Posted on 12/06/2015 5:02:49 PM PST by PotatoHeadMick
Nope, nobody is, never claimed we were. I am sorry you met some idiots, most British and Irish really like America and Americans. You have the chip on the shoulder leftwing Americanophobes though. Frankly, they hate their own country as well.
You are clearly no fool, yet come out with comments like fighting as little as possible. You know the history, so you know comments like that are nonsense.
Jumping right in to European abatoirs created by the politicians from every last participating country? No, we were too busy burning crosses, haven't you heard? Or said it yourself? Up yours.
Well I agree with that. Apply that to the race issue. It never included everyone either.
In general, it seems to me Americans like Brits better than Brits like Americans. I think it is the accent that charms us so. LOL.
The Brits were mad at Americans over money and the ability to have sex with their women for more than a minute
The famine wasn’t an isolated event for one year only; there was plenty of opportunity for “charities” to send food. The fact is that England wanted the land cleared of poor tenant farmers (rent was paid in crops), and the potato failure (during which time England actually imported potatoes from Ireland) was a perfect pretense to throw the tenant farmers off the land.
“The rapid collapse of France in 1940 is often attributed to that previous lost generation.”
France still had plenty of people, but few that believed Hitler was worse than Stalin. The atrocities in Ukraine and Spain were known by the time WWII started, and French Catholics saw little reason to oppose the only people who were vehemently anti-communist: Germany.
Actually I think Patton deserved the hype. I also thought Montgomery was far better than history gives him credit.
I once saw an interview of one of the top German general who was in a prison in Britain at the time.
He thought Patton and Montgomery were the best and I bet he knew.
“It can’t compare with the blanket statement above — that the entire US armed forces was made up of racists”
I made no such statement. I posted an article and I did so specifically without comment.
So, with respect, up yours too.
you have any links to descriptions of this?
I think Patton was vastly overrated. Great man-manager, but tactically poor. Close examination of his campaigns and you see several tactical/strategic errors. There are several US generals that deserve more praise: Collins, Patch, Hodges etc.
Monty has been over-criticised by American historians, he was a skilful general, but too cautious at times. The irony is that he WASNT too cautious in Normandy, but that’s the example always given. The historias who criticise his Normandy campaign ignore what he and the Anglo-Can forces actually had to defeat. The best British generals of WW2 were Slim and Wingate. Auchinleck and Alexander probably deserve more credit.
As to THE best, imo you have to look at Zhukov and the great German generals. No allied general in the west to be honest came close to Manstein, Rommel, Model, Guderian.....
Bookmarking for never.
I learned of it during a conversation with an extremely well read Scot who grew up in England. We were discussing World War II (I am writing a book) and he gave me a several leads which proved beneficial. I have no reason to question his word. As it was outside the scope of my book I never pursued his comment with research. Since he now lives in Australia, I would assume he knows what he is talking about.
Why aren’t the Arabs identified with the slave trade? They did far more damage to Africa than America has.
Strongly disagree with regards to Patton, who was the best. Can’t say the same for the strutting little poppycock Montgomery.
See my reply to yarddog.
America’s official entry into the European Theatre was Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa in November of 1942.
Germany was trying to destroy our aid to Britain early in 1942 with their Operation Drumbeat, a massacre by their U Boats of our shipping which was at its height in February, but was practically over by July when we finally got our act together and started using convoys.
The lend lease program was Roosevelt’s way of aiding Britain before we officially got into the act.
I can’t agree with your analysis.
Briefly, the French believed the line of Forts they had been building for years were impregnable, so I’d call it the Maginot Safety Syndrome. In fact, they were extremely difficult to overcome and provided a strong defense in certain areas, however the Germans simply went around the line and through where the line had not been completed. Thionville and Metz are unbelievably fortified with dozens of forts protecting the Lorraine region.
The Germans attacked with an entirely new tactic, the Blitzkrieg which rapidly rolled through whatever stood in its way. The mounted cavalry, once considered a great fighting force was wiped out in Poland and subsequently France. No horse or even armored vehicle can stand against a tank.
France had lost the Flower of its youth in W.W. I, only twenty years earlier and sustained enormous losses in the Spanish Flu epidemic as well. It had not yet recovered.
The great hero of France, Petain, an old and some say senile man was persuaded that he could save France from destruction by working with a benevolent Germany. The Vichy government, filled with German sympathizers, led the old man to terrible decisions and the French people were betrayed.
The French were disarmed! It was not until the Americans and Brits began arming them that they had the wherewithal to fight. Nevertheless, they began underground movements all over France and prepared to aid the Allies when they came.
The French people were definitely not German sympathizers as you seem to believe. I’ll warrant there were more German sympathizers in England and America than in France.
Many French Catholics in certain parts of the country were Communist sympathizers and indeed, the man known as the First Maquisard of France, Georges Guingouin, was a Communist school teacher. He led the Maquis of Limousin and succeeded in liberating the city of Limoges, among many operations against the Bosch.
This is well known, the excellent book by historian David Reynolds on Anglo-American relations 1942-1945 has a superb and revealing chapter on this. And I know of a couple of other books by black British historians on the subject.
There is a famous anecdote where an old man was asked what he thought of the Americans, to which he replied he thought they were great, he didn’t like the white men they brought with them though. LOL
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