The Third Battle Of Ypres History Essay

The Third Battle Of Ypres History Essay The Battle of Passchendaele also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. This was one of the major battles of World War I and consisted of a series of different operations and engagements between the 31st of July and the 6th of November with the objective of capturing vast amounts of German territory as well as destroying German submarine bases along the Belgian coast in an effort to thwart enemy naval capabilities. This campaign, unlike some others launched in the First World War, was meticulously planned by British Commander-in-Chief General Douglas Haig. However, General Haig was known as a stubborn man and showed major reluctance to modernise his tactics and strategies as a Commander, failing to see the use of artillery and being of the opinion that the Cavalry Charge still had a place in modern military tactics and because of this he may have been responsible for the heavy losses suffered by Allied forces at both Ypres and the Somme due to his unwillingness to deviate from his initi al strategies. The precursor to the Battle of Passchendaele was to be a preliminary artillery barrage against the entrenched Germans and their defenses on June 7, 1917 with the objective of softening the defensive lines to allow for an easier advance by Allied. Earlier, the British and Australians had deviantly planted 21 mines containing 450,000 kilograms of high explosives beneath the German defensive lines and their detonation signalled the initial attack by ANZAC forces who managed to take the town of Messines proper within two hours and subsequently the Messines ridge. The Battle of Messines alerted the already aware Germans of an impending attack. Three Victoria Cross medals were awarded to the ANZAC forces here. -Show Battle of Messines overview and point out battle lines- Following the Battle of Messines British forces began artillery bombardment on the Gheluvelt plateau which overlooked the town of Ypres. The bombardment again notified the German forces of impending attack and they moved troops to the front lines in response. The beginning of what would eventually become known as the Battle of Passchendaele started on July 31st with the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, in which 32,000 Allied lives were lost for the gain of 1,800 meters, and with the Battle of Langemarck which commenced slightly later on the 16th of August. These attacks allowed British forces to secure valuable footholds from which they would later attack Passchendaele. -Show Battle of Passchendaele overview, point out Allied and German positions- It is at this point that General Herbert Plumer took command of the Allied forces from General Hubert Gough, who favoured sweeping aggression, and abandoned the tactics that were failing to help the Allies to gain any appreciable ground and started to employ the same tactics that the ANZACs used successfully in the Battle of Messines. General Plumer planned to create smaller, more easily obtainable objectives instead of having the advancing parties rushing as far as they could before becoming exhausted and being repelled by fresh German reserves. September 20th, 52 days since the beginning of the Battle of Passchendaele. The Allies have gained a mere 2.5 kilometres for the loss of approximately 60,000 men or 24 men per meter. Haig was wagering that the German army would break soon, unable to continue reinforcing the front lines due to the heavy losses they sustained earlier at the Somme and Verdun. Plumer now starts the Battle of Menin Road, an engagement that would last 5 days. German defences are fierce with many young Australian soldiers falling to the bullets and shells of enemy infantry, pillboxes and artillery, ultimately limiting the gain of the Allies to 1,400 meters of territory while costing the lives 21,000 Allied soldiers or 15 men per meter gained, ANZAC deaths included. It followed a heavy artillery barrage with a reported 3.5 million artillery shells being fired with an allotment of one artillery piece for every five yards of the attack front. This major loss of ground by the Germans convinced them that their p revious tactic of defence in depth was obsolete and prompted a change in the way the lines were reinforced and held to create a more elastic defence. This caused heavier loses for the Germans during the preparatory bombardment and their subsequent counter-attacks. This would bode well for the Australians as more lives were about to be thrown at the enemy for more trivial territory gains. -Show picture of Australian soldiers are the Battle of Polygon Wood- The day after the Battle of Menin Road the Australian 4th and 5th Divisions would fight in a small conflict called the Battle of Polygon Wood, named for the shape the woods lay across the axis of the advancing Australian forces. The Australians were tasked with building upon the gains made during the Battle of Menin Road, however atop a large earthen mound overlooking the battlefield was the German position, heavily fortified by machine gun nests, dugouts and foxholes, ready to repel the advancing forces. Artillery covering the advance of Australian soldiers was heavy with one gun for every nine meters of the front, demolishing the Wood itself and destroying some of the German emplacements. By the time the soldiers had assaulted German positions the wood had been reduced to naught but splinters and broken wood but despite the heavy bombardment by Allied artillery, German pillboxes harassed the Australian soldiers, protecting the machine gunners hidden inside, ending the lives of appr oximately 7,200 Aussie men. It was the courage, mateship, fighting spirit and unwillingness to back down that helped the Australian soldiers take the Wood that was so heavily defended by the German army and repel the subsequent desperate counter-attacks launched. The following Battle of Broodseinde was the final time General Plumers strategy of biting and holding territory was successful and was a shining example that the spirit of the Allied forces could overcome even the hardest of German defences. From the outlook the men of I ANZAC and II ANZAC were tasked with capturing the crest of the previously mentioned Gheluvelt Plateau In conclusion, the Battle of Passchendaele was a cohesive event for the Australians as they gained respect as a formidable and capable fighting force from their Allies, strengthening the bond between the nations fighting men. It is also the embodiment of the courageous fighting spirit shown by the ANZACs that allowed the men to continue taking the battle to the Germans after losing 38,000 men of the original 70,000 to the bitter battle of attrition. For the massive number of troops lost on both sides, approximately 310,000 for the Allies and 260,000 for the Germans, for the gain of only a few kilometres. It is interesting to note that Adolf Hitler fought in the Battle of Passchendaele with the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division where he was injured on October 13, 1918 by a British gas attack.

