Wednesday morning's first stand took place at the Leopold Canal. Standing in the wind and the rain, my colleagues and I began to feel distinctly uncomfortable and damp, and I started thinking about the experiences of the soldiers of the 7th Brigade as they fought to secure the territory in October 1944. Wind and rain were only a part of their misery... The area of the Leopold Canal was characterized by lowlands - below sea level - flooded plains, mud, cold, and the onset of Autumn. Listening to Mark Milner and Lee Windsor describe the campaign made me think about the accounts I had read of soldiers in the trenches during the First World War.
Mark Milner's description of the Leopold Canal struck a chord with the group. We recognized the fear and worry felt by the commander of the Regina Rifles, knowing that his regiment was at risk but that no help was forthcoming. The soldiers themselves were worn out, tired, traumatized, and exhausted, longing for a warm meal and a full night's sleep to make them feel human and alive. As the rain pelted our group vertically and horizontally, did we dare presume we could imagine we understood how those men felt during the long days in October 1944? Did we actually believe that warfare had become more sophisticated and somehow less personal since the days of mud and mustard gas in Passchendaele? I think about the soldiers of the First World War huddled in their trenches on the Western Front. And I believe that, despite the advances in technology and the changes in the political world order, there are still too many parallels between the world wars to be ignored. Do these similarities also apply to contemporary conflicts? Consider this: governments will continue to fall into discord with other countries over matters of national pride, territorial claims, and injustices, perceived or real; men with no personal vested interests will be called upon to fight to right the wrongs and defend their government's prestige and position in the world; soldiers will endure unimaginable horrors; and millions of lives will be lost. This is worth exploring with our students. When we study wars as significant historical events, or we consider war as a tool governments might use to fulfill their goals, or we discuss war as a necessary evil to defend a country, we also need to ask: what has changed in why and how wars are fought? And, just as importantly, what has remained the same? Rachel MacLeod Teacher, St. Joseph High School
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AuthorsParticipating educators and high school students share reflections on their professional and personal experiences during and after the program. Some posts link to the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society's blog, Studeamus bellum causa pacis. Archives
August 2015
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