Sports in War - the Madness Goes On
Another of my 'diversions" from the arts:
For those who read my blogs, you are, of course, aware that I occasionally move from the arts to discuss items that cross my memory blackboard; usually aspects of the human condition that defy logic; for example:
In the Anzio sector during World War II, which was a killing field for a time, it may be of interest to take note that on several consecutive days, the Germans refrained from firing their artillery at the Americans when they played baseball games - then the killing resumed.
During the so-called "phony war"; that is, during the months after the Germans had occupied Poland in September of 1939, Hitler did not attack Western Europe while there was hope (in his mind) that the British might come to an agreement with the Nazi regime. And so, even though the British had declared war on Germany because of the invasion of Poland, there were no hostilities until May of 1940, when Hitler occupied the Low countries and France.
So between the attack on Poland and the spring of 1940, even though there was a declared war by the French and English on Germany, there were no hostilities.
It was during this period, some weeks before Hitler resumed his war, all was quiet on the French/German border. On a particular day, some high ranking French officers visited the Maginot Line bordering Germany. About a thousand yards away from the French soldiers, some German troops were playing soccer in full view. The French officers were besides themselves. One stormed over to the commander of this portion of the Maginot Line and asked why the French were not attacking these German soldiers; after all, war had been officially declared between the two countries since the preceding September.
The answer was "why should we fire at them? They are not firing on us."
Both of these events are documented and verified; one of them by no less than Noble Frankland, arguably the most knowledgeable military historian in England at the time.
War and Madness - the same word?
For those who read my blogs, you are, of course, aware that I occasionally move from the arts to discuss items that cross my memory blackboard; usually aspects of the human condition that defy logic; for example:
In the Anzio sector during World War II, which was a killing field for a time, it may be of interest to take note that on several consecutive days, the Germans refrained from firing their artillery at the Americans when they played baseball games - then the killing resumed.
During the so-called "phony war"; that is, during the months after the Germans had occupied Poland in September of 1939, Hitler did not attack Western Europe while there was hope (in his mind) that the British might come to an agreement with the Nazi regime. And so, even though the British had declared war on Germany because of the invasion of Poland, there were no hostilities until May of 1940, when Hitler occupied the Low countries and France.
So between the attack on Poland and the spring of 1940, even though there was a declared war by the French and English on Germany, there were no hostilities.
It was during this period, some weeks before Hitler resumed his war, all was quiet on the French/German border. On a particular day, some high ranking French officers visited the Maginot Line bordering Germany. About a thousand yards away from the French soldiers, some German troops were playing soccer in full view. The French officers were besides themselves. One stormed over to the commander of this portion of the Maginot Line and asked why the French were not attacking these German soldiers; after all, war had been officially declared between the two countries since the preceding September.
The answer was "why should we fire at them? They are not firing on us."
Both of these events are documented and verified; one of them by no less than Noble Frankland, arguably the most knowledgeable military historian in England at the time.
War and Madness - the same word?
Labels: sports in war
posted by LH at
3:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home