Longstreet
11-03-2008, 19:30
I saw this movie a few weeks ago and highly recommend it. Although it is a Canadian movie (Canadian movies are notorious for being low quality) it is well done and lets you get a true sense of what it was like fighting in the trenches.
For those of you who do not know, The Battle of Passchendaele was one of the major battles of the First World War. Besides the large number of casualites (508,800 dead, wounded, missing, or captured) the battle is also known for the horrific conditions the troops had to deal with. After constant British bombing and days of rain, the countryside became a massive mud hole. A Canadian private describes the scene best by stating "Passchendaele was just a terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible place. We used to walk along these wooden duckboards — something like ladders laid on the ground. The Germans would concentrate on these things. If a man was hit and wounded and fell off he could easily drown in the mud and never be seen again. You just did not want [to] go off the duckboards."
The movie is not all fighting (only about 20-30 percent is combat related) as there is a 'romance' and a few 'other' twists that make it so memorable. So it is suitable to take her to see (I took my girlfriend who is not at all interested in anything relating to war and she liked it).
Given that Remembrance Day is coming, this is a great way to help remember those who gave so much for us all. The Battle of Passchendaele was definately a defining moment for Canada as it helped shape us as a country. I believe every Canadian should see it. And of course everyone else is encouraged to see it too.
For those of you who do not know, The Battle of Passchendaele was one of the major battles of the First World War. Besides the large number of casualites (508,800 dead, wounded, missing, or captured) the battle is also known for the horrific conditions the troops had to deal with. After constant British bombing and days of rain, the countryside became a massive mud hole. A Canadian private describes the scene best by stating "Passchendaele was just a terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible place. We used to walk along these wooden duckboards — something like ladders laid on the ground. The Germans would concentrate on these things. If a man was hit and wounded and fell off he could easily drown in the mud and never be seen again. You just did not want [to] go off the duckboards."
The movie is not all fighting (only about 20-30 percent is combat related) as there is a 'romance' and a few 'other' twists that make it so memorable. So it is suitable to take her to see (I took my girlfriend who is not at all interested in anything relating to war and she liked it).
Given that Remembrance Day is coming, this is a great way to help remember those who gave so much for us all. The Battle of Passchendaele was definately a defining moment for Canada as it helped shape us as a country. I believe every Canadian should see it. And of course everyone else is encouraged to see it too.