxim gun] in an indirect fire mode of operation. What the British did one-hundred years ago the Ukrainian can do now? Maybe already are.

"The Vickers machine gun was used for indirect fire against enemy positions at ranges up to 4,500 yards with Mark VIIIz ammunition. This plunging fire was used to great effect against road junctions, trench systems, forming up points, and other locations that might be observed by a forward observer, or zeroed in at one time for future attacks, or guessed at by men using maps and experience.2 The British Machine Gun Corps were noted for their use of Vickers machine guns in an indirect fire role, and the ANZAC forces were fond of this as well. Angle-measuring devices (clinometers) and range tables were provided to calculate indirect fire."

Indirect fires by machinegun use to neutralize of suppress the enemy. Institutionalized by the British as they day.

"neutralize — 1. As pertains to military operations, to render ineffective or unusable. 2. To render enemy personnel or materiel incapable of interfering with a particular operation."

"suppression — Temporary or transient degradation by an opposing force of the performance of a weapons system below the level needed to fulfill its mission objectives."

A bunched number of Maxim guns with drone feed for accuracy of fire correction and you are ready to go!

coolbert.

RED ZONE.

This is coolbert:

In keeping with the topic of a prior blog entry see this You Tube video:

As is some areas of northern France today so will be portions of Ukraine tomorrow.?

"The Forbidden RED ZONE in Europe, Where Life is No More"

"The 'zone rouge' (in French, Red Zone) is a noncontiguous area that occupies the northeastern part of France and corresponds to the places that hosted some of the bloodiest battles of the Great War. Originally extending as much as 1,200 km2 [about 450 square miles], over the years, thanks to reclamation efforts, it has been downsized to about 100 km2 [about 38 square miles]. Despite this, the subsoil still conceals a disproportionate amount of unexploded ordnance, conventional and otherwise, to the point that it remains virtually inaccessible to humans."

Comments:

* It is estimated it will take the land about 700 years to fully recover?

* Lots of unexploded artillery rounds including about 2 % of which are poison gas munitions. It will take the French about thirty years to dispose of just the amount chemical ordnance currently having been found and stored.

* Arsenic in the ground at much elevated levels way beyond norm. Agricultural products as harvested from the Red Zone must be marked accordingly with regard to hazard!

* I repeat that the black earth farm land the Eurasian steppe land to valuable to lay fallow. How to take remedial action in the aftermath of the war will be a major challenge.

coolbert.

Rouge.

This is coolbert:

"It is very hard when you arrive in the area now to have any idea of what the countryside looked like before the war." - VINCENT KESSLER, REUTERS PHOTOGRAPHER.

Damage many villages/towns/cities Ukraine immense. And in one-hundred years it will all look like? As it is now in France it will be tomorrow in Ukraine?

To a degree we already know!

"First Person: The towns in Ukraine which no longer exist"

From news.un.org/en/ | 17 February 2023 Migrants and Refugees.

"Almost a year into the war in Ukraine, some communities are having to cope with the total destruction of their way of life and the towns where they used to live; that’s according to a humanitarian worker for the UN Migration Agency, IOM."

As to what will be:

"The ghost villages of Verdun"

"Nearly a century after the guns fell silent in World War One, a group of villages wiped out by fighting on France's bloodiest battleground lead a ghostly existence."

All thanks Reuters | VINCENT KESSLER, REUTERS PHOTOGRAPHER | 8 Apr 2014.

SCROLL THE CURSOR UP/DOWN WITHIN EACH IMAGE TO SEE THE BEFORE AND AFTER!

SEE AS WELL AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE THE SLIDE SHOW WITH ADDITIONAL IMAGES BEFORE/AFTER.

"A Tour of the Eerie Villages France Never Rebuilt After WWI"

From www.bloomberg.com/news the original article Reuters by Mark Byrnes March 20, 2014.

"After the Battle of Verdun left hundreds of thousands dead, the towns-turned-battlefields sat empty out of respect."

CLICK ON THE CIRCLE EACH IMAGE THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER TO SEE YESTERDAY/TODAY.

Further see the wiki entry Zone Rouge:

"The land, which originally covered more than 1,200 square kilometers (460 sq mi), was deemed too physically and environmentally damaged by conflict for human habitation. Rather than attempt to immediately clean up the former battlefields, the land was allowed to return to nature."

