Red Smith: More Than Just a Sportswriter Essay

There is truly no person that has ever deserved to be called a writer more than Red Smith. As a man who loved and believed in the art of writing, he once stated, â€Å"All you do is sit down and open a vein and bleed it out drop by drop† (Schmuhl xx). Even more, he was a hardworking and dedicated man that put his all into each piece of literature, despite the constant and restraining deadlines placed on him. His dedication was never more evident than when he stated, â€Å"I made up my mind that every time I sat down to a typewriter I would slash my veins and bleed and that I’d try to make each word dance† (Schmuhl xx). Furthermore, his work far exceeded the stigmas placed on sports writing at the time, since he cared more about the literature than the subject matter. This is all evident in his essay, â€Å"When I Was an Athlete,† in which he discusses what it was like to try to get out of gym class as a freshman in college. Red Smith’s background, experiences, and writing style propelled him to be one of the greatest sportswriters of all time. Red Smith’s background helps explain his current position as one of the best sportswriters to ever pick up a pen. Smith graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1927 and wasted no time signing on as a reporter. After working for the Milwaukee Sentinel, Smith took a job as a sportswriter for the St. Louis Star-Times. He went on to write for the Philadelphia Record for nine years, which allowed him to further hone his skills as a writer. Finally in 1945, Smith began his critically acclaimed column, â€Å"Views of Sport† in the New York Herald Tribune. This would all culminate in his 1956 victory of the coveted Grantland Rice Memorial Award for outstanding sports writing and a Pulitzer Prize in 1976, which he claimed was one of the two achievements he would like to be remembered for according to Schmuhl. Smith ? ally joined the staff of the New York Times in 1972, where he continued writing his famed and beloved sports columns (Britannica Encyclopedia). Smith, considered to be one of the most literate and colorful sportswriters of all time, developed a keen writing style during his early years in the business. He delved into the worlds of football, baseball, boxing, and horse racing in his writing. According to the Britannica Encyclopedia, Smith’s â€Å"literary craftsmanship, humorous and iconoclastic approach, and deep knowledge of sports made him of the of the United States’ most popular sportswriters† and he managed to shake the heavy argon used in most sportswriting, while maintaining his popularity. He even became a consultant on usage for many dictionaries and encyclopedias due to his precise use of the English language (Britannica Encyclopedia). All these attributes led Smith to becoming a better writer. While Smith may have had an illustrious career writing about sports, that wasn’t even his ? rst passion. Smith put it plainly, â€Å"I never had any soaring ambition to be a sportswriter, per se. I wanted to be a newspaper man, and came to realize I didn’t really care which side of the paper I worked on† (Schmuhl xvi). Robert Schmuhl further shows that Red’s passion was rooted in more than just sports through the quote, â€Å"Journalism was his passion rather than sports, a viewpoint that never changed† (xvi). This passion for writing explains why his work is more literate than the norm for sports writing and deviates from the regular jargon found in newspapers. Furthermore, this helped him gain wide popularity, since his works weren’t just catered to people who watched sports. His work ethic also put in him in a position to become a great writer. Since he was a perfectionist who was always looking for the perfect phrase or metaphor, his columns could take upwards of six hours to write (Schmuhl xx). Smith was also one of the last reporters to leave the press box and when he wasn’t at work, he would spend long hours in his home of? ce, to which he referred to as â€Å"The Sweat Shop† or â€Å"The Torture Chamber† (Schmuhl xx). When Smith worked in Philadelphia, he was writing columns seven days a week and even ? ling event stories, and this work came with little relief as he worked for the Record for nine years (Schmuhl xvi). However, this work did not come without reward. Stanley Woodward, the sports editor of the New York Herald Tribune, called Smith with a job opportunity (Schmuhl xvi). Woodward viewed him as â€Å"the greatest of all sports writers, by which I mean he is better than all the ancients as well as the modems† (Schmuhl xvi). His move to New York allowed him to reach a wider audience and it wouldn’t be possible without his undying work ethic. While his background and experiences show how he was able to write luminously, his writing is what truly shot him to the top of his ? eld. The brilliance in his work was never more evident than his essay, â€Å"When