Comments by "Ray Purchase" (@raypurchase801) on "The Battle of the Somme; a reflection on Armistice Day" video.

  1. Of all the major combatant armies from 1914, the British Army is unique in having no mutinies. The Russian, German, Austrian and French armies all mutinied. The mainly-British battle at the Somme was brought forward from its intended date, because the French army had collapsed following Verdun and could fight no more.
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  2. Alan Clark invented the phrase, "Lions led by donkeys". Clark falsely attributed the phrase to a German general. In reality he invented the phrase himself. There is no reference to the phrase until Clark's book was published. Fake news from a respected historian, modifying the truth for his own agenda.
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  3. Interestingly, some units of the British Army and the Royal Navy mutinied AFTER the war, claiming they weren't being sent home fast enough.
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  4.  @rw7011  To be honest: I can't give you a 100% definite answer to that, but there was nothing on the scale of what happened in some other armies. After Verdun, the French Army effectively threw down its guns and refused to continue, and I can't blame them. The mutiny was hushed-up, otherwise the Germans would have attacked and the war would have ended in 1916. It's why the Somme offensive was brought forward, and why it was a mainly British attack instead of an all-out joint attack by both the French and the British. The French mutineers were handled with tact and respect. A handful of the mutineers were convicted but the remainder were rested and returned to battle. If I'd left this comment on a Mark Felton video (find his channel) we'd have dozens of knowledgeable persons correcting me with detailed "yes but" comments.
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  5.  Useless Idiot  You're far from a Useless Idiot, Sir. Yes you're right. Plus there were isolated groups of sensible soldiers who said, "I'm not getting out of this effing trench for you or anybody" and were put up against a wall and shot.
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  6.  @georgehetty187  Are you a friend of bloody Toast? (Most people won't get the reference but you're wiser than most.)
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  7.  @HistoryDebunkedsimonwebb  Modern Britain: Lions led by donkeys.
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  8. All those poor black people being murdered by waycists at the Somme. Tut tut tut.
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