World War One (Revised Edition)

Easy to rewrite history,
Now that they all are dead.
Dan Snow's the lead revisionist,
He'll rearrange our heads.

Forget contemporary accounts,
Replace with an all-new version,
That makes the generals into heroes
And dispels the harsh aspersions.

Dan Snow has tried to 'debunk' the 'myth' that our troops in WW1

were 'lions led by donkeys'. He uses the straw man technique, and

answers a charge other than the one that was made, i.e. he defends their

courage when it was their competence that has been impugned. He 

also asserts they had been 'trained to fight small colonial wars'.

Everyone had known for years that war in Europe was likely, as is

obvious from contemporary documents e.g. 'The Riddle of the Sands'.

The basic method of trench warfare had been invented during the 

American Civil War, as had iron-clad battleships and submarines.

There was no excuse for a lack of readiness.

The General - by Siegfried Sassoon 

Snow's revisionism