I recently found out that the version of "In Flander's Fields" that was published, became famous and is the version we all know, is not exactly how it was written. If you have ever wondered how "poppies blow" you are right in noticing that it doesn't really make sense. It does make sense as it was originally written because the first line is supposed to read "poppies grow." That is something that poppies actually do and that first line also reads better because "grow" is a stress point while "blow" is a weak way to end the line.
You left out one essential detail in the first stanza. His admiration of the larks as they had the guts to fly and sing about no man's land. It shows just how dangerous and awful things were in those places. So awful that you have a soldier admiring the bravery of something as small as a lark.
4:55 the First World War was not fought over fascism, it was started by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and because of back room alliances, escalated into The Great War. It is a call of duty to defeat the enemy but it was of a national pride and to fight the good fight mentality. Germany, Austro-Hungary, and the Ottoman empires were all still ruled by Emperors. Fascism wasn’t created until 1919, after the First World War by Mussolini and saw fame with dictators of the Interwar Period.
