Adam Phillips, a British psychoanalyst, thinks the world would be a better place if more people gave up. “Giving up," he writes, “which is in everybody’s repertoire, should be taught
Rows of rails for anti-tank protection follow the Maginot Line in France. Walter Sanders/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
World War I absolutely devastated France. Of the roughly 8.5 million French soldiers mobilized in 1914 to fight Germany and the other Central Powers, more than 6 million became casualties, either killed, wounded or declared missing during four years of grueling trench warfare.
In the wake of that catastrophic war, the French government vowed to protect its vulnerable northeast border with Germany from any future attacks. With fresh memories of fighting and living in squalid, open-air trenches, the French spent a decade building a 300-mile (482-kilometer) series of underground fortifications that would be both impenetrable and comfortable to live in. Behind an imposing line of pop-up gun turrets, tank traps and 12-foot (3.6-meter) concrete walls were fully equipped subterranean military bases complete with mess halls, hospitals, recreation
Battle of the Somme During World War I: 1,200,000 Dead
The Battle of the Somme, fought July 1 through November 1, 1916, resulted in more than 1.2 million men killed, wounded, or captured.
Here s What You Need To Remember: The British advance was preceded by a massive artillery barrage; British troops were told that there would be little fighting, as most of the Germans would simply be dead. Of course, this wasn t true.
In February 1916, Allied military leaders met at Chantilly, in the Picardy region of France to discuss grand strategy as World War I entered its second full year. British and French commanders agreed to undertake a joint offensive against the Germans in the West, and the area of the Somme River in northern France was chosen.