Thousands re-enact Napoleonic Battle of the Nations

[Jimbuna]

In German casualty terms only beaten by Stalingrad.

http://www.military-history.org/arti...in-history.htm

[Oberon]

History must be kept alive by any means possible, for if we forget then we will make the same mistakes as before.
You can teach history in a classroom to children until you are blue in the face, and only part of it will seep in if they do not have an active thirst for it, but show them the smoke and thunder of a 'safe' battlefield, it will drive home the awesome spectacle and hopefully inspire them to learn more.
Of course, it's a thin line between creating a spectacle and glorifying war, but equally, if you suppress it all then you will learn nothing.

With that little ramble aside, what a fantastic display, I love the idea of the local news station doing a rolling news report on it, as though it was taking place in the modern era.
Some of the finest armies in Europe took part in that battle, all of them in fact, and it shows in the casualty count.

Oh, and Rod Steiger is best Napoleon:


Except perhaps the opening to NTW:


Sends chills down my spine every time I watch it.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Oberon

History must be kept alive by any means possible, for if we forget then we will make the same mistakes as before.
You can teach history in a classroom to children until you are blue in the face, and only part of it will seep in if they do not have an active thirst for it, but show them the smoke and thunder of a 'safe' battlefield, it will drive home the awesome spectacle and hopefully inspire them to learn more.
Of course, it's a thin line between creating a spectacle and glorifying war, but equally, if you suppress it all then you will learn nothing.

With that little ramble aside, what a fantastic display, I love the idea of the local news station doing a rolling news report on it, as though it was taking place in the modern era.
Some of the finest armies in Europe took part in that battle, all of them in fact, and it shows in the casualty count.

Oh, and Rod Steiger is best Napoleon:


Except perhaps the opening to NTW:


Sends chills down my spine every time I watch it.

I'd be struggling to think of someone better at playing The Little Corporal.

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I'd be struggling to think of someone better at playing The Little Corporal.

[TarJak]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

In German casualty terms only beaten by Stalingrad.

http://www.military-history.org/arti...in-history.htm

The first Battle of the Somme got short changed in this list. They only counted first day casualties whereas they count the full battle of Stalingrad. Somme casualties were 623,907 Allied and 465,000 German for a total of 1,088,907.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by TarJak

The first Battle of the Somme got short changed in this list. They only counted first day casualties whereas they count the full battle of Stalingrad. Somme casualties were 623,907 Allied and 465,000 German for a total of 1,088,907.

The article was highlighting the British figure of 60,000 but I am happy to stand corrected

[TarJak]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

The article was highlighting the British figure of 60,000 but I am happy to stand corrected

These numbers are for the dates between 1 July and 18 November 1916:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...mme#Casualties

Almost 8000 per day over 140 days compared with Stalingrad's 12,000+ per day over 163 days.

[Jimbuna]

So Stalingrad was the higher figure?

[TarJak]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

So Stalingrad was the higher figure?

Yep but Somme would have come in at #2 rather than Leipzig. I just thought it odd that they only counted the first day of the Somme nut the included the full 5 months odd for Stalingrad. Somme went almost 5 months but the first day was certainly the bloodiest.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by TarJak

Yep but Somme would have come in at #2 rather than Leipzig. I just thought it odd that they only counted the first day of the Somme nut the included the full 5 months odd for Stalingrad. Somme went almost 5 months but the first day was certainly the bloodiest.

Yeah, 'somme' would say that

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by TarJak

Yep but Somme would have come in at #2 rather than Leipzig. I just thought it odd that they only counted the first day of the Somme nut the included the full 5 months odd for Stalingrad. Somme went almost 5 months but the first day was certainly the bloodiest.

Passchendaele too, the casualty toll is still not certain, but it was greater than Leipzig. In fact, to be honest, the rest of the top five could probably be made up of World War One battles and battles of the Great Patriotic War.