I Was an Athlete†. In this essay, he pulled together all of the great things that Smith is known for, most notably his humor, strong sense of perspective, and use of metaphors and similes. The essay deviates from his norm of writing about other people in sports, and instead discusses his own sports experience. He offers an interesting story about how he didn’t like gym class his freshman year at Notre Dame University, so in order to not have to go to the classes, he joined the track team. Playing it off like he was a decent mile runner, he managed to acquire a spot on the team. When it was ? ally time to run at a meet, he ran so poorly that other runners were actually lapping him, and his merciful coach decided to cut him a break and tell him to hit the showers. Afterwards he decided to ditch track and not go to gym class either, but he was able to skate by with gym attendance due to the gym teacher’s negligence with record keeping. He was still marked down with good attendance by the time swimming came around. Swimming, unlike regular gym, wouldn’t have been an issue for Smith, but his friend didn’t know how to swim so he asked Red to help him out and take the test for him. Since the instructor didn’t know either of the two, Smith signed in with the wrong name and passed the test for his friend. However, when it was time for Red to take the test for himself, which he planned to take after everyone else was done; the swimming supervisor told him that he had already passed. Thus, Smith thought he wasn’t going to get any kind of credit for gym, but since the swim instructor gave over everyone on the roster for the swim tests, which gave everyone a passing grade, he was able to get away with not properly participating in gym class. Smith concludes his experience with freshman gym in â€Å"When I was an Athlete†, â€Å"So there I was. I had ducked out of gym class, I had failed as a runner, and I had not passed the swimming test in my own name. I had no right whatever to a gym credit but I got it because that instructor simply turned in all the names on his roster and everybody passed. I don’t know why I should still hate him. But I do. † (Schmuhl 57). Smith took a difficult experience and turned it into a humorous essay filled with similes, metaphors, and all the style a reader can ask for, proving that he truly is a prolific writer. The story and picture that Smith paints with his funny anecdote about his gym experiences show that he was able to transcend simple sports reporting and tell a story. His ability to capture the reader’s attention and take him or her on a journey is what set him aside from other journalists of his time. All of this goes back to the fact that he wanted to be a writer more than he wanted to be sports journalist. Moreover, this essay proves that he had a vast reach in his writing abilities and was not just stymied to the doldrums that sometimes encompass regular sports reporting. Smith’s ability to tell a story was one of the biggest reasons for his popularity and is what set him apart from the pack of sportswriters. Smith’s writing was also varied and interesting due to his allusion to others. Rather than simply beginning with his own thesis or introduction, in this particular essay, Smith decided to give a quote from another writer who wrote about a similar experience. This helps capture the reader’s attention and introduce the topic in a more interesting manner. The quote from his essay, â€Å"When I Was an Athlete†, demonstrates how he quoted someone else to introduce his own topic: â€Å"‘Also, in order to pass gymnasium (and you had to pass it to graduate), you had to learn to swim if you didn’t know how. I don’t like the swimming pool, I didn’t like swimming, and I didn’t like the swimming instructor, and after all these years, I still don’t. I never swam, but I passed my gym work anyway, by having another student give my gymnasium number (978) and swim across the pool in my place. ’† (Schmuhl 54). This connection to James Thurber’s quote provides a nice and smooth way to get into his topic. Smith even goes as far as to discuss how the quote gave way to this piece, â€Å"I don’t know how many times I read this passage in James Thurber’s account of his hard times at Ohio State before I related it to my own trials as a freshman at Notre Dame† (Schmuhl 54). This insight gives readers more to sink their teeth into and perpetuates Smith’s strengths as a writer. Red Smith also went off on brief tangents, which allowed him to establish a conversational voice and make his writing more interesting. At multiple times in this essay, Smith began to discuss other experiences that didn’t directly correspond with the original subject matter. For example, when he was discussing his experience at his track meet, he told the reader about how some people were laughing in the stands. With the conversational transition of â€Å"perhaps I should explain