Download Edition No. 163 Day: Monday 10 November Theme: Advance… to

Edition No. 163
Day: Monday 10 November
Theme: Advance… to 1914
Writer: Mrs Blackburn, Teacher of History
Nationalism, militarism, colonialism? The Alliance system and the ‘gang mentality’
which accreted to it? The assassination of an Austrian Archduke by a Serbian rebel?
Where do you stand on the causes of the Great War 1914-1918?
Last Thursday lunchtime a group of Year 11 students and staff met to discuss the
causes of World War One, analyse at what points, if any, it could have been
avoided and to consider how the fact that it did go ahead informs us about the
dangers we face in our own times.
We considered the long term causes of the ‘isms’ which developed throughout the
19th century, we considered those medium term links in the chain which created
two blocks of countries equally threatened by each other. We analysed the way
that the war was triggered by an assassination but not necessarily caused by it.
Our students and staff reflected on the way that rivalries and fear can become
entrenched so that any number of different triggers could lead to the same result –
in this case a rapidly escalating conflict. We looked at the crucial and time critical
role that leaders, and diplomats have in either encouraging war or working for
conciliation. We also analysed the role of propaganda as it sells messages, values
and conflicts to the public as a whole. We concluded that there were points at
which the war could have been avoided but that those moments and decisions
required a political will and insight which would have been extraordinary in the
context of the time.
As we looked at the world around us, especially the situation with Russia and the
Ukraine and events in the Middle East it made us conscious of our own
responsibility to hold our MPS and leaders accountable for the decisions they take
and to understand the reasons which inform those decisions. We left challenged to
engage with politics both domestic and international as we remember those whose
deaths were triggered by a series of complex interwoven causes of World War One.
Edition No. 164
Day: Tuesday 11 November
Theme: 1915: Gallopoli
Writer: Joel Baldwin and Thomas Nielson, Year 9
It was before the war started getting into action, 1915 was a stalemate which
had continued from 1914. In 1915 and then Gallipoli happened. The plan was to
open up the sea route to the Russian front so the allies could send supplies. This
would release pressure on the Russian forces by drawing the troops away from
the Russian front.
In the month of March in 1915, the war ships began their assault. They
bombarded the strong force that lined the strait, and then made their advance.
As the British and French ships entered the strait, a combination of mines and
shell fire from the forts on the shore damaged three battle cruisers amongst
others. The heart of the British Navy was threatened. The commanders decided
that this attack wouldn’t work and the risks were too high and so, did not
advance.
In April, a hastily assembled force of British, French and ANZAC (Australia and
New Zealand) troops attacked Helles beach but underestimated the defending
army. The commanders then refused support from the Royal Flying Corps. The
Turkish defenders knew they were coming and in spite, Otto Liman Von Sanders
doubled the defence orders.
At 4 o’clock in the morning on 25th April in pitch dark, the first troops started
their attack on shore. The troops charged up the steep hillsides under the hail of
machine gun fire. By mid-afternoon the beach was strewn with the dead and
dying. Despite the odds against them, the troops managed to bravely overrule
some Turkish trenches. However, by the following day, it was clear that the
objective of clearing the Turkish from Peninsula could not be achieved. The war
was tragic.
Edition No. 165
Day: Wednesday 12 November
Theme: Did taking the wrong turn lead to war?
Writer: Reshma Clarke, Year 9
World War 1 started in 1914 and ended in 1918. It was mainly based in the
fields of Belgium and France, now more commonly known as Flanders Fields.
World War 1 was a war between the triple entente, which consisted of France,
Britain and Russia, and the triple alliance which included Germany, AustriaHungary and Italy.
The war started because the driver of Austrain-Hungarian Archduke Franz
Ferdinand and his wife, Duchess Sophie, took a wrong turn on to Franz Josef
Street, where they were met by the assassin Gavrilo Princip. Franz Ferdinand
was shot in the neck and his wife Sophie, who was pregnant, was shot in the
stomach killing both her and their child.
