Pals Battalion Synthesis

624 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Battle of the somme military tradgedy

In 1914, the Allies and the Central Powers implemented “Pals Battalions” in World War One. A Pals Battalion consists of men from the same background, school, village or town that are put into groups of infantry then shipped off to war. The British were the first to apply this since their army lacked numbers compared to the armies built by heavy conscription. With the success of the recruitment of Pals Battalions, they were trained and sent to participate in an offensive in Somme. Bruce Robinson, screenwriter for BBC, quotes on the tragedy of Somme “The battle on 1 July marked the army's greatest single loss in its history, with 60,000 casualties, of which 20,000 were dead. The Pals Battalions suffered accordingly: of the 720 Accrington Pals who participated, 584 were killed, wounded or missing in the attack. The Leeds Pals lost around 750 of the 900 participants and both the Grimsby Chums and the Sheffield City Battalion lost around half of their men.” Many works of film and literature have captured this concept such as the film “Joyeux Noel” and the story “All Quiet On The W...

Show More
Related

  • Free Essays on All’s Quiet on the Western Front

    438 Words  | 1 Pages

    “All’s Quiet on the Western Front” includes a series of vignettes and scenes that portray the senselessness and futility of war from the point of view of young German soldiers in the trenches in the Great War who found no glory on the battlefield, meeting only death and disillusionment.

    Read More

  • Brigade Combat Team Case Study

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the incoming brigade commander, LTC (P) Owens, I see the critical leadership problem facing the 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) is the inability or unwillingness of Colonel Cutler to lead and manage change effectively. In initial talks with Col Cutler and in reviewing the brigade’s historical unit status reports, the 4th ABCT performed as well as can be expected in Afghanistan, but as the onion was peeled back there are numerous organizational issues that were brought to the surface while I walked around and listened to the soldiers of the 4th ABCT, in addition to reviewing the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) report. One of the most formidable tasks of a leader is to improve the organization while simultaneously accomplishing

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque: The Brutality of War on Soldiers

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel All Quiet on the Western Front is based on World War I; it portrays themes involving suffering, comradeship, chance and dehumanization. The novel is narrated by Paul, a young soldier in the German military, who fights on the western front during The Great War. Like many German soldiers, Paul and his fellow friends join the war after listening to the patriotic language of the older generation and particularly Kantorek, a high school history teacher. After being exposed to unbelievable scenes on the front, Paul and his fellow friends realize that war is not as glorifying and heroic as the older generation has made it sound. Paul and his co-soldiers continuously see horrors of war leading them to become hardened, robot-like objects with one goal: the will to survive.

    Read More

  • Attitude in All Quiet on the Western Front

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    All Quiet on the Western Front shows the change in attitudes of the men before and

    Read More

  • Life in the Trenches of World War I

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    While marching on the dusty road towards Thièvres, the battalion faced hills and forest along with the scorching heat of the sun; therefore, many of the men fell out of line, so to keep the pace, higher ranking officials would carry two or three rifles. After reaching Somme, heavy rain and German shells began to flood upon the men. The British communications trench, was reduced to ash from a direct hit, although the train station survived the attack, allowing for a slo...

    Read More

  • Ordinary Men by Browning

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    Without a doubt, the men of this battalion greatly contributed to the final solution. The first action the 101st Battalion was order to do took place in Józefów. They went into the town and were ordered to "shoot anyone trying to escape" and "those that were too sick or frail to walk to the marketplace, as well as infants and anyone offering resistance or attempting to hid, were to be shot on the spot". (Browning, 57) They then trucked or marched the Jews they found into the woods just outside the village. "When the first truckload of thirty-five to forty Jews arrived, an equal number of policemen cam forward and, face to face, were paired off with their victims." (Browning, 61) The shear atrocity of this was too much for many of the policemen, so alcohol was provided to calm the men?s nerves. Only a dozen men stepped out and refused to shoot at all. As the day went on, however, many could not continue. They even had a "special technique" dubbed the "neck shot". "The men wer...

    Read More

  • The People’s War: Were They Really All in it Together?

