This is the second largest country in the world, and yet there is little mention of her in the media. Unless one of Canada’s great cities holds an Olympic Games, as did Montreal, you never hear about Canada. The same situation abounds with the two great islands of New Zealand. The reason for this lack of newsworthyness is probably that Canada (and New Zealand) are very well governed, exceedingly rich, and both are willing members of the Commonwealth of Nations. (more…)
Though more people travel regularly by air than ever before; while international airports spring up at vast cost though not required (Spain has recently built two particularly pungent examples of this kind of wastage – the new airports at Ciudad Real and on the island of La Gomera – both airports entertaining virtually no air traffic at all); although air travel is considered probably rightly as the safest form of travel; though London/New York (6000 miles) can be achieved effortlessly (it’s the aircraft I’m talking about, not the passengers) in not much more than 6½ hours . . . why the Devil does air travel have to be so uncomfortable, so inefficient (at the airports), so people-unfriendly, so disgustingly unhygienic, so time-wasting (at the airports), so unpredictable, and above all so DISHONEST? (more…)
Continuing our series on important military leaders from the 1939-1945 war, we briefly examine the careers of two very well-known names from North America – Marshall and Patton. Actors played them both in many Hollywood films. General Marshall appears in an opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan (q.v.), and George C. Scott memorably portrayed Patton in the film of that name (1970).
George C. Marshal / history.com
George Catlett Marshall was born in 1880. He managed to become not only a distinguished soldier, but combined his military experience with that of a statesman, by no means an easy task. He had no career other than a soldier’s, rising rapidly through the ranks after West Point to become US Chief of Staff in 1939. In fact he stayed in that post until 1945. (more…)
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…)
Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt / en.wikipedia.com
These three German generals were all born in the 19th 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…)
University students and high school seniors always come across these two words ‘Carolingian’ and ‘Caroline’ – the latter in reference to some remote islands – not to Queen Caroline of Somewhere. Let us delve a bit and find out more about both.
The Carolingian Empire refers to a mass of territories in Western Europe, ruled by the family of Charlemagne (q.v.) who lived from 768 – 814. Believe it or not the word ‘Carolingian’ derives from Charlemagne, and the complete phrase refers to a dynasty.
Ancestors of Charlemagne, Frankish aristocrats all, fought their way to supreme power under the Merovingian Kings – and from this we discover the origin of the term ‘Carolingian’. It was Charlemagne’s father Pepin III (son of Charles Martel q.v. and also known as ‘The Short’ who deposed the last of the Merovingians, Childeric III. (more…)
In the latter part of the nineteenth century the words Indo-China did not mean much to the average European. Map draughtsmen knew the word was applied (by the French) to five dependencies in south-east Asia from 1887. In fact the word stayed until 1954. (more…)
Last moments for George Custer at the Little Big Horn / manataka.org
George Custer was a general in the US army who shouldn’t have been. He was brave but incapable of making a quick decision; he had high political ambitions, but disagreeable in society, holding the opinion that no one else’s should be attended to; his sense of timing was bad; at the time of Little Big Horn he was only thirty-seven years old. His war record in the Civil War was exellent, and he had served in it with some distinction. Ten horses had been shot under him. His impulsive disposition led to a Court Martial in 1867, but Sheridan got him re-instated. (more…)
Three enormous ocean liners, built well before the Second War when trans-Atlantic travel was best made by sea, not by air, suffered ends which none of them deserved. They were Lusitania, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. All were British, though Lusitania’s strong association with the United States was in the end (partly) instrumental in bringing America into the First or Great War. (more…)
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…)