Very witty Kelebek, very witty!One does not necessarily preclude the other.
Very witty Kelebek, very witty!One does not necessarily preclude the other.
Very witty Kelebek, very witty!
The Poles in Warsaw in 1944 might say the Soviets would pull the same trick, only let someone else do the toying, before jumping in and purging. Not nice at all. If there’s a Bratislava uprising of social realist poets when the Soviets are on the doorstep, they shouldn’t be expecting much help from that quarter.Why do i get the feeling fhat Slovakia should be glad that the communists are going to take over their country and purge it, rather than be surrounded by Britian and then be toyed with like a half dead bird by a rather sick cat?
It is a low bar, but they cleared it with ease and aplomb.Slovakia can always take pride in the fact they defended Paris better than the French did.
This is Slovakia we are talking about, they are in absolutely no position at all to be fussy about what to take pride in. They must grab any opportunity, no matter how meagre.But really, if one takes pride in being better than the French, is there really any pride to be taken at all?
Depends what subject. They still lead the world in many things. Looking at statistics, they are fantastic at stealing cars, and unparalleled in knocking down various parts of Paris and then complaining about it.
Don't you mean setting them alight?
One does not necessarily preclude the other.
Very witty Kelebek, very witty!
I have never heard good things about Paris and my only limited forays to the place have not left me with a burning desire to return. Slovakia will be 'lucky' as the nearest Allied army is the the Commonwealth/British force racing around the Alps and Balkans who are doing a decent job, the D-Day lot with the large American contingent and the random Mexicans are the laggards who have been batting at Paris and wondering why it's stopped moving. At their current rate of progress they are unlikely to reach the German border before Slovakia is long gone.Paris is a city that thoroughly does not deserve its beautiful reputation and is pretty much the blot in an otherwise nice country (or so the stereotype goes). In actuality, it's much like a smaller version of London that's been smashed apart even more often and pulls far too much weight in its own country. Watching it get defended by Slovakia, and then being blown up, is something to savour (so long as you pretend there are no people in it of course. Rather hard to enjoy modern war without pushing civillians waaaay out of your mind).
So France is close to being liberated presumably and the British have to find a new victim to play with other than their ally's capital city. Why do i get the feeling fhat Slovakia should be glad that the communists are going to take over their country and purge it, rather than be surrounded by Britian and then be toyed with like a half dead bird by a rather sick cat?
The Slovaks would also say similar about the Soviets, amazingly most of the Slovak Communists failed to take part in the Slovak National Uprising and then the Soviet support that had been 'promised' failed to arrive. The only reason I doubt this was a cunning plan by Stalin to get opposition pre-purged in the country is that I'm not sure he could have even found Slovakia on a map, or cared if he had.The Poles in Warsaw in 1944 might say the Soviets would pull the same trick, only let someone else do the toying, before jumping in and purging. Not nice at all. If there’s a Bratislava uprising of social realist poets when the Soviets are on the doorstep, they shouldn’t be expecting much help from that quarter.
And thus the battle for Paris ends... Unless Jurech is planning a counterattack, that is. In any case, the Slovak 2nd Division held on for far longer than expected, they surely gained a lot of experience, and will be tougher to beat for it. (relative to their 18th century weaponry and 16th century training schedule). Once again Tiko is ever the downer, hurting the General's feelings like that...
"It's 7 years bad luck if you break it. And because it's so massive it's extra unlucky."
"That's just mirrors, it doesn't apply to breaking windows." Eddy explained.
"Are you sure?" Jurech looked chap-fallen.
"Absolutely."
"Bugger." Jurech hung up the phone and looked dejectedly at his colleague.
Why the Kriegsmarine wanted a Paris office is a bit less clear, apart from the general amusement of booting the French Naval ministry out and having a good time in Paris.
Could it be that the latent hostility to foreigners displayed by Parisians is from all of the times Paris has been occupied?
