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Transcript
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.