Tag Archive for: "France"
Fromelles: an Australian tragedy

The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) proved fortunate in being spared the first day of fighting on 1 July, 1916 as the British Army attacked the Somme in northern France. That first day of the Somme …

Remembering the Battle of the Somme

The recent commemoration ceremonies in Britain and France on 1 July marked the 100th anniversary of the worst military disaster in British history. On that day in 1916, a large force of 13 British divisions …

Reconciling with Sykes-Picot

This month marks the centenary of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the secret British-French accord that launched a decade-long series of adjustments to the borders of the post-Ottoman Middle East. Most commentary on the anniversary has been …

Sykes-Picot at 100 (part 2)

Before toppling Saddam Hussein in 2003, much of the west backed the Iraqi dictator during the 1980–88 war against Iran. Iraq’s Shia majority fought against their coreligionists in the Shia Islamic Republic during that war. …