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Seems like the Republic of All peoples will die like the polish Lithuanian commonwealth it resembles territorially - by failing miserably against germans and russians
Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad.
I think Mannerheim is one of (many) figures of World War 2 criminally underknown in the English-speaking world. Of course, we also like to avoid thinking of how little we aided Finland in the Winter War, so I guess that makes a kind of sense.Good old Winston, and good old Mannerheim building his defence lines everywhere and all around
Ah, another advocate of Mannerheim, I'm gladNice to see two of my particular favorite figures rise to prominence in this world as well
The Republic is embroiled in a desperate battle to the death. One might think that they are on their last legs, but the Germans and Russians would be wise to remember that old saying about cornered animals...
Also: "The Battle of the Line" -- I think I understood that reference
More from him soon. To be fair, without the Red Lion the Republic would likely have fallen.
Thank you
Thank you
Quite possibly. It is quite fun to imagine what Churchill's temperament and abilities might have led him in a rather different context. But also I wished to bring out something often forgotten in stories of him, dominated as their are by his WW2 endeavours, namely the personal bravery of the man. I mean, if you look at his early life it reads like a bad fiction novel. Except unlike fiction it doesn't have to justify its existence.There must be a law that Brits have Winston Churchill play hero...
Besides, I have noticed a certain tendency for cousins from across the pond to like working a Lincoln or similar into their tales too
There is certainly some truth to that - though in so far as the "Austrian" part of the triad that brought about the end of the PLC is the Imperial Commonwealth they are just about still there.
No new update as well. The black dog is still barking loudly. Indeed, one reason I brought so much Churchill out in this update was a bit of a personal distraction. I don't know how it is for other sufferers of depression, but personally I find it a comfort that someone like Churchill too was preyed on by this insidious condition, his so-called black dog. Also that he too was sometimes overcome with it. I mean, if a person filled at times with such energy and vitality as Churchill could at times be knocked flat, then it makes it ok - in a sense - that sometimes I get knocked back a bit too. And whilst I appreciate Churchill's appearance might be a bit corny and far-fetched, I cannot apologise for it because I have had great fun thinking up a storyline for him, so I can only hope you can forgive this personal indulgence.
Always good to have a decent Babylon 5 reference in a sci-fi work.Also: "The Battle of the Line" -- I think I understood that reference
Man, that series is one of the best sci-fi series ever.
It was pretty good.Always good to have a decent Babylon 5 reference in a sci-fi work.
Admittedly though when it comes to last stands I am more sort of primed to think of Rorke's Drift (perils of growing up in a British military family)
There is a book I read some years back called A First-Rate Madness that examines a selection high-profile leaders who suffered from various forms of mental illness, with the premise that sometimes those who suffer from such maladies have characteristics such as exceptional drive or resilience that others who don't suffer don't possess (without, of course, seeking to trivialize the very real issues such ailments cause them in their daily lives). One of the people the author profiles was Churchill, stating that in a sense he was uniquely qualified to give comfort, inspiration, and strong leadership during Britain's darkest hour precisely because he could speak from the experience of his own "black dog's" worst hounding. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with an interest (whether professional or personal) in such matters.
Admittedly though when it comes to last stands I am more sort of primed to think of Rorke's Drift (perils of growing up in a British military family)
Hah, have to admit that it wasn't strictly at the top of my mind -- but I have always been something of a fan of Zulu as well
Mannerheim is almost like a god here in Finland, well at least to the older generations. And he is an extremely fascinating person. He journeyed across Asia and China as a sort of spy/explorer to czar Nicholas II. Later he led the Russian imperial guard cavalry division against the central powers during WWI.
And in his old days he had to save a small country from invasion. Mannerheim was so revered that he wasn't even accused of any war crimes after the war ended, though the Finnish communists wanted him punished, the Soviets didn't.
I think I have heard of that book, but I have never read it. I know that, in discussions of mental health, both Churchill and Florence Nightingale feature very prominently in attempts to break down the taboo. Queen Victoria too in her way, though her depression is usually written away (rather condescendingly I feel) as over-wrought grief.There is a book I read some years back called A First-Rate Madness that examines a selection high-profile leaders who suffered from various forms of mental illness, with the premise that sometimes those who suffer from such maladies have characteristics such as exceptional drive or resilience that others who don't suffer don't possess (without, of course, seeking to trivialize the very real issues such ailments cause them in their daily lives). One of the people the author profiles was Churchill, stating that in a sense he was uniquely qualified to give comfort, inspiration, and strong leadership during Britain's darkest hour precisely because he could speak from the experience of his own "black dog's" worst hounding. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with an interest (whether professional or personal) in such matters.
