Degrees of Affection

One day I'll feel I actually know this war. At least I hope I will.

Still, Professor Ramsden's lectures did help quite a bit. Thirteen lectures coverend the lead up to the war, during, and even the impacts and representations after. I never felt the time was wasted or the lectures boring; in most cases I wanted them to be a bit longer. He was rather easy to listen to, though I did have to skip back to catch parts I missed a time or two.

While some aspects I expected to be covered were barely mentioned (the influenza epidemic for one), much of it was covered in more detail than I'd had before. For example, I'd never understood the connection between Ypres and the Somme. The British moved the date of the Somme attack up (depriving them of needed preparation time apparently) in order to draw German forces off their attack of France's stronghold at Ypres. This also meant that the Somme offensive was not the massive joint attack they'd wanted it to be either.

The German navy, one of the reasons for the rise in hostilities before the war, barely saw combat. There was just so much to take in. But now I'd like to go through it year by year, in depth.

A sad, horrible, war.