Super Food Weekly Planner November 25: Fill & Download for Free

Note: This is a work of love. Errors and omissions are regretted. Please feel free to suggest edits and changes. I will be adding more details and completing this answer over a week’s time. Thank you for your patience.The Chronological Modern History of the Indian Subcontinent.From 1901 to 1985. I will try and add more in future.This answer primarily tells the story of 3 nations. Between the text, there is a subtext about the reasons of why we are, the way we all are.This is the story of the Indian Subcontinent. The Indian Subcontinent - home to almost every 3rd human being - regular people, who share geography, history, passions, music, food, jokes, tragedies and perhaps the future as well.Once you’re done, you’d perhaps agree that our history is simply a series of KLPDs - one after the other. We’ve often got heroes we never deserved and leaders who make us all agree, that we deserve better.So, without further ado, as they say in Afghanistan:- Noshe Jaan!(Substandard Translation: Enjoy buddy!)1901 AD:A New Era, A New EmperorIndia is under the British Rule. King Edward VII takes over as the Emperor from Queen Victoria in the first month of the year[1] - he would assume the title of the Emperor of India, two years later, and die thanks to his habit of chain smoking, in 1910.We still have a large statue of his in Cubbon Park, Bengaluru[2].His coronation forces the babus of the Calcutta Mint out of their inertia to struck thousands of new coins, bearing his face - preparing for his eventual inaugural Delhi Durbar in 1903.A Case of Two LawyersWorld War I is 14 years away. Mohammed Ali Jinnah is a 25 year old hot shot lawyer in Bombay, who’s got appointed as the Presidency Magistrate of Bombay last year. Most of his colleagues agree that he is the best in the business.His 7 years senior, Mohandas K. Gandhi has tried his luck in the Bombay and Kathiawad Courts but failed - He currently is a 32-years-old, slightly popular young Indian NRI lawyer, settled in South Africa, married for the last 18 years.Mohandas has earned a bigger name for himself as a social worker though, being a member of the Indian Ambulance Corps during the famous Boer War, for which he even wins the Queen’s South Africa campaign medal[3].The Grand old Man of India.The most powerful and popular politician of India at this point - 71 year old ‘Grand old man of India’ - Dadabhai Naoroji. The father of the “Drain Theory” - Mahatma Gandhi called him the father of the Nation[4].He was the first Asian to become a British member of Parliament, while in London, he had hired a young and promising Mohammad Ali Jinnah as his personal secretary[5] .1902 AD:The Birth of UPThis is a special year for many who belong to the state of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. This is the year, when the province of United Province of Agra and Oudh is established on the orders of the then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon[6].This long name was shortened to simply United Province in the year 1935, most Indians shortened it further and still call it - ‘YouPee’.Swami Vivekananda’s DeathThis is also the year, when Swami Vivekananda, the founder of the Ramkrishna mission, and perhaps the first Pan-Indian youth icon of the modern Indian history, died at the young age of 39.He was best known for his badass speech in Chicago and many co-credit him as one of the reasons, smoking isn’t considered such a bad thing in Bengal.1903 AD:Another Delhi Durbar and the father of Khushwant Singh.This is the year when King Edward VII is formally declared, the Emperor of India. 2 full weeks of festivities are organised in Delhi, paid for by the People of India. Lord and Lady Curzon arrive to the party on an elephant.King Edward was a little busy, so he sent his brother instead - Prince Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught - yah you guessed it right, the hottest piece of commercial real estate in Delhi is named after him as the Connaught Place - blame this on Sardar Bahadur Sir Sobha Singh - Who built CP from the money he earned as one of the chief civil contractors of Lutyens Delhi and the modern day Rashtrapati Bhavan - He was also the father of the famous magazine editor - Khushwant Singh.Birth of a HeroThis is also the year when my personal hero Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay is born. Why is she special - well, ask the people of Faridabad, or the people associated with National School of Drama or the Sangeet Natak Akademi :)1905 AD:Divide and Rule Vol. 1This is the year when the Partition of Bengal takes place on Religious grounds. After the revolt of 1856, this was one of the first major moves made by the British under their Divide and Rule Policy in India .Although this decision is taken back 6 years later owing to large scale protests, the damage done by this decision to the social fabric of India was immense and one of the prime stimulus for the eventual partition in the year 1947.This was followed by the institution of the Separate Electorate system for the Hindus and the Muslims in 1909 which polarised the Indian Society further.1906 ADThe Muslim League.Shortly after the partition of Bengal, this is the year when the All India Muslim League is founded in Dhaka, by the likes of Nawab Viqar ul Malik, Nawab Samiullah of Dhaka, and a few others who claimed inspiration from Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Bahadur, a former judge in the East India Company and a well known muslim social reformer, who went on to establish the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh - known today as the Aligarh Muslim University.The Clerics and Scholars of the Deoband Seminary condemned Sir Syed for his reformist ideas and excommunicated him from the religion of Islam .Note: All India Muslim League was disbanded on 15th August 1947.1909 ADDivide and Rule Vol. 2This is the year of the famous Morley Minto Reforms in India, also known as the Indian Councils Act 1909.This is basically an act of the British Parliament, which provides for greater participation of the Indians in the governance of India.Why are they so infamous? - Well after the partition of Bengal, experts see this as the second move by the British in their game of Divide and Rule. Under these reforms, the British provided for 25% reservation in the legislative seats for the Muslims of India - seats were only Muslims were allowed to stand for elections and only Muslims could vote.Needless to say that the Muslim population of India was much below 25% and such a move helped sow seeds of distrust within the Hindus and the Muslims of India - tearing them further apart.1913 AD:The Ghadar PartyThis is the year when the Indian freedom struggle went truly international when NRIs in USA and Canada came together to form the Ghadar Party[7] .Initially, the party comprised primarily of the Punjabi Sikh community in North America. Sooner, members from other Indian communities joined in as well.Sohan Singh Bhakna, a former laborer in a timber mill, became the founder president of the Gadar Party. Some of the founder members included Kartar Singh Sarabha, V. G. Pingle, and Maulavi Barkatullah.These men went on to hatch a plan to initiate a mutiny in the British Indian Army in the year 1915 - which came to be known as the Ghadar Mutiny. More about this later.The First NobelApart from the birth of the Gadar Party, many historians note this as the year when Allama Iqbal stopped writing poems for India and changed his priorities - the reason, his contemporary, Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize in literature[8] .1914 AD:The Start of the WarThis year marks the official start of the First World War. Many in India join the British War efforts wholeheartedly, believing that their support to the British will result in the Indian Home Rule.This is also the year of the so called - Hindu German Conspiracy, which in part is the reason for the awesome Aurobindo Ashram today in Puducherry.1915 AD:3 Important things happened this year.Mahatma Gandhi finally returned back to India from South Africa.The First Provisional government of India is established in Kabul lead by Raja Mahendra Pratap as the President and Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah as the Prime Minister.An international plan is initiated to start a Pan India Mutiny among the ranks of the British Indian Army, fighting along side the British in the First World War. The plan is hatched between the members of the Ghadar Party in North America and the Berlin