Hah, have to admit that it wasn't strictly at the top of my mind -- but I have always been something of a fan of Zulu as well
I can imagine, and for good reason. Certainly you cannot tell the history of Finland in the modern era without having him feature largely in it. I don't know since I know regrettably little of modern post-war Finnish history, but I imagine the influence of him lingers to this day?
History 15 - The Red Lion Takes Charge
Excerpts from A Brief History of the Red Lion
Chapter 15 - The Red Lion take charge
As the Republic fell to the north the Danish Empire stiffened. As the Russian troops advanced the King travelled to Helsinki - many thought symbolically to contribute to the fight for Finland. In reality he planned something more substantial. On the 23rd of May, in a speech broadcast throughout the Danish Empire, he promised that if Denmark survived the war victorious the peoples of Finland the Baltics would be offered their liberty. Whilst he would remain a (largely) ceremonial head of state, in practical terms they would be independent, if they wished it. At a stroke the King ensured the steadfast support of the Finnish and Baltic populations for the remainder of the war, because whilst the Russians were trying to play on their discontent, they were not offering freedom. The King also commended Mannerheim as the saviour of the people of the Empire (many would later note he did not proclaim Mannerheim as the saviour of the Empire).
We now know Mannerheim had been pressing something like this to the King for many months, but that even he was in the dark as to the precise details of the King’s declaration. In the event it was more generous that he hoped. Almost overnight the Finnish and Baltic populations militarised. Those Balts now falling under Russian occupation almost entirely sought to escape to the defended areas to join the fight. The Russians dismissed the Helsinki Declaration as mere trickery, but in this they also misplayed their hand, and Mannerheim used the Russian’s own statements as effective propaganda against them. In the frozen north, the Russians would come to fear their foes.
By the summer equinox of 1939 the once mighty Republic of All Peoples had been reduced to a strip of territory running from Krakow down to the Black Sea, and a pocket towards the old eastern border. Containing many hundreds of thousands of soldiers, airstrips, and (due to the nearness of harvest) plentiful food supplies, in addition to considerable stories of ammunition and equipment. The disorder could not last forever, and by the end of May the defence had started to get organised. It was quickly clear that the trapped army did not really have the necessary offensive capability to break out, and that the mixed Republican and Red Lion forces could not break through.
That left essentially two options, surrender or resistance in the hope it might divert Russian forces. Some wanted to surrender, and the military leadership within the pocket now made a bold move. They agreed that any who wished to could surrender, but in an organised fashion so as not to cause a military disaster that could compromise the defensive perimeters that were now being constructed within the pocket. It went as well as the Polish leadership hoped when the Republican soldiery waving white flags were mercilessly gunned down. In that one act of barbarism instituted by the then Russian commander the pocket gained a grim determination. With surrender removed there remained only death, and a death dearly bought.
The Pocket campaign, as it was known, was fought throughout the late summer, autumn, and into winter. For a time the defenders could gain additional supplies by air, and even maintained a small fighter force until the logistics became eventually impossible. Likewise the wounded and some civilians could be evacuated. As the weather turned though, and Russian pressure increased the pocket inevitably contracted and became more and more isolated. Food though was plentiful, and well rationed. Food, not ammunition, is thought to have kept that resistance going , and it was not until the snows began the thaw that the last bitter holdouts were over-run. The Pocket campaign tied up well over a million Russian soldiers - and at the beginning much more. It cost hundreds of thousands of Russian casualties, and it became the dark twin to the Battle of Krakow. This was fighting without hope, with no hope of salvation or victory, with the only possible outcome known months in advance. And many think it was also the reason the Russian armies did not totally over-run the rest of the Republic of All Peoples.
As for the Republic of All Peoples on the 16th September an important event took place which, in hindsight, either saved or condemned the world, depending on your point of view. By this time the fighting had, if not paused, then greatly slowed down. The Russians were starting to concentrate on the pocket, and the Germans had started to slow their assault on Krakow. The front here cannot be called static, but it was (after a fashion) stable. The Red Lion sent more forces to the region, and Republic conscripts began to make up a force that could maintain something of a front line. However, it was clear that without the Red Lion the Republic would have fallen.
