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It’s hard to find an anti-war poem written before the First World War. But after that War to End All Wars—and no doubt influenced by its 20 million civilian and military deaths and the horrors of poison gas and trench warfare — anti-war poems became the norm, and remain so to this day.
Owen’s image of retreating soldiers always reminds me of Bill Mauldin’s famous cartoon of bedraggled WWII soldiers. The ironic cutline for the cartoon to the right reads: “Fresh, spirited American troops, flushed with victory, are bringing in thousands of hungry, ragged, battle-weary prisoners.”
I have nothing to add, but this is an outstanding post.
In 1891, Kipling wrote a kind of follow-up to Tennyson’s poem: The last of the light brigade.
Thanks, Rep. It was always a pleasure for me to teach these two poems. Each poem has its peculiar virtues. You can probably tell that I prefer the gritty one by Owen but, oddly enough, I preferred teaching the Tennyson poem.
Another WWI poem by a combatant is Siegfried Sassoon’s ‘The General”
“Good-morning, good-morning!” the General saidWhen we met him last week on our way to the line.Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.“He’s a cheery old card,” grunted Harry to JackAs they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack. But he did for them both by his plan of attack.
One of the books that best describes the social/psychological effects of the First World War, and especially the break between generations that it brought about, is Erich Maria Remarque’s novel The Road Back….not nearly as well-known as his All Quiet on the Western Front, but it should be. I reviewed it here: https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/21350.html
David, Wilfred Owen knew and was influenced by Sassoon. They met in a hospital, if I remember right, in England. Owen was in there for shell shock.
The Charge of the Light Brigade occurred largely because of mutual contempt and anger among the British leadership. Here’s what happened:
The Light Cavalry Brigade was commanded by Lord Cardigan, who in turn was subordinate to the overall Cavalry commander, Lord Lucan. The two men were related, and they could not stand each other, to the point where they avoided communication. Neither was popular in the army.
On October 25, the overall British commander in the Crimea, Lord Raglan, was situated on high ground, from which he had a far better view of the field than did Cardigan and Lucan. He and his staff observed that the Russians had captured some heavy British guns and were about to haul them away. An order was dispatched to Lucan under the signature of Raglan’s chief of staff:
Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front – follow the enemy and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns. Troop Horse Artillery may accompany. French cavalry is on your left. R Airey. Immediate.
The order was handed to Captain Louis Nolan, a superb horseman who was sure to deliver it as rapidly as possible. Nolan was an experienced military professional who had devoted considerable thought to cavalry tactics and believed the cavalry was being mishandled in the Crimean campaign. He viewed Cardigan and Lucan as men who lacked professionalism and held their positions only because of their inherited social status. Nolan had also served in India, and the snob Cardigan was highly prejudiced against officers with that background, believing they lacked the social graces and elegance of attire which were important to him. Nolan sent his horse diving down the hill and quickly reached the place where the cavalry was stationed.
“Lord Raglan’s orders,” Nolan told Lucan, “are that the cavalry should attack immediately.” His tone of voice can only be guessed at, but it is said that he was “already mad with anger”…at Lucan, at Cardigan, and at the whole British command structure and what he believed to be their incompetence.
“Attack, sir! Attack what? What guns, sir? Where and what to do?”
“There, my Lord! There is your enemy! There are your guns!” Nolan snapped back, waving his arm in a gesture “more of rage than of indication.”
Lucan could not see the British guns which were being hauled away; the only guns in sight were the Russian battery at the far end of the North valley, where Russian cavalry was also stationed. Certainly Nolan’s “impertinent and flamboyant” gesture had seemed to point in that direction. Lucan trotted over and passed on the order to Cardigan, who, “coldly polite,” dropped his sword in salute.
“Certainly, sir,” Cardigan responded. “But allow me to point out to you that the Russians have a battery in the valley on our front, and riflemen and batteries on each flank.”
“I know it,” replied Lucan. “But Lord Raglan will have it. We have no choice but to obey.”
(continuing previous comment)
So, what happened here? In part, the debacle was caused by technical/intellectual failings…Airey’s order could have been clearer, pointing out the direction of the designated target, which he knew Lucan and Cardigan could not see. But the main cause of the disaster, I think, was emotional. If Nolan had been able to contain his (apparently quite justified) anger at Lucan and Cardigan, and to cooly point out the direction of the target, then Raglan’s original order would surely have been carried out as intended. If Lucan and Cardigan had not disliked one another so strongly, they might have been able to discuss the order for a moment and recognize that their interpretation of it didn’t make any sense–the guns they had interpreted as their assigned target were not being “carried away.” And after the Charge had already begun, if Cardigan had been able to keep his fury at Nolan under control (he thought Nolan’s crossing in front of him meant the Nolan was trying to take command of the Brigade), he might have recognized that he needed to change directions. (In the event, Cardigan’s mind was possessed with rage at Nolan both during the charge and the return.)
It is disturbing to think that the relationship among much of the American leadership today is just about as toxic as the relationships that existed among Lucan, Cardigan, and Nolan.
Wow, David, you do know your Charge of the Light Brigade.
Thanks, Kent. The contrast between the two poems is fascinating and tragic.
Initial source was Harry Flashman, but given that he might have been biased (and didn’t actually exist), verified with other sources.