Before this terrible incident, there was one other attempt to kill the Archduke
when a bomb was thrown at him, but it missed. The man responsible for this
unsuccessful attack was a member of the secret military society, the Black Hand
gang, named Nedeljko Čabrinović.
The members of the Black Hand gang were all Serbian and wanted unification
with bordering territories. As a result of their disputes, the Serbian government
were forced to destroy the leaders of the Black Hand gang in an attempt to
break up the organisation.
After long tensions with Serbia, Austria- Hungary responded to the assassination
of the Archduke by gaining European powers with Germany and Italy and built
up their Armies and Navies ready to invade. Once Britain heard about this
activity, they too formed an alliance with Russia and France and began to build
up their armed forces to declare war.
Edition No. 166
Day: Thursday 13 November
Theme: 1917
Writer: Molly Atkinson, Hannah Giles & Ellen Cowland, Year 10
1916 had been a terrible year. But 1917 was no better. On 31st January, 1917,
Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare. All shipping in the Atlantic
warzone, neutral as well as Allied, was to be sunk. By taking this extreme
measure, Germany hoped to starve Britain, force the Allies into peace
negotiations and bring the war to a swift end. In 1917, the German army
retreated to the Hindenburg line. The Hindenburg line was a position of defence
for the German army which signalled that Germany was becoming weaker. Also,
the USA joined the war on 6th April, 1917 and assisted the Allies. Tank,
submarine and gas warfare intensified. The Canadians won a hard fought victory
at Vimy Ridge. In June 1917, new German twin-engine bombers raided London
and killed or injured nearly 600 people. The public outcry after these raids
forced the British government to bring in better defence operations
(searchlights, anti-aircraft guns etc.). As a result, seven out of nineteen German
bombers were shot down in the raid on 19th May 1918 and German air attacks
on Britain stopped. In 1917, the Royal family changed their surname to Windsor
due to anti-German sentiment. On 18 July 1917 the Times newspaper carried a
royal proclamation introducing the name Windsor and dropping "all German
titles and dignities". In the Middle East, Lawrence of Arabia captured Aquaba.
The Third Battle of Ypres became infamous for mud. On the Eastern Front, the
Russians were faring badly. Tsar Nicholas II chose to ignore the perilous
situation in the Russian cities. In October, the Bolsheviks declared a revolution
and the ousted Tsar and was replaced by Lenin. By the end of the year the
Russians were in negotiations and would pull out of the war.
Edition No. 167
Day: Friday 14 November
Theme: 1918
Writer: Molly Atkinson, Hannah Giles & Ellen Cowland, Year 10
When 1918 opened, change was in the air. The defeat of Russia meant that
large numbers of experienced German soldiers were now free to move to the
western front, while for the allies an increasing number of American troops
were arriving in Europe. The Allies had planned to stay in defence until
American numbers allowed an attack. Ludendorff could see this, and saw
Germany’s only hope to be a knockout block early in 1918, before the
Americans could play a part. The Germans soon found themselves launching
attacks which had no overall purpose, and struggling to advance over land they
had themselves devastated in 1917. By July, the German attacks had ground to
a halt, and the mood in the German command was very negative.
Meanwhile, the allies had finally put a combined command in place, under
Ferdinand Foch, allowing for a much more coordinated war, the Allies now took
the offensive. On 8 August, the Amiens Offensive was started, with a ‘short
bombardment’ followed by a combined tank and infantry attack, which forced
the Germans back eight miles, in what Ludendorff called the 'black day' of the
German Army. This was some of the fiercest fighting of the war despite the fact
that it was one of the final stages. It also forced Germany into retreat. At this
point, Germany were becoming desperate, the first requests for an Armistice
came on 6 October, and after negotiations from 7 November, the Armistice was
signed on the morning of 11 November, with the fighting to stop at 11 am. The
war was over. Only a week before, a great poet, Wilfred Owen had been killed.
“What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of
the guns.” Anthem for Doomed Youth, 1918.