Posted on 11/07/2018 9:38:55 AM PST by BenLurkin
The French president has said it is “legitimate” to pay tribute to Marshal Philippe Pétain, who led the French army to victory in the first world war but decades later collaborated with Nazi Germany.
Emmanuel Macron’s plan to honour Pétain alongside seven other French marshals who directed military campaigns during the first world war, which ended 100 years ago on 11 November, has unleashed criticism from Jewish groups, political opponents and on social media.
Pétain was promoted to commander-in-chief of the French armies in mid-1917, after victory at Verdun, rebuilding troop morale after a series of mutinies and other setbacks.
…
After the war, Pétain was sentenced to death for treason, though President Charles de Gaulle, a longtime admirer of Pétain, reduced the punishment to life in prison.
Pétain died in prison in 1951 aged 95.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
“victory” in WWI amounted to slaughtering many of their own mean during what was basically a waiting game until the US arrived and we helped overwhelm the ‘huns’.
However, I will say that he was pretty much begged by the French govt to take the role when the Nazis invaded and agreed to it reluctantly assuming that it would help to prevent at least some atrocities.
At least that is how I understand it.
Now if Macron paid tribute to Pierre Laval, that would be an entirely different kettle of fish.
Macron loves the Milice
If you get a chance watch the French TV series ‘A French Village’. Yes its on PBS. Still well worth your time to understand a difficult period in France’s history.
The Miliciens (appear in Season 5-6) are portrayed pretty accurately as murderous louts and anti-semites.
It was not so much us as it was fresh British and French leadership in the field, and US financial support.
I haven’t seen it on PBS yet, though it has been on the subchannel station MHZ Network, and I believe on Netflix.
Well worth watching...it was some of the best television I’ve seen in years. And for fans of the movie “Downfall”, the Milice troops that went east with the retreating Germans became the core of the SS Division “Charlemagne”, which was among the last forces to surrender in Berlin.
But the extra bodies didn’t hurt given the attrition rates the French, Brits, and Germans were seeing - mainly from disease and such more so than direct combat.
Though early on when the newer rules were being figured out it was a grist mill.
And it was only yesterday that Macron proposed a European Standing Army strong enough to take on Russia or the United States.
http://www.newser.com/story/266932/macron-calls-for-european-army-to-counter-us-russia.html
Somehow the though of cheese eating surrender monkeys talking about taking us on goes contrary to thinking of them as Allies.
I suspect the two stories are connected.
Those who have referred to the EU as Germany’s Fourth Reich may not be too very far off the mark.
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