Why is the battle of the Somme regarded as such a great military tragedy?
Why is the battle of the Somme regarded as such a great military tragedy? Battle of the Somme: 1st of July to 13 November 1916. Intended to be a decisive breakthrough, the battle of the Somme instead became a good example for useless and indiscriminate slaughter, with General Haig's tactics remaining controversial even today. The British planned to attack on a 15-mile front between Serre, north of the Ancre, and Curlu, north of the Somme. Five French divisions would attack an eight-mile front south of the Somme, between Curlu and Peronne. To ensure a rapid advance, allied artillery pounded German lines for a week before the attack, firing 1.6 million shells. British commanders were so confident they ordered their troops to walk slowly towards the German lines. Once they had been seized, cavalry units would pour through to pursue the fleeing Germans. This though, did not happen and instead of this great British victory was this. The British had not concealed their plans of attack and the Germans intercepted some, plus the weeklong bombardment gave the Germans plenty of warning. The Germans were happy to stay on French land so German trenches were heavily fortified and, furthermore, many of the British shells failed to explode. When the bombardment began, the Germans simply moved underground and waited. About 7:30am on the 1st of July they blew their whistles to signal the
Does Ridley Scott achieve the structure of an Epic in the film 'Gladiator'?
Does Ridley Scott achieve the structure of an Epic in the film 'Gladiator'? The blurb for Gladiator claims that Scott has brought the epic into the twenty first century, and in many ways he has, with a blend of the technology of today, in the superb graphic realism and the way of life in ancient Rome that lends itself so well to the epic status. But is this a real epic with all the characteristics and parts that will make it a remembered film for many years to come, or just a good film that you see and forget? In this essay I plan to investigate this, to show both my point of view, and the facts, that may, or may not make this an all time classic. To do this I will be outlining in detail certain parts of the film so as to analyse and compare with classic epics and their structure. My first section will be on the start battle in which Maximus leads his troops to victory. My first point links it to the epic status as it starts right in the middle of things. The film starts fast. Ridley Scott doesn't waste a second. You are with Maximus getting the troops ready for battle. This means that there is no introduction to Maximus and who he is, but the way it starts almost makes you think you know him. He is the respected leader as the film follows him around the battlefield. This links him again to the epic hero needing no introduction. There is a muse at the very start
Battle of the sexes.
There are many numerous situations in institutions and industries were, for example, firms may want to set up some common standards or take some measures but disagree over how to go about it. This type of situation is characterized by a common objective but divergent views or ways of how to attain that objective. Battle of the sexes is one of the coordination games, which explain such situations by drawing a parallel between such situations with the predicament faced by a man and woman going on a date but prefer two different places. As mentioned before, it comes under the category of cooperation games, which have got many practical applications in our day-to-day life. In the language of Game Theory, a cooperative game is a game in which the players can make binding commitments. These games allow the players to share the benefits from cooperation by making transfers among themselves, which would leave them better off. Because of the existence of interpersonal framework; players come together and through cooperation achieve the most favorable outcome for all the players. Games, which replicate such situations, are called negotiated games because the outcome is reached through negotiations and deliberations. And the outcome, which is the result of such negotiation, is called negotiated settlement. This game is the classic example of how cooperation can be achieved even when
A Comparison of Poems The Charge of the light brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson, "The destruction of Sennacherib" by Lord Byron, The Drum by Lord John Scott.
A Comparison of Poems The Charge of the light brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson, "The destruction of Sennacherib" by Lord Byron, The Drum by Lord John Scott. "The Charge of the Light Brigade" was written before the 19th century and gave the poets view of war. Sometimes the poets have slightly different opinions but overall they are quite similar. The poem "The Charge of the light brigade" was written to memorialize a suicidal charge by light cavalry over open terrain by British forces in the Crimean War. The War was also significant as an early example of work of modern war correspondents. This poem is very effective. It engages you in the first with and opening: "Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward," This reflects the galloping of horses at battle and creates an insistent rhythm. At the end of every verse there is the repetition of one sentence "rode the six hundred". It uses direct speech from the commander '"Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns" He said' In the second verse he uses the phrase "Someone had blundered". It shows the brave soldiers, who follow orders, charge the guns knowing that someone has made a mistake; the poem blames the officers and not the soldiers. The poem has to honour them because he is the Poet Laureate, but he doesn't honour the men who gave the orders. The soldiers bravely followed orders without question.
How do the poets of After Blenheim by Robert Southey and The Hyenas written by Rudyard Kipling show their true feelings about war?