Churchill, now recovering from his collapse after more than a month of frenetic ceaseless energy, called it like it was. The Republic, he claimed, no longer had the capability to fight by itself. Too much territory and industry, and too many soldiers, were lost. The reality of the situation was galling, but it could not be avoided. To survive meant surviving by the efforts of the Red Lion, supplemented by what forces the Republic could yet muster. In this war they had become a junior partner, and the junior partner cannot lead forever. Better, Churchill argued, to make the decision gracefully and win as many concessions as possible.
As it happens the Red Lion (almost naturally) had been thinking of similar lines. Their chief general on the ground was an actual German by the name of Erich von Manstein, who that summer orchestrated a series of daring strokes that blunted the remaining offensive power of the Russian forces against him. He allowed them to advance just far enough to over-extend, and then flung them back. Three times the Russians tried to advance, and three times Manstein sent them back, with the result the front line by mid-September was much as it had been in mid-June.
However, further north the Red Lion general in charge was actually from the Republic, a man of Polish extraction was Konstanty Rokossowski. A talented general in his own right, he had aided the relief of Krakow with a few short, well-timed assaults. When Churchill wrote to the Red Lion leadership from his sickbed, he asked for Rokossowski to be set as the joint Marshall of the Republican and Red Lion forces in theatre. The Red Lion agreed.
The handover of power on the 16th September was the first time the Red Lion took charge of a major theatre over a sovereign nation. Previously their forces had always been subordinate. Now, although very technically in the pay of the civilian Republican government, they were in charge of all military matters in the Republic - which effectively meant they were in charge. Churchill, for his part, loathed by so many of his surviving political colleagues for doing what they could not, managed to appoint himself the Republic’s foreign supremo, responsible for all diplomatic matters as well as the relationship with the Red Lion. It is perhaps not hard to understand why so many conspiracy theories swirl around the patrician Brit. Churchill however, had other plans, as all would discover.
Chapter 15 - The Red Lion take charge
As the Republic fell to the north the Danish Empire stiffened. As the Russian troops advanced the King travelled to Helsinki - many thought symbolically to contribute to the fight for Finland. In reality he planned something more substantial. On the 23rd of May, in a speech broadcast throughout the Danish Empire, he promised that if Denmark survived the war victorious the peoples of Finland the Baltics would be offered their liberty. Whilst he would remain a (largely) ceremonial head of state, in practical terms they would be independent, if they wished it. At a stroke the King ensured the steadfast support of the Finnish and Baltic populations for the remainder of the war, because whilst the Russians were trying to play on their discontent, they were not offering freedom. The King also commended Mannerheim as the saviour of the people of the Empire (many would later note he did not proclaim Mannerheim as the saviour of the Empire).
We now know Mannerheim had been pressing something like this to the King for many months, but that even he was in the dark as to the precise details of the King’s declaration. In the event it was more generous that he hoped. Almost overnight the Finnish and Baltic populations militarised. Those Balts now falling under Russian occupation almost entirely sought to escape to the defended areas to join the fight. The Russians dismissed the Helsinki Declaration as mere trickery, but in this they also misplayed their hand, and Mannerheim used the Russian’s own statements as effective propaganda against them. In the frozen north, the Russians would come to fear their foes.
By the summer equinox of 1939 the once mighty Republic of All Peoples had been reduced to a strip of territory running from Krakow down to the Black Sea, and a pocket towards the old eastern border. Containing many hundreds of thousands of soldiers, airstrips, and (due to the nearness of harvest) plentiful food supplies, in addition to considerable stories of ammunition and equipment. The disorder could not last forever, and by the end of May the defence had started to get organised. It was quickly clear that the trapped army did not really have the necessary offensive capability to break out, and that the mixed Republican and Red Lion forces could not break through.
That left essentially two options, surrender or resistance in the hope it might divert Russian forces. Some wanted to surrender, and the military leadership within the pocket now made a bold move. They agreed that any who wished to could surrender, but in an organised fashion so as not to cause a military disaster that could compromise the defensive perimeters that were now being constructed within the pocket. It went as well as the Polish leadership hoped when the Republican soldiery waving white flags were mercilessly gunned down. In that one act of barbarism instituted by the then Russian commander the pocket gained a grim determination. With surrender removed there remained only death, and a death dearly bought.
