[Potemkin]

December 2, Monday

Franco promises to keep out of the war

In a significant act of defiance, the Spanish dictator General Franco today ignores pressure from Nazi Germany and signs a financial pact with Britain. At the same time, Franco gives a categorical assurance to Britain and the US that under no circumstances will Spain join the war against Britain or allow Spain to be used for military operations. The pact with Britain will release Spanish funds in London, which have been frozen since the start of the Spanish Civil War.

“I would rather have four teeth extracted without anaesthetic than meet Franco again.” - Adolf Hitler

[Doug64]

December 5, Thursday

Chinese batter Japanese in north China

Japan appears to have lost control of large areas of northern China following a three-month offensive by Chinese Communist troops of the Eighth Route Army to disrupt Japanese installations in the region.

Within the last few days, there have been signs that the exhausted Communists are winding down the operation known as the Hundred Regiments campaign, in the belief that it has achieved its political aim of disrupting talks between Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalists and Japan.

According to Communist claims, the campaign, which has seen Chinese troops abandon hit-and-run tactics for outright confrontation, has achieved all its military aims; attacks on Japanese outposts have forced the enemy to retreat into large enclaves, and those positions still held by the Japanese have been so severely damaged that it will be at least six months before most major installations are operative again. Among the most heavily damaged are the Peking-Hankow railway, cut in 86 places, and the Anshan steel mills in Manchuko. According to Communist estimates, Japan’s North China Army has lost at least five battalions.

However, internal critics fear that the extravagant use of manpower—with the Chinese outnumbering the enemy by ten to one—is too expensive, with Communist casualties of 22,000.

[Doug64]

December 6, Friday

Italians retreat in southern Albania

Mussolini today sacks Marshal Pietro Badoglio as Chief of the General Staff, a post he has held since 1925—a scapegoat for Italy’s humiliating reverse at the hands of Greece. He is succeeded by Ugo Cavallero. The leader may have gone, but there is no end to the misery of his erstwhile troops. Not content with driving the Italian army from their homeland, Greek troops have now fought deep into Albania and are forcing the Italians back along a wide front.

With the RAF harrying the Italians from the air and the Royal Navy attacking supply convoys in the Aegean, the Italians are in full retreat before the jubilant Greek army. Today, Greek forces occupy the Santi Quaranti naval base and Sarande on the Adriatic, pushing north along the coast.

Far East: Japan and Thailand sign a treaty of friendship.

Mediterranean: The submarine HMS Regulus is sunk.

[Doug64]

December 7, Saturday

Germany: Tonight the RAF bombs the industrial city of Dusseldorf.

[Doug64]

December 8, Sunday

London: The House of Commons and the Tower of London are hit in a heavy Luftwaffe raid tonight.

Albania: Greek forces capture Argyrocastro and Delvino as Italy pulls back towards Himara.

Madrid: Franco refuses to cooperate with Hitler’s plan to invade Gibraltar, forcing the operation to be canceled.

[Potemkin]

Madrid: Franco refuses to cooperate with Hitler’s plan to invade Gibraltar, forcing the operation to be canceled.

Bad luck, Dolf!

[annatar1914]

:lol:

Bad luck, Dolf!

@Potemkin :

But Franco didnt save Spain anyway, but destroyed it and left it a hollowed out shell with his Fascism. Joining Hitler would have just saved the trouble of a few decades even had they won.

I found this newsreel of Franco reviewing a number of troops, more than a few being Moorish;

The symbolism is striking to me at least.

[Potemkin]

@Potemkin :

But Franco didnt save Spain anyway, but destroyed it and left it a hollowed out shell with his Fascism. Joining Hitler would have just saved the trouble of a few decades even had they won.

I found this newsreel of Franco reviewing a number of troops, more than a few being Moorish;

The symbolism is striking to me at least.

Franco, being a reactionary, couldn’t save Spain (and save it from what? Democracy? Progress?). All he could was put it in the deep freeze for nearly 40 years. As soon as it thawed out, his legacy was erased. Reactionaries, by their nature, leave no legacy behind them. They can delay, but they cannot avoid and they cannot reverse.

I’m just enjoying the Schadenfreude of seeing Hitler humiliated by that little shit Franco, that’s all.

[annatar1914]

Franco, being a reactionary, couldn’t save Spain (and save it from what? Democracy? Progress?). All he could was put it in the deep freeze for nearly 40 years. As soon as it thawed out, his legacy was erased. Reactionaries, by their nature, leave no legacy behind them. They can delay, but they cannot avoid and they cannot reverse.

I’m just enjoying the Schadenfreude of seeing Hitler humiliated by that little shit Franco, that’s all.

@Potemkin :

True, lol. Gibraltar wasnt worth the risk.

Interesting that they met at Hendaye. I wonder if Hitler with his penchant for the occult saw this while there?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Cross_of_Hendaye

[Potemkin]

@Potemkin :

True, lol. Gibraltar wasnt worth the risk.

Interesting that they met at Hendaye. I wonder if Hitler with his penchant for the occult saw this while there?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Cross_of_Hendaye

The whole point about Jesus’ teaching, about Christianity itself, is that it is not esoteric. Christ preached to the ordinary working people using simple everyday parables that anyone could understand. Gnosticism is esoteric. Heresy is esoteric. Because it must obfuscate its own lies and distortions.

[Doug64]

Franco, being a reactionary, couldn’t save Spain (and save it from what? Democracy? Progress?).

If you want some idea what the Republicans were like, read up on George Orwell’s experiences when he joined the fighting during the Spanish Civil War. He was lucky to get out alive, and not just because he was shot through the neck.