I might well suspect the black earth cropland of the Eurasian steppe land far too valuable to be left fallow. Unexploded ordnance will remain a dangerous aspect of farming in that part of the world far beyond the foreseeable future.

coolbert.

UXB WW1.

This is coolbert:

It is with much trepidation and apprehensiveness that I make this blog entry.

Warning: if you are easily offended by material of an adult and frank nature that might be distressful please hit escape now,

"Man With WWI Explosive Lodged In His Rectum Sparks Bomb Scare, Hospital Evacuation"

“'An apple, a mango or even a can of shaving foam, we are used to finding unusual objects inserted where they shouldn’t be,' one doctor declared. 'But a shell? Never!'”

"The case left doctors shell shocked."

"A French hospital was partially evacuated Saturday after a senior citizen arrived with a World War I artillery shell lodged in his rectum."

My guess would be that this artillery round was still alive and active and could spontaneously detonate given the right circumstances with disastrous consequences for all.

"The 88-year-old patient visited Hospital Sainte Musse in Toulon to have the antique explosive removed — but instead sparked a 'bomb scare,' French publication Var-Matin reported."

Each year in France at least a dozen or more French farmers are killed when plowing their fields detonating unexploded artillery rounds that have lay dormant and under the soil for a period of over 100 years now.

But this particular 88 year old man for shame now - for great shame!!

coolbert:

Overture.

This is coolbert:

Was not even aware of such a thing A negotiated settlement to the Great War [WW1] was possible in 1916! Proposals for a negotiated settlement were first broached by the Germans but were rejected by the Allied Powers almost out of hand? Again never heard of this before. 

"overture: noun | 1a. an initiative toward agreement or action : PROPOSAL b. something introductory : PRELUDE"

1. "British people oppose German peace proposal"

By ED L. KEEN, United Press.

2. "DID THE GERMANS TRY TO MAKE PEACE IN 1916?"

By GERALD SWICK 12/18/2014.

3. "Did Germany really make a serious peace proposal in Dec 1916?"

12 JANUARY 2016.

4. "The Road Less Traveled: The Secret Battle to End the Great War, 1916-1917"

WOODROW WILSON - THEN AND NOW [Courtesy the Woodrow Wilson Center]

I strongly encourage devoted readers to the blog and those persons merely perusing in a much more casual manner to watch and listen to the embedded video from the Wilson Center. Most informative and covering a topic I was not even aware of.

My perspective would be that the German having keenly observed the results of combat in 1916 to include the Somme, Verdun and the Brusilov offensive quite correctly concluded that there was no easy and quick end or resolution to the war strictly from military basis.

The German also in the aftermath of the Romanian campaign would have perceived themselves as being able to negotiate from a position of strength rather than weakness. The attitude would have been its better preserve now what we have gained rather than what we might might not be able to preserve in the future!

Regrettably all came for naught. I might well think "emotion clouds reason" in such circumstances  makes meaningful overtures and negotiation impossible! The rest is history as they say.

coolbert.

11/11/11.

This is coolbert:

Courtesy the Lew Rockwell Internet web site the links to a number of Charles Burris articles the topic the Great War [WW1].

1. "Aftermath, By Siegfried Sassoon".

"Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day to commemorate that at 11:00 0’Clock on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 a formal armistice was concluded ending hostilities of the greatest conflagration and warfare in world history up to that point. This grim sardonic poem, Aftermath, captures the senseless tragedy and banal futility of that conflict."

2. "Paths of Glory".

"Stanley Kubrick’s searing cinematic masterpiece indicting mendacious incompetents leading French troops to the slaughter during the Great War was forbidden in France for decades."

See also: https://ok.ru/video/1225762474543

See additionally: https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/08/glory.html

3. "Royal Cousins At War".

"In May 1910, the monarchies of Europe came together in London, in an opulent show of strength, for the funeral of Edward VII. War and revolution in the ensuing decade heaped assassination, defeat and exile upon them. Theo Aronson portrays the European Royal Families at War."

4. "Analyzing 'The Why' Behind The Great War".

A. https://www.corbettreport.com/wwi/

B. https://podcastaddict.com/episode/60351991

5. "World War I: The American Legacy".

