World War I soldiers
Death - but a disaster?
The visions of masses of dead has obscured the other, liberating side of the First World War.
Eine andere veranschaulichung
The British lost lives and learnt about warfare but both sides felt the pain. What did The Somme look like from the German perspective?
Our lives on screen
Increasingly, historians are coming to recognise that our past can be explored as much through entertainment culture as through official documents. What can we learn from popular history?
We rightly remember the Somme in 1916 as a bloody metaphor for the seemingly senseless slaughter of World War One – but why is it the only thing we remember?
The Battle of the Somme, especially its first day (July 1st 1916), seems to take precedence in our collective memory. Lines of British troops killed by German machine guns. Tactical ineptitude and useless sacrifice, with Douglas Haig as the chief 'Donkey'.
But two questions arise: if it was all like that, then how come the British won the war in the end? And given that the British did win, how come we forgot about it, and instead commemorate something that looks like a defeat?
We have forgotten to remember that we learnt lessons, and ultimately won the war. The reasons for that tell us as much about the political agenda of those who came after the war as it does about those who fought hard for victory.
You can read a transcript of this programme.
Content last updated: 14/11/2006
