Absolutely fascinating. Journalists were so good then. Factual reporting without excessive editorial comments like mine. Thanks for post.
About now the fate of the French fleet comes into bitterly sharp focus.
If it had stayed in (fighting) allied hands, then the North African campaign would have been a great deal easier - Italy’s fleet would have been bottled up with more capacity to spare. The Med would have become an English lake, though German air power would still have been a formidable problem. The Afrika Korps might never have established any kind of foothold in North Africa.
Also Singapore would have been far more secure. All those extra battleships, and suddenly the early war in the pacific might have had a different character. Japan might have ‘gone north’ instead, Russia would have fallen and the whole world be different today.
All depending on the fate of the French fleet.
As it was, the fleet had to be sunk. If the Germans had taken it intact, then the war would have been over in weeks.
thanks. intersting short piece on the role of governemnt in industry and prices. amazing how not much has changed..for the better.
Two minor items from today’s news or interesting. First, the main organization of Indian Muslims, apparently not seeing itself first and foremost as part of the larger Umma, pledges to do their part as subjects of the British Empire. Second, a history of Tours doesn’t even see any need to mention Charles Martel, who looms so large in the thoughts of many these days. How quickly things can turn.