The Experience of War

There were many different experiences during the Second World War, most of which were bad. The war did not just affect Europe, it affected the whole world reaching areas such as the Far East. The types of experiences varied for different people in different parts of the world.

As many memories were shocking and terrifying, a lot of people involved in the war never bring up their experiences in conversation as they would rather not talk about it. However, there are still many accounts of those who do talk to be found. I am going to give an account of the likely experiences faced by soldiers in the army in Dover,Britain and British soldiers fighting in Burma, presently known as Myanmar. You will come to see the appalling conditions in which they had to fight for their country and how similar the experiences of soldiers, who were many thousand miles apart, were.

" I have to tell you that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany. " Germany had not withdrawn its troops from Poland and the war for Britain had started. That was part of the speech made by Neville Chamberlain announcing Britain's declaration of war with Germany in 1939.It was aken from chapter 21 in Expanding World by Philip Sauvain.

It came as no big surprise to British civilians as they had been issued with gas masks since 1938. Families including those of soldiers knew that food was going to be rationed. And soon after, soldiers received letters from their families describing the long wait in queues for ration books. Troops in Dover, Kent were the Front Line, once the French Government had surrendered, after the German attack on Paris. The harbour was packed with every type of vessel.

Living conditions for men in the army were bad and usually there would not be any ashing or sanitary facilities. "Often over forty of us were crowded into one hut that had no lighting or heating. There were no beds and we had to sleep on straw - filled bags. " revealed Mr Erwood who served in the Royal Artillery. His account of the war was in a book called Shellfire Memories. It is a book about reminiscences of East Kent during the Second World War.

"It took several weeks before the huts became reasonably habitable and it took over half a year before bath and lavatory accommodation became accessible. " he continued.There was very ittle time to be bored because soldiers were kept very busy through the day and had several practises through the night. Soldiers had to wear many layers of clothing and carry very heavy equipment.

This can be proved by seeing the actual uniform many of them wore. Every layer that soldiers were expected to wear can be found in the National Army Museum. In summer they would get very hot but in winter they would feel as if they still needed a few extra layers. Those who were conscripted in 1939, were issued with eighty items of clothing and were provided with six weeks of basic training according to theNational Army Museum. Figures from the National Army Museum show that out of the millions of people who were in the army, only 14% of them used guns and 90% of the men who used guns were killed. It was the army's job to lay barbed-wire along the beaches and cliffs.

They dug tank traps, built concrete pill boxes and plane obstacles across likely paratroop dropping zones. Road blocks were built by them to force enemy transport to stop. Those in the army were also expected to help in the construction of dummy airfields. These were made to divert the attention of enemy bombers and the mission was a success.Figures from the Battle of Britain Hall in the RAF Museum show that dummy fields were bombed twice as much as the real, operative ones.

Most of the soldiers who were at Dover will always remember the departure and return of the boats which went to Dunkirk. Overnight the atmosphere with the soldiers changed to one of apprehension. "The boys returning from Dunkirk were in a bad way. Terrible injuries and in rags.

They were helped along our pier......

. what a blessing the sea was so calm. " Mr Chapman was in the Royal Army Coast Defence and observed many tragic incidents. His quote was aken from Shellfire Memories.Many saw a number of ships and other craft bombed and sunk almost at their side.

It was terrible for soldiers to see them go down and with their own men on them. When the German Luftwaffe campaign came into action, it infuriated many soldiers, making them feel hate towards the Germans. This information was noted from the video called The era of The Second World War. However, some experiences disagree with others as some soldiers did enjoy themselves in a satisfying and exciting way. "I know it was wartime, but we had our laughs. " These were the words of Mr Downey and were taken from the book - Shellfire Memories.

Many soldiers would go to the local cinema occasionally and this would be the highlight of their week. It was something for them to look forward to. The cinema was also used as a way of propaganda towards the soldiers. It was the perfect opportunity for the government to notify the soldiers of the consequences of their hard work. Films that were shown would have pictures of beautiful British scenery. This made many army soldiers patriotic about their country.

The British Army served alongside soldiers of the commonwealth. One of the embers of the commonwealth was Burma.British soldiers fighting in Burma would have had quite different experiences from those fighting in Britain. Although they would have been supplied with similar types of guns and protection, they were fighting a completely different war. The allies re-conquered Burma from Japan in 1945. The soldiers fighting out in the Far East felt that the British citizens were not paying attention to them and had forgotten them.

They called themselves 'The Forgotten Army'. I know this because James Palmer, fighting in Burma with the Royal Tank Division during the Second World War felt forgotten about.His account is on the Mentor Series: World War Two. However, this changed when Lord Mountbatten made sure that the British people knew what was going on in Burma. The Japanese were better at jungle fighting according to the National Army Museum.

And as it was easy to get lost in the jungle, many British soldiers were scared of jungle warfare until they were trained properly. Soldiers on the way to Burma who were trained in the skills required for guerrilla operations were instructed in the use of explosives for demolition and sabotage, particularly lines of communication.They spent time in ractising shooting with a pistol and were taught how to kill silently with a knife or bare hands. Security was always stressed by instructors, for example a safe house would have a back door. The soldiers learnt many interesting and useful skills including how to read upside down.