Same for the author of maybe the best poem that came out of WWI, I Have a Rendezvous With Death by Alan Seeger. This was one of the poems I memorized in 7th grade for one of the best English teachers I’ve ever had, Mr. Boyd. Seeger was killed in action at age 26. Knowing that makes those last two lines even more poignant.
I have a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air—
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.
It may be he shall take my hand
And lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath—
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with Death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow-flowers appear.
God knows ’twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear…
But I’ve a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.
My #3 son memorized Owen’s poem last year and twinned it with a Powerpoint show for full dramatic effect.
Wow! I can see memorizing the The Charge of the Light Brigade — but the Owen poem! That’s impressive. Your number 3 son should take it on the road.
That seems to match what I recently read about this charge, but now I can’t figure out what book it was in. It was one I listened to on Audible earlier this year, but my Audible collection is large and I don’t seem to recognize it. Can you recommend a source that gives this information?
I learned about the Charge of the Light Brigade from my grandfather, who recited part of it to me. It was probably something he learned in school in the 1890s.
One good source is ‘The Reason Why’…Cecil Woodham Smith. I used several other sources in researching this topic a couple of years ago, unfortunately, can’t remember them at the moment…maybe they’ll come to me.
Shades of All Quiet on the Western Front.
Poetry that last, full of mnemonic devices.
Aha! I thought I recognized that!
I thought it was in The Sharp End, but I couldn’t find it, so I’ll have to go from memory. The paragraph was about the 28th Infantry, and the fighting in the Huertgen Forest. It went something like, “The doggies were so tired coming off the line that there was a body lying in the trail, and even though it was from their own outfit, they were too tired to go around.”
Magnificent.
Kent, interesting post. I also like RightAngles’ quotation of I Have A Rendezvous With Death, which was in a poetry book that my parents gave me for Christmas 1977 (if I recall the year correctly). 101 Famous Poems, which also had this one by Canadian soldier-physician John McCrae, likewise written during WWI:
It is my impression that the British drew a nihilistic and hopeless conclusion from WWI, reflected in the poem that Kent selected for the OP. The Canadian and American reaction, at least as shown in the works of Seeger and McCrae, do not fail to recognize the terrible consequences of war, but find something uplifting nevertheless.
I wonder if this reflects a national decline in spirit that was more advanced in Britain than in Canada or the US. My impression is that Canada lost its mojo around the 1970s, and that we’re currently in the process of finding out whether the US has lost its mojo.
I also have that book. I think WWI affected the Brits and the French even more than it did us because they lost most of an entire generation of young men. It was a devastating effect for a long time.
It most definitely did cause a huge sociological and economic upheaval in Britain and France and ushered in the Russian Revolution. Since we came in at the end of the war, it wasn’t felt nearly as much over here, plus our economy was far more diversified with a larger middle class. Although all war is undoubtedly the failure of political solutions, WWI was so very unnecessary to be almost unbelievable that nations went to war over such stupidity and arrogance. Britain lost 1,350,000, France lost 1,927,000, Russia lost roughly 2,300,000. Although these numbers seem high, I haven’t even included deaths from the Central Powers or other nations involved on the side of Entente. By way of contrast, we lost 117,000. This horrific devastation makes it easier to understand why Europeans chose to ignore the ominous signs of Hitler’s coming aggression for as long as they did. Another war was the last thing they wanted.
How cool! Listen, my children, and you shall hear . . .
What are your favorites? Without looking, I mean. I particularly like:
I did have to look up the authors of the last two.
Yeah, but the Germans lost around 1.7 million, and they didn’t fall apart. They came back, more aggressive and effective than ever.
Depends on what you mean by “fall apart.”
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I just looked it up. Germany lost 2,737,000. You aren’t taking into account that they lost in an ignominious defeat made worse by the Paris Peace Accords and the Treaty of Versailles, severely punishing them, the result of which was a resurgence of nationalization and determination to recover their pride.
What is missed is that the soldiers in WWI were largely content, enjoying the war. Despite the frequent portrayals, the men fought with enthusiasm. They didn’t have to use bayonets to get Americans “over the top.”
What is missed is that men do like war. It is very exciting. “It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it,” wrote Robert E. Lee. His sentiments are not unusual at all, and Lee was not at all a callous man. It is what men, ultimately, are made for and we thrive at it (unless we are the ones getting blown up).
Society should recognize this and encourage it in men, directing it into sports and business and other work and recreation, so when needed the men are rough and able to fight well.
Instead, we have Bravo channel, and as a society we inculcate a level of sissiness in our boys and young men.
Join in the fun with your own contribution to our July Group Writing theme: “The Doggerel Days of Summer.”
Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.
The same day the Light Brigade rode to ruin, the Heavy Brigade rode to victory against a superior cavalry force, throwing back the Russians until the terrible blunder of the Light Brigade action gave the initiative back to the Russians at the end of the day. Both brigades were commemorated by Alfred Lord Tennyson, yet it is the tactical failure, not the victory, that is remembered in more memorable verse.
There is an epilogue to the Heavy Brigade poem that anticipates the World War I poets’ criticism. This is fitting, because the Crimean War was the first war of modern firepower, in which the range of cannon and shoulder arms, plus rate of fire, made mass charges into mass casualties. Even so,