Committee. This plan was eventually foiled by the British.1917 AD:The First Taste of BloodAfter receiving a hero’s welcome in Bombay, instead of joining a political movement, Mahatma Gandhi decides to take a tour of India. During one of his speeches, he meets a young leader from a small village in Bihar, who manages to convince him to visit Champaran.This is the year when Mahatma Gandhi takes on the British might for the first time on Indian Soil - in favor of the Indigo Cultivators of Champaran.Birth of Indira GandhiThis is also the year when Priyadarshini Indira Gandhi is born on 19th of November in Anand Bhawan, Allahabad.1919 AD:The First World War officially ends this year. Many Indian Soldiers return back to their towns and villages with stories from around the world. This is a new awakening - a new dawn.Jallianwala Bagh and Sardar Udham SinghOn the festival of Baisakhi, 13th April 1919, Colonel Reginald Dyer orders firing on a crowd of unarmed pilgrims in an enclosed Park leading to the death of at least 379 men, women and children.This is the point in Indian History, where the Britishers lose their moral right and supremacy to rule over India. The public mood changes to a complete consensus against them - the reverse counting of their days in India starts.Among the survivors is a 20 year old boy - Sardar Udham Singh, who goes on to take a revenge for this massacre, a full 21 years later in Caxton Hall London, when he shoots to kill Michael O'Dwyer, the British Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab at the time of the massacre, who had approved Dyer's action and was believed to have been the main planner.1920 AD:Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is born.This is the year when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is born on17 March 1920, in Tungipara Village of Gopalganj district in modern day Bangladesh.His father Sheikh Lutfur Rahman is a court clerk and he is the third child in a family of four daughters and two sons.The Khilafat MovementThis is also the year when Mohammad Ali Jauhar and his younger brother Shaukat Ali, together known as the Ali brothers, with the political support of Mahatma Gandhi launch the Khilafat Movement in India - a nation wide agitation to pressure the British to reinstate the Ottoman Caliph to his throne in modern day Turkey.Gandhi’s idea here was to use the Khilafat movement to gather steam for his Swaraj agitation/ Non Cooperation Movement. He also hoped that this protest joint venture will help strengthen the Hindu-Muslim unity in India.The Mappilas of Kerala prove him wrong the very next year.Gulistan-e-Jauhar, a famous locality in Karachi, and the Mohammed Ali Park in Kolkata are named after the elder of the Ali Brothers. He reportedly threatened the British during the round table conference, stating that he would not return to India alive till India is set free - he died in London in 1931 and was buried in Jerusalem.The younger of the Ali Brothers, Shoukat Ali, died in Delhi in 1938 and was buried near the Jama Masjid.1921 AD:The Moplah RevoltThis is the year of the Malabar Rebellion.It started as a part of the Khilafat movement, demanding the reinstatement of the Ottoman Caliphate - turned into an armed rebellion against the British - mutated further to become an open season full fledged large scale massacre of the local non muslim population.This lead to over 100,000 locals being forced to leave their homes. 10,000 rioters were killed and around 50,000 were arrested (many were sent to the Penal Colony in the Andamans).Most leaders of this Massacre were sentenced to death.This was unprecedented in many levels. Dr. B R Ambedkar responded to this as follows:The blood-curdling atrocities committed by the Moplas in Malabar against the Hindus were indescribable. All over Southern India, a wave of horrified feeling had spread among the Hindus of every shade of opinion, which was intensified when certain Khilafat leaders were so misguided as to pass resolutions of " congratulations to the Moplas on the brave fight they were conducting for the sake of religion". Any person could have said that this was too heavy a price for Hindu-Muslim unity. But Mr. Gandhi was so much obsessed by the necessity of establishing Hindu-Muslim unity that he was prepared to make light of the doings of the Moplas and the Khilafats who were congratulating them. He spoke of the Moplas as the "brave God-fearing Moplas who were fighting for what they consider as religion and in a manner which they consider as religious.1922 AD:Chauri ChauraThe Non Cooperation movement lead by Mahatma Gandhi is in full swing. A few protestors in a place called Chauri Chaura clash with the police and end up burning down a police station killing at least 22 policemen.The British catch this opening in the so far Non-Violent struggle lead by Mahatma Gandhi like Jonty Rhodes and claim a moral upperhand. Gandhi ji decides to call off the Non Cooperation movement as a result of this incident.The incumbent Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, was a 5 time Member of Parliament from this area.1925 AD:Indira is celebrating the first death anniversary of her young brother. This is also the year when perhaps the most popular train robbery of the Indian history takes place.Kakori Train RobberyThe robbery is planned by RamPrasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan who were members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. They needed funds to buy weapons - they decide to rob a train carrying British moolah.All people involved in the robbery were either killed or arrested and tried. 4 Indians tried in the courts were eventually given the death sentence.The Birth of RSSThis year on 27th September 1925, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded by K. B. Hedgewar.1928 AD:Simon Go backThe Year when the 7 member committee of British lawmakers, under the chairmanship of Sir John Allsebrook Simon, arrive in India - they become popular as the Simon Commission.The idea is to report on the progress of the Constitutional Reforms in India.Indians are outraged over the fact that a committee set up to decide the future of India does not have even a single Indian representative. Indian National Congress decides to boycott the commission. They are joined in this boycott by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who is now representing the Muslim League.Lala Lajpat Rai’s deathDuring an ensuing protest against the commission - On 30 October 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai - a senior leader of the Indian Freedom Struggle is critically injured - he dies a fortnight later.This is the point in history that instigates Sardar Bhagat Singh.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is bornThis is also the year when Lakhi bai who had become Khursheed Begum after getting married to Sir Nawaz Bhutto, the super rich landlord and the Prime Minister of Junagarh, gives birth to a baby boy in Larkana Sindh. The parents decide to name him after the famous sword of the prophet - Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.1929 AD:Lata and KishoreThis is special because this is the year when Mother Teresa Arrives in Kolkata for the first time. This is also the year when perhaps the greatest male and female playback singers of the world, Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar are born. Kishore Da is 25 days older to Lata Didi.For those who had turned deafOn April 8, 1929, two young men entered the Delhi Central Legislative Assembly building. Went on to sit in the visitor’s gallery. And while the assembly proceedings were on - threw a smoke bomb towards the well of the house and courted arrest while shouting slogans and distributing pamphlets. Those two young men were Batukeshwar Dutt and Bhagat Singh[9].Complete IndependenceBy the end of the year, the Indian National Congress in its annual convention, which this time is held in Lahore - announced the demand for Purna Swaraj of Complete Independence.This was a major shift from the earlier demands of Home Rule and Self Rule by the Indian National Congress. Many experts point to the Jallianwala Massacre for this shift in the policy and the public mood.This in a way was diverging from the Nehru Report[10] as well, which was compiled under the leadership of Motilal Nehru - which had demanded for a Self Rule for the Indians, within the dominion status of the the British.1930 AD:Ahh the year when India celebrated her first Independence day. please don’t be alarmed, the Indian National Congress declared 