“… I fear’d to set my foot upon a dead man’s cheek” - Anselm in northern France
May 6th, 2009, 07:04 AM
#81
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Ahhhh...thanks for the clarity. I just didn't want to be "that guy".
I'm actually book-marking Anselm's TR because I hope to visit Verdun on my next trip and I'd like to read a some of the books mentioned. I fall into the category of knowing very little about WWI.
I'm actually book-marking Anselm's TR because I hope to visit Verdun on my next trip and I'd like to read a some of the books mentioned. I fall into the category of knowing very little about WWI.
May 6th, 2009, 07:30 AM
#82
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thill25, I'm delighted you enjoyed this. I might just point you to another WWI trip report I posted last fall, just after my wife and I retraced the footsteps of her great uncle, who served as an artillery major in the Great War:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-picardy.cfm
cigalechanta and nukesafe, many thanks for your kind comments.
Anselm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-picardy.cfm
cigalechanta and nukesafe, many thanks for your kind comments.
Anselm
May 6th, 2009, 09:37 AM
#83
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A Flanders area trip has been discussed. A mixture of great beer and great history...sounds like a winning combination to me!
FYI: If you can find/catch the series The Trench Detectives (2006) on TV or DVD, I highly recommend it. I caught it on the Discovery HD Theatre channel not to long ago while I was channel surfing. I saw episode four about the trenches near the Belgian city of Ypres. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it on again.
FYI: If you can find/catch the series The Trench Detectives (2006) on TV or DVD, I highly recommend it. I caught it on the Discovery HD Theatre channel not to long ago while I was channel surfing. I saw episode four about the trenches near the Belgian city of Ypres. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it on again.
May 6th, 2009, 11:49 AM
#84
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I'll also add my thanks to Anselm. This has been a wonderful read.
Only a few years ago I spent some time in Flanders, retracing my grandfathers war. As a child I listened to his many stories of his fighting in the Ypres and Passchendaele battlefields. Sometimes I wish I had listened more. I have forgotten so much.
thill25, I couldn't find that DVD on Amazon but one book I can recommend is Britain's Last Tommies by Richard Van Emden. These very old soldiers reminisce about their experiences on the WW1 battefields. It is very humbling.
Bill
Only a few years ago I spent some time in Flanders, retracing my grandfathers war. As a child I listened to his many stories of his fighting in the Ypres and Passchendaele battlefields. Sometimes I wish I had listened more. I have forgotten so much.
thill25, I couldn't find that DVD on Amazon but one book I can recommend is Britain's Last Tommies by Richard Van Emden. These very old soldiers reminisce about their experiences on the WW1 battefields. It is very humbling.
Bill
May 6th, 2009, 12:33 PM
#85
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Aug 8th, 2009, 04:14 AM
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Anselm, adding “merci” for your thoughtful and moving report. It is true that we Yanks privilege our participation in WWII (especially the Normandy chapter) over our involvement in “the Great War.” My mother was of the WWI generation and often spoke of the conflict. I recall seeing an old photo of her in her youth with a young man in uniform standing outside a tent in a local army base. She spoke of the needless deaths of so many who, later in WWII, might have been saved with blood transfusions and sulfur drugs not yet available in 1914.
Tedgate, I also read the Edith Wharton bio you referenced. (Now there is a gal who did Europe in style!) Her involvement with those at the front was heroic.
For those interested in the genesis of “the Great War,” I would suggest KING, KAISER, TSAR, Three Royal Cousins Who Led the World to War by Catrine Clay. King George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia were closely related descendants of Queen Victoria whose family squabbles and dysfunction played out on the bloody battlefields that Anselm has so poignantly described for us. The war started when these three essentially called each other's bluff.
Anselm, I am so glad that I happened upon your post today. Like so many of your readers, I appreciate your sharing your tour through an anguished part of our history. Not to forget your charming description of bed and board along the way.
Tedgate, I also read the Edith Wharton bio you referenced. (Now there is a gal who did Europe in style!) Her involvement with those at the front was heroic.
For those interested in the genesis of “the Great War,” I would suggest KING, KAISER, TSAR, Three Royal Cousins Who Led the World to War by Catrine Clay. King George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia were closely related descendants of Queen Victoria whose family squabbles and dysfunction played out on the bloody battlefields that Anselm has so poignantly described for us. The war started when these three essentially called each other's bluff.