The Pocket campaign, as it was known, was fought throughout the late summer, autumn, and into winter. For a time the defenders could gain additional supplies by air, and even maintained a small fighter force until the logistics became eventually impossible. Likewise the wounded and some civilians could be evacuated. As the weather turned though, and Russian pressure increased the pocket inevitably contracted and became more and more isolated. Food though was plentiful, and well rationed. Food, not ammunition, is thought to have kept that resistance going , and it was not until the snows began the thaw that the last bitter holdouts were over-run. The Pocket campaign tied up well over a million Russian soldiers - and at the beginning much more. It cost hundreds of thousands of Russian casualties, and it became the dark twin to the Battle of Krakow. This was fighting without hope, with no hope of salvation or victory, with the only possible outcome known months in advance. And many think it was also the reason the Russian armies did not totally over-run the rest of the Republic of All Peoples.
As for the Republic of All Peoples on the 16th September an important event took place which, in hindsight, either saved or condemned the world, depending on your point of view. By this time the fighting had, if not paused, then greatly slowed down. The Russians were starting to concentrate on the pocket, and the Germans had started to slow their assault on Krakow. The front here cannot be called static, but it was (after a fashion) stable. The Red Lion sent more forces to the region, and Republic conscripts began to make up a force that could maintain something of a front line. However, it was clear that without the Red Lion the Republic would have fallen.
Churchill, now recovering from his collapse after more than a month of frenetic ceaseless energy, called it like it was. The Republic, he claimed, no longer had the capability to fight by itself. Too much territory and industry, and too many soldiers, were lost. The reality of the situation was galling, but it could not be avoided. To survive meant surviving by the efforts of the Red Lion, supplemented by what forces the Republic could yet muster. In this war they had become a junior partner, and the junior partner cannot lead forever. Better, Churchill argued, to make the decision gracefully and win as many concessions as possible.
As it happens the Red Lion (almost naturally) had been thinking of similar lines. Their chief general on the ground was an actual German by the name of Erich von Manstein, who that summer orchestrated a series of daring strokes that blunted the remaining offensive power of the Russian forces against him. He allowed them to advance just far enough to over-extend, and then flung them back. Three times the Russians tried to advance, and three times Manstein sent them back, with the result the front line by mid-September was much as it had been in mid-June.
However, further north the Red Lion general in charge was actually from the Republic, a man of Polish extraction was Konstanty Rokossowski. A talented general in his own right, he had aided the relief of Krakow with a few short, well-timed assaults. When Churchill wrote to the Red Lion leadership from his sickbed, he asked for Rokossowski to be set as the joint Marshall of the Republican and Red Lion forces in theatre. The Red Lion agreed.
The handover of power on the 16th September was the first time the Red Lion took charge of a major theatre over a sovereign nation. Previously their forces had always been subordinate. Now, although very technically in the pay of the civilian Republican government, they were in charge of all military matters in the Republic - which effectively meant they were in charge. Churchill, for his part, loathed by so many of his surviving political colleagues for doing what they could not, managed to appoint himself the Republic’s foreign supremo, responsible for all diplomatic matters as well as the relationship with the Red Lion. It is perhaps not hard to understand why so many conspiracy theories swirl around the patrician Brit. Churchill however, had other plans, as all would discover.
So this is what I have been leading up to - the moment the Red Lion reverses the usual command heirarchy between employer and employed. I was inspired, in part, by how some of the Italian city states at times became near vassals to the condotierri that they hired. I know I am concentrated alot on this war, and this is one of the reasons why.
Well. I suppose all the future victims of the Red Lion will have Churchill to blame for it then.
Oh, good old Mr Churchill is not popular in some quarters by 2200Well. I suppose all the future victims of the Red Lion will have Churchill to blame for it then.
And now, after spending so long in the shadows and on the sidelines, the Red Lion finally moves to center stage, taking direct control of the Republic's war effort. I can't help but feel, though, that this is only the first step towards expanding the scope of the war still further -- regardless of the de jure formalities over who's "hiring" whom, I have a feeling that the Red Lion taking on the de facto command is inevitably going to lead to the Imperial Commonwealth as a whole getting dragged more fully into this, one way or another.
The Pocket is looking more and more like one giant Stalingrad. A disaster for both sides.
Oh absolutely. The Imperial Commonwealth is being too clever by half.
