Blackadder Goes Forth is a comedy series
It’s 1917 and Blackadder is now a captain in the British Army at the Front, commanding gallant-but-dumb Lieutenant George St. Barleigh and the even dumber Private Baldrick.
The reason why Blackadder Goes Forth is so useful to historians studying the First world war is because of the different views it shows, it shows that there would be some soldiers who do not want to fight and want to get away (from the trenches) as quickly as possible and it also shows there would be some soldiers who want to fight and just can’t wait to go ‘over the top’.
Blackadder Goes Forth is also useful to historians because it shows the darker, satirical edge to the First World War which could provide the historians with useful information as they would be able to use the evidence they have currently to the one which is being portrayed by the series. The series also referenced a number to a number of famous figures at that time which would also give the historians useful information as they would be able to research on the person and maybe find out interesting information on him.
Blackadder Goes Forth also seemed to portray an anti-war message. It also tells us about the nature of war, its origins and the effects of the soldiers who suffered over its course.
The Essay on The Forgotten Soldier
In a variety of ways, ranging from the popular movie Glory, to a planned memorial in Washington, D.C., African-American soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War have begun to receive the praise and recognition they have long deserved. But there were other African-Americans who fought in the Civil War who have been largely forgotten -- those who fought on the side of the Confederacy. ...
“…actually, all the lead up to the first world war was very funny, all the people coming from communities where they’d never bumped into posh people…and all being so gung ho and optimistic…the first hundred pages of any book about the world war are hilarious, then of course everybody dies.”
One of the famous figures whom were portrayed in Blackadder Goes Forth was Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, whose orders are alleged to have resulted in hundreds of thousands of British deaths particularly in the battle of the Somme. In Blackadder, Sir Douglas Haig continually referenced and criticised by the characters. Blackadder himself describes Haig’s attempts at an advance as no more than “another huge effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin”, his master plans as “everyone climbing out their trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy” which he claims is to be repeated “until everyone is dead except for Field Marshall Haig, Lady Haig
