Battle of the Somme Paris Fresco
In Paris' Montparnasse Metro station, as part of European-wide events commemorating the 100 year anniversary of WWI, an impressive panorama (by Joe Sacco) has been on view which shows, hour by horrific hour, the unfolding reality of one of the most gruesome battles of WWI, the battle of the Somme.
SEE THE NEW 60secondparis.com website
As a student of European history I’ve had a long fascination/interest in both WWI and WWII, what I find so utterly staggering about WWI battles is the scope of the battles and length of the conflicts for such pathetic gains. As many of you know, The Somme was a four-month battle (whose aim some historians suggest was to relive the pressure at the battle of the Verdun, itself a 10 month battle and still one of the longest in history) which eventually lead to more than a million casualties (dead & wounded).
If you follow any of the great free modern European history podcasts, I am thinking of Livonia Anderson at Berkeley and the amazingly interesting John Harriman at Yale) you can learn and be awed by the sheer size of the combatants arranged for WWI. Some 70 millions soldiers, and roughly nine (9) million dead, (of the latter, some 50% have no graves). There are too many facts and bizarre details to list here, though I can share two: Prior to the launch of the battle of the Somme, the Brits began a seven day artillery barrage and fired some 1,700,000 shells at the German lines. According to Ms Anderson (an encyclopedic mind and pleasure to listen to) at the outset of WWI, a German military transport train, crammed with soldiers armed to the teeth, crossed over over one of the key rivers every 7 minutes). Finally, it not just the horrific facts of the war but the consequences of it that we are still living with now that occupy my thoughts.
In its first day (July 1st 1916) some 40K soldiers were wounded & 20K died. At its end losses from all sides, dead and wounded, surpassed a million. The detail is amazing so if you happen to be in or near Paris, it's worth the look. APOLOGIES FOR THE poor shooting! I had a major back injury and am not supposed to be out (sorry Dr. Moura!) and had to shoot this on crutches while balancing on a moving sidewalk. Subscribe if you like and keep an eye out for the upcoming website. Cheers David!
SEE THE NEW 60secondparis.com website
As a student of European history I’ve had a long fascination/interest in both WWI and WWII, what I find so utterly staggering about WWI battles is the scope of the battles and length of the conflicts for such pathetic gains. As many of you know, The Somme was a four-month battle (whose aim some historians suggest was to relive the pressure at the battle of the Verdun, itself a 10 month battle and still one of the longest in history) which eventually lead to more than a million casualties (dead & wounded).
If you follow any of the great free modern European history podcasts, I am thinking of Livonia Anderson at Berkeley and the amazingly interesting John Harriman at Yale) you can learn and be awed by the sheer size of the combatants arranged for WWI. Some 70 millions soldiers, and roughly nine (9) million dead, (of the latter, some 50% have no graves). There are too many facts and bizarre details to list here, though I can share two: Prior to the launch of the battle of the Somme, the Brits began a seven day artillery barrage and fired some 1,700,000 shells at the German lines. According to Ms Anderson (an encyclopedic mind and pleasure to listen to) at the outset of WWI, a German military transport train, crammed with soldiers armed to the teeth, crossed over over one of the key rivers every 7 minutes). Finally, it not just the horrific facts of the war but the consequences of it that we are still living with now that occupy my thoughts.
In its first day (July 1st 1916) some 40K soldiers were wounded & 20K died. At its end losses from all sides, dead and wounded, surpassed a million. The detail is amazing so if you happen to be in or near Paris, it's worth the look. APOLOGIES FOR THE poor shooting! I had a major back injury and am not supposed to be out (sorry Dr. Moura!) and had to shoot this on crutches while balancing on a moving sidewalk. Subscribe if you like and keep an eye out for the upcoming website. Cheers David!
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