The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope. -- I yam what I yam - Popeye
cool war book
Started by ●December 29, 2021
Reply by ●December 29, 20212021-12-29
On 29/12/21 18:16, jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote:> > The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope.It may have been a "cool" war for the isolated Merkins, but it was a very hot war for much of the world.
Reply by ●December 29, 20212021-12-29
On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:19:23 +0000, Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:>On 29/12/21 18:16, jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: >> >> The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope. > >It may have been a "cool" war for the isolated Merkins, >but it was a very hot war for much of the world.Jerk. It was your war, merely your latest of centuries of wars, not ours. We saved your lives and you can't forgive us. -- If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end with doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties. Francis Bacon
Reply by ●December 29, 20212021-12-29
On 29/12/21 23:46, John Larkin wrote:> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:19:23 +0000, Tom Gardner > <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > >> On 29/12/21 18:16, jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: >>> >>> The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope. >> >> It may have been a "cool" war for the isolated Merkins, >> but it was a very hot war for much of the world. > > Jerk. It was your war, merely your latest of centuries of wars, not > ours. We saved your lives and you can't forgive us.My apologies if pointing out historical facts has discomforted you.
Reply by ●December 29, 20212021-12-29
On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:55:03 +0000, Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:>On 29/12/21 23:46, John Larkin wrote: >> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:19:23 +0000, Tom Gardner >> <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: >> >>> On 29/12/21 18:16, jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: >>>> >>>> The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope. >>> >>> It may have been a "cool" war for the isolated Merkins, >>> but it was a very hot war for much of the world. >> >> Jerk. It was your war, merely your latest of centuries of wars, not >> ours. We saved your lives and you can't forgive us. > >My apologies if pointing out historical facts >has discomforted you.Merkin is a stupid gross insult. Jerk. We should have stayed out of europe. Let the Germans and Russians carve it up. Let the brits starve and remember the Empire. -- If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end with doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties. Francis Bacon
Reply by ●December 29, 20212021-12-29
On Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 11:32:17 AM UTC+11, John Larkin wrote:> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:55:03 +0000, Tom Gardner <spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > >On 29/12/21 23:46, John Larkin wrote: > >> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:19:23 +0000, Tom Gardner <spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > >>> On 29/12/21 18:16, jla...@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: > >>>> > >>>> The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope. > >>> > >>> It may have been a "cool" war for the isolated Merkins, > >>> but it was a very hot war for much of the world. > >> > >> Jerk. It was your war, merely your latest of centuries of wars, not > >> ours. We saved your lives and you can't forgive us. > > > >My apologies if pointing out historical facts > >has discomforted you. > > Merkin is a stupid gross insult. Jerk.But not inappropriate. Americans did quite a few bad things in Europe that helped Hitler and made WW2 more likely.> We should have stayed out of europe.If Henry Ford hadn't been so fond of Adolf Hitler and his gross antisemitism, and hadn't subsidised him generously early in his political career, the Nazi Party wouldn't have been the problem that it later became, so John Larkin is correct.> Let the Germans and Russians carve it up. Let the brits starve and remember the Empire.The Russians would have beaten Germany without US help. The US help was largely aimed at stopping the Russians from freezing the US out of post-war Europe, and wasn't exactly disinterested (despite what John likes to think). -- Bill Sloman, Sydney
Reply by ●December 30, 20212021-12-30
On 30/12/21 00:32, John Larkin wrote:> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:55:03 +0000, Tom Gardner > <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > >> On 29/12/21 23:46, John Larkin wrote: >>> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:19:23 +0000, Tom Gardner >>> <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: >>> >>>> On 29/12/21 18:16, jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: >>>>> >>>>> The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope. >>>> >>>> It may have been a "cool" war for the isolated Merkins, >>>> but it was a very hot war for much of the world. >>> >>> Jerk. It was your war, merely your latest of centuries of wars, not >>> ours. We saved your lives and you can't forgive us. >> >> My apologies if pointing out historical facts >> has discomforted you. > > Merkin is a stupid gross insult. Jerk. > > We should have stayed out of europe. Let the Germans and Russians > carve it up. Let the brits starve and remember the Empire.So is making statements to the effect that WW2 only started in 1941.