"My grandfather [Burris?] severed in The Great War (The First World War) in the Meuse-Argonne campaign with General John J. Pershing, I wish I had listened more carefully to his recounting of his tales in the Argonne forest when I was a young teenager. Luckily there are excellent documentaries such as this one that can relay some of the story of the War to present generations."

Lew Rockwell self-admitted anti-state•anti-war•pro-market and proud of it.

coolbert.

Quiet.

This is coolbert:

Have discussed in a previous blog entry the remake of the war movie "All Quiet on the Western Front"

An all time classic and deserves to be thought of as so.

The Netflix remake getting great praise from the reviewers across the board, seemingly without exception. Evidently this has become a much see cinematic production.

Thanks to KATE DENNETT FOR MAILONLINE 2 November 2022 | 

"'One of the greatest war movies ever made': Critics and viewers heap praise on Netflix WW1 epic All Quiet on the Western Front as they call for it to get an Oscar nomination"

"Critics and viewers alike have heaped praise on Netflix's new World War One movie All Quiet on the Western Front and called for it to be nominated for an Oscar."

Maybe not just AN Oscar but many Oscars. Could be so and maybe needs to be so.

coolbert.

SM U-9.

This is coolbert:

"She [U-9] fired four of her torpedoes, reloading while submerged, and sank all three in less than an hour. 1,459 British sailors died. It was one of the most notable submarine actions of all time."

Submarine attack the Great War. For the first time naval history, major warships sunk by an enemy submarine using torpedoes.

German submarine SM U-9 with Otto Weddigen commanding.

Three major British warships sunk in less than a hour with great loss of life.

As was gleaned from an Internet web site that loss of life from the sinking of the three warships greater than the number of Royal Navy [RN] personnel killed at Trafalgar. This was a surprise to me.

Even STARTLING figures of which confirmation required.

"The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)."

As listed and obtained from the wiki RN dead and wounded Trafalgar: "458 killed - 1,208 wounded."

Losses combined the HMS Hogue, HMS Cressy, HMS Aboukir:

"The combined total from all three ships was 837 men rescued and 62 officers and 1,397 ratings lost. Hogue lost 377 men."

About THREE TIMES the number of RN personnel lost in 1914 than 1805. Trafalgar seen within historical context as one of the most [perhaps the most storied] famous naval battles in history.

After the sinking of the Hogue, Cressy and Aboukir the capabilities of the submarine to cause massive damage and function as a vital component of naval warfare undeniable.

Each of those British warships sunk each discharging all their guns just once having the same firepower approximately so according to my calculations as a British army of about 30,000 men firing their Brown Bess muskets once!!

coolbert.

Oscar III.

This is coolbert

From the distinguished American Senator Lindsey Graham his response to the Elon Musk proposal a negotiated settlement to the Ukraine Conflict.

"LINDSEY GRAHAM: 'I do NOT want to see Elon Musk become the Henry Ford of our time'"

From twitter ^ | Oct 6 | Sen. Lindsey Graham. Tip from Freeper.

@LindseyGrahamSC

"When I say I respect @elonmusk I’m not kidding."

"I’ve known him for years."

"He’s done amazing things by launching satellites to make America competitive in space and producing modern, high-performance electric vehicles."

"His Starlink system has also helped in Ukraine."

"My concern with his Russian 'peace' proposal is he is legitimizing one of the greatest crimes of the 21st century by Putin."

"I do NOT want to see Elon Musk become the Henry Ford of our time"

▶️ Great industrialist.

▶️ Genius manufacturer.

▶️ Gives voice to evil in pursuit of peace.

-----------------------------------------------------

Further within in the historical context and the mention of Henry Ford consider the "Peace Ship" of 1915. An effort by Henry Ford the American automotive industry magnate to negotiate an end to the Great War [World War One].

Read from the wiki the abortive and ultimately futile effort of the "Peace Ship" to bring the warring parties to the bargaining table and negotiate a settlement to WW1:

"The Peace Ship was the common name for the ocean liner Oscar II, on which American industrialist Henry Ford organized and launched his 1915 amateur peace mission to Europe; Ford chartered the Oscar II and invited prominent peace activists to join him. He hoped to create enough publicity to prompt the belligerent nations to convene a peace conference and mediate an end to World War I"

Henry 1915, Elon 2022. My response is that Elon can hardly do any worse than the politicians, statesmen and diplomats are currently are doing to resolve the Ukraine Conflict.

