History 482 Discussion Questions
February 9, 2016

1. In Recruitment: The Soldier Imagined,   what do those representations tell us about the society which produced such an image? How do those representation fit with the other materials you have viewed?
   
2. What do the readings by Fussell on the trenches and Keegan's comment on doctors add to our understanding of the soldier experience?
    
3. What does Keegan's comment on officers say about the nature of the British war experience?
   
4. Did Foot's article on rum surprise you?  What was your reaction to it?
   
5. What does Sassoon's "A Raiding Party" tell us about the soldier experience at the front?  What does it tell us about the perception of the war as seen by the home front?
   
6. According to Nelson, what were the "unique national traits" evident in the soldier newspapers of each nation?
   
7. What were the "universal stories" evident in those newspapers?
   
8. How can soldier newspapers be used by historians to understand the war experience?  What are their assets and what are their limitations as a source?
   
9. What can the excerpt from Vera Brittain, The Early Somme Battlefield, and "A" Company Report tell us about the battle experience?  What was your impression on reading them?

Questions for "Slaughter"

1.     What is the meaning of ‘attrition’ as it applies to the strategy of the war?  Why was such a strategy followed?  

2.     Why was the city of Verdun selected as a target objective by the German army?  Why did the French fight so intensely to defend Verdun? 

3.     Why was the Battle of the Somme begun?  Why did it continue as long as it did.  What did it achieve? 

4.     Why would a commander who had nearly 20,000 men killed on the first day of a battle continue such a battle?