Forum:
I want to get things going in this group (because I want to see this group succeed) and I thought I would do that by introducing one of my favorite bands. They are a Swedish heavy metal/power metal band called Sabaton. The band's main lyrical themes are based on war, historical battles and acts of heroism.
Their music isn't limited to the stories and events of any one nation either, which is why I love them. It's kind of like when you're being tossed around in a mosh pit and you see someone fall. Nothing else matters at that moment other than they're a fellow human and they're in trouble, so you pick them up. They see their fellow humans that have fallen and couldn't be picked up, so they tell their stories to the world in the hopes they won't be forgotten.
So in the spirit of that, I would like to once every couple of weeks or so, share one of Sabaton's songs and the story that inspired it. Come back once every other week or so and fall in love with a new band (or a current one if you're already a fan), watch a cool music video and learn a little bit about out world's history.
The one I'd like to start off with is called "The Lost Batallion" off of the album 'The Last Stand'.
"The Lost Battalion is the name given to the nine companies of the US 77th Division, roughly 554 men, isolated by German forces during World War I after an American attack in the Argonne Forest in October 1918. Roughly 197 were killed in action and approximately 150 missing or taken prisoner before the 194 remaining men were rescued. They were led by Major Charles W. Whittlesey. On 2 October, the 77th launched an attack into the Argonne, under the belief that French forces were supporting their left flank and two American units including the 92nd Infantry Division were supporting their right. Within the 77th sector some units including Whittlesey's 1-308th Infantry were making significant headway. Unknown to Whittlesey's unit, the units to their left and right had been stalled. Without this knowledge, the units that would become known as the Lost Battalion moved beyond the rest of the Allied line and found themselves surrounded by German forces. For the next six days, suffering heavy losses, the men of the Lost Battalion and the American units desperate to relieve them would fight an intense battle in the Argonne Forest.
"The battalion suffered many hardships. Food was scarce and water was available only by crawling, under fire, to a nearby stream. Ammunition ran low. Communications were also a problem, and at times they would be bombarded by shells from their own artillery. Attempts to resupply the battalion by airdrop failed, with all the supplies going off target, either getting lost in the woods or falling into German hands. As every runner dispatched by Whittlesey either became lost or ran into German patrols, carrier pigeons became the only method of communicating with headquarters. In an infamous incident on 4 October, inaccurate coordinates were delivered by one of the pigeons and the unit was subjected to friendly fire. The unit was saved by another pigeon, Cher Ami, delivering the following message:
'We are along the road paralell 276.4. Our artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heavens sake stop it.'
"Despite this, they held their ground and caused enough of a distraction for other Allied units to break through the German lines, which forced the Germans to retreat.
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