26th january 1930 as an Independence day - the day of Poorna Swaraj or Complete Independence.It is the importance of this anniversary, that the founding fathers of modern India decided to remark this day as our Republic day.The Dandi MarchIt was a piece of strategic brilliance for Gandhi to choose Salt as a symbol of the Civil Disobedience Movement. While the draconian salt taxes affected every Indian household, the British did not take the threat seriously and allowed the initial proceedings to go on - helping transform it into a nationwide movement.Gandhi in his usual gangsta style, informs the Governor General of India, that he’s going to start a new Civil Disobedience Movement in India.True to his words, on 12th March, he starts walking from his Ashram in Sabarmati towards the sea. Over time, a huge hoard of people join him.On the 5th of April, he breaks a British law which prohibits Indians from making their own salt. He is duly arrested and sent to jail - but is starts a wave of acts of Civil Disobedience across the country - the most notable of which takes place in Vedaranyam, lead by Rajaji and Sardar Vedarathinam Pillai.First Indian Woman ArrestedRemember Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay I spoke about earlier, during the nationwide wave of the Civil Disobedience movement - Kamaladevi was arrested for trying to sell salt to the traders at the Indian Stock Exchange.She thus becomes the first Indian woman jailed by the British [11] .Round Table ConferenceMeanwhile, the first so called Round Table Conference is convened from 12 November 1930 to 19 January 1931, in London. It is supposed to be a series of discussions and debates among the prominent representatives of the British and the Indian society to help define, among other things, the future of India.The Indian National Congress does not participate in this conference as most of its senior leadership is in Jail.The British soon realise that the conference will be as meaningless as the Simon Commission, if the representatives of the Congress Party and Gandhi in particular do not become a party to it.Thus, all ordinances and charges against the Congress Part were removed and all political prisoners arrested during the Civil Disobedience Movement were freed - paving way for Gandhi to take part in the second Round Table Conference, which took place in London next year[12] .Chittagong Armoury RaidWhile the back room dealing were taking place in the corridors of power, in Bengal, one teacher was planning to take over the British Power in his own way.Master Da Surya Sen along with his colleagues, planned and executed a daring raid on the armoury of the police in Chittagong. This development electrified the local population against the British.Almost all members involved in this daring raid were either captured or killed as shown in the picture below.Massacre of PakhtoonsDuring a Satyagraha march in Peshawar organised by the Khudai Khidmatgars, under the leadership of Ghaffar Khan, the British Troops opened fire at the unarmed and peaceful protesters in the famous Kissa Kahani Bazaar area of Peshawar in modern day Pakistan.At least 200 people were killed and many were Pashtuns were injured. Despite every possible provocation, not a single Pashtun turned violent and took to a weapon - choosing to face the British bullets instead.When one British Indian Army Soldier Chandra Singh Garhwali and troops of the renowned Royal Garhwal Rifles, refused to fire at the crowds. The entire platoon was arrested and many received heavy penalties, including life imprisonment.1931 AD:This is the year when New Delhi was formally inaugurated as the grand Capital of India (announcements were made in 1911).A few heros lostThis is the year when Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev are hanged in a hurry by the British in Lahore, hoping to quell the spreading fire of disgust against the British, thanks to the widely reported public trial.This is also the year when Chandrashekhar Azad[13] gets into a gun fight with the British in the then named Alfred Park in Allahabad. Surrounded and wounded, with the last bullet in his Colt Pistol, Azad holding true to his pledge to never be captured alive, shoots himself dead and becomes immortal.1932 AD:When India Beat United States 24–1The Field Hockey Team representing India wins a Gold in the Los Angeles Olympics. The Captain of the team - Major Dhyan Chand. In the semi-finals, India beat host United States 24–1 to reach the finals where they defeat Japan 11–1. Those were the days :)This is also the year when the 3rd Civil Disobedience movement starts in India under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi is soon arrested by the British and put in the Yerwada Jail in Pune.The Poona PactThis is the moment in Indian history when two great Indian heroes cross swords. This was a compromise which still divides opinions and experts.British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald had decided to give separate electorates to the so called depressed classes of India just like the separate electorates awarded to the Muslims of India.Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was in favor of this move. He saw in this an opportunity for the Dalits (members of the so called lower castes) to exert political autonomy and thus, parity. Mahatma Gandhi who was lodged in the Yerwada Jail in Poona (now Pune) was against this, as he saw in this, another cunning move of the British to further divide the Hindus of India.Mahatma Gandhi went on a hunger strike against this - finally, the well wishers and friends of Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar succeeded in convincing him to have a dialogue with Gandhi. After a long and tenuous discussion between them, a compromise was agreed - according to which, the members of the so called depressed classes got a quota in seat allocation within the number of seats allotted to the Hindus instead of separate electorates.This compromise is known in history, as the Poona Pact.1934 AD:Eye injury nearly makes Sheikh Mujeeb Blind1935 AD:The government of India Act is Passed1936 AD:Indira’s mother dies.1937 AD:Provincial Elections take place in India.1938 AD:Indira Gandhi takes the primary membership of the Indian National Congress.1939 AD:Subhash Chandra Bose Starts the All India Forward Block1940 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb Joined the All India Muslim Student's Federation - starting his Political lifeLahore Resolution is passed.1942 AD:Indira Married with Feroze Gandhi - was jailed for the first time spent 8 months in jail.Sheikh Mujeeb (Officially) marries cousin Begum FazilatunnesaCripps Mission1943 AD:Indira is imprisoned for 8 months from September 1942 to May 1943 for 243 days.Sheikh Joined the Bengal Muslim League - worked towards the creation of Pakistan - a homeland for the Indian Muslims.Zulfikar Gets married to Shireen Amir BegumProvincial Government of Free India is formed by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.1944 AD:Rajiv Gandhi's born.Subhash Chandra Bose calls Gandhi the Father of the Nation.1946 AD:Sanjay Gandhi's born.Sheikh Mujeeb Became secretary general of the Islamia College Student's Union - he was known to be very close to the Muslim League leader - Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy3rd July - Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy assumed the post of the Prime Minister of Bengal.Royal Navy Mutiny - Bombay is taken over for a few days by the Mutineers ||||| Direct Action Day and Calcutta Killings take place..1947 AD:India and Pakistan gain independence on 15th AugustJawaharlal Nehru is elected by the Indian National Congress as the first prime minister of independent India.Zulfikar Enrols himself in University of Southern California - studies political science.1948 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb cofounds East Pakistan Muslim Chhatro (Students) LeagueFirst war with Pakistan over Kashmir starts - Mahatma Gandhi dies - Princely States integrate to IndiaMahatma Gandhi DiesGovernor-General of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah declares in a civic reception that "Urdu, and only Urdu" will remain as the state languageJinnah Dies of TBI will be completing the following sections in the coming days.Thank you for your patience.1949 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb Expelled from Dhaka University ||||| Awami league is formed by those who come out of the Muslim League in protest of Urdu being imposed as the national language over the whole of Pakistan without consultations - they are lead by Shaheed Suhrawardy - Sheikh Mujeeb is elected as the Joint Secretary of the East Bengal unit of Awami League.