Form at a Glance. WW1, H.M. Bateman cartoon

"Form at a Glance:
THE VISITOR: What's his trouble?
THE ASYLUM DOCTOR: Oh; he's trying to calculate how many times "Form fours!" has been ordered since the war broke out!"
This cartoon by H.M. Bateman comments on the endless attritional warfare on the Western Front, as many had initially expected the War to be over by Christmas 1914. The mathematician in the foreground has seemingly been driven mad trying to work out how many times the soldiers have been ordered to "Form fours!" (a call made by officers for soldiers to join ranks) since the war started two years earlier. Unfortunately for Bateman, it would be another two and a half years before the fighting actually stopped

Asylum Bateman Calculate Fours Glance Insane Mathematician

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