Oh to hell with it, here's the last scene of the BBC Comedy Blackadder Goes Forth:
Everything you need to know about war in 5 minutes.
That this was the closer of a comedy series remains heart-rending, only less so than the real-life madness that World War I really was. England lost over 800,000 of their young men to that war: entire towns wiped out of a generation of sons and husbands. In some ways, this war and not World War II - which in itself was a "Good" or necessary war and thus accepted with some cheer and satisfaction - is the more painfully remembered war in England. Because of the insane loss of life over a war involving treaties and the lust for empire (Britain's to defend, Germany's to win).
As for this show... in England this episode was shown originally on Armistice Day... It's called Remembrance Day there (Veterans Day stateside). They only had one complaint. Everyone else was probably too busy crying as the poppies rise up from the debris of No-Man's Land...
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