Reply by ●December 30, 20212021-12-30
On 30/12/2021 11:19, Tom Gardner wrote:> On 30/12/21 00:32, John Larkin wrote: >> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:55:03 +0000, Tom Gardner >> <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: >> >>> On 29/12/21 23:46, John Larkin wrote: >>>> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:19:23 +0000, Tom Gardner >>>> <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: >>>> >>>>> On 29/12/21 18:16, jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope. >>>>> >>>>> It may have been a "cool" war for the isolated Merkins, >>>>> but it was a very hot war for much of the world. >>>> >>>> Jerk. It was your war, merely your latest of centuries of wars, not >>>> ours. We saved your lives and you can't forgive us. >>> >>> My apologies if pointing out historical facts >>> has discomforted you. >> >> Merkin is a stupid gross insult. Jerk. >> >> We should have stayed out of europe. Let the Germans and Russians >> carve it up. Let the brits starve and remember the Empire. > > So is making statements to the effect that WW2 only started in 1941.I am confused. It is true that most Americans (at least, the small percentage that actually knows anything at all about WWII) have a hopelessly inaccurate and biased view of WWII. They think they "saved our asses" - in fact, they only joined the war when they realised they could make more profit selling critical goods at vastly inflated prices to the British than they had been making selling to the Germans. And they knew that if either Germany or Russia took over Europe, they'd lose a big market and their place in the world - possibly ending up Russian or German themselves in the long run. And of course it is easier to think of a war as being "cool" when it is happening somewhere else and it is not /your/ country that is being fought over. (Equally, the British tend to think WWII started in September 1939 when /they/ joined it - Austria and Czechoslovakia might say it started in 1938, and China might say 1937.) However, the Battle Of the River Plate was from the very early war (December 1939), between Germany and the UK and New Zealand. The US was not involved. So I really don't see why you are getting at Larkin here in this thread. Is it just a general attack on his renowned lack of historical knowledge? A pre-emptive strike on the assumption that the thread will turn into another display of ignorance? Or is that particular book one of these absurd American fictional re-writes of history, like the U-571 film?
Reply by ●December 30, 20212021-12-30
On 30/12/21 11:25, David Brown wrote:> On 30/12/2021 11:19, Tom Gardner wrote: >> On 30/12/21 00:32, John Larkin wrote: >>> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:55:03 +0000, Tom Gardner >>> <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: >>> >>>> On 29/12/21 23:46, John Larkin wrote: >>>>> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:19:23 +0000, Tom Gardner >>>>> <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> On 29/12/21 18:16, jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope. >>>>>> >>>>>> It may have been a "cool" war for the isolated Merkins, >>>>>> but it was a very hot war for much of the world. >>>>> >>>>> Jerk. It was your war, merely your latest of centuries of wars, not >>>>> ours. We saved your lives and you can't forgive us. >>>> >>>> My apologies if pointing out historical facts >>>> has discomforted you. >>> >>> Merkin is a stupid gross insult. Jerk. >>> >>> We should have stayed out of europe. Let the Germans and Russians >>> carve it up. Let the brits starve and remember the Empire. >> >> So is making statements to the effect that WW2 only started in 1941. > > I am confused. > > It is true that most Americans (at least, the small percentage that > actually knows anything at all about WWII) have a hopelessly inaccurate > and biased view of WWII. They think they "saved our asses" - in fact, > they only joined the war when they realised they could make more profit > selling critical goods at vastly inflated prices to the British than > they had been making selling to the Germans. And they knew that if > either Germany or Russia took over Europe, they'd lose a big market and > their place in the world - possibly ending up Russian or German > themselves in the long run. And of course it is easier to think of a > war as being "cool" when it is happening somewhere else and it is not > /your/ country that is being fought over. > > (Equally, the British tend to think WWII started in September 1939 when > /they/ joined it - Austria and Czechoslovakia might say it started in > 1938, and China might say 1937.) > > > However, the Battle Of the River Plate was from the very early war > (December 1939), between Germany and the UK and New Zealand. The US was > not involved. > > So I really don't see why you are getting at Larkin here in this thread. > Is it just a general attack on his renowned lack of historical > knowledge? A pre-emptive strike on the assumption that the thread will > turn into another display of ignorance? Or is that particular book one > of these absurd American fictional re-writes of history, like the U-571 > film?The last paragraph sums it up. Strictly speaking I'm not making comments about Larkin, merely about the attitudes and ignorance. That distinction is not entirely clear, of course.