Well, I am not sure Stalingrad was a disaster for both sides necessarily. Whilst a somewhat different situation, Verdun was more what I had in mind.
All
A brief update only, but I hope I am settling down again. We shall see.
History 16 - A Balkan Winter
Excerpts from A Brief History of the Red Lion
Chapter 16 - A Balkan Winter
Churchill, once his position in the Republic was secure and control of the military effectively handed over to the Red Lion, began to focus on his next great endeavour. The Republic and Denmark were not even allies - co-belligerents at best. The Red Lion was “employed” by the Republic, and backed by the Imperial Commonwealth, but the Commonwealth itself remained apart. As did the British - despite their open support for the Danes. In comparison the Germans and Russians were formal allies, and as Churchill was eager to note German diplomats were being busy elsewhere in the world.
He had precious few successes though, that autumn and winter. The one notable sign of progress was the British Declaration of Free Shipping in the North Sea. The British stated that any ship should be allowed to pass through the North Sea unmolested, and that they would guarantee this with their fleet. Technically this meant ships from the Chinese Republic could freely sail into Germany - and indeed a few did and were let through. But the logistics were entirely unfavourable for Germany, as all the other major powers of Western Europe and the Mediterranean refused to allow the sale of goods to Germany. In practical terms this meant the British Navy and Airforce came to blows with their German equivalents, in what some call the undeclared war.
As winter caused the cessation of large-scale campaigning (except against The Pocket) a new theatre opened up on the 19th December, seemingly out of nowhere - but of course Churchill, and a few others, had been fearing something this.
The Balkans had been a confusing and ever-changing mess of states ever since the Revolution. At the height of the fragmentation in the 1850s there were something in the region of 60-70 statelets - though the number is debated and hard to define during a decade chaotic even by Balkan standards. The 1870s to 1890s though saw a period of consolidation, so that by 1900 there were just 16 states. The War of 1901, so-called, saw four of these states divided up and partitioned by the remainder, and a few years of peace prevailed. But then there was a revolution in the Duchy of Wallachia, and that state effectively split into two. The other Balkan states lined up in a series of shifting alliances as the Duchy and Republic of Wallachia fought four wars between 1906 and 1928. There were also some smaller conflicts between single states, but nothing conclusive. The Crisis brought a temporary halt to effective fighting, but in the Balkans raids were always frequent, skirmishes commonplace.
On the 19th December 1939 the states of Albania, Macedonia, the Duchy of Wallachia, Free Hungary, and Bosnia announced the Balkan Alliance. They reneged all other alliances, and simultaneously attacked Serbia. It was a complete strategic surprise, masterminded by German diplomats. Some of the other Balkan states - Croatia, Bulgaria, the Republic of Wallachia, Thessaly, Epirus, and Transylvania - immediately came to Serbia’s aid. For that was the way of Balkan politics. However, it was too little for Serbia, and Epirus and Thessaly were soon hard-pressed as Greece now joined the Balkan alliance and attacked them in the rear. By the end of February Serbia, Epirus, and Thessaly had all fallen, and the remaining Balkan states were fighting a desperate defensive war - at which point the Balkan Alliance.
The Imperial Commonwealth could not ignore the pyrotechnics taking place in its own backyard, the Commonwealth government still desperately wished to delay the moment of their formal entry into the war for as long as possible. Croatia and Transylvania were funnelled plentiful supplies from the Commonwealth proper, and Bulgaria and the Republic of Wallachia were from the Red Lion lands. Once again the Imperial Commonwealth effectively paid for these four states to hire the services of the Red Lion, in response to which the Balkan alliance joined with the German-Russian alliance. Henceforth they are generally known as the Alliance of Nations.
This saw Red Lion forces increasingly engaged, and the spring saw the first major Red Lion offensive when they led an army from Transylvania into Free Hungary, conquering most of that territory. Free Hungary though was always the most vulnerable of the Balkan states, and a truly bitter set of battles were being fought between the Aegean and the Carpathians, and in Croatia which was reduced by nearly half but still frantically held on.
All in all the Balkan Winter, as it was known, was a most useful distraction.
Chapter 16 - A Balkan Winter
Churchill, once his position in the Republic was secure and control of the military effectively handed over to the Red Lion, began to focus on his next great endeavour. The Republic and Denmark were not even allies - co-belligerents at best. The Red Lion was “employed” by the Republic, and backed by the Imperial Commonwealth, but the Commonwealth itself remained apart. As did the British - despite their open support for the Danes. In comparison the Germans and Russians were formal allies, and as Churchill was eager to note German diplomats were being busy elsewhere in the world.