Registered Nurse

Researchers routinely choose an ? -level of 0. 05 for testing their hypotheses. What are some experiments for which you might want a lower ? -level (e. g. , 0. 01)? What are some situations in which you might accept a higher level (e. g. , 0. 1)? You are correct when you say that the influence of the media has an affect on the children of â€Å"todays† behavior. There are so many TV shows and movies that protray violence and crime, I think it may lay the foundation for ideas for the kids that do not have a lot of parental supervision. Some of the video and computer games are the worst for violence.Also the way parents punish their children for bad behavior has changed. They do not have the respect for the parents that use to be there. So if they don't respect their parent they are not going to respect another adult. They feel they can get away with almost anything. You would have a great study also. Debbie Great and interesting post, I agree with your statement that an importa nt and good standards are part of every cultures. To respect parents are an important aspect of parent and child relationship. But as you mentioned things have changed in the process of time.There are a lot of factors to consider in this changes i. e. , the environment that we live in, peer groups, and too much exposure to television that shows violent behaviors, and not to mention the lack of time or lack of parental involvement in their children. Substantive Post Yes | No Reply | Quote & Reply | Report Abuse DQ Points Abuse Reports This is a very good post. It would be interesting in itself to see how many teen parents there were 20+ years ago. This would be a very interesting study because these are kids having kids and still have a lot to learn themselves.It would also be interesting to learn how many of the teen parents also had a criminal record. Very interesting. Substantive Post Yes | No Reply | Quote & Reply | Report Abuse DQ Points Abuse Reports Great post and well explain ed. I do agree with you that sending a questionnaire to the parents to gather data is a good idea. Children model adult behavior on television and in real life. And they replicate language they learn online. It is not uncommon to hear foul language spoken by children just learning to talk.That’s because children are systemically connected to everything around them. The world is their learning environment. We are their teachers. Admittedly, there are many roadblocks to reversing the downward trend of civility in today's society. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. In fact, as parents, teachers, politicians, television producers, and others who impact children’s lives, we have a responsibly to do so because studies show that incivility leads to violence and unhealthy communities. Substantive Post Yes | No Reply | Quote & Reply | Report Abuse DQ Points Abuse Reports

