Sunday, January 01, 2006

World War I - Mutinies
First World War poets are taught in schools and are often cited in books and journals as a way of explaining the horror of war and to demonstrate that those engaged in the fighting recognised the real nature of the mass slaughter that took place - but it is always presented as a passive recognition - the private thoughts of individual soldiers. Yet there have been many occasions when soldiers and sailors have taken collective action, recognising that their shared common interest outweighed the ruling class myth of King and Country. Many years ago Dave Lamb wrote a marvellous pamphlet entitled Mutinies outlining some of the soldiers' rebellions that took place during World War I. The text has just been placed online on the Libcom website. Short but essential reading.
http://libcom.org/library/mutinies-dave-lamb-solidarity