Posted on 10/29/2009 3:49:54 AM PDT by Ravnagora
Thank-you for remembering our heroes, my brother! May their memory be eternal!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDTVFbTHB5w&feature=related
I didn’t know all that...thanks for the post!
As someone whose grandfather fought under Mussolini in North Africa, let me wish all the Greek FReepers a happy OXI day.
The ouzo’s on me!
You're welcome! A great Greek friend of the Serbs brought this to my attention. I was not aware of this history, and am very glad that I now am.
The Orthodox Christians contributed much more to the history of the free world than the free world knows.
Rav.
*****
Great post! Thanks!
And the British carve up Cypress in return. Thank you.
I believe a true and accurate statement. Germany was within a few miles of Moscow when the winter hit. If they had even another month it is likely Moscow would have fallen. Given the extreme centralization of Soviet government in Moscow, this would likely have knocked the USSR out of the war.
With the USSR out of the picture, liberating Europe would have been MUCH tougher for the remaining Allies. Quite likely impossible without using nukes. Which we would have eventually done.
Cyprus. You mean Cyprus.
Yes the evil British set up the Ottoman empire, had it invade Cyprus in the 16th century and so set up two mutually hostile ethnic and cultural groups on the island. We do that stuff in our sleep.
The truth is: Britain destroyed the Ottoman Empire pretty much single handed - it’s only because of us that there is even a Greek-Cypriot administered area of Cyprus today.
Don’t get me wrong: the Turks shouldn’t be running any part of Cyprus. The Turkish invasion in the 1970’s was and remains completely immoral.
But the fact that NATO and the United States - not Britain, but NATO and the United States - did nothing about it was to do with the deadly danger of splitting NATO in the face of the Soviet Union. The division of Cyprus was one more concession forced on the Free World by the fight against Communism.
Thanks for the post, I did not know that. Another reason to love Greece and her wonderful people...esp a certain couple....you know who you are!!!! ;)
The truth is: Britain destroyed the Ottoman Empire pretty much single handed...
Can you please elaborate on this? Are you talking about the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, or something else?
I was under the impression that other countries and "groups" were instrumental in 'destroying the Ottoman Empire', one of those being the Serbs.
*****
In 1878 the Russians tried to create a "big Bulgaria" including Macedonia, but were thwarted by the British. The short-term result was that a part of the Balkans had to suffer under Ottoman rule for several more decades. In the long run Greece benefited because they ended up with Thessalonica and a large part of Macedonia which otherwise might now belong to Bulgaria.
The spelling oxi is misleading for English-speakers--the X is not the English "x" sound but the letter chi (pronounced like "kh" in Khrushchev). "Okhi Day" would be a better transliteration.
OXI! - a word that resonates in history. As important as Constantine XI Palaeologos standing at the ramparts to fight to the last against the barbaric hordes in 1453.
Thank you my fellow Byzantine for remembering this day.
Efharisto Hellas!
I don't buy that, Stalin stayed in Moscow, but most of the command structure and industrial capacity had already been relocated past the Urals.
Very interesting. Thank you.
Britain destroyed the Ottoman Empire pretty much single handed
Lots of Laughter being heard by all heroes up there who died defending freedom and Christianity and destroying the Muslim Turks while the Brits were busy expanding colonial empires and welcoming the Turks to the family of Empire.
And the OW is still playing games with Christians in the Balkans.
That’s the problem with counterfactuals. No way to test the competing theories. Had Moscow fallen, it would also have been a huge blow to Soviet morale and boost to that of the Germans and their allies, who were not inconsequential at this point in the war.
BTW, in my opinion it was the Nazi racial theories that really lost them the war. When the Germans invaded USSR, many of the non-Russian and even a lot of Russians were more than willing to actually fight for the Germans, given the horrible atrocities inflicted on them by 20 years of Communism.
Then they found out that, at least for Slavs and other subhumans, the Nazis were even worse than the Commies, and support for Stalin got a new lease on life.
Imagine had Hitler occupied Russia in the way that France was occupied, Russia could be a puppet state, but the people were treated decently for the most part unless they caused trouble.
What a difference that could have made. Then once the Red Army was vanquished, Hitler could do with the population whatever he wanted.
One of the ways to win a war is to make it easy for your enemy to surrender.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.