He had precious few successes though, that autumn and winter. The one notable sign of progress was the British Declaration of Free Shipping in the North Sea. The British stated that any ship should be allowed to pass through the North Sea unmolested, and that they would guarantee this with their fleet. Technically this meant ships from the Chinese Republic could freely sail into Germany - and indeed a few did and were let through. But the logistics were entirely unfavourable for Germany, as all the other major powers of Western Europe and the Mediterranean refused to allow the sale of goods to Germany. In practical terms this meant the British Navy and Airforce came to blows with their German equivalents, in what some call the undeclared war.
As winter caused the cessation of large-scale campaigning (except against The Pocket) a new theatre opened up on the 19th December, seemingly out of nowhere - but of course Churchill, and a few others, had been fearing something this.
The Balkans had been a confusing and ever-changing mess of states ever since the Revolution. At the height of the fragmentation in the 1850s there were something in the region of 60-70 statelets - though the number is debated and hard to define during a decade chaotic even by Balkan standards. The 1870s to 1890s though saw a period of consolidation, so that by 1900 there were just 16 states. The War of 1901, so-called, saw four of these states divided up and partitioned by the remainder, and a few years of peace prevailed. But then there was a revolution in the Duchy of Wallachia, and that state effectively split into two. The other Balkan states lined up in a series of shifting alliances as the Duchy and Republic of Wallachia fought four wars between 1906 and 1928. There were also some smaller conflicts between single states, but nothing conclusive. The Crisis brought a temporary halt to effective fighting, but in the Balkans raids were always frequent, skirmishes commonplace.
On the 19th December 1939 the states of Albania, Macedonia, the Duchy of Wallachia, Free Hungary, and Bosnia announced the Balkan Alliance. They reneged all other alliances, and simultaneously attacked Serbia. It was a complete strategic surprise, masterminded by German diplomats. Some of the other Balkan states - Croatia, Bulgaria, the Republic of Wallachia, Thessaly, Epirus, and Transylvania - immediately came to Serbia’s aid. For that was the way of Balkan politics. However, it was too little for Serbia, and Epirus and Thessaly were soon hard-pressed as Greece now joined the Balkan alliance and attacked them in the rear. By the end of February Serbia, Epirus, and Thessaly had all fallen, and the remaining Balkan states were fighting a desperate defensive war - at which point the Balkan Alliance.
The Imperial Commonwealth could not ignore the pyrotechnics taking place in its own backyard, the Commonwealth government still desperately wished to delay the moment of their formal entry into the war for as long as possible. Croatia and Transylvania were funnelled plentiful supplies from the Commonwealth proper, and Bulgaria and the Republic of Wallachia were from the Red Lion lands. Once again the Imperial Commonwealth effectively paid for these four states to hire the services of the Red Lion, in response to which the Balkan alliance joined with the German-Russian alliance. Henceforth they are generally known as the Alliance of Nations.
This saw Red Lion forces increasingly engaged, and the spring saw the first major Red Lion offensive when they led an army from Transylvania into Free Hungary, conquering most of that territory. Free Hungary though was always the most vulnerable of the Balkan states, and a truly bitter set of battles were being fought between the Aegean and the Carpathians, and in Croatia which was reduced by nearly half but still frantically held on.
All in all the Balkan Winter, as it was known, was a most useful distraction.
(Might just be me, but this sentence seems unfinished...)
A most useful distraction... for whom?
It does seem as though the Germans have benefited somewhat in the short term by forcing the Red Lion and its allies to commit resources to a new and difficult front, but by the same token they've also driven new foes beneath the Imperials' wings. The Balkans are notoriously volatile, and those who play with fire all too often get burned.
I recently began reading a biography of de Gaulle and learned he spent some time in Poland before and during their brief war with the Soviet Union in the early 1920s, so as some aristocratic immigrant was described, I was thinking 'gotta be Chuck, gotta be Chuck' and it turned out I was wrong...
Thank you - I will go and fix(Might just be me, but this sentence seems unfinished...)
A most useful distraction... for whom?
The distraction will be revealed when I get to write the next update.
Hehe. It is great to see you again