that† he began to discuss how close he was to the people he roomed with and then brought his original story back with the transition â€Å"the point is† (Schmuhl 55). This provides yet another interesting story about his life and it gives readers an opportunity to better understand the situation, but more importantly it allows readers to feel like they are in a conversation because of the voice and tone created by Smith. Smith also deviated from the central issue when he began to discuss his former experiences with swimming when he was much younger as he writes, â€Å"I’d been swimming since I was six or seven. When I was a kid in Green Bay, Wisconsin it was a point of pride to be the first chump in the water in any year. † (Schmuhl 56). Here he didn’t provide the same types of transitions, which allowed the reader to understand the change in topic. After giving some background information, Smith then goes back to his story and begin to discuss how he took the swimming test for his friend. These tangents allow for a more interesting and involved reading experience. Smith was also a master at using literary devices to paint a vivid picture and to make his writing more interesting. As James Kilpatrick said, â€Å"He had a nice hand for simile and metaphor,† and this essay was no different (Schmuhl 45). However, not only did Smith bring in similes and metaphors, he also made them humorous, which makes the picture he paints with his words all the more interesting. An example that truly embodies Red Smith is the quote from â€Å"When I Was an Athlete† in which he combines his famous use of similes and humor, â€Å"Then, faced with the intolerable prospect of resuming my place in the formation and, on command, rising on my toes and flapping my arms like a buzzard trying to take off, I read the fine print in the college catalogue† (Schmuhl 54). Furthermore, he was able to use personification to bring the reader into his own mind and perception of events. He used the phrase â€Å"the gun barked† to describe how his race started at the meet (Schmuhl 55). This shows how he didn’t exactly want to be there and even how he felt out of place. It makes the reader feel as though he was being forced to start the race because when a person is barked at, it doesn’t bring up pleasant thoughts. His uses of metaphors, similes, and personification all bring more flare to his writing and bring people into the situation. As noted by James Kilpatrick, Red Smith had a keen sense of perspective in his writing (Schmuhl 45). Perhaps this is never more evident than in his essay, â€Å"When I Was an Athlete†. Throughout the entire essay, Smith gives extensive point of view and thoughts from his own perspective. The readers get a sense that they are in Smith’s shoes going through the experience. Smith exemplifies his skill for showing the reader the situation from his own eyes when he discusses his run at the meet, â€Å"For a while I was alone. Then the short-handicap runners moved up, ran with me briefly, and went on. Pretty soon Kennedy and Nulty passed, and I was alone again. But not for long. Here ame the eager ones pouring past, with a full lap on me. † (Schmuhl 55). Through this quote it is clear that Smith was a master at using perspective to make the reader see and feel the situation as he did. Smith’s use of perspective makes his essays more enjoyable to read and was also a factor for Smith transcending the simplicities of sports reporting and becoming a tremendous writer. Smith also gave extensive detail in his writing. His detail also allowed the reader to jump into the scene with Smith and feel the same things, while painting a clearer picture of the events. The quote of, â€Å"For lunch I had pork chops with applesauce, mashed potatoes, green peas, salad, several glasses of milk, and pie a la mode,† shows how Smith’s vivid memory gave the reader more information about the situation (Schmuhl 55). However, all these details about the food he ate weren’t quite as frivolous as they may have seemed, since he would later bring it up that he tasted the food as he struggled through his run and later became sick and threw up his extravagant lunch. This shows Smith’s genius in his writing because he gave information that may seem excessive at first, but later the reader is reminded of its importance. Smith’s attention to detail propelled him to the top of the sportswriting field. Red Smith was a great writer and critically acclaimed as one of the best of all time. His numerous awards testify to his long lasting excellence as more than just a sports journalist, but as a writer in every sense of the word. None of it would be possible if it weren’t for his background and ability to produce great works such as â€Å"When I Was an Athlete†. Intangibles that range from his work ethic all the way to his ability to use the perfect metaphors make him one of the greatest writers to ever grace a piece of paper.