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Transfers his college to University of California, Berkeley - graduates from this college.Liaqat Ali Khan - the no. 2 of Jinnah and the drafter of modern day Preamble of Pakistan's constitution is assassinated. ||||||||||||||||||| - On 26 January 1949 the government of Pakistan announced that Urdu would be the only official state language of Pakistan - despite the fact that the Bengalis were in Majority in Pakistan - this lead to riots - which lead to death of students - which even today is commemorated around the world as the UNESCO Mother Tongue Day.Formation of the Awami Muslim League1950 AD:Zulfikar Goes to London to study Law at Christ Church.India Becomes a Republic.1951 AD:Gets married for the second time - the wife's name is Begum Nusrat IspahaniFirst General Election - Congress Party wins the mandate under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru.1952 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb Hunger strikes from jail during Bhasha AndolonBengali Language Movement reaches its peak as the police open fire on protesting students.1953 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb Becomes the General Secretary of the Awami league Party.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Attains his LLB degreeBenazir Bhutto is born on 21st June in Karachi.The Awami Muslim League becomes the Awami League.1954 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb Jailed for 7 months after Jukta Front win election ||||| Elected to East Bengal Legislative assembly ticket - Serving briefly as the minister for agriculture during A. K. Fazlul Huq's government.The United Front wins most of the seats in the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. |||| Governor General Ghulam Muhammad deposes United Front government and establishes Governor-rule.1955 AD:Indira Became a member of the Congress Working CommitteeSheikh Mujeeb Elected to the second constituent assembly pf Pakistan - served between 1955 and 1958.Asif Ali Zardari is born in Karachi, Sindh on 26th JulyNationalisation of the Indian Insurance Sector - formation of LICThe United Front government is reinstated, Awami League does not participate. ||||| East Bengal renamed East Pakistan1956 AD:Indira Became Chairperson of the All India Youth CongressHuseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was appointed as the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 12th September.Dr B R Ambedkar converts to buddhism along with 600,000 folloers on 14th October.First Constitution of Pakistan is ratified - Pakistan now is an Islamic Republic |||||||| One unit is promulgated in pakistan - the Western Provinces are administratively united under West Pakistan and East Bengal becomes East Pakistan.On 29th Feb - Bengali becomes one of the state languages of Pakistan.1957 AD:Zulfikar is handpicked by the military dictator - Becomes the youngest member of a delegation representing Pakistan in the United Nations.1958 AD:Indira Became a member of the Central Parliamentary board of the Congress PartyMujib was arrested for organizing resistance and imprisoned till 1961Zulfikar Appointed as a cabinet minister in the Ministry of Water and Power in 1958 by Field Marshal Ayub KhanPresident Iskandar Mirza carries out the first official Coup of Pakistan - suspending the constitution. - Shortly, Mirza himself is deposed by General Ayub Khan - starting a new tradition of Pakistani military.Constitution abrogated and martial law declared in Pakistan.1959 AD:Indira Elected Congress president in Bangalore.Sheikh Mujeeb is in Jail1960 AD:Feroze Gandhi died.Sheikh Mujeeb is in JailGiven the charge of the Ministry of Commerce, Communications and Industry1961 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb is still in Jail1962 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb Starts the Swadhin Bengal Biplobi Parishad.India China War takes place - India earns a humiliating defeat - Daman Diu and Goa are taken over from the Portuguese.Second constitution of Pakistan is implemented - promulgating a presidential form of government with Ayub as the President.1963 AD:Mujib becomes the head of Awami League after the death of the founder - Suhrawardy. - He renames the party from Awami Muslim League to Awami League.Zulfikar Appointed Foreign Minister of Pakistan - keeps this portfolio until his death.Suhrawardy dies.Inauguration of the Shaheed Minar language martyr memorial.1964 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb Supports the Candidature of Fatima Jinnah in the Presidential Elections against Ayub Khan - Ms Jinnah wins a majority in East Pakistani provinces but looses the race due to apparent and reported rigging of the elections in West Pakistan. ||||||||| Arrested 2 weeks before the election - charged with sedition and put behind bars for 1 year.Jawaharlal Nehru dies after 17 years as prime minister. His only child, Indira Gandhi, joins cabinet.1965 AD:India and Pakistan fight another war - the peace agreement is mediated by former USSR in Tashkent.Zulfikar is Critical of the Tashkent agreement - critical of Ayub Khan - despite the fact that many claim him to be the architect of Operation Gibraltar which failed and lead to loss of Lahore and Sialkot to India.6th to 23 september - Second war with Pakistan takes place - East Pakistan is left almost unguarded - leading to the seeds of local discontent which leads to seperation in 1971.Fatima Jinnah decides to fight the presidential elections against dictator Ayub Khan - the dictator calls the mother of the nation an Indian Agent and wins the election.Discontent of the Bengali population of East Pakistan grows - especially after the 1965 war where East Bengal is left undefended and the Pakistan Army concentrates its force to defend the areas of West Pakistan - Despite forming a majority of the population, the Bengalis were poorly represented in Pakistan's civil services, police and military1966 AD:Indira Gandhi Became Prime Minister - Congress Oldtimers considered her to be Easily managable - Gungi Gudiya |||||Mujib proclaimed a 6-point plan titled Our Charter of Survival at a national conference of opposition political parties at Lahore - in which he demanded self-government and considerable political, economic and defence autonomy for East Pakistan in a Pakistani federation with a weak central government.The 6 Point movement of East Pakistan started - leading to voilence and counter violence in Dhaka and many other cities and towns of East Pakistan.1967 AD:Zulfikar Ali Bhutto founds the Pakistan People’s party.1968 AD:Green Revolution started in India.The Agartala Conspiracy Case was filed - implicating Sheikh Mujeeb and others for conspiring with India against Pakistan.1969 AD:Indira Split the Indian National Congress |||| Gave the popular slogan - Wo Kehte hain Indira hatao - Main Kehti hoon gareebi hatao.Tofail Ahmed gives honorary title of "Bangabandhu" ||||| 5 December 1969 - Declares that East Pakistan hence forth will be known as BangladeshAyub Khan resigns when he hears his own children say go Ayub go while playing in the garden - realising how unpopular he's become - he gives way for Yahya Khan.Agartala Conspiracy Case charges were dropped on Shekh Mujib and he received a Hero's welcome in Dhaka on his arrival after the acquittal ||||| The 1969 Uprising of East Pakistan took place during this time.1970 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb Gives the 7th March speech, which changed the destiny and the will of the people of East Pakistan ||||| ArrestedRefused to accept an Awami League government and demanded that Sheikh Mujib form a coalition with the PPPFirst and relatively free and fair elections are held in Pakistan for the first time - Awami League of East Pakistan wins a Majority - is not allowed to form the government - leader Shikh Mujeeb is arrested under the Agartala Conspiracy Case.The 7th March speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ||||| Bhola Cyclone of 1970 arroves in November - the government of Pakistan mismanages the relif work fanning the Anti-Pakistan sentiments among the locals of East Pakistan. |||| The Pakistani general elections take place shortly - where Awami League of Sheikh Mujeeb wins by a landslide.1971 AD:Sheikh Mujeeb Addresses over a million Bengali crowd with historic "Ebarer Sangram" speech in Ramna Racecourse, Dhaka ||||| Arrested at the start of Muktijuddho and jailed in West Pakistan for nine-and-half monthsZulfikar Ali Bhutto The defeat resulted in the stepping down of President Yahya Khan and Bhutto became the President and the first civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator of Pakistan on December 20, 1971. - President of PakistanThird war with Pakistan - Pakistan is broken into two and Bangladesh is born on 16th December - India signs a 20 year treaty of friendship with Soviet Union.Yahya Khan declared martial law, banned the Awami League and ordered the army to arrest Mujib and other Bengali leaders and activists ||||| The army launched Operation Searchlight to curb the political and civil unrest, fighting the nationalist militias that were believed to have received training in India. Speaking on radio even as the army began its crackdown, Mujib asked his fellows to create resistance against Pakistani Army of occupation by a telegraph at midnight on 26 March 1971 ||||||||||||||| Pakistan preemptively strikes Airbases in India officially starting the 1971 war on 3rd December 1971 - The War ends on 16th December 1971 following the surrender of over 90,000 Pakistani troops in Dhaka - following which Bangladesh becomes independent.7 March 1971 that Mujib called for independence and asked the people to launch a major campaign of civil disobedience and organized armed resistance at a mass gathering of people held at the Race Course Ground in Dhaka ||||| Bangladesh gains independence on 16th December 1971. ||||| Sheikh Mujeeb is arrested and secretively taken to West Pakistan. |||||| Soon most of the senior Awami League leaders go under ground - Many leave the country - a new government in Exile if formed in Kolkata under the leadership of Tajuddin Ahmad. ||||| Major Ziaur Rahman broadcasts the declaration of independence on behalf of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman over the radio.Thank you for reading. Cheers and peace.Footnotes[1] Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra - Wikipedia[2] Statue of Edward VII, Bangalore - Wikipedia[3] Mahatma Gandhi's role in 1899 Anglo Boer War.... Very Few people know this.[4] Meet the man whom Mahatma Gandhi called ‘the Father of the Nation’[5] Jinnah, Naoroji and Gokhale[6] United Provinces of Āgra and Oudh | historical Indian state[7] Ghadr | Sikh political organization[8] Why wasn’t Iqbal awarded a Nobel?[9] A Bomb That Changed the Course of Indian History[10] Image on medium.com[11] First Indian woman to be arrested[12] Round Table Conferences, 1930-1932[13] Chandra Shekhar Azad - Wikipedia

By the time this finaly happened, the long fighting, long-serving French soldier and his Army had become “tired to death”. German General Von Falkenhayn had said he was going to “bleed France white” and there were both terrible losses of life on both French and German sides. German soldiers deserted two hours before the battle, over to the French lines, warning “that something terrible was about to happen”.A scene from a French forward position in no man's land.Constant shelling from enemy big guns, artillery and attacks from enemy troops eventually took its toll of every fighting man in all the armies during the Great War 1914 to 1918. Death could arrive from any direction, even behind you….First Battle of the AisnePart of the Great Retreat on the Western Front of World War IMap of the Western Front and the Race to the Sea, 1914Date13–28 September 1914LocationAisne River, FranceResultIndecisiveBelligerentsFranceUnited KingdomGermanyCommanders and leadersMichel-Joseph MaunouryJoseph JoffreLouis Franchet d'EspereyJohn FrenchAlexander von KluckKarl von BülowJosias von HeeringenStrengthFifth ArmySixth ArmyBEFFirst ArmySecond ArmySeventh ArmyCasualties and lossesUnknown13,541 killed or woundedThe Figure actually killed on the French Army side is astonishingly “unknown”First Battle of Ypres Casualties.StrengthBelgian: c. 247,000 French: 3,989,103 British: 163,897 Total: 4,400,0005,400,000Casualties and lossesBelgian: 21,562 French: 50,000–85,000 British: 7,960 killed 29,563 wounded 17,873 missing 2,128 unknown cause Total: 58,1558,050 killed 29,170 wounded 10,545 missing Total: 46,765Second battle of Ypres Casualties killed.Losses during the Second Battle of Ypres are estimated at 69,000 Allied troops (59,000 British, 10,000 French), against 35,000 German, the difference in numbers explained by the use of chlorine gas.The French suffered 190,000 casualties while taking 27,000 prisoners and inflicting 100,000 casualties on the German defenders. Most of the Germany losses were in counter-attacks. Second Battle of Champagne is part of The Champagne-Loos-Artois Offensive, Autumn 1915.But it was a victory at a heavy cost: 3,598 Canadians were killed and another 7,000 wounded. The capture of Vimy was more than just an important battlefield victory. For the first time, all four Canadian divisions attacked together: men from all regions of Canada were present at the battle.In all, French and German forces suffered around 350,000 casualties (killed, wounded, or missing) in the Battle of the Chemin des Dames, also known as the Second Battle of the AisneBut it is the losses that are most remembered. The first day of the Somme offensive, July 1, 1916, resulted in 57,470 British casualties, greater than the total combined British casualties in the Crimean, Boer, and Korean wars. In contrast, the French, with fewer divisions, suffered only around 2,000casualties.The Battle of Verdun and the number of casualtiesMonth:French losses:June67,000July31,000August27,000French total killed.315,000German losses:June51,567July25,969August30,572Total Germans killed282,323Below. Soldiers of all sides had to charge across the muddy wilderness of water filled bomb holes and barbed wire and machine gun posts. The soldier at the front has just been hit by a bullet and is starting to fall and dye to the ground. A few moments later, in this old film footage, another man dyes and slides back down the side of the trench in front of the cameras filming it for the “cinema back home”….Charge after pointless murdering charge, over the “top” again and again was the “order of the day” while fat old “sotts” who commanded some of these brave soldiers sat miles away in their rear headquarters eating and drinking fine meals….The British top “brass” who gave the orders were often “out of touch with reality” at the war front, or just plain did not care at all….Just charge on over old chap, we've busted all that cement and barbed wire for you it's easy”, well just wait here until you ..come back”. Incompetent general staff used butchering tactics and sent soldiers to needless and pointless deaths on all sides. Some of them never even once visited the battle front themselves….German General Von Falkenhayn bled Frances forces “white”, and also bled his own side white at the same time…Ferdinand FOCH French and overall English French Australian and Canadian forces overall high commander during the final year of war in World War One.Marshal Ferdinand Jean Marie Foch (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and Marshal of France, Great Britain and Poland, a military theorist and the Allied Supreme Allied Commander during the final year of the First World War.“None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear”When the moment arrives for taking decisions, facing responsibilities, entering upon sacrifices — decisions which ought to be taken before they are imposed, responsibilities which ought to be welcomed, for the initiative must be secured and the offensive launched — where should we find a man equal to these uncertain and dangerous tasks were it not among men of a superior stamp, men eager for responsibilities? He must indeed be a man who, being deeply imbued with a will to conquer, shall derive from that will (as well as from a clear perception of the only means that lead to victory) the strength to make an unwavering use of the most formidable rights, to approach with courage all difficulties and all sacrifices, to risk everything; even honour — for a beaten general is disgraced forever. Ferdinand Foch.Above. Von Falkenhayn also bled his own troops “white”. This was a German trench position after french artillery attacked, full of German dead…..Conditions in the trenches were absolutely appalling.British and American trenches were no different either.The soldier keeps watch for the enemy. The two other soldiers covered over are sleeping, the soldier on the trench floor under the parapet is dead…..French infantry losses had been very high, alongside the same situation for Britan, and the Commonwealth soldiers. The French red and blue uniform was changed for a new, better colour, “Horizon Blue”.It was the Blue of a horizon always dirty, dangerous, and muddy. The tactics of the Military Higher authorities had proved ineffective, and cost an appallingly large number of human lives, without positive breakthroughs to the German sides.Scene of a French position at the battle of VERDUN.Poison gas was another terrifying killer during the war……Horizon “Blue”. French frontline soldiers in their trench during the Great War from 1914 to 1918. Notice too the African soldier, many African soldiers also fought in the French army, as they also do now.French Government and Military Authority printed an enormous number of “patriotic postcards” to be sent to the troops by families and loved ones to “encourage”. But it was not the fighting spirit they lacked, it was razors, toilets, washing facilities, properly balanced food meals and rest and restoration away from the battle-torn front lines.