At last the season of moralistic presumptuousness and conflict is over for another year. The politicisation of what is - in the red poppy - a way of raising funds for the UK Military's biggest charities In Scotland and rest of UK, will be all that is remembered while the actual reason for its existence is forgotten. Sadly, what should be a way of helping support all the ex-service personnel and their dependents who the UK Government fail to support adequately, if at all, has been turned, by UK politicians and vested interest, peace groups, into a symbol of cant and hypocrisy.
I, for one, do not need "Remembrance Day" as I live with the impact of the Tory colonial skirmish in 1982 on a daily basis. I could do with a "Forget it Day" if it was at all possible. I can not abide the whole palaver and bullshit that surrounds Remembrance Day as a UK public event and all the oleaginous - how bad it was and how stupid the generals were in the First World War - programs and interviews.
By 1918 the UK had one of the best prepared and trained armies in the world, at that time, with the most advanced, effective tactics utilising tanks, aircraft, infantry and planned artillery as one. For many of the men, joining the army was the first time they had new clothes of their own, a guaranteed three square meals a day and money in their pockets. 60% of the UK Army in France never saw the front lines. Those who did were rotated in and out the front lines on a regular basis so in at least one week in four they were well away from danger. Yet the myth that front line soldiers were uncared for by their officers continues on, by 1917 many of their officers were ex-rankers themselves so knew and empathised with the men they commanded. Another myth which continues is based on the first day of the Somme in 1916, the one which tells us it was a total disaster. It was a disaster, in only one sector, on the right flank the UK soldiers made all their first day targets along with the French on their flank for lower than expected casualties due to better tactics in the use of artillery in support of the infantry.
My Grandad was at the Somme as a sixteen year old, his view was this: they carried on fighting because not to do so would have made the sacrifice of those who were already maimed or killed a waste. He was pulled off the front line in 1917 when his age was discovered and as he had been a cooper's apprentice, before signing up, the Army employed him refurbishing stores barrels and crates in back areas.
In 1914 the "company" was the core of fighting and manoeuvring as it had been since Napoleonic times, by 1916 it had become the platoon and by 1918 the core of any operation was the squad of ten men, a light machine gunner, an officer or an NCO using shoot and scoot tactics. It is useful to compare the casualties on the Somme in 1916 with Stalingrad in 1942; a comparison which makes the former look like a picnic by comparison to the latter.
The first war in Europe in the 20th Century was the first industrial war ever fought, everyone involved had to learn how best to fight it, on all sides. The UK military made mistakes in 1915 but it learned, improved the quality and production rate of artillery shells and changed tactics. In 1916, the Somme was fought to take the pressure off the French at Verdun, it was a battle the UK general staff did not want, in a place they did not want it, at a time they were not prepared for with the bulk of their troops, the "Pals Battalions", not fully trained to make the assault but were forced into the battle by the politicians at Westminster, against the UK General Staff's wishes, Haig threatened to resign but was talked out of it by Robertson, the UK Chief of Staff.
Yet the real tragedy and comparison no one appears to see, is the comparison between the conduct of the current Tory UK Government in November 2018 and the German General Staff in October 1918.
By mid October the German Staff knew they had lost, they were only looking to continue the fight in an attempt to get the best armistice terms they could, to prevent the Allies from entering Germany and keep the Kaiser on the throne. The actions of the current Tory Government, on Brexit, are strikingly similar to the German Staff in October 1918. The first is the Tories can not believe Europe will not play ball and give them what they want, the German Staff's blind spot was wishing to keep the Kaiser and tried negotiating directly with the USA, only to find the Kaiser's abdication was core to any US acceptance of an armistice. Instead of the German's Staff "Kaiser's abdication problem", the Tories have the "Irish Border problem".
When the German sailors refused to take their ships to sea in October 1918, in what they believed was a suicide mission, the German Staff could no longer ignore the growing dissent amongst the German population. I believe we have already reached, if not passed, this point of dissent in Scotland, as reflected in the ever growing support for Scottish independence in Scotland only polls. After the London anti-Brexit march, English folk are getting ever closer to the tipping point. The UK government are so worried about the increasing likelihood of civil disturbance in UK cities, in the aftermath of Brexit, they are talking about using the army to keep control if the police fail.The German's tried that in 1918 with a result ever more civilians joined the anti-government / anti-war groups which sprung up across the country, including many of the police and soldiers sent against them.
In an nutshell we have UK leaders and a UK Government in the same place the German Government and leaders found themselves in October 1918; they have lost the war, they have lost the people and are now looking for ways to save their own skins under cover of doing the best for Britain before the UK sinks into an economic, social morass and civil strife their Tory policies have created while simultaneously succeeding in turning long term European allies into enemies.
The UK has become the sick man of Europe, Scotland needs to cut itself free from the rotting corpse of the UK Parliamentary Union before the gas gangrene of Tory ineptitude, self interest and greed takes us down with them.
I, for one, do not need "Remembrance Day" as I live with the impact of the Tory colonial skirmish in 1982 on a daily basis. I could do with a "Forget it Day" if it was at all possible. I can not abide the whole palaver and bullshit that surrounds Remembrance Day as a UK public event and all the oleaginous - how bad it was and how stupid the generals were in the First World War - programs and interviews.
By 1918 the UK had one of the best prepared and trained armies in the world, at that time, with the most advanced, effective tactics utilising tanks, aircraft, infantry and planned artillery as one. For many of the men, joining the army was the first time they had new clothes of their own, a guaranteed three square meals a day and money in their pockets. 60% of the UK Army in France never saw the front lines. Those who did were rotated in and out the front lines on a regular basis so in at least one week in four they were well away from danger. Yet the myth that front line soldiers were uncared for by their officers continues on, by 1917 many of their officers were ex-rankers themselves so knew and empathised with the men they commanded. Another myth which continues is based on the first day of the Somme in 1916, the one which tells us it was a total disaster. It was a disaster, in only one sector, on the right flank the UK soldiers made all their first day targets along with the French on their flank for lower than expected casualties due to better tactics in the use of artillery in support of the infantry.
My Grandad was at the Somme as a sixteen year old, his view was this: they carried on fighting because not to do so would have made the sacrifice of those who were already maimed or killed a waste. He was pulled off the front line in 1917 when his age was discovered and as he had been a cooper's apprentice, before signing up, the Army employed him refurbishing stores barrels and crates in back areas.
In 1914 the "company" was the core of fighting and manoeuvring as it had been since Napoleonic times, by 1916 it had become the platoon and by 1918 the core of any operation was the squad of ten men, a light machine gunner, an officer or an NCO using shoot and scoot tactics. It is useful to compare the casualties on the Somme in 1916 with Stalingrad in 1942; a comparison which makes the former look like a picnic by comparison to the latter.
The first war in Europe in the 20th Century was the first industrial war ever fought, everyone involved had to learn how best to fight it, on all sides. The UK military made mistakes in 1915 but it learned, improved the quality and production rate of artillery shells and changed tactics. In 1916, the Somme was fought to take the pressure off the French at Verdun, it was a battle the UK general staff did not want, in a place they did not want it, at a time they were not prepared for with the bulk of their troops, the "Pals Battalions", not fully trained to make the assault but were forced into the battle by the politicians at Westminster, against the UK General Staff's wishes, Haig threatened to resign but was talked out of it by Robertson, the UK Chief of Staff.
Yet the real tragedy and comparison no one appears to see, is the comparison between the conduct of the current Tory UK Government in November 2018 and the German General Staff in October 1918.
By mid October the German Staff knew they had lost, they were only looking to continue the fight in an attempt to get the best armistice terms they could, to prevent the Allies from entering Germany and keep the Kaiser on the throne. The actions of the current Tory Government, on Brexit, are strikingly similar to the German Staff in October 1918. The first is the Tories can not believe Europe will not play ball and give them what they want, the German Staff's blind spot was wishing to keep the Kaiser and tried negotiating directly with the USA, only to find the Kaiser's abdication was core to any US acceptance of an armistice. Instead of the German's Staff "Kaiser's abdication problem", the Tories have the "Irish Border problem".
When the German sailors refused to take their ships to sea in October 1918, in what they believed was a suicide mission, the German Staff could no longer ignore the growing dissent amongst the German population. I believe we have already reached, if not passed, this point of dissent in Scotland, as reflected in the ever growing support for Scottish independence in Scotland only polls. After the London anti-Brexit march, English folk are getting ever closer to the tipping point. The UK government are so worried about the increasing likelihood of civil disturbance in UK cities, in the aftermath of Brexit, they are talking about using the army to keep control if the police fail.The German's tried that in 1918 with a result ever more civilians joined the anti-government / anti-war groups which sprung up across the country, including many of the police and soldiers sent against them.
In an nutshell we have UK leaders and a UK Government in the same place the German Government and leaders found themselves in October 1918; they have lost the war, they have lost the people and are now looking for ways to save their own skins under cover of doing the best for Britain before the UK sinks into an economic, social morass and civil strife their Tory policies have created while simultaneously succeeding in turning long term European allies into enemies.
The UK has become the sick man of Europe, Scotland needs to cut itself free from the rotting corpse of the UK Parliamentary Union before the gas gangrene of Tory ineptitude, self interest and greed takes us down with them.
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