I’m not saying Franco was a better alternative, just that his opposition had their own major issues. If they’d won, the result would not have been pretty....

I’m just enjoying the Schadenfreude of seeing Hitler humiliated by that little shit Franco, that’s all.

I’ve played a lot of combat simulation games over the years, and one I saw was a WWII “what if” involving a German invasion of Spain. I never considered picking it up, because I didn’t consider the scenario remotely plausible. It’s a lot more plausible now!

The whole point about Jesus’ teaching, about Christianity itself, is that it is not esoteric. Christ preached to the ordinary working people using simple everyday parables that anyone could understand. Gnosticism is esoteric. Heresy is esoteric. Because it must obfuscate its own lies and distortions.

Jesus dealt with doctrine, and left theology to take care of itself.

[annatar1914]

The whole point about Jesus’ teaching, about Christianity itself, is that it is not esoteric. Christ preached to the ordinary working people using simple everyday parables that anyone could understand. Gnosticism is esoteric. Heresy is esoteric. Because it must obfuscate its own lies and distortions.

@Potemkin :

Absolutely. This is why 1914-1945 was the Good War of recent memory.

[Potemkin]

I’ve played a lot of combat simulation games over the years, and one I saw was a WWII “what if” involving a German invasion of Spain. I never considered picking it up, because I didn’t consider the scenario remotely plausible. It’s a lot more plausible now!

Indeed.

And towards the end of the War, Hitler found himself invading even erstwhile allies, as things headed south for him. In retrospect, Franco was actually lucky to avoid this fate. Franco seems to have sensed that he couldn’t actually trust Hitler, and had nothing to gain from buddying up with him. He didn’t repeat Mussolini’s mistake.

[Doug64]

December 9, Monday

Libya: Allied troops of the Western Desert Force launch a surprise attack, taking 1,000 Italian prisoners in the first thrust of Operation Compass.

Albania: The Greeks capture Pogradec, over forty miles inside Albanian territory.

[Rich]

Jesus dealt with doctrine, and left theology to take care of itself.

But he didn't. That's what's so strange. The central religious /political / social question in Palestine was one's attitude to the Jewish Law. Even 2000 years on, its still a subject of major controversy in Israel. But 2000 years ago "The Law" was the starting point for everything. When Paul says man can not be saved by works, he means works of the Jewish Law. So we have Paul's genuine letters (although not in the original form, they've been chopped up, edited and recombined) from the 50s AD. Supposedly this was a mere 20 odd years after Jesus had walked the Earth. Some even say it was Jesus's biological brother that was leading the Church in Jerusalem, but regardless the Jerusalem Church was supposedly led by the apostles that Jesus had appointed. But what we learn from Paul's letters is that, no one seems to have a clue as to what Jesus actually taught regarding the law.

[Potemkin]

December 9, Monday

Libya: Allied troops of the Western Desert Force launch a surprise attack, taking 1,000 Italian prisoners in the first thrust of Operation Compass.

Albania: The Greeks capture Pogradec, over forty miles inside Albanian territory.

The pain just never seems to end for the Italians….

[Doug64]

December 10, Tuesday

First German spies executed in Britain

Two Nazi spies, Jose Waldberg and Carl Meier, are the first people to be executed since the start of the war. They are hanged today at Pentonville jail in London.

Several weeks ago, the pair landed in the country with a radio transmitter, English money, and some iron rations. They planned to spend their nights hiding in the woods and their days collecting information—from the unwary public in trains, pubs, and buffets and by observing military bases.

An anti-espionage officer reported that, though Waldberg had been motivated by patriotism, his companion, Meier, was only interested in the money.

Berlin: Hitler issues a directive for the seizure of French military resources and the future occupation of Vichy France (Operation Attila), and cancels plans to invade Gibraltar via Spain (Operation Felix).

Washington: Roosevelt announces that the expert license system will be extended to iron and steel.

[Doug64]

I just finished Savage Continent, about Europe immediately after the end of World War II. It was informative and I'm glad I purchased it, but it was painful to listen to!

@Rich, Jesus did have some clear things to say about the Law, but this isn't the thread for discussing it.

[Potemkin]

I just finished Savage Continent, about Europe immediately after the end of World War II. It was informative and I'm glad I purchased it, but it was painful to listen to!

Europe’s self-destruction between 1914 and 1945 was one of the most colossal tragedies in all of human history. It was as cataclysmic as the fall of the western Roman Empire, and as irreversible. The consequences are still being played out even to this day.

[Doug64]

December 11, Wednesday

African desert victory for British

As the blood-red sun rises over Egypt’s western desert today, Scottish soldiers appear from a ridge overlooking the town of Sidi Barrani and charge into the ruins. After an hour of fierce hand-to-hand fighting, the Italian blackshirts begin to hold up white flags. The first phase of the assault planned by Major-General Richard O’Connor is complete—and now the main British problem is the handling of over 15,000 Italian prisoners.

The key victory was won—by guile and surprise—two days ago at Nibeiwa when British tanks stormed its advanced Italian fort. Tanks and men spent two days advancing slowly under the cover of darkness, using hurricane lamps—shaded from the Italians—to guide them over the rough desert tracks. Windscreens were removed from vehicles to avoid the sun reflecting on them. By day, 30,000 men and machines lay entirely still in the burning sun.

The Italian defensive positions faced east. The defenders were preparing breakfast of coffee and rolls when the British barrage began. They looked up to see British and Indian troops advancing towards them, supported by tanks. The attack was from the west. Two more forts surrender later.

Birmingham: German raiders devastate a wide area in attacks tonight.

Libya: Ships of the British Mediterranean fleet shell Sollum.