There was no feeling like it. The thrill of war. The heat of a battle. Nothing in the world could compare. It was neither positive nor negative. It just consumed everything; mind, body and spirit. All senses turn off; the only thing he felt was the weapon in his hand and the only things he saw were his targets.
All around him guns were being fired and men were falling.
In the distance, he a saw a yellow green cloud moving towards them, he could no longer see the Germans. He believe, like so many others, that it was a smoke-screen hiding the movement of the enemy coming forwards.
Captains began yelling commands, soldiers were sprinting past him to get to the firing lines of the Trenches. He followed them right into the path of the yellow-green
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Nonetheless, this was still ten times worse, it was if someone had shoved hot coals into his mouth. Immediately he realized it was a poison. He looked around and everyone had fallen, most likely dead. His captain laid at his feet. He tried to find a way out of the cloud, but he could not breathe. After a minute’s exposure to the gas, he fell.
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Everyone, at least once in their life has known “that guy”. This was the boy whom everyone knew, everyone wanted be friends with, everyone loved and stood out in all he did. He was looked up to by everyone younger than himself, and everyone older respected him. If everyone had gone off to war he was expected to come home, everyone’s last guess would be for him to die first. Nevertheless, when the boys of Appleby School, left their small town of Oakville to go to war, Aubrey Turquand was the first to go and Aubrey was “that guy”.
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Aubrey De Vere Arnold Turquand was born in Toronto, Ontario on September 2, 1896. His father died shortly after his birth of Bright’s disease; his mother, Bertha raised him. He was a man brought up by a
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He had difficulty breathing sometimes and he would often get sick. He had to get operated on and after the surgery, the nurse would give him boiled water to drink. His throat was always soar and the boiled water did not help matters, however, it was supposed to remove the salts. His thyroid was also enlarging. During his time at Appleby, his mother got married to a military man in Winnipeg. Aubrey would often spend his summer vacations there. His step-father made him curious about life in the military. Bertha was wary about Aubrey’s interest in the military as events in Europe were beginning to heat up and he was still ill. She was even anxious about Aubrey travelling alone to Winnipeg, so she asked Mr. Guest to have someone accompany him. Then the war came out and Canada’s involvement, although not determined yet, was inevitable. Aubrey and school mates were eager to get involved. Few of his classmates enlisted before him and right away they earned high ranks in the military due to their family connections and money. Few of his teacher became involved as well. His stepfather joined straight away leaving his mother alone at home. Now, his mother was struggling more than ever, her husband was, and people renting her land were struggling to pay her due to the
In An American Soldier in World War I, David Snead examines account of George Browne, a civil engineer who fought as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I. Snead shares Browne’s account of the war through the letters he wrote to his fiancé Martha Ingersoll Johnson. Through Browne’s letters and research conducted of the AEF, Snead gives a concise, informative, and harrowing narrative of life as a soldier serving in the camps and front lines of the Great War. Snead attempts to give the reader an understanding of Browne’s service by focusing on his division, the 42nd Division, their training and preparation, combat on the front lines, and the effects of war on George and Martha’s relationship. As Snead describes, “Brownie’s letters offer a view of the experiences of an American soldier. He described the difficulties of training, transit to and from France, the dangers and excitement of combat, and the war’s impact on relationships.” (Browne 2006, 2) Furthermore, he describes that despite the war’s effect on their relationship, “their
Charley came into war excited, ready to go. He was so young he didn't think anything could be so bad. Once he got to Fort Snelling the excitement wore off and he became bored. The war was bad, he was one of the youngest so he had the most stress. Everywhere Charley looked there were bodies dropping, He never knew if he was safe or not. Charley tried to stay away from guns or any other weapons.
War as seen through the eyes of Ambrose Bierce in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge depicts it as truly gritty. The author successfully sends a message of how death is a part of war, and it is not as noble or glorious as one would think it is. Due to popular media, we have this attitude that the protagonist is going to go down in a blaze of glory, and while it may be true for some, it is not like that for everyone. War is rough, dark, and gritty but no one ever wants to talk about those parts of war because it would ruin the fantasy of it.
Imagine being in an ongoing battle where friends and others are dying. All that is heard are bullets being shot, it smells like gas is near, and hearts race as the times goes by. This is similar to what war is like. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator, Paul Baumer, and his friends encounter the ideals of suffering, death, pain, and despair. There is a huge change in these men; at the beginning of the novel they are enthusiastic about going into the war. After they see what war is really like, they do not feel the same way about it. During the war the men experience many feelings especially the loss of loved ones. These feelings are shown through their first experience at training camp, during the actual battles, and in the hospital.