If the politicians, statesmen and diplomats can't, maybe Elon can.

coolbert.

Nobbs.

This is coolbert:

Two-fisted, head up and eyes open! Damnit!

Consider this blog entry a reprise of previous material posted a number of years ago.

As it was for Percy Erskine Nobbs in 1914 so will it be too for Vitali Valuev in 2022.

Vitali the former World Boxing Champion to teach physical fitness and the rudiments of boxing to recent Russian military recruits. 

Vitali as mobilized will be a father figure, an admired and respected person, his lack of hesitancy in not shirking his responsibility noted by the much younger men..

"Boxing for Beginners, with Chapter showing its Relationship to Bayonet Fighting"

As extracted from the http://ejmas.com Internet web site and thanks to same.

"The Value of Boxing in Military Training"

"The object of teaching boxing in the army is to make 'head up and eyes open' two-fisted fighting men rather than expert boxers and ring fighters. Therefore the instruction of the mass and not of a few individuals is of prime importance. Work for the largest number of men in the shortest possible time. Eliminate the 'frills' and fancy work and do your best to get the men to fight aggressively and effectively. Six standard blows are sufficient. A straight left, well delivered and backed up by aggressive American determination, is a Boche[German] eliminant in nine cases out of ten." - Introduction, Joseph E. Raycroft.

"I have seen youngsters in khaki turn pale lilac with orange blotches on being told to put on the gloves, and give up cheerily at the end of the first round, notwithstanding the fact that they were daily going over the jumps and hitting the bags about; and I have seen the same boys six weeks later, in the strength of their youth and fitness, come up against skilled boxers in the regimental boxing finals, get a fourth round ordered and come up with a grin for a certain knock-out. A fight to a finish with the gloves is an excellent experience for anyone. I do not mean a ten-round heart-destroyer, but a short, hard fight. Such a fight is in my opinion an essential part of any infantryman’s training. Whether he wins or loses he learns a lot. Bayonet training does the 10 percent that is not spiritual in the making of a fighter, and boxing can do the other 90 percent. That is the makeup of the first-class fighting man." - Major Percy E. Nobbs, Canadian army, WW1.

Percy E. Nobbs at the time of the Great War was thirty-nine years old. An accomplished fencer, boxer, cross-country runner. An athlete of Olympic caliber but most remembered in Canada for his accomplishments as an architect!

coolbert.

Glory.

This is coolbert:

As in 1930, as in 1975, as it is now in 2022. Yet one more cinematic adaptation of the Erich Maria Remarque novel "All Quiet on the Western Front".

Previous versions [both American] of "All Quiet" outstanding and I expect this most recent German production to be the same.

1. "Germany sends 'All Quiet on the Western Front' to Oscars"

 "A strong statement against war: Germany's candidate for the best international feature film Academy Award is Edward Berger's new adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's classic anti-war drama."

 2. "How 'All Quiet on the Western Front' ran afoul of Nazi film censors"

"Director Lewis Milestone's unsparing portrayal of WWI quickly encountered Nazi censorship after its November 21, 1930 premiere. Based on the German novel by Erich Maria Remarque, no one had ever seen anything like it. 

Consider too one more outstanding motion picture within the context of World War One:

3. Paths of Glory.

"Paths of Glory is a 1957 American anti-war film co-written and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb."

"Set during World War I, the film stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refuse to continue a suicidal attack, after which Dax attempts to defend them against charges of cowardice in a court-martial."

Trench warfare The Great War in all gory detail, the French troops led by Kirk Douglas [playing Colonel Dax] waiting to go over-the-top and the certain death of maiming that awaits many of them. A suicidal attack ordered by the high command that Dax and every man with him knows is a futile assault. Such was quite often the case in WW1? Paths of Glory intended to be more of a court room drama than a war movie? Adolph Menjou I had always thought was born a European who became a famous actor in the USA. But Adolph was born and bred American.

And a movie highly controversial in many quarters. It was not for a period of decades that Paths of Glory [remember an American film 100 %] was allowed to be shown in France!!

coolbert.