“What we need is some Pinard, not yet another new Postcard,” said one angry soldier.Pinard, the wine of courage and relief from battle. This wartime picture shows a French soldier saluting the barrel of “Father Pinard”, the source of some happiness and courage in a dirty, cold, wet, stinking muddy horizon filled with death and uncertainty.Notice the soldier in the postcard wears the earlier kepi and red trousers and dark blue uniform, which caused heavy casualties due to it being far too “visible” to German eyes and rifles and guns. It was changed to “Horizon Blue” later in the war.Frenchmen alongside English and Australian men, had been consistently cut down by the German Maxim Guns like “wheat” in a harvesters field” in a pointless toing and froing back and forth across “No Mans Land” and only briefly “winning” a few precious metres of muddy ground without a significant breakthrough that lasted.Above. French and American soldiers together at a recently dug position near to the German frontline.French, British, Australian and American all fought and died together in huge numbers, but some of this,, a great deal, was caused by very bad incompetent “rear of line Clarat drinking” commanders who never ever visited the front lines to see for “themselves”.Death in operation.Above. A real picture was taken during the real war. Death of a French poilu soldier in “No man's land”. Death, this event could come to you at ANY time, any moment, day or night time. Much was asked of the French soldier, something had to be given in return for that. Empty promises would not do…..Over the course of the First World War, another five field armies would be raised. The war scare led to another 2.9 million men being mobilized in the summer of 1914 and the costly battles on theWestern Front forced France to conscript men up to the age of 45. This was done by the mobilization in 1914 of the Territorial Army and its reserves; comprising men who had completed their peacetime service with the active and reserve armies (ages 20–34).Frances brave but tired to death Army decided “We WILL hold our position, they shall not advance, neither shall we”. The French soldiers Mutineed and refused to obey orders to “go forward” again for a long time. They held their ground and neither did the German enemy advance either. A stalemate par excellence existed.Above.Types of “Poilus”.What could be done?During the 3Great War” France was one of the Triple Entente powers allied against the Central Powers. Although fighting occurred worldwide, the bulk of the fighting in Europe occurred in Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Alsace-Lorraine along what came to be known as theWestern Front , which consisted mainly oftrench warfare Specific operational, tactical, and strategic decisions by the high command on both sides of the conflict led to shifts in organizational capacity, as theFrench Army tried to respond to day-to-day fighting and long-term strategic and operational agendas. In particular, many problems caused the French high command to re-evaluate standard procedures, revise its command structures, re-equip the army, and to develop different tactical approaches.The situation did come quite close to total disintegration, and urgently, measures needed to be taken. The best-known battle, called the Second Battle of the Aisne, took place between 16 April and 25 April 1917. To soften up the German defenses, General Robert Nivelle, an artilleryman by training and experience, inflicted a six-day artillery preparation involving 5,300 guns. This, of course, provided ample warning that a major French attack was coming. Then, on 16 April, seven French army corps attacked the German line along the Chemin des Dames ridge. But Nivelle had underestimated the enemy's defensive preparations; the Germans had created a network of deep shelters in old underground stone quarries below the ridge, where their troops took shelter from the French barrage. The German positions also dominated the southerly slope over which the French attackers were progressing. On the first day, French infantry and some colonial Senegalese troops progressed to the top of the ridge in spite of intense German artillery counterfire and poor weather conditions. However, as French infantry reached the plateau, it was slowed down and then stopped by the intense fire of a very high number of the Germans' new MG08/15 machine guns. As a result, the French took 40,000 casualties on the first day alone. Furthermore, during the following 12 days of the battle, French losses continued to rise to 120,000 casualties (dead, wounded, and missing). The final count, when the offensive was over, was 271,000 French casualties and 163,000 Germans casualties. The German defenders suffered much less, but lost some 20,000 prisoners, 40 cannons, and 200 machine guns. The high French casualty count, in so few days and with such minimal gains, was perceived at headquarters and by the French public as a disaster. Furthermore, the agonizingly slow evacuation of the French wounded also demonstrated a lack of logistical preparations. Nivelle had to resign, and the French Army became plagued by many refusals to march amounting to mutinies in several infantry divisions.General Nivelle’s tactics had been very successfull, but only on a “small scale”. Nivelles breakthrough plan failed…..French assault on the Chemin des Dames during the Second Battle of the AisneThis situation developed into a threat of complete disintegration . General Philippe Pétain, who had opposed this offensive, was called in to take over from Nivelle and to reestablish order. This he did without harsh collective punishments. A total of 629 men were sentenced to death, but only 28 men, who had fired weapons at their superiors, were executed. Conversely, Pétain instituted positive changes, such as longer home leaves and better food and medical/surgical assistance for the troops. Eventually, normality came back in the fall of 1917. The British army took over the defences at the western end of the ridge during the following twelve months, thus bringing relief.During the summer of 1917, the Battle of the Observatories was a series of local attacks and counterattacks to gain control of high positions commanding the views between Craonne and Laffaux. In October, after the Allied victory at the Battle of La Malmaison, the German forces left the Chemin des Dames and moved to the north of the Ailette River valley.The Third Battle of the Aisne came as a complete surprise to the allies, including British troops who had been sent there to rest in a quiet sector. A German breakthrough was aided by orders of a French general to mass troops in the front line – a tactic by this date discredited. The penetration broke into open country and fighting went on from 27 May to 6 June 1918 but ran out of energy owing to lack of a strategic objective and lengthening supply lines. During the Second Battle of the Marne, the last fight on the Chemin des Dames occurred between 2 August and 10 October 1918.Marshall of France and war hero, “The Valiant Victor of Verdun” Phillipe PETAIN came to the rescue. PETAIN arranged for troops to take badly needed “home leave” to visit loved ones.Above.Alone at last together again. Every soldier had to have a reason to keep on going, to keep on “living” through a day and nighttime constant bombardments from the enemy, and hope, something, someone, to look too.The Marshall also ordered for the rear of the lines to be better equipped for rest and recuperation for troops, , and cleaned up the dirty Hospitals, and arranged better washing and cleaning rear of line facilities to breath life back into the tired out, worn out and fatigued French soldiers, who had after all born the worst of the fighting against Germany on their own countries ground.The longest-serving and oldest French front line soldiers had been given the “nickname” Les Poilus” which means in French “The hairy ones”. it was a name they did not much like. But what would you do living for years in a muddy dirty rat infested hell, without a razor to shave with? At least the beard offered some warmth….