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"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, especial...ly 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. "
"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, especial...ly 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. "
| Series: | Things we forgot to remember |
|---|---|
| First transmission date: | 2006-12-04 |
| Original broadcast channel: | BBC Radio 3 |
| Published: | 2006 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:27:36 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Julia Adamson |
| Contributors: | John Bourne; Michael Portillo; Gary Sheffield; Hew Strachan; Daniel Todman |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Subject terms: | Somme, 1st Battle of the, France, 1916; World War, 1914-1918; Haig, Douglas Haig,--Earl,--1861-1928; Owen, Wilfred,--1893-1918 |
| Production number: | AUDA151B |
| Available to public: | no |
