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22 Comments
- agoody117, on 11/14/2009, -0/+18The Great War: The war to end all wars..
Iraq Casualties: 4,680
Afghanistan Casualties: 1515
Great War Casualties: upwards of 15,000,000.
The battle of the Somme (a fight that ended up only being over 6 miles of territory) had 1.5 million casualties ALONE! 60,000 died on the first day of that battle alone....
those numbers are truly staggering....
i salute today's soldiers for consciously walking into hell, but what the soldiers during the Great War endured is something i cannot wrap my mind around.
as a 22 year old male, when i look at pictures of WWI I shudder to think i would have lasted more than 3 months.... - AoiTakuma, on 11/14/2009, -0/+12That last picture is probably the most heartbreaking.
- shyner, on 11/13/2009, -1/+13I really wish we would just stop killing each other...
- SpeedSteamBoat, on 11/14/2009, -0/+10And World War II was even worse.
62,294,200 to 78,439,200 total killed including 22,597,200 to 25,497,500 military deaths.
Upwards of 4% of the entire world population at the time was killed in World War II.
And all just over 20 years after The Great War.
The horror cannot be fathomed. It defies all words and explanation. - Anub1s, on 11/14/2009, -0/+9A couple of those pictures reminded me of a trip I took to see the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall with my Dad who served in Vietnam. Everyone there showed solemn respect for all of the names on the wall, some in kind rememberance, some with tears in their eyes. Walking along the wall, my dad saw a name he recognized, within seconds, he burst in to tears.
It is the only time I can remember seeing my dad cry, and to this day it brings tears to my eyes just remembering watching my hero cry for the loss of his friends. After a moment, a fellow veteran came up to him and offered him a hug which my father accepted gladly, a warm jeasture that went a long way to the comfort of one who has lost. We were there just in time for a ceremony to take place, where they asked all veterans to come up front and be recognized. They had the men stand at attention and solute, I've never seen my dad more proud to be anywhere than he was up front soluting those who were lost in battle. And I can't remember being more proud and thankful to our service men and women.
Thank you to all who have served, and who continue to serve. And to those who have lost, I offer my appreciation and my solemn gratitude for their sacrifice and for yours. - cstonecipher, on 11/13/2009, -1/+10This is a great reminder of the sacrifices of our men and women who fought for our country. Thanks for sharing this with us.
- Rikushix, on 11/14/2009, -0/+9It's interesting because the Second World War was one of intelligent strategy, of political leveraging, of advanced technology and resource management, and most importantly, it was fought for a heroic cause. I mean, it really was an epic chapter in world history. And yet I think very few people know about how truly STUPID WWI was. Fought for stupid reasons and fought in stupid ways. The sheer number of people that died is truly disturbing. A distant relative of mine was actually fought at Ypres in 1914, and he was present during the Christmas Truce, which I suggest you might read if you don't know anything about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
Reading his diary was very eye-opening.
It's too bad there's not much public penetration of World War One, regarding movies and books and other mediums. The emphasis on World War Two and later is understandable, but I think many Americans would benefit from knowing just as much about their soldiers that gave their lives in 1918 as the ones who did so in, say, 1944. As a Canadian I have made sure to brush up on our effort in the first world war, along with all the other Commonwealth countries. I'm proud to say I understand the significance of some of these battles...most Canadians won't need a history degree to tell you just how horrific Passchendaele was; Vimy Ridge was quite possibly one of the most courageously heroic military engagements in modern history, and is considered to be one of the foremost reasons for Canada's grant of independence in 1931.
We sure have it easy. - Rikushix, on 11/14/2009, -0/+6Agreed. Not to downplay the contributions veterans made in WWII, but at least they fought under the pretense that they were valuable as human beings, not as mere tools to be wielded. Every life lost was a travesty.
Compare that to WWI, which more often than not featured two trenches bored in the ground, separated by five hundred metres of mud and filth, with the goal being to overwhelm the enemy. Commanders resorted to strength by numbers tactics and literally forced soldiers to rush over the trenches and across no-mans-land in waves.
Just take a look at Somme. 1.5 million people killed over four months, all for six kilometres of mud? It's heartbreaking. - CaptainSoviet, on 11/14/2009, -0/+6Lest we forget.
- PinkFloyd65, on 11/14/2009, -0/+6No pictures from the Vimy Ridge memorial?
http://v1.images.theglobeandmail.com/archives/RTGA ...
It's in France but it's actually Canadian soil.
When Hitler started razing monuments and landmarks across Nazi controlled Europe, this was one of the few he left alone. - alealea, on 11/14/2009, -0/+514.2% of Soviet population died in WWII, 9 million of them soldiers.
- appleseed1234, on 11/14/2009, -0/+4Also, World War II may have had more casualties overall, but when you compare the relatively tame Western Front from ww2 to the staggeringly brutal Western Front in ww1, you realize it's one of the bloodiest conflicts in history.
- randomender, on 11/14/2009, -0/+4To every veteran and their families. Thank you.
- Rikushix, on 11/14/2009, -0/+3Here's a better picture: http://weblog.leidenuniv.nl/media/blogs/76039/1948 ...
and: http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/others/images/vim ...
I really would like to visit that memorial some day. What happened there was nothing short of legendary.
I can't seem to find any pictures from this year's Remembrance Day ceremony there, though. - crichton101, on 11/13/2009, -0/+2If only. But sadly it will never happen. The best defense to keep it from happening is to have a bigger stick than the possible aggressor. It is in the nature of all intelligant animals to fight with each other, sometimes for power, sometimes for food. You cannot stop people from clawing at you for power and control with only words, you must have the force behind those words to back them up.
- Wingin, on 11/14/2009, -0/+2That's a great compilation.
The picture of the dazed looking eighteen year old triple amputee (fourth from last), struck me as particularly sad. - Skootles, on 11/14/2009, -0/+2Boston.com always does great photo compilations.
That last picture though, that really tugs at my heart strings. - Crimeodial, on 11/14/2009, -0/+2Those are all really moving pictures. But the last one....damn. So sad.
- allisonV12, on 11/14/2009, -1/+31918...Spanish flu
2009...Swine flu
1918...Armistice after military,political and moral exhaustion.
2009...
History has an odd way of repeating,not that the slaughter in Europe could ever compare.But wars always start with such high hopes and patriotic fantasy and end with cold granite monuments.
Why no pictures of the Western Front on 1918 Armistice day....well at least for this picture article
No Verdun,No Somme,No Belgium cemeteries.
I guess it has been forgotten after all. - PinkFloyd65, on 11/14/2009, -2/+4Your country eh? That's a little narrow-minded. The US probably suffered the least from war of any of the great powers since the turn of the 20th century.
Remembrance day isn't about your country, it isn't about military. It's about remembering and honouring the lost souls of EVERYONE (German, Russian, American or any nationality) who died in war. It's about learning from mankind's mistakes and making sure it never happens again. Remembering the lost souls who gave their lives for the safety of not just you or me, but everyone on this Earth. Hence the phrase "Lest we forget." - Hellahulla, on 11/14/2009, -0/+1That's a bit harsh. Germans have their own day to remember fallen servicemen. Also, since when has remembrance day been about victory or defeat in a particular war?
- NightC, on 11/14/2009, -4/+1I wasn't aware that they celebrated it in the defeated nations... in fact... they don't... So your big speech about humanity and the world doesn't hold water since the Germans just consider it a defeat... but thanks for trying please come again.
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