“Also anger and discontent with the Government “back home” who kept on printing a great many “patriotic Postcards” and sending these to their troops, was another factor. One angry soldier grumbled aloud” Let those war to the end bastards come up here and do it for themselves” Soldiers who had gone back to Paris on home “leave” had also noticed a new class of super-rich, it was those “shining fat swine” who had been busy making enormous financial profits from the wars delays and longevity and all the slaughter going on at the front lines. The fine clothes, suits and cars and painted ladies of these social and political parasites angered the serving soldiers greatly. Why should they be paying for all that “fat” and “shine” with their lives?Petain also arranged entertainment and “Comedie Francaise” Theatres to restore the very low “Morale” among the troops, and also “fired” incompetent commander and “dead wood” Army officials responsible for the accruing loss of Morale and the general deterioration in the army.“It's going to be alright, PETAIN is in charge now” was the cry that soon passed around one end of the French army to the other. They were right.Phillipe PETAIN, Marshal of France, was the “valiant victor of Verdun”. In the Great War petain was a distinguished hero, quite different from the traitor he sadly became when he calaborated with the nazis and ran the Pro Biased French VICHY Nazi Puppet regime in the Southern Zone during World War two.Morale became restored, and the lost “esprit de corps” re-surfaced, and for the first time in a long time, the French national”Marseilles” anthem was heard again being sung among the soldiers. The soldiers went back over onto the offensive once tactics and conditions and certain perceived gross “rear of the line” injustices had been tackled.The war went on, and so did the French Army.By 1918, towards the end of the war, the composition and structure of the French army had changed. Forty percent of all French soldiers on the Western Front were operating artillery and 850,000 French troops were infantry in 1918, compared to 1.5 million in 1915. Causes for the drop in infantry include increased machine gun, armoured car, and tank or landship usage, as well as the increasing significance of the French air force, the Service Aéronautique. At theend of the war on November 11, 1918, the French had called up 8,817,000 men, including 900,000 colonial troops. France suffered over 4.2 million casualties, with 1.3 million dead.The British Also Mutineed.Étaples mutiny. The Étaples mutiny was a series of mutinies in September 1917 by British Army and British Imperial soldiers at a training camp in the coastal port of Etaples in Northern France during World War 1.BackgroundEdwin Summerhayes' painting of Le Touquet from the Bull RingBefore the war, Étaples, 15 miles (24 km) south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, was a coastal fishing port with a fleet of trawlers. It also attracted artists from around the world.After 1914, the town became one of a series of British Army bases that stretched along the Channel coast of France. Étaples did not impress British women who volunteered to work in YMCA huts at the base. In the words of Lady Olave Baden-Powell,"Étaples was a dirty, loathsome, smelly little town". On the other side of the river was the smart beach resort known officially as Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, and unofficially as either Le Touquet or Paris-Plage. Le Touquet was in effect officers' territory, and pickets were stationed on the bridge over the Canche to enforce the separation.Étaples was a particularly notorious base camp for those on their way to the front. The officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) in charge of the training, the "canaries", had a reputation for not having served at the front, which created a certain amount of tension and contempt. Both raw recruits and battle-weary veterans were subjected to intensive training in gas warfare and bayonet drill, and long sessions of marching at the double across the dunes for two weeks.Initial camp disorder incidentOn 28 August 1916, a member of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), No.3254 Private Alexander Little, 10th Battalion, verbally abused a British Non-commissioned officer after water was cut off while he was having a shower.As he was being escorted to the punishment compound Little resisted and was assisted and released by other members of the AIF and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). Four of these men were later identified, court-martialled, convicted of mutiny and sentenced to death, including Little. Three had their sentences commuted. While the military regulations of the AIF prevented the imposition of capital punishment on its personnel, that was not the case for the NZEF. Consequently, Pte. Jack Braithwaite, an Australian serving with the NZEF's 2nd Battalion Otago Regiment, was considered to be a repeat offender, and after the death-sentence had been confirmed by the British Expeditionary Force's Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Douglas Haig, he was executed by a firing squad on 29 October 1916. His body was buried in Saint Sever Cemetery Extension in Rouen.MutinyOn Sunday 9 September 1917, Gunner A. J. Healy, a New Zealander belonging to No. 27 Infantry Base Depot was placed under arrest after he and other men were observed to have deliberately bypassed the military police pickets at the bridges that gave access to Le Touquet, which was out of bounds to enlisted men. His son later recalled:It was the practice for those who wished to visit the township to walk across the estuary or river mouth at low tide, do their thing and return accordingly. However in my father's case the tide came in, in the interval and to avoid being charged as a deserter, he returned across the bridge and was apprehended as a deserter by the "Red Caps" and placed in an adjoining cell or lock up. When news of this action reached the NZ garrison, the troops left in a mass and proceeded to the lockup.A large crowd of angry soldiers from the camp rapidly gathered near the "Pont des Trois Arches", and in a mob moved towards the town, failing to disperse, even after being told that Healy had been released. It was clear that the protest over the arrest was only the tip of an iceberg of ill-feeling and insubordination in the camp with a mob now seeking some form of confrontation out of it. The arrival of a detachment of military police upon the scene only made matters worse, and scuffles broke out between it and elements of the mob of soldiers. Suddenly the sound of the shooting broke out, with Pte. H. Reeve, a military policeman, having fired at the crowd with a revolver, killing Corporal W. B. Wood, 4th Battalion Gordon Highlanders, and injuring a French civilian woman standing in the Rue de Huguet. Thereafter, the police detachment fled, in fear of a violent confrontation with the mass of soldiers.News of the shooting spread quickly, by 7:30pm over a thousand angry men were pursuing military police detachments, which withdrew away from the camp back into the town. The following morning measures were taken to prevent further outbreaks of disorder and police pickets were stationed on the bridges leading into the town. Nevertheless, at 4:00pm troops from the camp were in a state of disorder once more and broken through the police pickets and moved into the town, where the held impromptu meetings, followed by sporadic protest demonstrations around the camp.On Tuesday 11 September 1917, fearing further outbreaks of disorder that were beyond the capability of the military police to handle, the Base Commandant requested reinforcements, as further mob protests gathered momentum.On Wednesday, 12 September 1917, in spite of a proclaimed order confining them to camp, over a thousand men broke out from its confines and marched through Etaples. Later in