Until 1914 Henry S. Clapham had led a conventional life, notably lacking in adventure or excitement. Born in 1875 in the town of Hull, he graduated from Queen’s College in Taunton, a boarding school for the sons of well-to-do families. After clerking in a law office, he married and began a career as a solicitor in London. His favorite entertainment was the card game bridge. In the fall of 1914, however, he answered the call to enlist and by January 1915 was a soldier in the British army fighting to hold back the Germans in northern Belgium. He fought there until October 1915, when a hand wound made him unfit for further service. On his return to England he resumed his career as a lawyer and, like many other returning soldiers, prepared his diary notes for publication as a book, which appeared in 1917 with the title Mud and Khaki- Memoirs of an Incomplete Soldier. It went through several printings and was republished in 1930 (you can read excerpts from it by clicking here).Clapham’s book describes his experiences fighting in and around the northern Belgian city of Ypres, a commercial city of some 200,000 in the low, wet, largely unforested region that abuts the English Channel. It was the site of three major battles, one in the fall of 1914, another in 1915, and the last and bloodiest in 1917. Clapham fought in the so-called Second Battle of Ypres, which began in April 1915 when General Erich von Falkenhayn ordered a German attack on the entrenched English, Canadian, French, and French colonial troops to firm up German lines and divert allied troops form an anticipated offensive further to the south. After the Germans abandoned their major offensive in late May, fighting continued in the region, as Clapham’s memoir clearly shows.
The Second Battle of Ypres saw the introduction of poison gas on the Western Front. Chlorine gas, a product of the German dyestuff industry and developed by the giant German chemical company IG Farben, could be released from cylinders or delivered by artillery shells. It stimulated the lungs to produce fluid, causing the victim to drown. Thousands of soldiers around Ypres died as a result of German gas attacks, but the effectiveness of the new weapon diminished when soldiers were supplied with respirators, or gas masks, and learned that holding a wet (often urine-soaked) handkerchief over one’s nose and mouth provided some protection. Such countermeasures stimulated both sides to develop other types of poison gas, including phosgene, which causes asphyxiation, and mustard gas, which causes severe blistering.
After reading excerpts from Clapham’s account, I would like you to think about and discuss the following: As far as can be determined by Clapham’s account, what were the actual results of the one day of fighting he describes? What aspects of the fighting did Clapham and the other men find most unnerving? Wars inevitably cause immense human suffering. But the suffering in World War I for soldiers and civilians alike was especially traumatic and unbearable. What is there in Clapham’s account that may explain this phenomenon? Your thoughts…
24 comments:
Well the first thing here is the description. it does not sound very exciting to me or like anthing jovial. it sounds rough and depressing if anything. The battle field was described with intensity and they even fought through the night. He was almost in awe at the Hun's trench. It must have been awful to just live in fear of your life ending every moment at war. Even the gas masks were surprising. having to have respirators at war? Wow. But my one question is when did these men sleep? if they're still fighting at times like two oclock in the morning and they dont stop for anything, when do they ever get their rest?
It is shocking to me how wars could be fought throught the trenches. I couldn't imagine living there and having to endure what these soldiers suffered. After class today and reading I have a much better understanding of what really went on during WWI.
In one regular fighting day, it started with a wake up call from crump shots from the Germans. The normal shooting and sounds of bullets passing by. Then when the enemy's trench was taken over, they would put up their flag to signal further movement. They saw better conditions in the German trenches than they ever seen in theirs. They saw a bunch of dead bodies, but they cleaned them out merrily, making parapets at the same time. People suddenly started to fall. Machine guns were firing away while fort was being built. All of this was just a regular day. Clapham saw that the most messed up thing he was that the people being shot everywhere, nice good ol' pals falling like flies. The guy almost died when a sandbag fell on his head and it almost broke his neck. He couldn't do anything at the time. He just silently waited for his death, and soon as time went by he lost feeling of his nerves. He saw some of the enemies writhing in pain from gas and then being shot at the time they were suffering. It wasn't pretty, as the trench was being nearly filled up with dead bodies.
The soldier describe the Hun's fort as better then theirs.