    1216 Words  | 3 Pages

    “WW2 People’s War: An Archive of World War Two memories- written by the public, gathered by the BBC.” BBC. February 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine being in an ongoing battle where friends and others are dying.  All that is heard are bullets being shot, it smells like gas is near, and hearts race as the times go by.  This is similar to what war is like.  In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator, Paul Baumer, and his friends encounter the ideals of suffering, death, pain, and despair.  There is a huge change in these men; at the beginning of feel the same way about it.  During the war the men experience many feelings, especially the loss of loved ones.  These feelings are shown through their first experience at training camp, during the actual battles, and in the hospital.  Training camp was the first actuality of what war was going to be like for the men.  They thought that it would be fun, and they could take pride in defending their country.  Their teacher, Kantorek, told them that they should all enroll in the war.  Because of this, almost all of the men in the class enrolled.  It was in training camp that they met their cruel corporal, Himelstoss.&nbs most by him.  They have to lie down in the mud and practice shooting and jumping up.  Also, these three men must remake Himelstoss’ bed fourteen times, until it is perfect.  Himelstoss puts the young men through so much horror that they yearn for their revenge.  Himelstoss is humiliated when he goes to tell on Tjaden, and Tjaden only receives an easy punishment.  Training camp is as death and destruction.  Training camp is just a glimpse of what war really is.  The men do not gain full knowledge of war until they go to the front line.   The front line is the most brutal part of the war.  The front line is the place in which the battles are fought.  Battles can only be described in one word- chaos.  Men are running around trying to protect themselves while shooting is in the trench with an unknown man from the other side.  This battle begins with shells bursting as they hit the ground and machine guns that rattle as they are being fired.  In order to ensure his survival, Paul must kill the other man.  First, Paul stabs the man, but he struggles for his life.  He dies shortly after, and Paul discovers who he has killed.  The man is Gerald Duval, a printer.&n Having to deal with killing others is one of the horrors of war. The men who are killed and the people who kill them could have been friends, if only they were on the same side.    The other important battle leaves both Paul and Kropp with injuries.

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front Critical Analysis

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    While soldiers are often perceived as glorious heroes in romantic literature, this is not always true as the trauma of fighting in war has many detrimental side effects. In Erich Maria Remarque 's All Quiet On The Western Front, the story of a young German soldier is told as he adapts to the harsh life of a World War I soldier. Fighting along the Western Front, nineteen year old Paul Baumer and his comrades begin to experience some of the hardest things that war has to offer. Paul’s old self gradually begins to deteriorate as he is awakened to the harsh reality of World War 1, depriving him from his childhood, numbing all normal human emotions and distancing future, reducing the quality of his life.

    Read More

  • Review of the Forgotten Soldier

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ings by then, whose memories, fears, and enthusiasms should not be remembered." Thus, unlike the title suggests, this remarkable war memoir is not about one soldier. Instead it refers to the entire German army who were defeated by the Allies. Although the German cause was very controversial, these gentlemen bravely fought for their country. Many men died, many were mutilated, and many more had to forever live with the atrocities they encountered. At war's end, however, they were merely "forgotten" for their failure of success. And although The Forgotten Soldier is an astonishing account of the horrors of infantry warfare, it serves a much greater purpose. It allows the historian to glance into the German experience and realize they too were young men fighting because their nation called upon them, and they deserve to be remembered for such a courageous act.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Braving the Fire by John B. Severance

    1253 Words  | 3 Pages

    They become part of the regiment proudly known as General Barlow’s Boys. The war turned out to be nothing like they expected. All ...

    Read More

  • What Really Happened in the Boston Massacre?

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the night of March 5th, it is believed that a small group of boys began taunting a British soldier. Over the boys’ nonsense, the soldier battered one of his oppressors with his musket. Soon after the alleged incident a crowd of about fifty or sixty people surrounded the frightened solider. The enraged crowd of people sounded the soldier, encouraging him to call for backup. Soon after calling for help, seven soldiers along with Captain Preston...

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    World War I had a great effect on the lives of Paul Baumer and the young men of his generation. These boys’ lives were dramatically changed by the war, and “even though they may have escaped its shells, [they] were destroyed by the war” (preface). In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Baumer and the rest of his generation feel separated from the other men, lose their innocence, and experience comradeship as a result of the war.

    Read More

  • Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    Band of Brothers is a fascinating book that captures moments lived by soldiers during World War II. It specifically relates to the History of a small unit of paratroopers known as Easy Company, 506 Regiment, 101st Airborne. It is a story that follows the company from its inception to the capture of Hitler’s nest. It begins with the training of these soldiers at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. The 140 members of easy company who were young men from different social levels were physically and mentally trained. This particular company had an extremely harsh training, but many believe it is because of this training that they were considered as one of the best rifle companies in the army.

    Read More

  • To what extent was World War I a total war?

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    Men were by far the most affected by the war, due to the Conscription Act that was passed in 1916. This included all men aged 18-40 who were able to fight against the triple Alliance. The number of volunteers were decreasing, because of circulating news reports of the horrifying experiences and the living conditions the men were expected to live in. War’s glamorous side was destroyed and replaced with fear. With Britain’s army diminishing, they had to bring in conscription to maintain the necessary numbers of troops. Not all men agreed with this measure and those who opposed conscription were known as conscientious objectors. These men were usually pacifists or highly religious individuals, who were treated like criminals by society; many were assaulted and publicly humiliated. These men were forced to take on jobs that aided the military. The men that refused this alternative to fighting were either sentenced to death or put in solitary confinement. This exhibits the extreme mea...

    Read More

More about Pals Battalion Synthesis

Open Document