The last 6 hours of WWI

[K1052]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
your government doesen't give a f*ck about you. Plain and simple. This is the way it always has been and always will be. The romanticising of the second world war is revisionist history....

errr..the thread is about WWI and I doubt anyone has any "romantic" notions about that war

 

[Bulk Beef]

Originally posted by: K1052

Originally posted by: jadinolf

Originally posted by: aplefka
There was another war, wasn't it the Civil?, that ended and one battle was still fought after because none of the troops involved had heard the news yet.

Fox news was not covering it that day.

Seriously, not everyone surrendered at once. One of our Civil War buffs could fill us in.

In the War of 1812 The Battle of New Orleans was fought about two weeks after the war was officially over. Word had not yet reached across the Atlantic.

New Orleans was also our great victory. So much for the glory of war.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: sward666

Originally posted by: K1052

Originally posted by: jadinolf

Originally posted by: aplefka
There was another war, wasn't it the Civil?, that ended and one battle was still fought after because none of the troops involved had heard the news yet.

Fox news was not covering it that day.

Seriously, not everyone surrendered at once. One of our Civil War buffs could fill us in.

In the War of 1812 The Battle of New Orleans was fought about two weeks after the war was officially over. Word had not yet reached across the Atlantic.

New Orleans was also our great victory. So much for the glory of war.

We far better on the seas than on the land all things considered.

 

[Cobalt]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Did anyone see that show on the History channel last night dealing with the last day of World War One.

Sad and disgusting.

The armistice was signed at 2 AM but didn't take effect until 11 AM. The French and Americans continued to send men to their deaths until the very last minute. Thousands died and MANY thousands more were wounded and permanently maimed.

Yes I did see it, the last part really.

 

[PanzerIV]

Though I have read many cases of men being sent to their deaths after wars end, I think the Japanese in WWII take the cake for wanton disregard of life. This afternoon I finished reading an excellent account of Corregidor and their fanatacism never ceases to amaze me. Even though the island fortress was no longer of any tactical importance and they realized they were there to die they fought to the bitter end killing as many Americans as possible and in the process losing 4,000 of their own. Not as dramatic as the number in your WWI scenario but when you take into account that they did this time and time again knowing full well they could not defeat us and only wanted to maximize casualties for the sake of their "honor."

This doesn't take into consideration the die hards who refused to surrender long after wars end. I strongly agree the motives were disgusting for the slaughter of those men in those waning hours of WWI as well.

 

[Coquito]

Originally posted by: PanzerIV
Though I have read many cases of men being sent to their deaths after wars end, I think the Japanese in WWII take the cake for wanton disregard of life. This afternoon I finished reading an excellent account of Corregidor and their fanatacism never ceases to amaze me. Even though the island fortress was no longer of any tactical importance and they realized they were there to die they fought to the bitter end killing as many Americans as possible and in the process losing 4,000 of their own. Not as dramatic as the number in your WWI scenario but when you take into account that they did this time and time again knowing full well they could not defeat us and only wanted to maximize casualties for the sake of their "honor."

This doesn't take into consideration the die hards who refused to surrender long after wars end. I strongly agree the motives were disgusting for the slaughter of those men in those waning hours of WWI as well.

There was another special on the History channel a couple years back about a small band of japanese soldiers who were deep in some remote forest. They wouldn't believe the news of the war being over from anyone except their commander, so they stood their ground just outside a small village for decades. Even the local police couldn't draw them out because they were still hostile. Eventually, all but one of them died off & the last guy crawled out into modern day & was deeply distraught over the havok his group caused to the people in the area.

 

[brxndxn]

I would like to try to assume there's a somewhat-rational explanation for this rather than taking a knee-jerk emotional reaction..

The communication then was a lot slower. Many of the communications then were not always trusted until verified. Not everyone surrendered at the same time - and if you heard the enemy surrendered but saw them still shooting at you, would you quit firing?

War is horrible - and there is no denying that. But, somehow, I doubt WWI ended as a chess game to determine who had a larger penis.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: clamum
I wonder what their excuse was for doing that. :roll:

Blame Bush. Everyone else seems to be doing so - no matter how absurd the accusation. ;roll;

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
I would like to try to assume there's a somewhat-rational explanation for this rather than taking a knee-jerk emotional reaction..

The communication then was a lot slower. Many of the communications then were not always trusted until verified. Not everyone surrendered at the same time - and if you heard the enemy surrendered but saw them still shooting at you, would you quit firing?

War is horrible - and there is no denying that. But, somehow, I doubt WWI ended as a chess game to determine who had a larger penis.

Nope, they knew full well that the war would end at 11. There were several differant "reasons" for them to fight until the last minute. For the French commander it was retribution, for the Americans it WAS the "Who has the bigger dick" scenario. Sad to say.

 

[yankeesfan]

I bought the book; gonna read it soon.

 

[iamwiz82]

There are lots of unbelievable stories from WW1. They called it the great war for a reason.

The food blockade of Germany
Galopoli
Lusitania (Some conspiracies point to Churchill for this.)
Poison gas

On a lighter note, the Christmas truce of 1914 (I think) was a compassionate thing to do, for both sides.

The entire thing is really facinating. I suggest "Origins of the First World War" by Joll.

 

[PanzerIV]

Originally posted by: Coquito

Originally posted by: PanzerIV
Though I have read many cases of men being sent to their deaths after wars end, I think the Japanese in WWII take the cake for wanton disregard of life. This afternoon I finished reading an excellent account of Corregidor and their fanatacism never ceases to amaze me. Even though the island fortress was no longer of any tactical importance and they realized they were there to die they fought to the bitter end killing as many Americans as possible and in the process losing 4,000 of their own. Not as dramatic as the number in your WWI scenario but when you take into account that they did this time and time again knowing full well they could not defeat us and only wanted to maximize casualties for the sake of their "honor."

This doesn't take into consideration the die hards who refused to surrender long after wars end. I strongly agree the motives were disgusting for the slaughter of those men in those waning hours of WWI as well.

There was another special on the History channel a couple years back about a small band of japanese soldiers who were deep in some remote forest. They wouldn't believe the news of the war being over from anyone except their commander, so they stood their ground just outside a small village for decades. Even the local police couldn't draw them out because they were still hostile. Eventually, all but one of them died off & the last guy crawled out into modern day & was deeply distraught over the havok his group caused to the people in the area.

Hey, I saw that too! At first I thought you were talking about Captain Oba who surrendered at Saipan but his band only waited four months after VJ Day to surrender. I would like to see that documentary again about the soldiers you mentioned.

Speaking of the History Channel they had an excellent analysis of Operation Market Garden on tonight. Some good footage was shown too.

Here is a brief overview of Oba if anyone is interested.