He described the new inventions of the Germans as a phenonmen. I cant imagine trying to sleep in that confined area, or attempting to sleep knowing that you could be attacked during the night.
wow. this descriptions made the war like as if it hell. There were dead bodies laying everywhere and arms and legs disconnected from there bodies. He made the trenches seem very difficult to live in. They also seem like they got no sleep; every hour or so they had to move or do something. He keeps talking about the "Huns" but I'm not sure who he is specifically referring to. Then came "the worst part of the day" at 6PM when the "Huns" started to attack with bombs or gas bombs. It sucks that some people had to suffer from the gas because they were just a little slower. I also wonder why he didn't want the person standing next to him shoot an opposing person who was about 20 feet away but was already dyeing from the gas.
According to Clapham's account, the result of the days fighting appears to be nothing. Just an increase in the number of casualties, which to the government and public is just a number. I think that most people do not understand the horrible consequences of war. Sure, they know so and so people died and so and so people were injured, but it's just a number to them. A barometer of how well their country is doing. But these deaths were/are real people. Imagine losing someone in your class to a schedule change. The entire class dynamic/experience is different. Now think about how many deaths there were in WWI for a net gain of 14 feet and maybe you can begin to understand what the world lost. Except these losses are permanent. It's mind-boggling to think about the loss of so many different people with different talents and personalities for a barely justified war. Those are my thoughts at least.
In Clapham's narrative he describes one of the worst parts of trench warfare as waiting. Most soldiers sent to trenches would spend all day waiting to either charge or to repel an attack. Imagine crouching in a trench watching places around you get blasted to smithereens, knowing full well it could happen to where you are next. Yet you have to wait, for going into "No Man's Land" equates to death, and there is no retreat. Waiting to die. Waiting for a shell to strike you, and actually hoping it will after so many near misses. Waiting for it to free you from the misery and desolation. That's intense...
In his document he tells of the nonstop shooting and firing of weapons.It was crazy the way his friend got shot and nobody could stop to help as he was screaming his head off. To me, that does not sound appealing, this sense of war is like nothing i have ever heard of before.
The way Clapham described these trenches opened my eyes a little more to what harsh conditions people in war had to face every day for years. It's hard to imagine how they were constantly living in fear of death while supporting their nation. The people back home made it seem like war was easy when, in reality, it was intense. They were constantly fighting back and forth and trying to one up each other with their weapons of choice ranging from machine guns to bombs to poisonous gas.
It was descibed as the Huns having better trenches than they did. He also said that they were packed in like Herring in their trench. I couldn't imagine how awful that must have been. He talked about the gas bombs that were used and said that if you were heitant to put your repirator on, then you would surely die. He said it got so bad that at one point one of the soldiers got up and shot himself. It said he even thought about wanting to die a moment or two himself. I don't understand how anyone could think this is cool. He also talked avidly of the non-stop parade of bullets that were being fired at them.
To me this sounds synonymous to hell. the worst part of it is that they had to dig up dead bodies, but worst of all they had to dig up almost dead bodies in which the people were suffering from deep wounds.
They never got any rest right after an attack they had to stand back up and counterattack.
This description makes war seem even more like hell than it really is and he talks as though most of this that happens is normal. He also describes the better condition of the German trenches and their use of poison gas which made conditions even worse. He definetly was educated with anti-german philosophies because of his constant reference to them as Huns.
after reading numerous accounts from the western front in wwi, these accounts are sadly no exaggerations... the numerous accounts are very much harmonious, from all sides... too harmonious to believe that the hell being described is any less than what they do describe
This war produced serious human suffering which was described by the gases and the affects of them as well as the immense amount of people he saw die and the conditions they were put in that were seriously unsuitable. With only a single day of fighting many people lost their life from both sides and the onditions of fighting became worse and worse as the trenches became even more unsafe and less protected then they started at in the begining.
Wow even i was amazed at this document. It was pretty disturbing how the person described everything. Those words that you hit us with on friday, actually made me think a little. This document verified what you said, but a life devoted to the protection and safety of your country and citizens, is not a life wasted. Oh and finaly a document that i actually understood completly.
Clapham says that the worst part of the day was when the Huns(Germans) started to bombard them with shells. He says that the Brigade-Major cheered them but the only gain they really recieved was the territory from there trench to the next German trench. They only gained that little bit of no mans land. They lost a lot though. They lost many lives on there side as well as the germans losing lives. There wasnt a clear victory. The soldiers when entering the old german trench were kind of satisfied with how well kept it was compared to their old one. There were beers and shelves. Some of the guys had to through out the german bodies and pile them outside of the trench. He also talked about a german guy laying in no mans land who was dying of his own gas. the soldier next to Clapham shot the guy i guess to kill him sooner without having him go through the pain. Very interesting story. When most people, like me, think about war death may come to mind but the pain that someone may go through cant be realize unless someone lives it. It is kinda a scary thought. I cant imagine what they had to go through. Its just so depressing and stressful.