How do the poets of 'After Blenheim' by Robert Southey and 'The Hyenas' written by Rudyard Kipling show their true feelings about war? In this essay I am going to write how the poets of both 'After Blenheim' and 'The Hyenas' express their true feelings about war, through their words. 'After Blenheim' is a poem about an old man who is sitting in front of his cottage, watching his Grandson playing on the grass. Incidentally, this cottage was situated very near where the Battle of Blenheim was fought between the English and the French many years ago. When the boy was playing on the grass, he found a skull slightly buried in the ground; he took the skull to his grandfather and asked him what it was. The old man said that it must have been a skull from the famous Battle of Blenheim, which was fought there many years ago. The boy asked his Grandfather to tell him about the battle. The poet starts by saying that the Battle was a 'Great Victory', and he repeats this idea throughout the entire poem, at the end of nearly every stanza. He describes how when he is farming or working on the land with his ploughshares, he usually finds quite a few skulls from that 'great victory', the skulls of many thousands of men who died fighting for their country. This phrase is used to justify the battle at the end of most stanzas as the poet talks about people not knowing what the war was about,
Look at a variety of poems but First World War Poet comparing the different ways in which the poets show their attitude to war
Look at a variety of poems by First World War Poets comparing the different ways in which the poets show their attitude to war. The First World War (1914 - 1918) was the first conflict England had been a part of since 100 years previous. This war was obviously a lot different to earlier wars because the whole world was involved in the mass turmoil that lasted 4 years, the likes of which had never before been seen. Soldiers were forced to join the armed forces and had no option but to fight the war from ages as young as 14 in some cases. The poem 'Dulce et Decorum est.' was written by Wilfred Owen in 1917 and very much a personal account of what he experienced during his time as a soldier. The poem has been written about soldiers that were walking through trenches and perhaps on the front line and unexpectedly being caught off guard by gas bombs. The fact that Owen is re- creating a personal experience in this poem which makes the imagery he creates more effective and appealing. The fact that Owen describes a fellow soldier being suffocated by the gas is effective and the image depicted from this poem is that of what life was like as a soldier in World War One and how sudden lives of the soldiers could be taken away. The poem is made up of four verses and vary in length it seems that the more personal parts of the poem in stanzas and the thoughts and feelings that Owen
A Critical Analysis of
A Critical Analysis of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and explain its importance to Victorian Society. This particular poem deals with the unfortunate mistake of Battle of Balaclava in 1854. In an attempt to retrieve their stolen firearms, the British, lead by Lord Raglen, took their light cavalry to the innocent Turkish territory, rather than the guilty Russians. In self-defence Turkey protect themselves by attacking the British troops causing hundreds of deaths but "not, not the six hundred". Tennyson uses various techniques to involve the reader more personally. He uses this to emphasise the pain and suffering felt by the soldiers so the reader can really appreciate the physical defeat but the emotional victory from the "noble six hundred". The use of onomatopoeia in poems is generally used to make the situation more realistic. Although the same applies in this instance, Tennyson adds aural imagery to seem as if the reader is actually at the battle listening to everything being "shatter'd" and "thunder'd". Also, the words used for onomatopoetic effect are all descriptions of adversity and hardship. Words such as "shot" and "storm'd" conjure up images of the death in the mind of the reader. The stanza layout is specifically used to reflect the journey of the cavalry. In stanza one, they are striding towards the battlefield, moving "half a league onward". In
Compare Battle of the Elephants by Ihechukwu madubuike With Lull-a-Dirge by Joe de Graft.
Compare 'Battle of the Elephants' by Ihechukwu madubuike With 'Lull-a-Dirge' by Joe de Graft. In my essay going to compare Battle of the elephants to Lull-a-dirge The poems are both set in Africa and they are referring to the rivers, Because rivers are the main resources of African people. 'Lull-a-Dirge' is a personal poem about a father that is confused and worried because his wife is dead and he doesn't know how to take care of his little baby. The Battle of the Elephants' is a political war about farmers and the government fighting against each other. The government are described as elephants because they are big and powerful. In the first poem 'The battle of the elephants' there are two narrators, The first one is describing the witch and the other one is the witch. We know this because of this line ''they call her the demented witch'' means that she lives on her own. This phrase describes the witch so this speaker can't be the witch. The second speaker comes in; in the phrase 'there will be a Battle of the elephants the mighty husky elephants with tusks reaching out into the sky there will be a battle of the elephants.'' This line shows that it's the witch speaking because it's not describing the witch anymore. On the second poem 'Lull-a-dirge' There is only one speaker the father. We know this because he is the only one speaking and telling the story and
'Stalingrad was the most significant turning point of the war on the Eastern Front for both the Soviet Army and the Wehrmacht.' To what extent do you agree with this interpretation? Use all of the sources and your own knowledge to explain your answer.
'Stalingrad was the most significant turning point of the war on the Eastern Front for both the Soviet Army and the Wehrmacht.' To what extent do you agree with this interpretation? Use all of the sources and your own knowledge to explain your answer. The Battle of Stalingrad occurred in 1943, and led to the Germans losing to the Soviet army. In my opinion, the Battle of Stalingrad was not the most important turning point in the war because the majority of the German army were still on the Eastern Front, with many weapons, tanks and aircraft to use in battle. I feel that the battle was a morale turning point for the Russians, since they had fended off the Germans and re-captured Stalingrad. The Germans lost 70 000 men and 2000 tanks. Good propaganda was made, and b the boosted Soviet morale. The workers started to produce more aircraft and tanks and eventually, any armour lost in battle could be replaced. Source B supports the view that the battle was a Soviet morale booster, because it shows the destruction of Stalingrad, which implies that the battle was bloody and the Russians managed to win. This implication is reasonably correct, because there was much death and destruction at Stalingrad, but the source was Soviet propaganda, which limits its reliability. I feel that German morale was not greatly affected by the loss at Stalingrad because it was kept a secret from the
deliverance and disaster
History GCSE coursework: assignment 1 The efficiency of sources may differ as some are more restricted, thus more inadequate than others. The utility can be scrutinized by exercising various analyses's and conditions. You have to consider the writer, status, motive and accuracy. On this basis I have started with a theory that the sources could be subjective as they were all written by British men. You can also note that all three sources give a different interpretation of what occurred. For example in source a, commander Thomas Kerr deems the lingering soldiers as useless and condemns their faith in the navy. Nevertheless, according to source C, there was a valiant and courageous sergeant who heroically took on eight Heinkels (planes). First of all, source A, in my opinion is very useful as it is an account from a high ranked commander of war. It must have some authenticity in it as Thomas Kerr is being extraordinarily negative of the army whereas he is being positive of the navy. This source, is a primary source. Anybody with his status would have had an incredibly superior awareness of the army's plans and would have had a first hand outlook on what was going on. Furthermore the source is providing us with a more realistic notion of what ensued as it is not saying that the British were unflustered by the state of affairs. He is not only acknowledging that the British were
