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On 19 March 1963, the musical Oh! What a Lovely War premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London to great acclaim. Directed by British theatre director Joan Littlewood, the production was a biting satire about the First World War. Making extensive use of songs that were popular during 1914-18, the musical mixed comedic and tragic themes to make its 1960s audience reconsider what they thought they knew about the conflict.
The nightmarish horrors of the war had already been subjected to cultural critique during the conflict itself by soldier-poets like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. The posttraumatic aftershocks were also depicted in the interwar period by playwrights such as RC Sherriff, who wrote the 1928 play Journey's End based on his own experiences of fighting on the Western Front.
However, men like Owen, Sassoon and Sherriff were members of the officer class and the experiences and sufferings of the ordinary 'Tommy' had largely been glossed over by popular culture. This changed in the 1960s with revisionist histories of the war that heavily criticised the British high command.
For example, Alan Clark's 1961 military history book The Donkeys popularised the phrase "Lions led by donkeys", with Oh! What a Lovely War emerging as part of this new reassessment. Told from the perspective of the common soldier, the musical was noticeably political and angry at the enormous casualties. This struck an emotional chord that chimed with audiences who had survived or were intimately familiar with the experience of both World Wars.
Denne historien er fra Issue 118-utgaven av History of War.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 118-utgaven av History of War.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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THE RUHR POCKET
The world's largest industrial complex, the Ruhr was where Nazi Germany's war machine was forged. If the Allies could capture it the conflict in Europe would effectively be over
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HITLER'S 'ALPINE FORTRESS
With the Rhine crossed and the Ruhr taken, Allied Supreme Commander Dwight D Eisenhower had to decide what came next. His orders would help shape the fate of Europe for decades to come
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BLUNTING THE SULTAN'S SPEAR
During his 1532 invasion, Suleiman the Magnificent faced a seemingly simple obstacle in the small fortress of Koszeg, Hungary. What ensued was a bloody struggle between Ottoman firepower and imperial grit
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BATTLE OF THE NILE NELSON vs NAPOLEON
In 1798, Britain's most celebrated admiral pursued the French across the Mediterranean, attempting to thwart General Bonaparte's mission to Egypt. The pursuit culminated in what was arguably the most strategically important naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars
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FREDERICKSBURG
The Confederate invasion of the north had been repulsed in Maryland by the Army of the Potomac. President Abraham Lincoln now urged his military to seize the initiative and crush the Confederates in the east and capture their capital Richmond. It would culminate in another catastrophic defeat
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REMAGEN GATEWAY TO THE REICH
On 7 March 1945 the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine at Remagen was still standing - capturing it intact was vital to the Allied advance into Nazi Germany
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A13 MK III CRUISER COVENANTER TANK
Plagued with mechanical issues, the Covenanter was envisioned as an improved cruiser design but never deployed for overseas service
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INSIDE PICKETT'S CHARGE
On 3 July 1863 a Confederate regiment – the 19th Virginia Infantry – marched into the jaws of Hell in one of the most infamous events in American military history
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Heroes of the Victoria Cross: MILTON FOWLER GREGG
On 28 September, 1918, this Royal Canadian Regiment officer led his men through uncut barbed wire into enemy trenches
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MARCH 1945
To commemorate 80 years since the Second World War, History of War will be taking a look at some of the key events taking place during each month of the conflict