He seems very used to all the death around him, as if he became numb by it all. He hated most the gasses and panic of the soldiers when there was no action. He despised the loud fire-cracker explosives and especially the gas bombs... It sounds like a ton of men died, painfully, on both sides everyday, with little great gains on both ends. Mentally, I think it would degrate a soldier for having to be around so much death, and blood, and decipitation, and noises, and loss, and confusion, etc... ahhh.
This was a very frightful experience! the soldiers fought all through the night and day, in trenches which is by far the worst style of wars we have seen! The soldiers spent every second wondering when it was their turn to die, not knowing if that second was their last. and most of them wished it was b/c of how much they suffered in the drenches, and they would rather die. the attack of gas bombs came unexpectedly killing many, machine gun fires when the soldiers move their way up to the front through fields. thousands of dead bodies in the trenches,with no where to put them. The worst of all was the gas attacks, b/c you didn't know if you were exposed to gas cause its not visible, and the quick ones to recognize the surrounding soldiers suffering from it and reacted quick to put on their respirators were the ones that survived these horrible gas attacks. Life in the trenches is the lowest of the low.
It seems to be that the English/French/etc. side (Clapham's side) came out of the battle at more of an advantage. It talked about them taking more of the German "Hun" trenches and the soldiers were given a relief which means that there are still plenty of soldiers alive. The most unnerving aspects were probably that they had to sit around and just watch their comrades die. Also, when Clapham randomly found a man buried alive in the dirt, that must have been extremely shocking. WWI was probably worse because new technologies and strategies were being introduced that no one had ever seen before- like the gas shells and having to use the respirators.
the conditions in the trenches are beyond disguisting. you never knew when you were gonna die because of gas bombs being thrown or diseases from things like rats. its freaking me out just thinking about it..
but what i dont get is why people would run towards the enemies side to attack if there was barbed wire. it just seems like you know youre not gonna make it through. so why bother risking your life? yeah it was war and you were probably gonna die anyways, but it just seems stupid to end your life faster that way then living it out the longest..
From what I understood, they didnt accomplish very much other that the overtaking of a trench and a bunch of digging and getting shelled. They got very sick from the gas attacks and the dead bodies and limbs throughout the trench. Other than that the trench that they took over seemed better than what they had. I found it ironic that he used the word comfortable to describe a trench.
Dante' Johnson
The fact that they call the Germans “Huns” reveals how far their prejudice is ingrained. Most of the work seems to be building trenches. The story about the guy that was buried alive in the trench is disgusting. Trench warfare is just so dangerous and pointless. They barely gain any ground and people are dropping left and right. Trench warfare sounds horrible, especially when he’s talking about how he began to long to die. The worst part seems to be the inactivity and sitting around in the trench, never knowing when the next attack is coming and how they’re going to have to react to it. All the questions. How long am I going to live? Is this guy next to me going to survive? Will I have to pull on my gas mask today? When’s the next attack going to come? That’s what would give me the most trouble. Also, the condition of the trenches and the dead boddies all around seem horrible.
wow that really sucks. Dead bodies everywhere and terrible living conditions and then always being shot at. My favorite part was when he was comparing their trenches to their enemies and saying their enemies were better. i think its just sick how a uncomfotable and terrible can be compared to less uncomfortable and terrible. how could they sleep? like theyre uncomfortable and being constantly shot at. life as a soldier would suck
crazy crazy crazy!
i dont really understand how wars are fought like this cuz like u have said mr. prill ow they only gained four feet or whatever, i dont see how u get anywhere at all if ur in a trench, do u just lik dig farther and farther to them? ha i dont know but war is crazy and i would never be apart of it especially after reading and hearing/seeing stuff in class
According to Clapham the trench warfare was a true hell. I was reading this as a fictional story but then i relized that this was a real story. It is really revolting when Clapham talks about men just dropping dead ;rainig "shells"; sleeping on top of dead man's body. It was totally grusome when he talked about digging up few men. The passage about the gas was really disturbing. The end of the battle resulted only in dead and gassed bodies with a parapet. That was it; i mean people died and only thing that they gained was a little protective wall. THis was really sickening
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