Canadian Expert Solves WW I Mystery

[winston]

This is really interesting to those of us who are history buffs.

http://news.sympatico.msn.ca/Video/Play ... 9fffd252af

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

That is a really neat story..

I was a history major at McMaster here in Hamilton - the collection is quite extensive at Mills Library

Here are a few better articles about it, one from the local paper THE SPEC

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/614742

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... le1247577/

[8mileshigher]

Who would've thought I'd be reading about the Battle of Ypres, almost 95 years later, on the Rick Forum !
Cool !

[antipodean]

Thanks Brian - a very interesting story.

Sadly the Great War is largely a forgotten or misunderstood chapter of history. The twentieth century could have been a golden age if the lessons it taught were actually absorbed.

[johnallg]

Quite interesting indeed. Thanks Brian. WWI was one very nasty, ugly, and high-loss deadly war.

[wayang]

Indeed...I lived for a year in Verdun when I was a kid...what a mess. The woods around the town are still 'off-limits' due to the amount of unexploded ordnance lying everywhere. Two of the neighborhood kids dug a hole in the ground no more than a hundred yards from our house, and had to be rushed to the hospital, having released 'mustard gas' that had been trapped for decades. The gas drifted everywhere across the battlefield, and exploding shells would trap it under a rain of earth...

The Battle of Verdun lasted more than a year and killed a million soldiers...pure insanity.

[johnallg]

The Battle of Verdun lasted more than a year and killed a million soldiers...pure insanity.

Pure insanity indeed.... How do you continue to dupe soldiers into battle??!!!

[longboard_ric]

Thanks Brian !!!

There is still much going on in regard to WW1 "archaeology".

The Australian Govt is undertaking work at Fromelles where the remains of many fallen soldiers were recently located.

If you were not aware, Fromelles July 19, 1916, is arguably the most tragic day in Australian military history. 5500 soldiers were lost in 24 hrs. They were mown down by German machine guns as they were ordered to advance across open fields. My grandfather was there and fortunately survived. It's a pity we was not a better shot though: on the other side of the paddock was a German corporal by the name of Adolf Hitler.

I'm also learning more about the Canadian involvement in WW1: it appears despite their relatively small numbers, they were extremely effective. Punched well above their weight, as they say.

Dane, pure insanity is an understatement, and that applies to all of WWI and II and any other conflict you can think of. The sheer scale of death and destruction I cannot comprehend.

I do hope to travel to Fromelles and Gallipoli in Turkey, where Great Uncle of mine died, to try and see what it was like.

[winston]

Thanks guys............many of our troops may have have fallen on the field of battle but no matter what their fate, they have never been forgotten by those of us who care. My view is that history can be a great teacher if you take the time to learn its many lessons.

I am thankful that researchers can still unravel mysteries such the one in the story originally posted and help bring closure for those who were affected.

Please help keep this thread respectful and lets not tarnish the memory of those who fought and perished by entering into a discussion on the politics of war. it is what it is and it is a chapter in history that we are obviously still learning about.

[wayang]

I agree, Brian...for the noble purpose of keeping the Forum what it was always meant to be: a meeting place where cordiality is the rule.

My parents took us to visit many of the cemeteries across western Europe to instill in us an appreciation of the monstrous scope of twentieth-century warfare. This included the many cemeteries dedicated to the memory of the German soldiers who died in both World Wars. I found it to be a testament to my father's open-minded humanity...after all, these were 'enemy combatants', from his point of view. Nevertheless, a fallen soldier has more in common with every other fallen soldier than words will ever be able to express, regardless of politics and ideology. The conditions that bring brother to face brother (and, in the 'modern' world, sisters as well) is where we, as a race, need to focus our concern.

...many of our troops may have have fallen on the field of battle but no matter what their fate, they have never been forgotten by those of us who care. My view is that history can be a great teacher if you take the time to learn its many lessons.

I couldn't say it any better than that, my friend.

[longboard_ric]

Dane and Brian,

During the 8 month Gallipoli campaign, the Allied forces suffered 265000 casualties with 46000 killed. Turkish casualties were reported as 218000 with 66000 killed.

The following speech by Turkish commander Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is inscribed on a monument at ANZAC Cove :

"Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives … you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well."

The Turkish are active participants in the memorial service held on 25th April every year at ANZAC Cove.

With regard to Fromelles, the German officers were appalled that British Commanders made no effort to recover the slain. They then set about burying the dead, both their own and the British forces. Personal details of the fallen were recovered and forwarded to the Red Cross in Berlin. A touch of humanity from the "enemy".

[doctorwho]

Nice feature, thanks for the link!