I found out about army training for Burma from the National Army Museum and the Mentor Series under the category of 'Training for Jungle Ops' by Derek Headly who was trained before going to Burma. "The Japs wouldn't leave us alone. They followed us like a swarm of bees, stinging and taunting us.These were the words of James Palmer and were taken from the Mentor Series: World War Two on the school computers. Soldiers fighting in Burma were entertained in the form of a concert and this was probably their highlight of the day. They only had concerts in Burma and these were put on by women.

One of these women was Dame Vera Lynn. I found her account about performing for the soldiers in Burma in the Mentor Series. The jungle was a noisy place and the insects made chirping noises throughout the day. Many soldiers used the squawking of birds as a sign for enemy soldiers being nearby nd prepared themselves for an attack.They would be covered in jungle sores and thorn scratches, bleeding.

Diarrhoea was common and jungle fever hit everyone. Soldiers were physically drained because of sweating and nausea. The jungle also had a damp heat about it. In Burma between 1941 and 1945, diseases also spread quickly and making it very dangerous. Burma monsoons rotted equipment and washed away roads.

Lines of communication were set up by the soldiers. These helped to bring supplies and aided in the transport of casualties. Fighting in the jungle involved surviving in unpleasant conditions.The ungle has a tropical climate which meant it was very humid with heavy rains.

It made it frightening knowing the enemy could be camouflaged and hiding amongst the trees. There were millions of insects and the conditions were not made better with mud, malaria, exhaustion, rotting feet, quick sand and leeches. Most of this information about conditions in Burma was in the National Army Museum although there was some more to be found on the Mentor Series on the school computers. Many soldiers were also affected by the one thousand yard stare.

This was when it would seem as if they were looking into space. They would not focus on anything because of all the terrifying sights they had seen. It was quite similar to shell-shock as it took time for doctors to discover what the problem with those soldiers was. There was a picture in the National Army Museum showing a soldier "looking far out into the distance". It cannot be proved that he was suffering from the one thousand yard stare although that could be one of the more likely explanations for the distant look. Quite a few soldiers fighting in Burma were held as prisoners of war.

Some were treated very badly and were not given enough to eat. There was a picture of an eighteen year old soldier who had not been fed properly for several weeks. This picture was in the National Army Museum and all of his bones were visible. Many postcards from prisoners of war, sent to their families were also to be found.

Any postcard that was sent always said that they were well and that they shall be back soon. They did not see their families for several years and if the prisoners tried to write in code or wrote bad things about the way they were being treated, their postcards were censored.The prisoners were made to suffer nd the enemy often tortured many of the prisoners trying to get as much information as possible about the allied plans. I expected the experiences of soldiers in Burma and soldiers in Dover to be very different because of the location of each but as I did more research I came to see how wrong I was.

As you have read, weather conditions in countries on opposite sides of the world differed, but this was to be expected because of the different climates. However, experiences were quite similar for soldiers that were thousands of miles apart. In both parts of the world, conditions for fighting were terrible.The soldiers were made to live in slums during the war and eat horrible food. They were made to walk several miles a day wearing hundreds of pounds of clothing, and unfortunately all the equipment they had was necessary for the war. There was a difference in the form of entertainment, soldiers in Dover went to cinemas but in Burma the soldiers did not have access to cinemas so they went to concerts instead.

This, and the fact that Dover is a port so the soldiers there had the experience of seeing a lot more ship related things compared to those in Burma, are the only major ifferences.It was quite surprising how alike the experiences of those in Britain and those out of Britain were. All of the soldiers fighting in the war went through some amazing yet appalling experiences. Many of them have no choice but to keep their memories with them although some of them will remember some good times. Most of the information in this paragraph was taken from chapter 21 in Expanding World by Philip Sauvain.

The information in this paragraph and the next paragraph was taken from Shellfire Memories which is about World War Two reminiscences by those living in Dover.This paragraph also contains quotes from Shellfire Memories however, there is also information from the trip to the National Army Museum in this paragraph. The information in this paragraph comes from both the National Army Museum and the Battle of Britain Hall in the RAF museum. The evidence in this paragraph was taken from Shellfire Memories. The evidence in this paragraph was also taken from Shellfire Memories. Shellfire Memories was used for this paragraph but a little bit of information from the video ' The Era of the Second World War' that was watched in one lesson was also used.

Expanding World by Philip Sauvain was used for this paragraph. Discussion that took place in a lesson was also used. Some information in this paragraph was taken from the National Army Museum but some evidence from the Mentor Series: World War Two was also used. Information from the Mentor Series: World War Two was used in this paragraph to back up army training experiences. Information from the Mentor Series: World War Two was used in this paragraph to back up facts from the National Army Museum.

The information in this paragraph was in the presentation that took place in the National Army Museum.