French History – Page 21 – General History

Fabled motorcars: a personal reminiscence

Now in 2012, they would be called ‘jalopies’, or ‘old crocks’, but in their epoch, some of the motorcars I have met driven were notoriously expensive, fast and comfortable. Some of the companies that made these treasures have gone bankrupt; two were swallowed by German groups which have maintained name and quality and even added some. BMW and Mercedes-Benz have full order books. Jaguar went through a shaky period owned by the Ford Motor Company, but has recovered its Englishness. The order book is full there too.

My first fabulous car was a Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn (1952) owned by Kenneth Horne, a member of the governing board at my school. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-04-26T10:17:36+00:00 April 26th, 2012|English History, French History, German History, Today, World History|0 Comments

Appeasers and Opposers

Before the Second War a number of leading politicians and prominent people in society in Europe might have been suspicious of Hitler’s intentions, but preferred to come to terms with him, if they could. These were the Appeasers. They include Britain’s Prime Minister at the time, Neville Chamberlain, and his French colleague Edouard Daladier. But in Britain there were also Opposers, those who actively opposed the idea of going to war with Hitler at all.

The German Chancellor’s demands, made principally between 1936 and 1939, were exorbitant, and fuelled by his need for revenge against the Powers which had sentenced Germany to pay for the First World War, bringing about massive inflation and loss of national pride. The Appeasers seemed willing to accede to Hitler’s demands, much to the fury of Winston Churchill, a leading opponent of appeasement. For this stance he was (and still is), accused of warmongering. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-04-13T11:03:57+00:00 April 13th, 2012|Czech History, English History, French History, German History, Italian History, US History, World History|0 Comments

Guderian, Keitel & von Rundstedt: II World War generals

Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt / en.wikipedia.com

These three German generals were all born in the 19^th century. The first named in the title was probably the greatest tank commander the world has seen; certainly the professional-Greek columnist columnist Taki insists he was. Keitel ran a risk the other two avoided: he became a leading member of the National Socialist Party and was in fact an organiser within it. As a not particularly inventive or successful serving soldier this was unwise, and he must have regretted his Nazism when accused of massive war crime at the Nuremberg Trials. Neither Guderian nor von Rundstedt were admirers of Nazi excesses or Hitler. Rundstedt famously said (in Paris) “I refuse to go to Berlin to talk to that Bavarian corporal . . .” (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-04-12T12:21:28+00:00 April 12th, 2012|French History, German History, Russian history, US History, World History|0 Comments

Henry IV (of England) & Henry IV (of Navarre)

There are two hundred years between these two notable monarchs, and we will look at the English one first. Both are important in history, over-balanced by ambition, bothered by religion, and chased by bad luck.

Henry (Bolingbroke) IV of England / en.wikipedia.org

Henry of Bolingbroke, I Duke of Hereford, II Duke of Lancaster was born the only legitimate son of John of Gaunt (q.v.) in 1366. Gaunt, I Duke of Lancaster, was the second son of Edward III. His elder brother was known as the Black Prince, who died before he could become king.

Bolingbroke was roughly thirty years old when King Richard II (grandson of Edward III) banished him from the realm for reasons best known to this slightly deranged young man. If Bolingbroke had not been banished, he would have inherited the really vast estates left by his father at his death in 1399. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-04-11T07:29:30+00:00 April 11th, 2012|English History, French History, Spanish History, World History|0 Comments

The Sun King

The Sun King / biography.com

Louis the Fourteenth (XIV) was the King of France for seventy-two years, from 1643 to 1715. He is the great monarch who still startles lighter-minded history students by his best-known quote; “Après moi, le deluge”. He was quite right. The Flood in the form of wars, famine, bloodshed, the French Revolution (q.v.) – all kinds of unrest, came after him. It would not be unfair to state that most if not all of these could have been avoided if Louis had been a different kind of king. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-03-27T19:19:30+00:00 March 27th, 2012|Dutch History, French History, Today|0 Comments

French kings after the Revolution

Careless students of history may forget that the monarchy of France did not end with the execution of Louis XVI, last King of France before the Revolution (q.v.). There were three more to reign before the Presidency. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2025-05-20T20:49:55+00:00 March 22nd, 2012|English History, French History|1 Comment

What happened to Napoleon’s Marshals?

Murat shot after Waterloo / executedtoday.com

Murat shot (by the French) after Waterloo / executedtoday.com

To reach the rank of Marshal in the French army before the Revolution (q.v.) was the highest achievement for a soldier. After the Revolution however, the rank was dismissed as ‘elitist’, only to be re-installed again in 1804 by Napoleon Bonaparte. It is said Bonaparte did this in an attempt to re-construct a system of honours (which was elitist) in France. The Emperor appointed 26 Marshals between 1804 and 1815. Where two of them are especially of interest to General – History, I have formed brief biographies. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-03-19T11:36:28+00:00 March 19th, 2012|French History, Italian History, Russian history, Spanish History, World History|0 Comments

The Normandy Landings & the Invasion

British and Commonwealth troops at Gold beach / paranormalknowledge.com

Until Mr Spielberg thought about a soldier with 3 dead brothers called Ryan there had been a number of films made about the Allied invasion through France which eventually, painfully slowly, brought World War II to a jagged end. One of these was a sort of ‘combined ops’ made in 1962, only eighteen years after the event. Hollywood contributed not a few stars and the money; Britain, France and Germany several more fine actors and the technical advisers. The final product was called The Longest Day. The finished movie used a lot of actual film shot during the Landings, an idea that provided a genuine feel, as well as horror. Above all, The Longest Day emphasised the undoubted fact that the Normandy Landings of June 1944 were a result of a brave attempt at co-ordination between the Allies – not an easy task when most generals from whatever nation can behave like a bad-tempered chorus of prima donnas and ballerinas. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-03-15T11:43:47+00:00 March 15th, 2012|English History, French History, German History, Russian history, US History, World History|1 Comment

Two sad, unlucky men: Alfonso XIII & the Duc d’Enghien

The execution of the Duke / albert-fagioli.blogg.org

Alfonso was born in 1896 and was King of Spain from that day, until 1933. His father, XII of that name, had died before the son was born. His mother, a melancholy lady called Maria Cristina was made Regent until the boy’s 16^th birthday.

Throughout Alfonso XIII’s reign there was trouble; the anarchists had found a wonderful country in which to molest the normal life. Spain was mostly desert lonely but beautiful beaches, mountains and valleys, with underpopulated villages and hamlets (where bandits hid), negligently policed cities and of course the permanent dissaffection shown by the Basque Country, Galicia and (worst of all) Cataluña towards the capital, Madrid. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-03-13T17:31:07+00:00 March 13th, 2012|French History, Spanish History, World History|0 Comments

Two World War II soldiers: Alexander & Montgomery

Many generals co-operate or fight against each other, not always on opposing sides. Almost all the Second War generals and field marshals on both the Axis side or in the Allies actually knew each other, some reasonably well, because they had coincided at some military college or other. Sandhurst, St. Cyr, and even West Point trained and entertained future generals as officer cadets from Germany, France, Italy, Britain, her Commonwealth, and the United States. Here we take a brief look at two of the most important Generals in the War, later made Field Marshals. Neither was famous for enjoying good humour or any company other than their own; both were immensely ambitious, both were driven by the Furies that inspire War. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2018-04-26T09:44:13+00:00 March 12th, 2012|English History, French History, German History, History of India, World History|1 Comment