THE GREAT WAR--A CENTURY AGO . . .

As a compromise I might have agreed to join up as an unarmed non-combatant, such as a stretcher bearer rescuing wounded men from no mans land, or as a chaplain going round cheering the blokes up.
But as the war progressed and the Hun started bombing Britain with Gothas and Zeppelins, THAT'S when I'd have probably said- "Okay give me a rifle, I'm joining the shooting war now!"..

Zeppelin over England, 1916

Did it HIT u ?

I hope that u and Juliette, were careful
with those Zeppelines! O, the humanity!

Congrats mate, that was almost funny..

Inspired by Walter's post, i've looked around online and immediately found this site, which is a resource for illustrators, but nonetheless has some interesting examples of combat artists.



This is a watercolor of wounded Senegalese soldiers by the Russian artist Leon Gaspard, who had been educated in Paris. He later followed the Russian army into combat. The French showed no prejudice about the troops they employed, and like the Senegalese pictured here, many soldiers from African countries fought for them. When American soldiers who were black objected to being used as laborers rather then as the combat troops they were trained to be, the French gladly availed themselves of their services. The 369th, 370th, 371st and 372nd infantry regiments served with the French army.

In Russia, women went to war, and an American journalist estimated that as many as 5000 women were serving under arms, based on her tours of front line units.



The Petrograd Women's Battalion in the field.

The First Russian Women's Battalion of Death was the only unit, however, to actively engage the Germans. They went over the top when the men in their regiment refused to do so, and broke through and occupied three lines of German trenches. They found a stash of vodka, and destroyed so that their male counterparts would not get drunk. The regimental commander could not get the men in the regiment to come to their support, so they were forced to withdraw. After the revolution, the women's battalions were disbanded due to the resentment of the men's regiments, who apparently thought their enthusiasm would prolong the war, which they wanted to end.



Many of the Russian women cut their hair short, or shaved their heads to demonstrate their commitment.[/img]

Members of the First Russian Women's Battalion of Death attempted to defend the Winter Palace in Petrograd during the Bolshevik revolution late in 1917. The woman on the right is Maria Bochkareva, a peasant woman who had received the special permission of the Tsar to fight with a men's regiment in 1914, where she displayed great courage and initiative, and was wounded several times, and decorated several times.

Rap

Y the delay ??

In the absence of the 3 world wars
(the last being the anti-communist war from 1945 to Christmas of 1991),
it is un-likely that we 'd have dedicated the financial resources
to Research & Development such that we 'd have landed on
the Moon yet, or that we 'd have a profusion of home computers.

Everything I've ever read indicates that the archduck was an asshole and had it coming.

WW-I was the greatest man-made disaster since the wars of Genghis Khan.

What do u have against Franz Ferdinand????

The manner in which the Austro/Hungarian empire was treating Serbia would do for starters...

Yes, but then everything you've ever read indicates that the world is 6,000 years old. You clearly need to read more.


(archduck?)

Example of an archduck.

It should be noted that Gunga Dim is completely irrational on the subject of Serbia.

Not only about this subject.

Yes, one amongst many . . .

Be more specific ?
R u a Serbian ?

I've stated repeatedly on A2K that I am not a young Earth creationist and do not believe in a 6000 year age for the Earth.