Lions Led by Donkeys?Lions Led by Donkeys?

By Mr RJ Huggins

2006

V

Q3

Lesson Objectives

Discuss the ‘reliability’ of comedy as historical evidence.

Analyse two different types of comedy, a film clip and a cartoon about the Battle of the Somme and General Haig.

Finally, make a judgement about whether these two sources are useful to an historian.

How reliable is comedy as historical evidence?

Comedy

Ever a true word said in

jest!

Satire and irony canbe very effective

criticism

In order to get people to laugh, you

have to exaggeratethe truth!

People who can't talk openly because of

censorship, often do so through jokes

You can learn a lot from comedy

& jokes about peoples attitudes

Jokes often have hidden

meanings!

2 minutes to jot down

some ideas

Blackadder Goes Forth, 1991

What can we learn from this source about how many people viewed Haig’s tactics in 1991?

How accurate is Blackadder?

The following sources are extracts taken from letters written by soldiers who witnessed the shelling of the German trenches before the Battle of the Somme in July1916.

What can we learn from these sources about how accurate Lieutenant George’s view was of how soldiers viewed Haig’s before the Battle of the Somme?

Source 1: Private Williams‘We saw the bombardment the Germans were getting. We thought it was a chance of getting our own back. Everyone was wildly enthusiastic. Far less men went on sick

parade. Nobody wanted to miss the fight.’

Source 2: Lieutenant John Parker‘We couldn't speak, but it was an amazing show. We stood behind the lines and watched the giant fireworks in the darkness. No one could live through that.’

What evidence is therein these two sources to support Lieutenant George’s view of General Haig’s tactics?

How accurate was Captain Blackadder?

The popular image of Haig in the Comedy series Blackadder, 1991

Positive: Lieutenant George Negative: Captain Blackadder

Looking forward to going over the top and giving the Germans ‘a darn good

thrashing.’

Suggests that he expects Haig’s tactics will be successful.

Sees Haig as an uncaring arm chair warrior who doesn’t care about how many men he sacrifices to: ‘more his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin.’

Blackadder expects that Haig’s tactics will be a disaster when he says: ‘You mean are we all going to get killed?’Lieutenant George is presented

throughout the TV series as an over optimistic, fool ….

What is the message of this source?

Source E

It appeared in a political

magazine called Punch,

Feb 1917

The ‘General’ looks like Haig it’s a

caricatureDoes not directly

mention or criticise Haig

The caption ‘The absence of the General Sir’

shows that people were beginning to criticise Haig

It’s a cartoon so it is designed to exaggerate the truth in order to get

people to laugh.

Over 150 British Generals

were either killed or

captured during the FWW

OCR Question 3

Study Sources D & E. ‘These two sources are not about General Haig

and the Battle of the Somme.’ How far do you agree that these sources have no

use to an historian studying Haig and the Battle of the Somme?

Mark Scheme