Reply by ●December 30, 20212021-12-30
On Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 10:25:35 PM UTC+11, David Brown wrote:> On 30/12/2021 11:19, Tom Gardner wrote: > > On 30/12/21 00:32, John Larkin wrote: > >> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:55:03 +0000, Tom Gardner > >> <spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > >> > >>> On 29/12/21 23:46, John Larkin wrote: > >>>> On Wed, 29 Dec 2021 23:19:23 +0000, Tom Gardner > >>>> <spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > >>>> > >>>>> On 29/12/21 18:16, jla...@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote: > >>>>>> > >>>>>> The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope. > >>>>> > >>>>> It may have been a "cool" war for the isolated Merkins, > >>>>> but it was a very hot war for much of the world. > >>>> > >>>> Jerk. It was your war, merely your latest of centuries of wars, not > >>>> ours. We saved your lives and you can't forgive us. > >>> > >>> My apologies if pointing out historical facts > >>> has discomforted you. > >> > >> Merkin is a stupid gross insult. Jerk. > >> > >> We should have stayed out of europe. Let the Germans and Russians > >> carve it up. Let the brits starve and remember the Empire. > > > > So is making statements to the effect that WW2 only started in 1941. > > I am confused. > > It is true that most Americans (at least, the small percentage that > actually knows anything at all about WWII) have a hopelessly inaccurate > and biased view of WWII. They think they "saved our asses" - in fact, > they only joined the war when they realised they could make more profit > selling critical goods at vastly inflated prices to the British than > they had been making selling to the Germans. And they knew that if > either Germany or Russia took over Europe, they'd lose a big market and > their place in the world - possibly ending up Russian or German > themselves in the long run. And of course it is easier to think of a > war as being "cool" when it is happening somewhere else and it is not > /your/ country that is being fought over. > > (Equally, the British tend to think WWII started in September 1939 when > /they/ joined it - Austria and Czechoslovakia might say it started in > 1938, and China might say 1937.) > > > However, the Battle Of the River Plate was from the very early war > (December 1939), between Germany and the UK and New Zealand. The US was > not involved. > > So I really don't see why you are getting at Larkin here in this thread. > Is it just a general attack on his renowned lack of historical > knowledge? A pre-emptive strike on the assumption that the thread will > turn into another display of ignorance?"We should have stayed out of Europe. Let the Germans and Russians carve it up. Let the brits starve and remember the Empire" is absolutely standard Larkin rhetoric. He has posted the same isolationist nonsense here repeatedly, and it's just one more episode in his long history of ignorant assertions about WW2.> Or is that particular book one of these absurd American fictional re-writes of history, like the U-571 > film?The book dates from 1974, and the author joined the British Navy in 1941 - when he was sixteen - and got invalided out the following year when his ship was torpedoed. He wrote a series of naval novels set during the Napoleonic wars that were modelled on C.S.Forrestor's "Hornblower" series that I liked rather better than the originals. Pope was a generation younger than Forrestor, and it showed. If I remember rightly it is a respectable book - the reviews do seem positive. The battle itself was decidedly one-sided - the Graf Spee had much bigger guns that the three cruisers that took it on - and the British saw it as small but heartening victory against the odds. -- Bill Sloman, Sydney
