The entire radio address announcing to the British public that the Nation is now in a State of War with Germany.
Posted on 09/02/2006 10:03:56 PM PDT by 1066AD
1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany
Britain and France are at war with Germany following the invasion of Poland two days ago.
At 1115 BST the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced the British deadline for the withdrawal of German troops from Poland had expired.
He said the British ambassador to Berlin had handed a final note to the German government this morning saying unless it announced plans to withdraw from Poland by 1100, a state of war would exist between the two countries.
Mr Chamberlain continued: "I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received and consequently this country is at war with Germany."
Similarly the French issued an ultimatum, which was presented in Berlin at 1230, saying France would be at war unless a 1700 deadline for the troops' withdrawal was adhered to.
King George has called upon "my people at home and my peoples across the seas".
He continued: "I ask them to stand calm, firm and united in this time of trial. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield. But we can only do the right as we see the right and reverently commit our cause to God."
A War Cabinet of nine members has been set up with two new ministers, including Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty, the post he held at the outbreak of World War I. Lord Hankey becomes Minister without Portfolio.
Anthony Eden will take over as Dominions Secretary with special access to the War Cabinet. Mr Eden resigned from the post of Secretary of Foreign Affairs last year because he disagreed with the policy of appeasement.
The National Service (Armed Forces) Act has been passed making all men between 18 and 41 liable for conscription. The armed forces have already been mobilized for war and in July the first Territorial Army conscripts were called up.
Latest reports from Poland say the Germans have bombed a number of towns and cities, some with little or no strategic importance. About 1,500 are reported to have been killed or injured in the attacks on Friday and Saturday.
In his broadcast to the nation, Mr Chamberlain spoke of his sadness that "the long struggle to win peace" had failed.
He continued: "I cannot believe that there is anything more or anything different that I could have done and that would have been more successful."
Yesterday there was anger in the House of Commons over the Government's apparent delay in taking action against Germany.
Acting Labour Leader Arthur Greenwood had accused the Prime Minister of vacillating when "Britain and all that Britain stands for are in peril".
Today's declaration of war was received with rousing cheers. As Mr Chamberlain informed the House Britain could not take part in a five-power conference proposed by Italy while Poland was being invaded.
It has also been received with great enthusiasm in the Polish capital, Warsaw, where crowds took to the streets outside the British and French embassies cheering and singing.
I thought it worth remembering September 3, 1939, the start of WW2.
And today, they get this crap to deal with.
Next time around, Germany gets France. It's only fair; we had to put up with them last time.
{{{{ping}}}}
There have been many times in history when supporting a dictatorship or semi-dictatorship was justified because the alternative was so much worse, despite liberal whining to the contrary.
Most Cubans suffering under Castro would be happy to have Batista back in power.
Most Cambodians who suffered under Pol Pot would have been happy to have Lon Nol back in power.
Most Iranians suffering under Ahmadinejad would be happy to have the Shah back in power.
Most Poles suffering under Hitler would have been happy to have Pilsudski back in power.
And every single Jew living in Poland when Hitler invaded would certainly have been very happy to have the original Polish dictatorship back in power.
But liberals, despite claiming to be "tolerant" and "open-minded," divide all governments into black and white categories of good and evil. They'll blindly support any government that's a "Socialist People's Regime," and blindly oppose any government that isn't.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v344/bb5usa/misc/?action=view¤t=Chamberlain1.flv
Updated: "In return for Hitler's Islam's guarantee of World Peace..."
"The National Service (Armed Forces) Act has been passed making all men between 18 and 41 liable for conscription."
And the US used the military draft, for WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
Kind of makes me wonder if we eventually will do it again, when this gets real serious.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this in the same politically manipulative way as the democrats.
I'm concerned that our failure to be ready to take on more battle fronts at the same time is seen by the muslim nations and non-state elements as a weakness. A weakness which urges them to think they should continue.
Instead of debating the dems about a timeline for pulling out of Iraq, he should simply state we have been in Germany, Japan and Korea since major hostilities stopped.
He should say we are in a major WW and we will fight whenever and wherever necessary.
I wonder if Iraq might have gone down differently with 300,000 or 400,000 troops there?
I wonder what the rhetoric would be now, if the Administration had PLAYED UP every instance of WMD found in Iraq? Played up the evidence of moving WMD to Syria?
If we had a much bigger military, we would have had more and better options. And our enemies would know that, too.
But as it is, they can predict we won't advance on Iran or Syria, because we don't risk it.
The entire radio address announcing to the British public that the Nation is now in a State of War with Germany.
See this posting:
The Germans are on record as saying that if the Allies had resisted their taking of the Rhineland in 1936 it might have been the end of the Nazis as they would not have been able to stop them, all a big bluff that just made Hitler bolder in the future.
Which is why the socialists in North America supported Hitler until 1941.
There was another opportunity in 1938. A group of German military officers was planning to oust Hitler in a coup, and they begged Britain to stand up to Hitler at Munich. Their plan depended on Hitler losing face, but his popularity following the deal on the Sudetenland ruined their chances.
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.