Alan Bennet’s “Talking Heads” – A monologue commentary

After reading a selection of monologues from Alan Bennett's â€Å"Talking Heads†, I was inspired to right one of my own. In my monologue the focus is on a young girl who lives alone with her father, who abuses her. The title, ‘A father's love', is ironic because if her father loved her, then why would he abuse her? This links to the monologues written by Alan Bennett as he also uses the technique of irony to engage the audience. The opening stage directions show some aspects of the character's lifestyle, â€Å"Emma sits on a battered leather armchair in a plain living room† From reading this, the audience will be able to identify the poor lifestyle that the girl experiences; this is also shown in a further set of stage directions â€Å"Emma is washing dishes in a basic, untidy looking kitchen.† In both instances there are hints of poverty, yet her father finds enough money to go to the pub at night. This helps to reveal her father's character and his priorities. In the first section of the monologue there is no clue as to what the problem could be, but as the monologue progresses the clues become clearer and the audience may have more of an idea of what the girl is experiencing. For example, â€Å"I said I was sorry about the medication but it really wasn't my fault, there wasn't a need for the way he reacted.† There it becomes obvious to the audience that the girl's father has a bad temper. This idea is developed in the next section of the monologue as the girl debates whether or not to go to school. It now becomes apparent that he has hit her. To create a more obvious clue I had to re draft my monologue in order for the audience to pick up on the problem, â€Å"How can I go to school with a face like this†¦ I could just tell everyone I fell down the stairs.† The clues are really subtle at first but do become more obvious as the monologue progresses. I tried to create tragedy in the monologue by portraying the young girl as feeling alone in the world; she lives alone with her bad tempered father who drinks a lot. The tragedy is that she doesn't want to walk out on her father but she knows that it's not safe for her to stay. I think that the audience could identify this in the monologue. In my monologue, it shows the father suprising the young girl with a shopping trip; this was only through guilt. It's tragic that he has to show his love for his daughter by buying presents and not through affection. By the end of the monologue we can see that there has been no change in the attitude of the father, although he promises his daughter that things will change, they don't. Emma says, â€Å"He promised me that he wasn't going to do this anymore†¦ I just hope he isn't drunk again.† This demonstrates her fear of her father. The last set of stage directions shows that the girl is frightened and that her father hasn't changed. The young girl knows what is going to happen when her father comes home. â€Å"A door slams and a man is heard shouting from off stage†¦ He's home! (Frightened)† I have tried to end my monologue on a tragic note, but leave the audience in suspense. It shows that the father has broke his promise and come in drunk again, but there is no indication as to whether he will beat his daughter.

Analysis Of Pinker s The, And The Expanding Circle By...

Pinker challenges the misconception about the amount of violence in the current period compared to previous periods in human history. Pinker goes on to utilize a background of historical evidence such as historical wars and the severity of punishments for crimes committed. In the past, minor crimes such as theft could result in a death punishment. Pinker demonstrates how punishments have become less violent for the crimes committed. Additionally, there appears to be more signs of human empathy towards others, aside from inner circle members such as family and friends. Pinker demonstrates how the reduction of violence levels could have attributed to media reporting, international trade, global communications and large central governments. Furthermore, Pinker’s theorizes plausible explanations attributed to Thomas Hobbes’s â€Å"Leviathan†, a wide spread sentiment that ‘life is cheap’, Robert Wright’s â€Å"Nonzero-sum Games†, and the â⠂¬Å"Expanding Circle† by Peter Singer. In Pinker’s presentation, â€Å"The Surprising Decline in Violence† Pinker states the decline in violence is a ‘fractal phenomenon’ with the â€Å"tipping point starting at the Age of Reason in the sixteenth century†. The supporting evidence is divided into Four sub categories consisting of the Millennium Scale, the Century Scale, the Decade Scale and the Year Scale. Pinker begins the Millennium Scale at around 10,000 years ago, when humans were believed to be primarily hunters and gathers, at which point Pinker presents a graph