100th anniversary of Ypres

[Tiki Tom]

I will try to find time today to take a moment to remember this anniversary. The loss of life was truly incredible. Almost inconceivable to us in the modern world. As of today: 72 years of peace in Europe. I understand that that is a record.

"The Third Battle of Ypres, fought in western Belgium a century ago, was as bad as World War I would get. Half a million soldiers were estimated to have been killed or wounded during the 100-day battle and one name keeps coming back: Passchendaele, now as grim a symbol as any field of war ever remembered.

Monday marks the centennial of the start of the Allied offensive, which ended up barely moving the front line. Thus it became a metaphor for the folly of war as soldiers from Australia, Canada and New Zealand joined mostly British forces attempting to break Germany’s hold on the Western Front."

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.co...cle_b887f0af-e006-5e48-8cc8-5e644b2da219.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-like-weve-given-him-the-send-off-he-deserves​

 

[Fading Fast]

Thankfully, today the only fighting about Ypres is how the name is pronounced - several options per Google.

Kidding aside, what a horrific killing field that was, as was all of WWI. It's frighting how quickly all of this can spiral to war, death and destruction.

 

[M Hatman]

Yes, that war was a horrible experience for the world (not that any war is good). A good read to really send the message home and yet has a very entertaining and digestible narrative is "the Cannoneers Have Hairy Ears". Really worth the effort to find a copy, they are available and for a reasonable price. Great Book all around, and especially for the American experience and observations.......

 

[p51]

I went to Ypres when I was 18 and it was a truly sobering experience. At the time, you couldn't dig with a backhoe or anything like that due to all the unexploded shells all over the place. Signs in multiple languages warned not to touch the numerous stacks of shells the farmers would put in their ditches, later calling the EOD unit assigned to the area.
All these years later, I remember looking at this man's grave, a RFC pilot who died at the age of 18: https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/6680952 I still have a photo of his headstone around here somewhere.
Working in the same cemetery was a WW1 vet (this was 1988), a Brit who pronounced the name of the town as "Wipers". I so wish I'd talked more with him, now...

 

[sebastian czentner]

Awfull affair the WWI, with plenty of carnage. there where 100 years ago but echoes till today and modern warfare. Ypres was a touchstone.