the English, the English, the English are best.

[davywavy]

We've left in the hands of three unfriendly powers
Examine the Irishman, Welshman or Scot
You'll find he's a stinker as likely as not

The English the English the English are best
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

The Scotsman is mean as we're all well aware
He's boney and blotchy and covered with hair
He eats salty porridge, he works all the day
And hasn't got bishops to show him the way

The English the English the English are best
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

The Irishman now our contempt is beneath
He sleeps in his boots and he lies through his teeth
He blows up policemen or so I have heard
And blames it on Cromwell and William the Third

The English are moral the English are good
And clever and modest and misunderstood

The Welshman's dishonest, he cheats when he can
He's little and dark more like monkey than man
He works underground with a lamp on his hat
And sings far too loud, far too often and flat

The English the English the English are best
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

And crossing the channel one cannot say much
For the French or the Spanish, the Danish or Dutch
The Germans are German, the Russians are red
And the Greeks and Italians eat garlic in bed

The English are noble, the English are nice
And worth any other at double the price

And all the world over each nation's the same
They've simply no notion of playing the game
They argue with umpires, they cheer when they've won
And they practice before hand which spoils all the fun

The English the English the English are best
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

It's not that they're wicked or naturally bad
It's just that they're foreign that makes them so mad
The English are all that a nation should be
And the pride of the English are ukmonty and me

The English the English the English are best
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest



Following the debate over on ksirafai, I decided to whip up a quick poll on the greatest of all Human Inventions, the British Empire. Basically, I'm curious to know which year you think the Empire was at it's peak.

[Poll #556800]

Comments

Re: In fairness...

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Hitler knew England did not have the military power to stage a successful invasion of Europe but knew Stalin did, and feared an attack to his rear if he committed himself to an invasion of England. Thus, safe in the knowldge that Churchill couldn't come into his rear, he decided to deliver a knockout blow to the Russians and secure his Eastern Border.
And the rest is history.

Re: In fairness...

[(Anonymous)]

North Africa?

Re: In fairness...

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Well, if he'd considered that a threat of invasion into Europe why would he have considered coming across the channel before it was settled?

Afrikacorps

[applez.livejournal.com]

From the German perspective, I imagine the North African campaign served several critical functions in one:

- Bolstered the Italian military, helping increase its prestige, as well as consolidating its 30s successes in Somaliland and Ethiopia to counter British interests in the region.

- Helped delineate the failure of the French in 1940, and quell Free French sentiment in the colonies...bolstering Vichy authority.

- Entangle British forces in Egypt, weakening the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean (potentially; perhaps enough to help with sabotauge efforts against Gibralter). Whatever Rommel's ambitions, I don't think Hitler saw the North African campaign as anything more than a strategic forward defence of Europe, especially his friend Mussolini and their combined ambitions in South Eastern Europe before moving on to Russia.

Interestingly, after the disaster of Singapore and the rapid withdrawl from Burma, it probably didn't look like it would cost much in initial investment to keep the British occupied in North Africa - reinforced by the successful conquest of Tobruk and its supply depots.

(Honestly, up until 1942, Britain was doing a fine job of supplying the Axis in nearly every theatre of war).

Re: Afrikacorps

[(Anonymous)]

It seems the logical conclusion of your arguments is that the war was lost, not won. One can't really call 'sitting round waiting for a monotesticular maniac to drop the ball' a strategy.

Re: Afrikacorps

[applez.livejournal.com]

What do you have against Lance? ;-)