Free Essays on Titanic

Abstract No one ever dreamed that her first voyage would also be her last. She had been nicknamed â€Å"The Unsinkable Ship.† On the night of April 14, 1912, shortly after 11:30 p.m., the passenger liner R.M.S. Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic approximately 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland (Ballard, 20). Within hours, the largest ship the world had ever seen would plunge to the bottom of the ocean with over 1,500 lives still on board. The story of the Titanic began before anyone had even thought about building the great ship. In 1898, fourteen years before the Titanic sank an American writer named Morgan Robertson wrote a book called The Wreck of the Titan. In his story, the Titan, a passenger ship labeled â€Å"unsinkable,† sails from England to New York. With many rich and famous passengers onboard, the Titan hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sinks. Because there are not enough lifeboats on board, many lives are lost (Ballard, 10). In reality, Thomas Henry Ismay purchased the White Star Line Company in the mid 1800’s. At the time of their debut, large beautiful ships were popular with many rich travelers. Upon his death in 1898, his son J. Bruce Ismay (Appendix A: Portraits) took over as chairman of the White Star Line. In July 1907, Bruce Ismay and Lord Pirrie, chairman of Harland & Wolff’s shipbuilders, discussed plans to design three of the world’s most famous ships ever, the Olympic, the Titanic, and the Brittanic. Their goal was to give the White Star Line a competitive edge in the Atlantic passenger trade with several gigantic ships whose accommodations would be the last word in comfort and elegance. On May 31, 1911, the hull of the Titanic launched at the Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Ireland, before a cheering crowd of 100,000 people. To slide her into the water they used twenty-two tons of soap, grease, and train oil. She reached a speed of twelve knots befor... Free Essays on Titanic Free Essays on Titanic Abstract No one ever dreamed that her first voyage would also be her last. She had been nicknamed â€Å"The Unsinkable Ship.† On the night of April 14, 1912, shortly after 11:30 p.m., the passenger liner R.M.S. Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic approximately 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland (Ballard, 20). Within hours, the largest ship the world had ever seen would plunge to the bottom of the ocean with over 1,500 lives still on board. The story of the Titanic began before anyone had even thought about building the great ship. In 1898, fourteen years before the Titanic sank an American writer named Morgan Robertson wrote a book called The Wreck of the Titan. In his story, the Titan, a passenger ship labeled â€Å"unsinkable,† sails from England to New York. With many rich and famous passengers onboard, the Titan hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sinks. Because there are not enough lifeboats on board, many lives are lost (Ballard, 10). In reality, Thomas Henry Ismay purchased the White Star Line Company in the mid 1800’s. At the time of their debut, large beautiful ships were popular with many rich travelers. Upon his death in 1898, his son J. Bruce Ismay (Appendix A: Portraits) took over as chairman of the White Star Line. In July 1907, Bruce Ismay and Lord Pirrie, chairman of Harland & Wolff’s shipbuilders, discussed plans to design three of the world’s most famous ships ever, the Olympic, the Titanic, and the Brittanic. Their goal was to give the White Star Line a competitive edge in the Atlantic passenger trade with several gigantic ships whose accommodations would be the last word in comfort and elegance. On May 31, 1911, the hull of the Titanic launched at the Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Ireland, before a cheering crowd of 100,000 people. To slide her into the water they used twenty-two tons of soap, grease, and train oil. She reached a speed of twelve knots befor...

How a Tree Gets Its Scientific Name

How a Tree Gets Its Scientific Name Tree species and their names are a product of a two-part plant naming system that was introduced and promoted by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753. Linnaeus grand achievement was the development of what is now called binomial nomenclature - a formal system of naming species of living things, including trees, by giving each tree a name composed of two parts called the genus and the species. These names are based on never-to-change Latin words. So Latin terms, when broken into their respective tree genus and species, are called a trees scientific name. When using that special name, a tree can be identified by botanists and foresters around the world and in any language. The problem before the use of this taxonomic Linnaean tree classification system was the confusion surrounding the use, or misuse, of common names. Using common tree names as the only tree descriptor still presents problems today as common names differ greatly from location to location. Common names of trees are not as commonly used as you might think when traveling through the trees natural range. Lets look at the sweetgum tree as an example. Sweetgum is very common throughout the eastern United States as both a wild, native tree and also a tree planted in the landscape. Sweetgum can have only one scientific name, Liquidambar styraciflua, but has several common names including redgum, sapgum, starleaf-gum, gum maple, alligator-wood, and bilsted. A Tree and Its Species Classification What does species of tree mean? A tree species is an individual kind of tree that shares common parts on the lowest taxonomic level. Trees of the same species have the same characteristics of bark, leaf, flower, and seed and present the same general appearance. The word species is both singular and plural. There are nearly 1,200 tree species that grow naturally in the United States. Each tree species tends to grow together in what foresters call tree ranges and timber types, which are confined to geographic areas with similar climatic and soil conditions. Many more have been introduced from outside North America and are considered to be naturalized exotics. These trees do very well when grown in similar conditions they were native to. It is interesting that tree species in the United States far exceeds the native species of Europe. A Tree and Its Genus Classification What does genus of tree mean? Genus refers to the lowest classification of a tree before determining the related species. Trees of the genus have the same basic flower structure and may resemble other genus members in outward appearance. Tree members within a genus can still vary significantly in leaf shape, style of fruit, the color of bark and tree form. The plural of genus is genera. Unlike common tree names where the species is often named first; for example, red oak, blue spruce, and silver maple - the scientific genus name is always named first; for example, Quercus rubra, Picea pungens, and Acer saccharinum. The Hawthorn tree, genus Crataegus, leads the tree genera with the longest list of species - 165. Crataegus is also the most complicated tree to identify down to the species level. The oak tree or genus Quercus is the most common forest tree with the greatest number of species. Oaks have some 60 related species and are native to nearly every state or province in North America. North Americas Species-Rich Eastern Forest Eastern North America and most particularly the southern Appalachian Mountains claim the title of having the most native tree species of any area of North America. Seems like this area was a natural sanctuary ​where conditions allowed trees to survive and multiply after the Ice Age. Interestingly, Florida and California can brag about their total number of tree species which were, and are, transported into these states from all over the world. One may cringe when someone asks them to identify a tree from these two states. They know immediately that it will be a word search of a bountiful tropic tree list. These exotic immigrants are not only an identification problem but also an invasive problem with future negative habitat change.

Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Rights - Essay Example For better understanding the following explanations relevant to the case under study are noteworthy: 1. Article 11defines assembly as â€Å"a company of persons gathered for some common purpose, for example, a meeting or public demonstration [whereas] freedom of assembly†¦ include[s] organisation of, and participation in marches†¦ processions, ‘static assemblies†¦ sit-ins’ and both public and private events, whether formal†¦ informal (Interights, 2007, p. 7). Based on this definition, Rik’s group and activity qualifies. 2. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly is not an absolute right, but is a qualified right. Meaning, such rights can be interfered with by the Government under specified circumstances. The manner by which Article 11 is constructed clearly manifests this, wherein section 1 defines the rights being upheld, while section 2 defines Government legitimate interferences that may curtail this right. (Ashcroft et al., 1999, p. 22) 3. The general principles as to Government legitimate interferences are set by the European Court of Human Rights following the two cases: Bukta v Hungary [2007] ECHR Application No 25691/04 (17 July 2007) and Makhmudov v Russia [2007] ECHR Application No 35082/04 (26 July 2007), whereby the concerned State parties had been found violating Article 11 (Marauhn, 2007, p. 120). The Court laid the burden of proof on the State, ruling that Government interference against Article 11 is legitimate provided: a. It has legal basis in domestic law. â€Å"In determining the necessity of a restriction, the European Court and Commission have always accorded a certain margin of appreciation to the national authorities† (Rai, Allmond & Negotiate Now [1995]) (Hamilton, 2007, p. 19-20). In Rik’s case the following UK laws apply – for the power of the MP are the Public Order Act (POA) 1986 and the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) 2005 (Norton 2010); while for the re stricted use of the Parliament Square are the Greater London Authority Act 1999, and the Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square Garden (Amendment No. 1) Byelaws 2002 (Greater London Authority, 2002). b. It is grounded on permissible aims, which in Rik’s case as given by the MP is security. Although such given reason was unconvincing especially so that in the past The Parliament Square has been the common centre for demonstrations and no recent security issue had been heard for the use of the Square. Furthermore, the HOOL as an organisation does not connote any violent intention and does not have any violent history in the past. c. It is indispensable in a democratic society, which in Rik’s case to ensure security is necessary for a democratic society to enjoy its freedom and rights. However, the right being curtailed is in fact one of the cornerstone of democratic society. Meaning, the reason for its infringement must be greater. In Rik’s case, the reason is unc onvincing. d. It should be proportionate to the aim being pursued, which in the case of Rik’s, the police ‘kettling’ – which although favoured by the High Court in Austin v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (UKHL, 2009) – of the protesters for four hours did result to the curtailment of the protesters freedom of movement and even put their health, especially the young children, at

Accounting and Managment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Accounting and Managment - Research Paper Example Coombs & Jenkins (2002) Costly: For a better idea of the real cost of budget preparation, consider a company where 160 employees devote time to some aspect of budgeting. At an average cost of approximately $105,000 per employee, the company s annual cost of budgeting is nearly $17 million. Van der Stede (2003) Are irrelevant to today's environment: Budgets are developed and updated too infrequently. In today's turbulent business environment, the budgeted numbers could change daily and, as a result, the budget would be out of date before the financial year has even begun. (Barr, p38) Inflexible: Budgets are too reactive and inflexible and are a barrier to change. There are very few companies that actually update their budget during the fiscal year, purely because it is too complex and time consuming. Management and governments also spend very little time each month working on strategy, as most time is spent on data collection, reconciliation and accountability for public funds. Niskanen (1971) Internally focused: Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser (2003) argue that budgets focus on cost reduction and not value creation. Budgets focus on internally generated targets that are comfortably achievable by you, but appears difficult to your superior. This breeds sub-optimalisation and does not promote growth of shareholder value. Production oriented: According to Stefan Sering and Maria Goldbach (2002), the traditional budget was developed in the manufacturing era where production costs and revenues were predictable, whereas today, an event such as 9/11 can change the way you do business at the drop of a hat. Concentrate on numbers: In the form of