100 years ago today

The day Germany invaded Belgium the start of the first world war.The Day Great Britain declared war on Germany.

They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We shall remember them.

They gave their lives so we can argue trivia on here. May they rest in peace.

a reply to: KROandSOTV

Curious. Why are we in the WW3 forum?

a reply to: EA006
Because i can't find a forum for this topic and as its about a WW i have put it here ok.

a reply to: KROandSOTV

Strange to think we might be heading for another WW, during the anniversary of "the war to end all wars...."

We have learned nothing.

Also on this day for anyone who cares, Ann Frank and her family were are arrested by the Gestapo in 1944. Lizzie Borden kille her family in 1892, and actor Billy Bob Thorton turns 59.

a reply to: KROandSOTV

WW1, "the war to end all wars". That was the justification to start it anyway.

If we just get on board with this one, there will never be another.

War is usually started 'in order to right some wrong or save someone'.,. yah right.

Nobel and Maxim each invented dynamite and the Maxim .30 cal water cooled machine gun in order to make war so terrible that war will be done away with for good. Nobel gave himself a prize for that one and Maxims gun ratatat--tatted its way to fame and body counts like never before.

In WW11 even more inventions (in order to shorten the war) were introduced as the technology of war improved, culminating in the advent of atomic destruction.

Now the weapons systems first introduced in WW1 have come to full fruition and mass death is but a button push away from thousands of miles away.

Heres to the next one, it will be the "war to end all wars" (yah, right).

Slips off tin foil hat, dons earplugs and dark sunglasses.

a reply to: intrptr

Slips off tin foil hat, dons earplugs and dark sunglasses.

Here. Smear some of this SP1000 sunblock on ... quick!!

If the truth were understood, then there would be no 'good guys' around at the start of WWI. There was only the limitless advance of militarism on all sides and an implacable sense of nationalism to back it up.

Germany and Britain were in a competition to build dreadnoughts, France helped Russia build the railroads which could bring troops to the German border. Austria/Hungary had its sights set on strangling Serbia.

While European populations basked in the peaceful luxury of a half century, their militaries built up strength with a passion. No-one believed that war was on the horizon and, if any small conflict should arise (as in the Balkans), everyone thought it would be contained to that area.

When all those millions who died in the trenches are counted up, I wonder what, exactly, was won... who were the victors and losers? What was accomplished?

Beyond any doubt in my mind, the end result was a re-drawing of maps in Paris (1919) and a whole new round of ill-will was spawned, leading us into WWII and today into the mess we see in the ME.

So, no, I refuse to celebrate/commemorate WWI. The slaughter of millions over 4 years, regardless of which side did what to whom, brought us only more death and destruction over the 20th century and, with an eye to the 21st, promises to continue that trend.

a reply to: masqua

The only thing that was accomplished by world war one, was the troubles that followed. Troubles that continue to this day...

Gotta luv ya some imperialism...don't you?

all tragic but what population count would we be at right now without these wars.
any way to estimate that ?

a reply to: IAMAMOG

Seems unlikely...

In that vein, one of those men might have been a humanitarian the likes of which the world had never seen...but he got his head blown off in the trenches. Or she was a nurse caught by a strafing airplane...

WWI brought us a Hitler, might its absence brought us something a bit better? Or quite a bit better?

a reply to: masqua
What utter tripe you spout,Britain and Germany competing for dreadnoughts wrong.
France helped Russia build a railway to put troops on the border with Germany wrong,it was for iron ore coal and minerals and it was built years before the outbreak of ww1.
Cant be arsed to argue with you as this thread is about the fallen,you know the millions that died on both sides of the Great War as it is known.

a reply to: KROandSOTV

Unfortunately history will repeat itself over and over and over,and as human beings we seem to have learned nothing from it,so we are doomed to repeat it.

100 Years since World War to end all war. 100 years since the last major Pandemic, give or take.

-checks watch-

Right on time, I suppose. They both seem due for a sequel to teach the world a badly needed lesson in perspective and humility. The whole thing. No exceptions to that need.

RIP to all those that gave their lives for the illusion of freedom

a reply to: Thefarmer

Was it an "illusion" to them, though?

When they were sitting in the trenches, or swirling in dogfights in the sky, was it an "illusion" of freedom, or was it a concrete thing they were fighting for?

Was it an illusion of freedom for a French soldier to fight against Germans at the Somme?

It's easy to call it an illusion a century, or less, removed from the event... Not so much when one is living it.

a reply to: seagull

No I agree with you totally pal

I'm talking about how were told they fought for our freedom now

originally posted by: seagull


When they were sitting in the trenches, or swirling in dogfights in the sky, was it an "illusion" of freedom, or was it a concrete thing they were fighting for?

I think what he is trying to say is that there is no real freedom in the world, thus it is an illusion. Oh sure, we in America can eat pizza anytime we want.... But we are still slaves to the banking and oil cartels of the world.

The banks were the only who profited from ww1. It is often speculated that agents working under the Rothschilds actually assassinated the Archduke Ferdinand to spark the war. Of course the Rothschilds and others were conditioning the minds of European leaders before the spark, keeping them worried about it and focused on building up even in peace.


A lot of bad came from the war. But, a lot of good came also. For instance, stabilized flight over long distances. Zippers, steril dressings, tea bags, the wristwatch, and pilot to ground communications.

a reply to: seagull

i don't get what you mean a humanitarian would only increase population which is by far going to cause more pain and suffering than war ever will when resources water,oil,food become worth the punishment ,morals will always come second to necessity

a reply to: IAMAMOG

Humanitarian was a bad choice of word.

What I meant, in my sleepy little brain at that moment, was someone who might have helped develop a way to feed the masses, shelter the masses... etc... Something we'll never know, because they're dead.

In any case, I rather think the Influenza outbreak that followed WWI did more to lessen the population than any war.