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On war in Europe
"Even on the eve of war, however, there was still considerable optimism that the peace would hold. Europe had experienced several decades without a major war, and in the meantime, industrialization and relatively free international trade had produced rapidly rising standards of living. A war that would destroy the fruits of this progress seemed irrational.
Many people believed, moreover, that the rising international solidarity of the labor movement would undermine support for a war entered into by imperialistic capitalist powers. Although financial markets were retrenching, they gave no sign that a cataclysm lay ahead. The optimists were wrong."
-- Gary M. Walton and Hugh Rockoff, History of the American Economy, Eleventh Edition, p. 380
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And lots of BIG explosions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqz5dbs5zmo
and drones that shoot peepel because of your iPad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPJMk2fgJU
Good comment and very true. (And we even have out own Ahmedinajad or whatever is the bearded war lover's nick; I am pretty sure he'll surface shortly like a Predator (for some reason he is obsessed with all things war).
Having said that, it is what it is. ZH is in quite anarchistic and there aren't many rules around here. It's good but it could be better.
Some members are outstanding (myself excluded) and of course the content is great (99pct of time, which beats all industry standards).
I often challenge two of the Tylers - they are game and so are you. Club rules are club rules. Rule Nr. 93 is "complain about the Club".
Yes, the conventional wisdom of the time was very much that global economies were so interwined that war was unthinkable and irrational. The sophisticated chattering classes repeated this view the same way that ours do now. Go to a library and check some newspapers of the years before the war, you wont see much mention of war fears much less the catastrophic one that was on its way. You note that newspapers arent necessarily an exact indicator of what people are thinking, but there was a much greater range of newspapers in nay given city then there is today. What evidence do you have that the populations expectedwar, its not like there was much in the way of alternative media.
Of course everyone was prepared for it to some extent (some more than others), the militaries were hardly going to vanish but you can hardly equate the thinking of the generals with the mood of the population.
I will flip your comment around- if everyone was as prepared as you seem to claim and expecting it, why were major powers like France, Austria Hungary, and Russia so woefully unprepared? Wouldnt their lack of preparation in and of itself illustrate that belief? Germany may have been the best prepared but of course Prussia was at the helm which is probably the most military society in Western history since Sparta- they were always ready so that was a given. England of course had its navy but that was historical tradition and strategy as much as planning.
Why were they so poorly prepared if your assertion is correct?
They were prepared. The French had invested millions of Francs in the Maginot Line, the British were rearming, the Russians first allied with Germany in a landgrab in Poland and the Baltic states and then prepared to defend against Germany.
The problem was the west largely prepared to fight the last war. The French had better armaments than the Germans but had a command and control system that was utterly useless. The German military devolved responsibility to the lowest element in the chain of command. When Rommel commenced his run through northern France neither the French nor the German high command were sure where he was or where he was going.
Stalin purged most of his senior commanders immediately prior to the war and they also suffered from poor command and control. The Russian tanks waved flags at each other to communicate. The Germans used radio to communicate at all levels.
What is interesting is the reason Hitler went to war. He was broke. He needed the gold reserves of Austria and Czechoslovakia to maintain his economy. Once he got used to plunder there was no stopping him. Sort of like the TBTF.
You're mixing Apples and Oranges. The period in question was pre-1914, not pre-1939. The "it can't happen because war is unthinkable in this age of trade and prosperity" of 1913 didn't apply in the 1930s, which was more about meekly responding the Chancellor Hitler's repeated violations of the Versailles Treaty with no costs to him, only more signatures on paper. Sort of like a macro version of the DPRK blackmail for increased aide scam.
For another perspective you might look at 'Icebreaker' by Orlov. It makes the case that Hitler pre-empeted Stalin by a few months, and the the division of Poland by Hilter and Stalin was a move by Stalin to attack Germany. The book is available OL and make the case well, much of the documentation came out after the fall of the USSR when the archives were somewhat more accessable.
I think that, in the historical context, people seem to forget that Russian, German and British Monarchy's were all related in the old world manner of co-operation through marriage.
WWI was a turning point for the Monarchy in Europe, the rise of the Industrialist had begun, and has led us to the predicament we find ourselves in now.
