Remembering the Fallen in 2012


For Remembrance Day, we highlight a selection of articles commemorating the fallen, the act of remembrance in Britain today.

Art: Queen and Country is a stirring installation which questions the traditional exercise of remembrance, but what is the most appropriate way to honour our service personnel in the twenty-first century?

Past Event: Commemorating our Armed Forces: Remembrance in a Modern Society
A high-profile panel of speakers came together to discuss our country's historical approach to remembrance, and whether there is more we could be doing to honour those British servicemen and women who have died in armed conflicts. Listen to the full debate here.

Queen and Country: Ordinary people who pay an extraordinary price by Professor Michael Clarke
Soldiers don't talk very much about the dead,  disfigured, or battle stressed; except quietly to each other, not to the rest of us who will never really understand. Exhibitions like the work by the artist Steve McQueen go some way to redressing the balance between those who protect, and the rest of us.

British Society and Armed Forces Day by Professor Hew Strachan
The UK's first Armed Forces Day provides the opportunity to celebrate the contribution of members of all three services. Donations to service charities and popular lobbies for armed forces issues underline the high public regard for British troops. However, in our celebration, we must not lose sight of the broader challenges to defence policy, or an unwillingness to match public expenditure to levels of admiration.

Beyond the 'Learning Curve': The British Army's Military Transformation in the First World War by Dr William Philpott
Placing the British army's experience on the Western Front into the context of wider military developments in strategic and tactical thinking amongst allies and opponents alike, Dr Philpott's assessment of the often traumatic but nonetheless dynamic transformation in the conduct of war between 1914 and 1918 provides an important corrective to the existing Anglo-centric interpretation.

 

Anglo-American Co-Belligerency, 1917-1918 by Dr David R Woodward
Britain and America's relationship during the final years of the First World War demonstrates that a common enemy does not ensure a seamless alliance. Wilson and Pershing were able to use coalition warfare to extract operational concessions and support for self-determination. The changing nature of Germany's global threat, however, ensured that this was the most careful of balancing acts.

 'The shock of battle' 1914-1916 by General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley
British soldiers fought under difficult conditions during the First World War. The confusing, chaotic and lethal manner of battle no doubt sapped the energy and morale out of the soldiers. Some were tempted to desert and were consequently punished for their 'crime'. General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley argues that pardoning soldiers eighty years after the event will open old wounds that would not serve anyone, especially those scorned in the past.

Earning the thanks of Harry and Jack: The Journal of the Royal United Service Institution and World War Generalship by Lieutenant Colonel Russel W Glenn

Russell Glenn analyses the RUSI Journal's contribution to the subject of Generalship, and asks whether improvements in Generalship after the First World War can be attributed to its work. Glenn argues that the Journal helped to identify the traits necessary for senior leadership in the period 1914-1948 and provided food for thought in the field. The Journal ensured that Second World War generals knew the errors of their predecessors and the expectations they would need to meet.



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