First World War
France’s last First World War veteran is laid to rest
The body of Lazare Ponticelli, until last week the last surviving French veteran of the Great War, was laid to rest today with full military honours.
read more...»A study day at The National Army Museum: Great War technology Part One
On Tuesday our school visited The National Army Museum for a study day. After looking around the excellent galleries (our students particularly liked the exhibition looking at the experience of 16 Air Assault Brigade in Helmand Province. We had two lectures from the education staff. Below is the first part of a write up of the notes that I made.
read more...»Yet Another Balkans Crisis?
Yesterday Kosovo’s parliament declared unanimously declared itself to be independent from Serbia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7249034.stm
Just about immediately Serbia and her close supporter, Russia, made their protests as riot police faced protesters in Belgrade and grenades were thrown in the ethnically Serb town of Mitrovica in Kosovo.
Today Serbia withdrew her ambassador to the USA, stating that the country had violated international law by recognising Kosovo.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7251802.stm
Amongst EU nations opinion has been divided with Spain not recognising the new state, in a directly opposite action to that taken by France, Germany and the UK.
All this not only brings back memories of the conflict in the late 1990s but also to the wider unrest in the region that has bedevilled wider European relations for upwards of 150 years. Even without going back to the strife prior to the Nineteenth Century there is enough to keep historians occupied. The crises of 1875-78, 1886, 1912-13 and, of course, 1914 all had international repercussions. It can only be hoped that both local and regional tensions will ease before more blood is spilt in a most contentious corner of our continent.