Cameron, R. S. (2003). The army vision: The 4th AD in world war II. Military Review, 83(6), 59-68
The story takes place through the eyes of a German infantryman named Paul Baumer. He is nineteen and just joined up with the German army after high school with the persuasion of one of his schoolteachers, Mr. Kantorek. Paul recalls how he would use all class period lecturing the students, peering through his spectacles and saying: "Won't you join up comrades?"(10). Here was a man who loved war. He loved the "glory" of war. He loved it so much as to persuade every boy in his class to join up with the army. He must have thought how proud they would be marching out onto that field in their military attire.
The Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger once said “Perjor est bello timor ipse belli”, which translates to: “the dread of war is worse than war itself”. With this quote, Seneca identifies that war has both its physical and mental tolls on its participants. The psychological and emotional scars of war do much more damage to a solider than the actual physical battles. Tim O’ Brien repeats this idea many years later in his novel “The Things They Carried”, by describing how emotional burdens outweigh the physical loads that those in war must endure. What keeps them alive is the hope that they may one day return home to their loved ones. Yet, the weight of these intangible “items” such as “grief, terror, love, longing” overshadow the physical load they must endure since they are not easily cast away.
...ater, the British still held their ground, though it continued to mist and the shelling was more constant. A 5.9 shell flying over his head, Blunden and his men began exploring the trench they were in, and they managed to find an intact listening set. Perceiving from the continuous shell blast that a full-scale attack would soon be made upon them, Blunden telephoned an SOS to the artillery; a reply was sent that they could offer no help as their headquarters had recently been attacked and had thirty dead and wounded.
In all works about war, the element of pain is essential. Without pain, there is no real happiness. The men described in these works all endured vast amounts of physical and emotional pain on their tours serving the country and the accurate representations of their time overseas wouldn’t be able to be complete without this element.
Clashing swords, miraculous survivals, pain of loss, and heroic sacrifice are all terrifying yet thrilling moments in a battle. The strong possibility of death and the frailty of human life add into the suspense of battle. Yet the reasons behind the wars, death, and suspense can be overlooked. The stories behind the warriors who have died will not be told again, but the stories of warriors still alive are what give the men strength to continue fighting against impossible odds. Ultimately, the reason of why a man would risk his life in battle is for someone, or something, he loves.
One of the worst things about war is the severity of carnage that it bestows upon mankind. Men are killed by the millions in the worst ways imaginable. Bodies are blown apart, limbs are cracked and torn and flesh is melted away from the bone. Dying eyes watch as internal organs are spilled of empty cavities, naked torso are hung in trees and men are forced to run on stumps when their feet are blown off. Along with the horrific deaths that accompany war, the injuries often outnumber dead men. As Paul Baumer witnessed in the hospital, the injuries were terrifying and often led to death. His turmoil is expressed in the lines, “Day after day goes by with pain and fear, groans and death gurgles. Even the death room I no use anymore; it is too small.” The men who make it through the war take with them mental and physical scarification from their experiences.
This event impacted and shaped Canada in which it was a major turning point in the war. Until then, the war hadn’t been going too well for Canada and its allies.
Have you ever thought about what it was like to live during World War 1, or what it was like to fight at war? At first glance of any war piece, you might think the author would try to portray the soldiers as mentally tough and have a smashing conscience. Many would think that fighting in a war shows how devoted you are to your country, however, that is not true. According to All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the reality of a soldier's life is despondency, carnage and eradication at every bombardment. Living every day is not knowing if they will eat, see their families, or even if they will awaken the next day. Demeaning themselves from heroes to barely men without their military garment or identity. Remarque conveyed how
What is war really like all together? What makes war so horrifying? The horror of war is throughout All Quiet on the Western Front. For example Albert says the war has ruined them as young people and Paul agrees. “Albert expresses it: "The war has ruined us for everything." He is right. We are not youth any longer. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We fly from ourselves. From our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts. We are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in the war.” (Remarque, Chapter 5). The way the war has affected each soldier has changed them forever. The boys who were once school boys will never be the same.
Canada was also a major player in helping many issues during the war effort. Through the use of many organizations, either located in Canada or in other parts around the world, many Canadians aided in the many problems that occurred because of the war. These contributions included fighting the...