Week 7 Story: Ashwatthaman and the Battle of the Bulge
Ashwatthaman and the Battle of the Bulge
Rama was entrenched in the forests of the Ardennes enduring the harsh winter. On the evening of December 16th 1944, Ashwatthaman spearheaded the American offensive and drove deep into the U.S.'s lines. Ashwatthaman planned a brutal attack to help gain back significant grounds. Ashwatthaman and his armored unit, the Ashwatt's, and 200,000 German troops snuck in over night and attacked Rama and the Pandavas Brigade along with a large number of U.S. forces. The Ashwatt's attacked Rama and his unit with great brutality. Disguising themselves as U.S. forces the Ashwatt's tricked the Pandavas' and slaughtered them in their sleep, leaving only a small handful behind. Ashwatthaman and his armor rolled into the U.S.'s lines even deeper drawing a boundary that gave the battle-line the appearance of a bulge. Rama retreated back with the remaining handful of his unit and regrouped at the back of the battle-lines still trying to process what had happened. Little did they know that with this brisk and relentless move and show of force by the Third Ravana, would be known as the battle of the bulge. This battle had just begun and would be the greatest offensive by the U.S. forces and would be the last major push by the Third Ravana.
Image from the Battle of the Bulge
Authors notes:
In this story I am combining a few elements to incorporate into my Story Board. My story board is telling the story or Rama through WWII, a topic that I am interested in. I am using a mix of the Mahabhrata and the Ramayana to build into my story. So you will see some elements of Ashwatthaman and the Night Raid and other elements from the Ramayana.
Bibliography:
The Battle of the Bulge, by History.com editors, Histroy.com
The integration of two such completely different events, time period, and contexts is so interesting! It's a big task to tackle, but you approach it well. I think your story could benefit from being a little longer--more details might help the reader to wrap their head around how exactly the different events all fit in. Also, maybe including more about the historical context in your Author's Note? I know I personally don't know very much about the Night Raid.
ReplyDeleteHi, David! I think you do a really great job of capturing the war feeling. I was surprised to find that your story included characters from both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. I haven’t read a story yet that involves both of the Indian Epics. I think this was the perfect setting to do so! Overall, I think you did a really nice job with the story, and I really enjoyed the contrast of topics!
ReplyDeleteHey David! I really enjoyed your story. It was interesting to read what seemed like factual information about World War II while relaying information about both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. One recommendation I have for you is it might be helpful to the story to give a little bit of a backstory for each character. I know I read your storybook a week or two ago, and I think I remember something of a character introduction. If Rama is based on a real military figure, it'd be interesting to hear that!
ReplyDeleteHi David, I'm coming here after reading your most recent story and am now interested in seeing your storybook! The World War II theme works out fantastically and provides an entertaining and easily digestible read! I would think it would be hard to remain true to the original stories when you're shifting the theme so much, but you do an excellent job of maintaining the integrity of the story's main plot! I can't wait to see how your storybook turns out, great job!
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