Anselm, I am so glad that I happened upon your post today. Like so many of your readers, I appreciate your sharing your tour through an anguished part of our history. Not to forget your charming description of bed and board along the way.
Aug 8th, 2009, 11:08 AM
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I have not read Catrine Clay's book so I can't tell whether or not the above is a fair summary of her thesis. However, I have read and studied much on the origins and conduct of the First World War, and the idea that it was started because of a family feud between these three cousins seems to me to be ludicrous.
There has been much debate over the years about the culpability for the start of this war, but no serious historian I have read has put forth the disfunctional family theory. The factors which led to a relatively minor incident in the Balkans igniting a world war are far more complex than a mere family squabble. Moreover, King George V of Britain was a constitutional monarch who played little or no part in the British Government's decision to declare war on the Central Powers. As well, any analysis which does not include republican France is fundamentally flawed.
I may be misrepresenting Catrine Clay's thesis, but I am not persuaded that a personality clash among three monarchs was the cause of the war.
I have not read Catrine Clay's book so I can't tell whether or not the above is a fair summary of her thesis. However, I have read and studied much on the origins and conduct of the First World War, and the idea that it was started because of a family feud between these three cousins seems to me to be ludicrous.
There has been much debate over the years about the culpability for the start of this war, but no serious historian I have read has put forth the disfunctional family theory. The factors which led to a relatively minor incident in the Balkans igniting a world war are far more complex than a mere family squabble. Moreover, King George V of Britain was a constitutional monarch who played little or no part in the British Government's decision to declare war on the Central Powers. As well, any analysis which does not include republican France is fundamentally flawed.
I may be misrepresenting Catrine Clay's thesis, but I am not persuaded that a personality clash among three monarchs was the cause of the war.
Aug 8th, 2009, 11:57 AM
#90
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If you were as moved by this report as I was, you should read AnsemAdornes' other similar trip report "A Duty Nobly Done".
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-picardy.cfm
A truly wonderful read!
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-picardy.cfm
A truly wonderful read!
Aug 8th, 2009, 06:34 PM
#91
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Laverendrye, Thank you for your observations.
According to the author,KING, KAISER, TSAR presents the origins of the war from more recently available correspondence among the three royals. Of course, the situation was more complex with old hatreds and animosities among those trying to maintain a “balance of power” on the continent. France and Austria-Hungary were also key players in the catastrophe. From my reading, no one, including those on the thrones of Europe including the ones soon to be unseated, had any idea what hell they were unleashing in the summer of 1914. I appreciate your comments.
Many Americans (not I) criticize Europeans for being pacifist. No wonder - given the historical memory in almost every one of their families from the bloodbaths of both world wars.
Nukesafe, thank you for your suggestion to check out Anselm's other report. What a writer!
According to the author,KING, KAISER, TSAR presents the origins of the war from more recently available correspondence among the three royals. Of course, the situation was more complex with old hatreds and animosities among those trying to maintain a “balance of power” on the continent. France and Austria-Hungary were also key players in the catastrophe. From my reading, no one, including those on the thrones of Europe including the ones soon to be unseated, had any idea what hell they were unleashing in the summer of 1914. I appreciate your comments.
Many Americans (not I) criticize Europeans for being pacifist. No wonder - given the historical memory in almost every one of their families from the bloodbaths of both world wars.
Nukesafe, thank you for your suggestion to check out Anselm's other report. What a writer!
Nov 8th, 2011, 03:56 AM
#92
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This is one of the most memorable trip reports I have read during my time on Fodors, so when I saw this article in today's headlines I thought I would resurrect it and include the new update.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-15621308
Ps - if you haven't read the report in full, it is really is worthwhile, even if you're not an history buff.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-15621308
Ps - if you haven't read the report in full, it is really is worthwhile, even if you're not an history buff.
Nov 10th, 2011, 06:13 PM
#95
Anselm, When we were in Normandy visiting the cemetaries and the sites where our soldiers died, my husband bought a book ,
Les Plages du Debarquement. I don't read French as he did and I'd like you to have it if you are interested. I'm at hotmail.com.
Les Plages du Debarquement. I don't read French as he did and I'd like you to have it if you are interested. I'm at hotmail.com.
Nov 11th, 2011, 02:54 PM
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Thank you Anselm, for this remarkable thread. I hope you don't mind, but I posted the link on Any Port in a Storm, as a special remembrance,
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...&page=1#122992
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...&page=1#122992
