Remembrance

Politicos have historically committed their young men to battle in order to address a perceived wrong or to fulfill a desire for conquest. Until the religious wars of 16th and 17th centuries, however, these wars pitted soldier against soldier, led by their king—and so the ensuing damage was more to human bodies and less to property. The spoils of war had value that a common soldier lacked. (Yes there were exceptions: the Romans not only destroyed the city of Carthage, but also sowed salt into their fields; the Golden Horde’s rampage across Asia Minor destroyed many a great city.) It was the destruction of farms, fields and vineyards in the German states during the Thirty Years’ War, however, that set the tone for indiscriminate destruction in future conflicts.

In the War to End All Wars (which of course it wasn’t), major battles were fought across some of the most important wine regions of France such as Champagne, Lorraine, Alsace and, to a lesser extent, Burgundy. In Italy, the vineyards of Veneto and Alto Adige were also major areas of conflict. World War II had a different set of problems for the French (and indeed all European vineyards) since chemical sprays, used to control pests and mildews, were unavailable due to the needs of the industrial war machine.

While an army “marches on its stomach”, sometimes the addition of a beverage was required to endure the incomprehensible horrors of war. A half-litre ration of wine, cider, beer or brandy was given to French forces after September 1914, to sustain the morale within the maelstrom that was trench warfare. Similar liquid incentives were offered to other armed forces, such as the rum ration to the sailors of the British Navy, or the vodka allowance to the Soviet armies.

On November 8, I paid a visit to Irish National War Memorial Gardens located in Islandbridge. An oasis of tranquility and reflection, the garden pays tribute to the Irishmen who made the ultimate sacrifice in the conflicts of WWI and WW2. Unionists and Nationalists forgot their differences and volunteered for service, even though service was not mandatory in Ireland. In excess of 300,000 men volunteered and served alongside the Allied Forces in France at the battles of the Somme and Ypres and also with the ANZAC forces in the charnel fields of Gallipoli. Of the volunteers, more than 49,000 died on those disparate fields of combat, representing almost 16 per cent of those who stood to serve.

And so on this rainy day, in this tranquil garden overlooking the River Liffey, I stand, I remember, and I pay tribute to the warriors of my nation—and indeed all warriors—who died in the service of their country.