The 2nd Division will have to take a bit of time to recover, so Jurech will have time to consider all his new experience. And it is true, Tiso can be a bit grumpy if he hasn't had his hipflask. Luckily Slovakia provides many reasons to *Glug*And thus the battle for Paris ends... Unless Jurech is planning a counterattack, that is. In any case, the Slovak 2nd Division held on for far longer than expected, they surely gained a lot of experience, and will be tougher to beat for it. (relative to their 18th century weaponry and 16th century training schedule). Once again Tiko is ever the downer, hurting the General's feelings like that...
It is a brave plan, it requires the Germans to cope without the lynchpin of the Slovakians...It's all part of the plan, don't worry
This is an excellent reasoning and definitely what actually happened.I bet the reason for their meeting in the Hotel de la Marine is a desperate attempt to learn the secrets of sailing, with the end goal of escaping from the wrath of the Soviets by sailing across the sea to wherever the Red Army isn't. I wonder where T&T will make their next valiant stand against the forces of tyranny, IE themselves
Ha! At this point the French are the Boy who Cried Wolf of the Allies, they've retreated so much everyone ignores them. One day they will be correct to do so but it'll be too late at that point.Perhaps Jurech ought to have called the French division commander instead. Not only would a Frenchman care about breaking the Louvre, but seeing their reserves retreating from battle might convince the rest of the Allied forces to retreat as well - after all, if the French are retreating you'd best follow them, since they are the experts on the subject!
This is just the sort of knowledge and support Jurech needed. (Also I tend to forget how close Versailles is to Paris, every time I see it I am surprised, then instantly forget it.)If they only knew that The Hall of Mirrors had at least 357 mirrors, but what can you expect of such uneducated people.
Winding up the French and some time out in Paris probably does cover it. But they must have had some proper excuse, even if it was something weak and flimsy like radio range.I think you answered your own question...
Sounds plausible. A subconscious fear that if the "tourists" turn out to be an invading army then there is nothing the French Army will be able to do about it, short of surrendering.Could it be that the latent hostility to foreigners displayed by Parisians is from all of the times Paris has been occupied?
The French are notoriously insecure about such things, but maybe not without reason. I do remember a documentary that claimed that around the borders of France the cultural blending is something of a one way trade; Italian, Spanish, German bits seep into France but not much of France goes the other way.Might be a different history and culture too. After all, London is and was powerful in periods where it was stuffed full of different cultures and peoples from everywhere in the known world. Paris was powerful when everyone there spoke and acted as High French as possible. No deviations allowed, in their language anyway.
How dare you! They won at least 3 battles, one of which lasted more than a few hours. This was the finest feat of arms in Slovak history and completely out of character with the rest of the Slovak war effort, except for the small detail that it ended in defeat. ( )Valiant, outnumbered, futile and played for fools by the Germans. Very much in keeping with the rest of the Slovak war effort. Hip flask! Glug-glug.
The French are notoriously insecure about such things, but maybe not without reason. I do remember a documentary that claimed that around the borders of France the cultural blending is something of a one way trade; Italian, Spanish, German bits seep into France but not much of France goes the other way.
The French are notoriously insecure about such things, but maybe not without reason. I do remember a documentary that claimed that around the borders of France the cultural blending is something of a one way trade; Italian, Spanish, German bits seep into France but not much of France goes the other way.
Must be why more of the world speaks English and Spanish than French!
but secretly quite french too in that they are large, want to be in charge and generally speaking do well when they get the chance to try).
That and the global aesthetic disgust at the shear number of ridiculous lines and shapes the French insist on attaching to the alphabet.Must be why more of the world speaks English and Spanish than French!
Ignore the power politics for once an look at the border regions is what I say to that. The best Alsace cuisine and wine is very obviously German based, in Nice they do interesting things with Ravioli and Pizza (in between salads) while over the border in Savona they also do interesting things with Ravioli and Pizza. On culture and food and things that most of the population actually deal with on a day to day basis, France is a net importer.And of France's surrounding cojntries, GB is very french in its language sometimes, italy was built by france, spain is currently their female dog and germany is deliberately obtuse (but secretly quite french too in that they are large, want to be in charge and generally speaking do well when they get the chance to try).
Which is a relief, because neither of them should be trusted to run their own country, let alone other peoples.And a tendency to lose wars.