incrementalism-where the previous year's appropriation is the starting point for budget formulation, with negotiations focused on increments or decrements, state budgets. It is quite evident that while making budgets, the emphasis is on numbers and cost cutting. Aaron Wildavsky (2001). Does not include non financial information: The budget structure does not reflect changes in the company's organization and processes, and people were budgeting many costs largely under someone else's control. Hope and Fraser (2003) argue that front line managers are unable to regulate their own performance and financial planning processes. And therefore individual behaviours are not better aligned with corporate strategy. They don't reduce costs but protect them. This comes from the age old "use it or lose it" mentality. Staff knows that if they don't use a budgeted expense, it will get pulled from the next year's budget as management sees it as unnecessary especially in the public sector. Any unused balances are cut from the next annual budget. Brimson, Antos and Collins (1999). They encourage managers to play games with it. Budgets can encourage 'gaming' and perverse behaviour. Finance managers are more than familiar with "managing the slack" and making the budget "presentable" to the board. This, however, creates a culture of dishonesty and can lead to greater troubles such as fraud. Jensen (2001) They are results oriented. According to Hansen and Mowen (2006), when budgets are resource driven rather than output driven, then managers concentrate on resources and may fail to see the link between resources and output. When the need arises for cost cutting they make cuts on

Food and Beverage Operations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Food and Beverage Operations - Assignment Example It may be ready to serve when it is delivered or it may need to be cooked and finalised (as it is still cold or frozen) in another kitchen, or a second kitchen. The sous vide is the most recently developed system of preparing food. Raw foods are prepared (such as by browning), then placed in vacuum sealed bags or pouches, and then steam-cooked at high temperatures that will pasteurize them. The food can then be served to the customers or chilled and stored. Food prepared this way can be stored for up to twenty-one days. The cook-freeze process means a catering system that requires fully cooking and then rapidly freezing the food. Then it is stored at temperature of -18 degrees or below. The food will be reheated before serving to customers. Care should be taken to prevent the food from being contaminated and to make sure that the stock is rotated and is fresh. before being served to customers. The shelf life of foods prepared by the cook-chill process is much shorter than foods prepared by the cook-freeze process as the shelf life is only five days (including the day of production, the time it takes to be distributed, and the time it takes for regeneration. a waiter who serves guests at the table using forks and knives. The food is served with a salver on to the plate and then placed in front of customers. This is also known as the Russian service. Family service is similar to that of the American service. The gueridon service is when silver salvers of food is placed on a small cart called a gueridon which has a

The Third Battle Of Ypres History Essay

The Third Battle Of Ypres History Essay The Battle of Passchendaele also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. This was one of the major battles of World War I and consisted of a series of different operations and engagements between the 31st of July and the 6th of November with the objective of capturing vast amounts of German territory as well as destroying German submarine bases along the Belgian coast in an effort to thwart enemy naval capabilities. This campaign, unlike some others launched in the First World War, was meticulously planned by British Commander-in-Chief General Douglas Haig. However, General Haig was known as a stubborn man and showed major reluctance to modernise his tactics and strategies as a Commander, failing to see the use of artillery and being of the opinion that the Cavalry Charge still had a place in modern military tactics and because of this he may have been responsible for the heavy losses suffered by Allied forces at both Ypres and the Somme due to his unwillingness to deviate from his initi al strategies. The precursor to the Battle of Passchendaele was to be a preliminary artillery barrage against the entrenched Germans and their defenses on June 7, 1917 with the objective of softening the defensive lines to allow for an easier advance by Allied. Earlier, the British and Australians had deviantly planted 21 mines containing 450,000 kilograms of high explosives beneath the German defensive lines and their detonation signalled the initial attack by ANZAC forces who managed to take the town of Messines proper within two hours and subsequently the Messines ridge. The Battle of Messines alerted the already aware Germans of an impending attack. Three Victoria Cross medals were awarded to the ANZAC forces here. -Show Battle of Messines overview and point out battle lines- Following