#also - and i find this super interesting - if scho was with the 8th from the very beginning in 1915

[softschofield]

your daily 1917 reminders ♡

when captain smith tells his men to collect schofield’s things, they also collect blake’s helmet and rifle and keep them. when they arrived at the front line, someone was probably using blake’s rifle

as they were being sent as reinforcements for the newfoundlands’ push, the convoy was almost certainly on its way to what would become the battle of arras (vimy ridge/the scarpe) three days later

all that lauri would have heard after schofield left the cellar was gunfire. she almost certainly thought he had been killed

when schofield gives blake’s two rings and identity tag to joe, they’re all there, but he still seems to pick something else out of the pile before handing them over. it’s likely he was picking out his wedding ring, meaning he kept blake’s rings in the same pocket

after escaping the collapsing mine, schofield tells blake to keep his eyes on the ridge line; a few minutes later, when they leave the woods and start towards the farmhouse, blake gives schofield the same order. behind him, schofield gives the tiniest smile, seemingly happy that blake is learning from him

when looking down at the farmhouse, schofield says “let’s hope so” and sounds completely terrified. blake gives him a firm, determined look and says “we have to be sure”, to which schofield nods. blake briefly took over the leadership role, and is just as much a strong, comforting presence for scho in a weak moment as scho is for him

when blake is framed by the farmhouse window, he’s standing in almost the exact place he’ll die a few minutes later. the dialogue in that moment is “anything?” “nothing.”

while schofield is strangling baumer, muller’s rambling is along the lines of “my god, baumer, this was a mistake. we should go back. maybe they won’t have noticed we’ve been gone.” it’s likely they had deserted and weren’t even supposed to be in ecoust in the first place

when lauri asks “where are the others?”, she’s hopeful that schofield was part of a british advance and that she was going to be rescued

there are multiple hints to blake’s overly trusting nature one day getting him killed: blake still trusts the army to feed him, schofield has learned to scrounge what he can; blake trusts erinmore and the officers to know what’s best for them, schofield has learned that officers get men killed and that you need to rely on your own instincts first; when they’re advancing towards the german front line along the rim of the crater, blake has his rifle lowered and useless, while schofield’s is always ready to fire; when they help the pilot from the plane and when they go to fetch water/stay with him, blake discards his rifle both times, while schofield always keeps his within easy access on his shoulder; blake keeps important things in the outer pockets of his webbing and trousers, while schofield keeps them tucked away where they’re safe. schofield had learned from experience to treat the world with distrust; blake hadn’t yet learned that lesson

ecoust and croisilles wood lie almost perfectly between blake and schofield’s trench system and thiepval. as they were heading south-east, schofield would have been getting closer to thiepval with every step. this underlying theme of being forced to confront the source of his trauma culminated when he had to willingly choose to go over the top into enemy artillery fire to save the devons

blake would have been buried in france, where his mother would most likely never get the chance to visit him

despite schofield’s wounds, he most likely wouldn’t earn wounded stripes for them, as they weren’t received in combat and could be classified as accidental

the poem that schofield recites to the baby, “the jumblies”, also contains the verse: “And every one said, who saw them go, / ‘O won’t they be soon upset, you know! / For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long, / And happen what may, it’s extremely wrong [...]” - this echoes the lyrics to a verse of “wayfaring stranger”: “i know dark clouds will gather round me, i know my way is hard and steep”

schofield and blake were part of the 8th battalion of the easy surrey regiment. in may 1917, the 8th fought in the third battle of the scarpe, part of the the battle of arras, meaning it’s possible schofield was reunited with whichever soldiers from the convoy had survived. they also fought during the german retreat to the hindenburg line, meaning he would have been sent back to the very place he stopped the devons’ attack. they would also go on to fight in flanders and passchendaele, and almost every major battle of the war. at the end of the war, they were in reserve at le cateau, 50 minutes from ecoust and croisilles wood

in may 1918, a german offensive took place that would become known as “the last stand of the 2nd devons”. already exhausted and severely depleted by the spring offensive, only 40 to 80 of around 600 men made it out alive. all 29 officers were killed or captured, meaning that even if joe survived as far as 1918, he most likely didn’t survive the final stand of his regiment. the 2nd devons were always doomed, and blake and schofield’s sacrifices were for nothing