What I found incredible was that the Menzies Australian Government had agreed to send the troops to Greece, before consulting their C.O. in the Middle East, General Blamey.[ of the Kokoda Track infamy]
"From the moment he was briefed by Wavell on 18 February, Blamey had entertained serious concern about Greece. As Australia's national commander in the field, he had the right of access to the Australian government over Wavell's head. However, it was not until 9 March 1941, by which time elements of Lustre Force were already on their way, that Blamey requested of the Minister for the Army, Percy Spender, that he might submit his views. It must have come as a shock, so late in the day, to the Australian War Cabinet to learn that Blamey did not think the expedition had 'a reasonable chance of success'. While the British could muster three divisions and an armoured brigade, against them, Blamey advised, the Germans had 'as many divisions available as roads can carry' and 'within three to four months we must be prepared to meet overwhelming forces completely equipped and trained'. His conclusion was simple:
Military operation extremely hazardous in view of the disparity between opposing forces in number and training.
[Blamey, quoted in Long, Greece, Crete and Syria, p.17]
Thus did the AIF set out for Greece with the agreement of the Australian government and towards what its commander, who arrived there on 18 March, thought could be disaster."
I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food
A bookshop is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks