Not only it is a recreation, but also an exposition conducted almost 2 years ago, in commemoration of the end of WWI.
Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
71–80 of 83 posts
Re: Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Haven't heard about that book before, thanks for the recommendation. I'm a bit hesitant to read a book to confirm if birds are scared off bombs and how long time it'll take for them to come back after setting off artillery and other explosions, could you share the section from the book where it's confirmed that birds didn't care about this and stayed where they were? The description of the book says "At the most basi…
I'd imagine that'll happen the first time. When there's as much going on as in WW1 though with them having no idea where to go to avoid artillery, with potentially less competition for food, established nests and fewer people around in no man's land than elsewhere, I can well imagine over time they'd get relatively used to it.
I don't have the Lewis-Stempel book at hand to go digging for quotes, but this is from an eyewitness account of the Somme:
> "It was the birdsong," he said, "the birdsong in that short gap when the artillery barrage stopped and before the whistles blew for us to get out of the trench and start running - it was beautiful."
Re: Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand why. No birds would still be present in an environment where you have so many bombs and guns going off, they would be far away by then and take long time before they are brave enough to come back.
Maybe you should read _Where Poppies Blow_ by John Lewis-Stempel. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29905681-where-poppies-b... Or even just skim the reviews on Amazon: > ...no man’s land was, effectively, a bird reserve with a barbed wire perimeter: ‘If it weren’t for the birds, what a hell it would be’ says one soldier. Experiences with birds, especially when they were singing in the lulls, lifted their spirits:…
Partly related, the book "Where poppies blow" is most likely (didn't read it) named after the Poem "In Flanders Fields" of which this is kind of a line.Or at least it reminds me of it so I'll share it:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Although they are indeed added to the audio afterwards.
Re: Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
I will post this at the risk of being downvoted because I am all but a pacifist and it is not a popular position. This is not surprising at all for two reasons. Despite what films will depict, people fighting on the front lines in a war do not generally begrudgingly respect each other. They hate eachother in a way most people probably cannot understand. Many would not pass up the opportunity to rid the world of what…
>They hate each other in a way most people probably cannot understand. Many would not pass up the opportunity to rid the world of what they see as the most evil upon its face unto the very last minute. That really isn't true, which is largely why the First World War was characterised by immobile trench warfare. A group of experienced and highly motivated soldiers were perfectly capable of breaking the lines and holdi…
If you haven't seen it yet, this is the basis of the blackmirror episode "men against fire". [spoiler] in the very near future, the military uses neural implants so that soilders see grotesque mutants instead of humans on the battlefield. The episode presents itself as a zombie horror type thing until we find out the truth at the end. Most of the missions were actually against civilians and the dehumanization tech is being used to make genocide palpable.
Re: Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd imagine that'll happen the first time. When there's as much going on as in WW1 though with them having no idea where to go to avoid artillery, with potentially less competition for food, established nests and fewer people around in no man's land than elsewhere, I can well imagine over time they'd get relatively used to it.
I don't have the Lewis-Stempel book at hand to go digging for quotes, but this is from an eyewitness account of the Somme: > "It was the birdsong," he said, "the birdsong in that short gap when the artillery barrage stopped and before the whistles blew for us to get out of the trench and start running - it was beautiful." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-36689445
Interesting. Thanks a lot for sharing that, it seems to indeed confirm the birds were much braver than I thought.
Re: Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
#76As long as we're discussing fictional works about WWI, two great movies are La Grande Illusion and Paths of Glory.
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind. Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time…
Which is this from? I would like to read it.
Re: Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
The 1914 Christmas truce demonstrates otherwise as five months of fighting was insufficient to guarantee hate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce It’s surprisingly difficult to train civilians to kill each other, but governments have discovered how. You don’t do it on the front lines, you do it before they get to the battle field.
December 1914 was a very different world upon the front lines of WWI from Movember 1918. People still thought that war would looks something like the Franco-Prussian War. > You don’t do it on the front lines, you do it before they get to the battle field. I think you do it by exposing people to years of misery and loss. But a boatload of propaganda doesn't hurt.
You still had truces breaking our on December 1915 which was 17 months or 1/3 of the length of the war, but officers where fighting them much more effectively.
What’s important from my perspective is they required large percentages of both sides willing to abide by a truce. You don’t get a truce if even 10% of each side keeps firing.
Re: Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
My dad is German :). Did your dad have a desire to kill VC after going home?
Desire to kill may be a bit strong but I distinctly remember sitting with my WWII veteran grandfather in November 1989 (US Thankgiving to be exact) and watching the stories of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the obvious prospect of a united Germany in the near future. My grandfather and I watched CNN silently and after a while he got up, and as he left the room he remarked "We'll be fighting the bastards within 50 ye…
And instead of the "bastards" starting another WW, they're treating French and Italian people sick with the coronavirus [1]. Wouldn't surprise me if in one month or so Germany were to lend a hand to the US too.
[1] https://www.euronews.com/2020/03/28/eight-covid-19-patients-...
Re: Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
#79I didn't find the audio on that page, but a link to it here: https://codatocoda.bandcamp.com/album/iwm-ww1-armistice-inte... I want to know if the birds were actually recorded at the end, or if it was added for dramatic presentation.
It's hard to imagine any birds were hanging around such a noisy and dangerous area.
Re: Listen to the moment the guns fell silent ending World War I
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
I will post this at the risk of being downvoted because I am all but a pacifist and it is not a popular position. This is not surprising at all for two reasons. Despite what films will depict, people fighting on the front lines in a war do not generally begrudgingly respect each other. They hate eachother in a way most people probably cannot understand. Many would not pass up the opportunity to rid the world of what…
>They hate each other in a way most people probably cannot understand. Many would not pass up the opportunity to rid the world of what they see as the most evil upon its face unto the very last minute. That really isn't true, which is largely why the First World War was characterised by immobile trench warfare. A group of experienced and highly motivated soldiers were perfectly capable of breaking the lines and holdi…
> The burden of sustained combat or psychologically-informed training can increase the propensity of people to kill, but it's not a natural psychological state.
I believe observational studies of pre-industrial people's contradict this notion. There was a somewhat recent book (10-12 years old) that aggregated many studies and favored a Hobbesian outlook on this subject. I cannot remember the author or book though. Written by a Dane or a German I think. The topic is still in some debate.
Regardless I specifically indicated that it is produced state not a natural one.
I think it would be very hard to deduce how much a lack of combat efectiveness is due to fear of killing vs. fear of being killed. As a sniper or artilleryman you may take your time to fire. As a frontline soldier the longer you aim the longer you expose yourself.