Posted on 05/15/2010 5:03:17 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Winston S. Churchill, Their Finest Hour
*After having luncheon with Colonel Netherwood, Commodore Pirie took off at 2 P. M. for Washington. Before he left he said he was going to Ottawa Thursday to view, with officers of the United States Army, the flight tests of a new airplane known as the Spitfire.
I think it is getting some testing in France right now under highly realistic conditions.
dispatches........are subject to censorship at the source.
Paris, May 14 (UP) - Parachute troops were reported here today to have been dropped in the gardens of Laeken Palace in Brussels where King Leopold and this mother, Queen Elizabeth, were said to be living. the report said that Belgian guards “took care” of the invaders.
What a historic day! The French are basically waving the white flag when they see the Nazi panzer divisions storm out of the Ardennes and take Sedan. Sort of funny the so called “expert” writing for the Times does not get it thinking any German thrust from Sedan from the coast will be vulberable to attacks on the flank but the Nazis are so fast the Allies will not be able to do anything except one attempt at Arras. Churchill reaching out to FDR for aid including destroyers. FDR will sit on his arse thinking the Brits are finished. (Good old papa Kennedy will be whispering in FDRs ear the Brits are going down)
The proud free french were definitely not journalist.
European Nations Want Military Type Tube, Manufacturer Says
European Nations are seeking the bullet-proof inner tube developed for use on United Sates Army motorized units and recently released for exports said, John L. Collyer, president of the B.F Goodrich Company, disclosed here yesterday. He declined to reveal what foreign powers were involved.
My. Colyer said the tubes were a military adaptations of the tubes marketed by the company for passenger-car use. Triple layers of special rubber compounds, he explained, the innermost of which is semi-viscous, give the military tube the ability to seal holes made by machine-gun and rifle bullets on moving wheels without considerable loss of air pressure. He said the military tube was too heavy for passenger-car service.
Interesting the technology is already released for export, declines to release names of interested countries. I would think this is an interesting marketing approach. He makes specific reference to machine gun holes and rifle hoses. I am into jeeps and have never seen references to this technology, maybe was in heavier vehicles. Wonder if it was adopted by the military?
Hmmm, according to the NY Times map, the Maginot Line extended from the coast way up to Luxemburg.
The French could only wish it were so, many things would have been different.
The foregoing facts, as interpreted here, indicate Japan and Italy have agreed that neither will participate in the European war unless both go in together, but such a move is considered unlikely unless the Allies appear decisively defeated, when Japan and Italy could jointly plunder the Far Eastern empires of Britain and France. The only restraining influence would be the presence of the United States Navy in Pacific waters.
Hmmm, according to the NY Times map, the Maginot Line extended from the coast way up to Luxemburg.
The French could only wish it were so, many things would have been different.
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There was a final flurry of construction in 1939–1940 with general improvements all along the Line. The final Line was strongest around the industrial regions of Metz, Lauter and Alsace, while other areas were in comparison only weakly guarded. In contrast, the propaganda about the line made it appear far greater a construction than it was; illustrations showed multiple stories of interwoven passages, and even underground railyards and cinemas. This reassured allied civilians.
When the Allied forces invaded in June 1944 the Line, now held by German defenders, was again largely bypassed, with fighting only touching a part of the fortifications near Metz and in northern Alsace towards the end of 1944. At one point during the fighting, General Martin, commander of the IX Corps, was ordered to advance forward from the Maginot line against a German division, and thus locked the concrete bunkers and left the keys with a colleague. While his colleague’s unit was ordered south to reinforce French cities, Martin was forced to retreat from his unsuccessful attack and found himself pursued by a German tank division, and locked out of his own fortifications. He was forced to employ French engineers and sappers to break into the bunkers, which were subsequently overrun by the Germans.[4]
Pacifism is great, as long as everyone else is a pacifist.
One of the History channels had a show about the Maginot Line and they mentioned the propaganda.
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