There are countless Allied soldiers surrounded between our panzers and the sea in southern France. Similar to me, these soldiers have two choices. They can either continue to fight until their death attempting to avoid the inevitable surrender, or simply throw down their arms and accept what fate has dealt. There is no choice for withdrawal from the sea as there was at Dunkirk. There is no choice of breaking out of the encirclement. There is only one logical choice one can make in this situation. Surrender, accept the inevitable.
The tale of the Allied soldiers is quite similar to what we as a nation have experienced. In the beginning, we were caught off guard and forced to withdraw, increasing the Allies hope for domination. However, no advance can go on forever. After reinforcements had been rushed to the scene providing formidable resistance, the offensive was halted in its tracks. This divulged into a stalemate while posturing began, looking for the enemies weak points and waiting for the right moment to strike. Now when that strike came, the blow was unexpected and caused temporarily paralysis on the stricken.
Unlike us, the Allies have not recovered from the paralysis caused by the sting. The Allies did attempt to struggle, temporarily breaking the pocket for a handful of hours; but that is the extent of their success. As every day goes on, the land that they have been forced to fight on shrinks. There is no hope, yet they continue to fight; which is admirable but futile. I can relate to the futility these men are facing. I understand that their chances for success in resisting their inevitable downfall is comparable to my likelihood of succeeding in the mission I have set out to accomplish.
What would I call this trait? Is it stubbornness? No. It is carrying out ones honor and oath. They have taken an oath to defend their countries, liberate occupied countries and promote democracy. Yet, I question their willingness to carry out their duties. If they are here to promote democracy, what will they if Germany was to surrender or be defeated? Would the Allies carry on the fight to liberate the Communist-occupied Poland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland? I doubt it. The Allies are powerless to against Stalin, as they squander their resources against us.
I do not seek to say that the nation my allegiance is to has been guilt free – aggressions have been committed that we will need to reconcile and suffer. I consider Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and their associated regimes to be on an equal scale. Yet, when it comes to the decision to choose who to fight – the Allied nations decided Germany was the greater threat. There are always two choices to every situation in life. However, when it comes to choosing the right decision, there is no question in my mind, the countries the men who are fighting against us in the encirclement will make the right choice and liberate others from Communist rule. I can only hope my remarks turn out to be untrue.
The twin battles marking the end of the 'Bordeaux Pocket' - even though both pockets were miles from the occupied French city.
The remarks that preceded this paragraph were written shortly before the letters from my sons arrived. Two days have passed since I received the letters and my opinion on the integrity of the Allies has changed. I received notification on the 24th of August, 1944 that the commanding general of the Allied forces, a Ulysses S. Grant III had called for favorable terms. The name seemed familiar to me. I began recollecting where I knew the name from. I looked forward to perhaps exchanging friendly chats with the great-grandson of his Civil War namesake.
Unfortunately, my duties always seemed to interrupt what I would prefer. The opposing general and I were reduced down to exchanging notes across our lines until an agreement had been reached. On August 26th, 1944, the Allied forces in the Bordeaux pocket agreed to surrender. Going through the reports, fifty-seven divisional battle-standards were collected. Thirty-seven of the standards were Spanish; fourteen were American; and six were British. I knew the Allies would make the wrong choice. It is not easy to make the right choice. There is only so much energy and determination a person can store before the reality of the situation becomes unbearable. Once that store has been exhausted is when the wrong choice has been made.