Paging the history buffs
in [UK Motorcycles]
|
From: 'Hog on 12 Nov 2009 08:42 JeremyR wrote: > Champ <news(a)champ.org.uk> wrote in > news:4r0of598cmh05uofojmlbtoa9lgtam0tl9(a)4ax.com: > >> On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:52:14 GMT, JeremyR >> <jeremy.robinsonNOSPAM(a)ul,ie> wrote: >> >>> Forgotten Victory: The First World War: Myths and Realities >>> (Paperback) by Gary Sheffield (Author) >>> >>> Takes a slightly different look at it and tries to point out it was >>> a genuine victory and not the catastrophic loss the war poets and >>> blackadder and co would have you believe. >> >> Well, it may have been a 'genuine victory', but at the loss of >> 750,000 British servicemen, which surely tempers the victory >> somewhat? >> > Sure, He doesn't deny that. He does give the impression it was sort of > unavoidable given the state of the British Army and the crappy supply > chain. I suppose what does come out of it is that he claims the > British Army did learn from its mistake faster than the Germans and > exploited the new technology (tanks) better. He doesn't say it was > glorious victory. It was simple enough. 2 generations of Military Niceties meet the Armaments Industrial Revolution. The Brits didn't need tanks to win. The needed tanks to win the trench war they got stuck in. -- 'Hog '06 ST4-S '96 Bastard12 '89 R100RS '81 XS650 '78 RD400 '81 R65 Outfit
From: Colin Irvine on 12 Nov 2009 09:14 On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:57:15 -0000, Pip squeezed out the following: >In article <MPG.256600c933f32007989b72(a)news.eternal-september.org>, >ogden says... >> >> Champ wrote: > >> > >Download a hooky copy of Oh What A Lovely War. >> > >> > Isn't that a musical? >> >> Yeah, but it's a musical made up entirely of songs from the Great War. >> Quite poignant in places. > >I took five parts in a production of OWALW, many years ago. You're >right, it is poignant, when it isn't preaching from its anti-war stance. >Something it clearly depicts is the distance between the squalor of the >front line and the luxurious lifestyles enjoyed by the General Staff: >Pals being sliced and diced, Old Pals having slices served to them. I've seen a few stage productions, but I have to say I thought the film version was also extremely good. It's the only time I've seen a film for the second time while still on its first run in the cinema. -- Colin Irvine ZZR1400 BOF#33 BONY#34 COFF#06 BHaLC#5 http://www.colinandpat.co.uk
From: Domenec on 12 Nov 2009 09:21 On 12 nov, 00:48, Champ <n...(a)champ.org.uk> wrote: > Can anyone recommend a very good book on the First World War. "Haynes manual of trenches and Yperite", HTH. Googling for [ "world war i" pdf ] brings some free stuff. Not great, but may be complementary to core reading.
From: ogden on 12 Nov 2009 09:23 Colin Irvine wrote: > On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:57:15 -0000, Pip squeezed out the following: > > >In article <MPG.256600c933f32007989b72(a)news.eternal-september.org>, > >ogden says... > >> > >> Champ wrote: > > > >> > >Download a hooky copy of Oh What A Lovely War. > >> > > >> > Isn't that a musical? > >> > >> Yeah, but it's a musical made up entirely of songs from the Great War. > >> Quite poignant in places. > > > >I took five parts in a production of OWALW, many years ago. You're > >right, it is poignant, when it isn't preaching from its anti-war stance. > >Something it clearly depicts is the distance between the squalor of the > >front line and the luxurious lifestyles enjoyed by the General Staff: > >Pals being sliced and diced, Old Pals having slices served to them. > > I've seen a few stage productions, but I have to say I thought the > film version was also extremely good. The film is effectively a recording of the stage show, albeit with a few bells & whistles. -- ogden
From: eamo on 12 Nov 2009 10:14
On 12 Nov, 12:57, Pip <gingerbl...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > In article <MPG.256600c933f32007989...(a)news.eternal-september.org>, > ogden says... > > > > > Champ wrote: > > > >Download a hooky copy of Oh What A Lovely War. > > > > Isn't that a musical? > > > Yeah, but it's a musical made up entirely of songs from the Great War. > > Quite poignant in places. > > I took five parts in a production of OWALW, many years ago. You're > right, it is poignant, when it isn't preaching from its anti-war stance. > Something it clearly depicts is the distance between the squalor of the > front line and the luxurious lifestyles enjoyed by the General Staff: > Pals being sliced and diced, Old Pals having slices served to them. I stage managed a production of it in my youf. Very moving, the songs are mainly contemporary parodies of songs of the day as sung be the BEF. Production pack comes with 35mm slides of images and facts that are projected onto screens as the various scenes unfold. Very powerful. The movie version lacks some of this and tho its sort of a filming of a stage play, it should be noted that the author (cant remember her name) distanced herself from the movie and refused to endorse it. Being familiar wit both she has a point. The play is better. I have the 'movie' on dvd if you want it. Eamonn |