the day reinforcements of four hundred officers and men from the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) arrived, armed with wooden staves along with their firearms. The HAC detachment was composed mainly of officer cadet material and was a unit on which complete reliance could be placed by the military authorities. The HAC was supported by an armed Section from theMachine Gun Corps with severalVickers machine Guns The arrival of this security detachment was successful in quelling the unrest, with 300 men in revolt being subsequently arrested within Étaples' precincts without further violence.Many of them were subsequently charged with various military offences, and Corporal Jesse Robert Short of the Northumberland Fusiliers was condemned to death on the charge of "Attempted Mutiny".He was found guilty of encouraging his men to put down their weapons and attack an officer, Captain E. F. Wilkinson of the West Yorkshire Regiment.Three other soldiers were tried by court-martial and received sentences of 10 years' imprisonment. The sentences passed on the remainder involved 10 soldiers being jailed for up to a year with hard labour, another 33 men were sentenced to between seven and ninety days field punishment and others were fined or reduced in rank. Short was executed by firing squad on 4 October 1917 at Boulogne.His body was buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.A real photograph o Mutiner Percy Topliss, who tried to escape death after the failed Mutinee by impersonating an officer.Below. Credited and blamed for the start of the Mutinee, “Percy” or “Percival” Topliss was executed by the British Army Command for encouraging Mutinee or Desertion.British soldiers also Mutineed and on the eve of the battle of Paeschendael, took over their training camp where non-frontline “canaries” (Yellow of the bird called the Canary was the symbol in Army for Cowardice, for “Funk”). type officers had abused them constantly.Below. Percy Topliss has words with one of the contemptible old farts who had been putting the serving men through utter hell, denying town leave and abusing them, whilst NOT SERVING or risking their own “shining” skins at the battle frontlines. men such as this fat faced non-fighting officer made the soldiers very angry indeed.British Commander Douglas Hague was given the cynical nickname by British troops “Butcher Hague”.The Butcher of the battle of the “Somme” General HagueHague was, in fact, second in command, not the overall war or military leader. He was subordinate to French marshall JOFFRE..The negative reputation of Field Marshal Douglas Haig, the commander of British forces on the Western Front during World War One, rests to a large degree on his performance at the Somme. Indeed, the bloodshed of the summer of 1916 has more or less been roundly laid at his door. But is the blame justified?The planThe offensive on the Somme was initially conceived as part of a wider strategy to wear down the German Army by attacking it on all fronts in 1916. The French took the lead in planning the offensive on the Western Front and Haig played second fiddle to commander-in-chief Joseph Joffre.The Somme was not Haig’s favoured battleground. He would have preferred to launch an attack in Flanders, where the terrain was better and the objectives of greater strategic value. By the summer of 1916, the German attack at Verdun had left the French unable to commit forces on the scale they had envisioned. The result was an under-resourced attack in an unfavourable location of little to no strategic value.The first dayIt is well-known that, by the end of the first day of fighting on the Somme, a few objectives had been secured while 19,000 British soldiers were dead. The scale of loss suffered in the first attacks can be attributed to the failure of the Allied artillery to neutralize German defences.As the British Army at large, the artillery was on a steep learning curve. Many of the shells fired during the week-long preparatory bombardment were duds. Of those that did explode, too many were shrapnel shells rather than high explosive, which made little impression on barbed wire and reinforced dugouts.A large shell dump on the Somme.Haig had been convinced of the efficacy of the preparatory bombardment and believed Allied forces would face little to no resistance as they crossed No Man’s Land.The problem of scaleIn 1914, Britain went to war with a small professional army. By 1916, the British Expeditionary Force in France numbered two million. This rapid expansion in scale caused major structural challenges for Haig, whose staff had no experience of commanding such large forces.Not only were the armies bigger, but so were the fronts. The Battle of the Somme took place over a front stretching 15 miles.CommunicationProponents of the “lions led by donkeys” argument point to the fact that senior commanders tended to be stationed a distance away from the front lines, while the humble soldier slogged it out in the trenches.British soldiers transport a wounded colleague on a wheeled stretcher during the Battle of the Somme.But there was a good reason for this. The length of the front meant commanders needed to be a further away to get a complete picture of what was happening. However, communications technology was not yet up to the task of keeping commanders updated about the rapidly changing situation at the front. As a result, at the Somme, Haig often made decisions based on out-of-date information.Where Haig is undoubtedly guilty, is in his decision to continue the offensive into November 1916. By October, poor weather and continuous artillery bombardment had created a hellish environment for both the Allies and the Germans. Yet Haig prolonged this hell for no real strategic or tactical purpose.Was it worth it?Over the course of the battle, about one million men were killed, wounded or captured. Haig maintained that the battle achieved the goal of eroding the German Army and its will to fight. But attrition swallowed up Allied manpower and material just as quickly as it did the Germans’.The scale of the Allied offensive on the Somme had nevertheless come as a shock to the Germans. It was clear that victory on the Western Front was nowhere in sight and planners feared that German industry would not be able to keep up with demand.In 1917, the Germans carried out a planned retreat to the Hindenburg Line, a line of fortifications that could be defended with fewer men. It may have looked like a victory for the Allies but the reality was quite different, as subsequent operations against the line in 1917 would show.Haig has been nicknamed “The Butcher of the Somme”. But the idea that he wilfully and knowingly sent tens of thousands of Allied soldiers to their deaths is seemingly very overly simplistic and fails to acknowledge the severe challenges facing a commander in charge of an inexperienced mass army, on a scale unlike anything seen before. However, constant previous experience had done “nothing” to change his approach to tactics or to the way he sent thousands of men constantly “over the top” each time promising that “great breakthrough” was going to happen. it did not happen, and no man's land was filling up with the rotting bodies of thousands of brave soldiers killed by incompetence.Hague was perhaps reasonably discredited and blamed for the huge casualties on the “SOMME”.Nice clean clothes and shining uniforms do not often make the best soldiers. Stay at “home” armchair generals and bathtub admirals were the bane and curse of every fighting man on every side in World War One.After the British Mutinee, many were shot dead as punishment, but who really was to blame for all this? Arrogant “shiny” polished “top brass” who never went to the war front to “see for themselves” or to serve and fight and die with “their men”. It made a sick joke and insulting mockery of the soldier.Footnote.Petain Marshall of France was a hero of France during the Great war from 1914 to 1918. But during the Second World War (the last great battle from the first war!) Petain lost his reputation by collaboration with the German enemy and the pro-Nazi VICHY Southern (not recognized in France) regime.Above. Bâton de maréchal de France de Philippe PétainPhillipe Petain, angry at the accusations, refused to carry his Marshall baton into the French court that then condemned him. Charles De Gaulle President of France, commuted the death sentence given to Phillipe Petain for his treachery, to life imprisonment, Petain, by now already a very old man, died in Prison a few years later.