WWIII will be the same, with the fall of the Industrialist "Capitalist" rulers. The question we should be asking is who or what will take it's place?
That is what scares me because I don't know. Does anyone have a guess as to which faction is poised to take reigns?
That is, who will benefit the most from the change in leadership? I don't think it will be the FIRE group, at least I hope not. But they seem to be getting their way in Europe right now, and I am having difficulty identifying the opposition.
Russia, China and the Arab powers will dominate the world after the dust settles. Tis been the plan all along:
http://thespiritoftruth.blogspot.com/2009/05/russias-secret-war-plans.html
As recent news suggests, the Middle East and East Asia flashpoints are quickly being brought to a boil:
http://thespiritoftruth.blogspot.com/2012/04/dow-closes-below-13000-mark...
As for Europe, one might want to keep an eye on northern Kosovo:
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=04&dd=24&nav_id=79930
For those who understand as I do, which may be none, a key strategic element is that Russia got rid of Communism to covert to Orthodox Christianity. That is, Russia is returning to pre-Communist tsarism, except this time around they will coronate their leader 'Tsar of Tsar's', i.e., Christ returned to earth:
http://thespiritoftruth.blogspot.com/2009/10/russian-leaders-question-of...
In this context, Kosovo is of great significance since this is the cradle of Serbia/Russian Orthodoxy and conflict there stokes the furor of rabid slavic nationalism which is directed at NATO and the 'antichristian West'.
That no one likely understands where I'm coming from is a testament to how parallel the world is to just before the Great War of yesteryear. The masses are oblivious to the fact that they are being herded into their own demise. What's worse, the masses will resist with insane extremism the truth that they are being misled and in so doing empower the liars effecting their destruction:
http://thespiritoftruth.blogspot.com/2011/01/historical-epiphany-russias...
Minus away, sheeple.
"That no one likely understands where I'm coming from is a testament to how parallel the world is to just before the Great War of yesteryear."
No, it's more likely a testament to how we all fall for our own bullshit.
LOL. CLASSIC.
The War in my opinion is going to be fought over debt and equity. The debt based system that engrips the world will lose because it has to. It is completely and utterly unsustainable and cannot win over the long term. A system based upon real things will win out, but it's going to be really, really ugly as all those who think they own something of value realize the lie. People don't like being lied to and they like even less being forced to reduce their living standards dramatically.
The term 'blood in the streets' wont be just a euphymism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=KRJKOtM-onM
Yep, the world will revert to the mean known as REALITY.
One can only hope.
By the way, of which "reality" do you speak?
"Why were they so poorly prepared if your assertion is correct?"
They thought they were prepared. I believe that the militaries expected war, but not many of them expected the kind of war they got. I'm sure they had lots of well trained calvary.
Even if they had been better logistically prepared, their battlefield tactics were still woefully tied to the Napoleonic offense theory, not that the exponential growth in the rates of fire in military rifles, machine guns and rifled artillery had made those tactics suicidal and that defense was the new battlefield king. The American Civil War, especially the stone wall at Fredericksburg, Picket's Charge and Cold Harbour should have shown them that fact. It took until WWII for the Germans to perfect the means of lightening flanking attacks and "stormtrooper" assualts to defeat heavily fortified fixed defenses.
The later years of WWI 1917-1918 saw innovation on the part of both the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente powers. England began widespread use of tanks on offense and were able to break the German line on several occasions. The Germans used heavy infantry and infiltration tactics to break allied lines.
Yes. And the Federals attempted a breakout at Petersburg in 1864 (the Crater). The WWI examples were the infancy of military tactical and operational art to break strong lines of defense, whereas das Blizkreig was the infant tactic fully matured.
Or just maybe, EVERYONE knew or expected war was coming, and the MSM at the time was just spewing perma-bull nonsense in tune with the politicians demands and in order to keep them buying their advertisers' products?
Nah, couldn't be.
.
Peace in Our Time
Impostor cunt!
I am still amazed that no one has shot anyone yet....
Have you received your follow up visit from the Feds yet?
We're waiting on you! Do it!