It has been a long time since I wrote the first great stories post, which can be found here. I didn’t have any ideas for a new one for the longest time until the other day, as I was in the midst of procrastinating by watching TV, a Jericho promo came on the channel I was watching. I’ve never seen the show so I wasn’t really paying attention until in one section of the commercial there was some kind of battle going down, and the villain told Skeet that he was surrounded and there was no hope. Ol’ Skeet put on his best tough guy face, and yelled Nuts into the walkie-talkie. When I heard this I started laughing because here was yet another great real life story that Hollywood was appropriating and ruining.
Bastonge Surrounded
Our story begins in Europe in December 1944. Five months after D-Day the Allies had been slowly pushing the German forces back. Hitler sought to turn the tide with a counteroffensive in the Ardennes–even though he was advised against it by his Generals–the battle would come be known as the Battle of the Bulge. The plan was for the Germans to slice through the American and British forces–cutting them off from each other and valuable supply lines–and to recapture the port of Antwerp. It was hoped this move would allow the Germans to either negotiate a more favorable peace treaty with each nation separately or it would allow German time to recoup their losses and continue the war with a new generation of military technologies–like jets and rockets. The offensive began on December 16, 1944 and the Germans made swift advances, in part, because bad weather grounded Allied planes which allowed them to move quickly. However, after some quick gains the Germans met stiff resistance and their momentum slowed.
One of those areas of stiff resistance was Bastogne, Belgium. The importance of Bastonge was that it was a crossroads near the German border. These roads would be needed to quickly move tanks and other supplies overland to the front. By December 18 the Germans were outside of Bastogne engaged in a fierce fight with the American troops. For the next three days the Germans were repulsed by the American forces that were defending Bastonge, and the weather continued to worsen. The masterly use of small-arms fire, artillery, and some tanks allowed the American forces to hold their ground. Because of their slow progress two Panzer divisions were told to bypass the town, and were subsequently destroyed near Dinant–making the roads held in Bastogne even more important.
I’ve been meaning to read Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, for years, and I have finally gotten around to it. I just finished it yesterday after reading it obsessively for the last few days. It has to be one of the funniest books I have ever read. I don’t even remember how many times someone stared at me because I was laughing uncontrollably on the subway, coffee shop, or walking down the street (yes this book was so good I often read it whilst walking down the street). There were more laugh out loud moments than most comedies. Besides being hilarious the book was also pretty deep. The book, for those that don’t know, is about bomber pilots in World War II. Invariably when you add war and death to a book it’s going to be deep; but Heller does it in a way that doesn’t get the reader depressed. The book has everything from an anti-war message to hilarious stories about Italian whores. If you are looking for a new book to read make it this one; and if you’re already reading a book make this one a priority to read next. There are a literally tons of great scenes in this book; unfortunately I couldn’t find my favorite online–I’m way too lazy to type it–so instead I will post one of the best that I could find online enjoy.
So the GOP is ramping up their attack machine and one word I’ve been hearing a lot is appeasement. Everyone is all up in arms because Obama wants to meet with Iran and Syria. Usually it comes from buffoons like this guy:
You have to love people who are so adamant about issues that they don’t really have any clue about. Most people don’t get appeasement, because most people try to pigeonhole the term into today’s standards. What they don’t get is that when Chamberlain went to Munich he went there in a position of weakness. The west was still reeling from World War I economically and militarily. Germany was already more powerful militarily than the West. While it is generally considered that giving away half of Czechoslovakia was his big mistake, it was one of the main issues that Churchill used to become PM, there is an argument that it was the right choice. Many historians will say that Chamberlain was right to have done what he did, in order to, give England enough time to ramp up their industrial military complex.
So how does this fit into today’s argument about appeasement. Very simply today America doesn’t have to meet with anyone from any country from a position of weakness. We always have other options, whether that is political, diplomatic, or military options. Invariably we will be meeting on our terms and in a position of strength. If we have someone who understands this then we will never have to capitulate completely on an issue. Instead we can meet with leaders of other nations from a position of strength ie. Ronald Regan during the Cold War with the U.S.S.R. Now watch this video and the next time the GOP starts throwing around appeasement you can just laugh it off.