the Battle of Messines British forces began artillery bombardment on the Gheluvelt plateau which overlooked the town of Ypres. The bombardment again notified the German forces of impending attack and they moved troops to the front lines in response. The beginning of what would eventually become known as the Battle of Passchendaele started on July 31st with the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, in which 32,000 Allied lives were lost for the gain of 1,800 meters, and with the Battle of Langemarck which commenced slightly later on the 16th of August. These attacks allowed British forces to secure valuable footholds from which they would later attack Passchendaele. -Show Battle of Passchendaele overview, point out Allied and German positions- It is at this point that General Herbert Plumer took command of the Allied forces from General Hubert Gough, who favoured sweeping aggression, and abandoned the tactics that were failing to help the Allies to gain any appreciable ground and started to employ the same tactics that the ANZACs used successfully in the Battle of Messines. General Plumer planned to create smaller, more easily obtainable objectives instead of having the advancing parties rushing as far as they could before becoming exhausted and being repelled by fresh German reserves. September 20th, 52 days since the beginning of the Battle of Passchendaele. The Allies have gained a mere 2.5 kilometres for the loss of approximately 60,000 men or 24 men per meter. Haig was wagering that the German army would break soon, unable to continue reinforcing the front lines due to the heavy losses they sustained earlier at the Somme and Verdun. Plumer now starts the Battle of Menin Road, an engagement that would last 5 days. German defences are fierce with many young Australian soldiers falling to the bullets and shells of enemy infantry, pillboxes and artillery, ultimately limiting the gain of the Allies to 1,400 meters of territory while costing the lives 21,000 Allied soldiers or 15 men per meter gained, ANZAC deaths included. It followed a heavy artillery barrage with a reported 3.5 million artillery shells being fired with an allotment of one artillery piece for every five yards of the attack front. This major loss of ground by the Germans convinced them that their p revious tactic of defence in depth was obsolete and prompted a change in the way the lines were reinforced and held to create a more elastic defence. This caused heavier loses for the Germans during the preparatory bombardment and their subsequent counter-attacks. This would bode well for the Australians as more lives were about to be thrown at the enemy for more trivial territory gains. -Show picture of Australian soldiers are the Battle of Polygon Wood- The day after the Battle of Menin Road the Australian 4th and 5th Divisions would fight in a small conflict called the Battle of Polygon Wood, named for the shape the woods lay across the axis of the advancing Australian forces. The Australians were tasked with building upon the gains made during the Battle of Menin Road, however atop a large earthen mound overlooking the battlefield was the German position, heavily fortified by machine gun nests, dugouts and foxholes, ready to repel the advancing forces. Artillery covering the advance of Australian soldiers was heavy with one gun for every nine meters of the front, demolishing the Wood itself and destroying some of the German emplacements. By the time the soldiers had assaulted German positions the wood had been reduced to naught but splinters and broken wood but despite the heavy bombardment by Allied artillery, German pillboxes harassed the Australian soldiers, protecting the machine gunners hidden inside, ending the lives of appr oximately 7,200 Aussie men. It was the courage, mateship, fighting spirit and unwillingness to back down that helped the Australian soldiers take the Wood that was so heavily defended by the German army and repel the subsequent desperate counter-attacks launched. The following Battle of Broodseinde was the final time General Plumers strategy of biting and holding territory was successful and was a shining example that the spirit of the Allied forces could overcome even the hardest of German defences. From the outlook the men of I ANZAC and II ANZAC were tasked with capturing the crest of the previously mentioned Gheluvelt Plateau In conclusion, the Battle of Passchendaele was a cohesive event for the Australians as they gained respect as a formidable and capable fighting force from their Allies, strengthening the bond between the nations fighting men. It is also the embodiment of the courageous fighting spirit shown by the ANZACs that allowed the men to continue taking the battle to the Germans after losing 38,000 men of the original 70,000 to the bitter battle of attrition. For the massive number of troops lost on both sides, approximately 310,000 for the Allies and 260,000 for the Germans, for the gain of only a few kilometres. It is interesting to note that Adolf Hitler fought in the Battle of Passchendaele with the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division where he was injured on October 13, 1918 by a British gas attack.