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BBC - History - World Wars: The German Front Experience - 0 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...german_experience_01.shtml

HughesSoldierBoys

shared by anonymous on 02 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • lurid
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
      CE Word!
  • the incessant artillery barrages,
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
      In Soldier Boys, Dean Hughes describes the artillery barrages as "incessant rolls of thunder." 
  • as to how men were affected by the experience: were they brutalised or ennobled; were their lives destroyed or enriched?
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
      In Soldier Boys, Dieter is a German soldier in the Forty-seventh Panzer Corps, a part of the Fifteenth Army. Spencer is an American paratrooper. Both are boys, eager to see action and support their country. 
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • Others found solace in deep religious faith,
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
       In times of peril, Spencer finds relief in praying and giving thanks.
  • A large number failed to cope at all and suffered from what was first known as 'cowardice', for which the penalty was death, then diagnosed as 'hysteria' or 'neurasthenia', soon to become 'shell shock' and now usually labelled 'post traumatic stress disorder' (PTSD).
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
       A former friend in Dieter's company is filled with hysteria and deserts. Patrols find him and he is executed in front of the company. this affects Dieter greatly and he begins to see the horrors of war.
  • The Germans initially believed that they were defending their fatherland against the Entente that encircled them and was bent on their destruction.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
       Dieter is taught from an early age to serve Hitler and defend the Fatherland. He takes this motive to heart, and believes in an honorable death.
  • Until 1916 it was possible for the average Landser to believe that he was fighting a defensive war, given the information then available to him
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
       Dieter truly believes he is "defending the Fatherland," until an officer, after many unsuccessful attempts, forces Dieter to see that Germany is not as it seems. 
  • Then the offensive ground to a standstill. By the summer of 1918 most soldiers knew that the war could not be won. The number of desertions increased dramatically and by the late autumn the army began to disintegrate.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
       Due to his misguided and wrong teachings, Dieter remains firm on his decision to "fight for the Fuhrer."
  • The Allies also had an overwhelming superiority in artillery, tanks and mechanised transport and their equipment was greatly superior.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
       Throughout the book, Allied superiority is seen. The Germans try to diffuse this by spreading reports of false victories, and Dieter believes these lies.  
  • during the First Battle of Ypres, some 1,500 young Germans were killed in a frontal assault on a strong Allied position. For some this was represented as a heroic sacrifice by the flower of German youth, and as an inspiring example to the young men waiting to serve their country. For others it was a slaughter of the innocents (Kindermord), a ghastly reminder of the horrors and insanity of war.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
       In a battle like this one, Spencer and Dieter cross paths. Dieter is wounded badly trying to retreat down a hill. Spencer can hear the young soldier's  cries all through the following night, and decides to take action. He inches down the hill and bandages a shocked Dieter. Spencer is killed by German patrols, and Dieter is changed internally. He promises to live his life in gratitude to the unknown American who saved his life.
  • The Allies also had an overwhelmi
  • The German army had highly trained officers and experienced NCOs
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
       Dieter hopes to become such officers.
  • the Germans unlike the British with their justifiable fear of 'going over the top' longed to go on the offensive. Cowering in their bunkers under a storm of steel they felt themselves to be utterly helpless objects. On the offensive they were autonomous subjects with their destiny in their own hands.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
       In Soldier Boys, Spencer feels the opposite way. He feels his company is always on the move and engaging in battles, and he longs to be on the defensive.
  • World War One
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 02 Feb 15
       
      In Soldier Boys, the setting is World War Two.
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