Comments by "Elizabeth Loveland" (@Shineon83) on "The History Chap" channel.

….MacDonald’s position strikes me as having been a very lonely & isolated one ( gaping class distinctions aside, every time he spoke, his peers must have been jolted by his pronounced dialect )…”Respect” for his fighting abilities would not have prevented the social sleights & teasing he must have constantly endured. And then, the whispers…? To carry such a secret ( in an age when a “stiff upper lip” was synonymous with being a soldier ), he would have had not a soul to confide in….( Makes me wonder if it was really his own demons he was fighting with such brutality during his many battlefield engagements )?….
2
“De Wiart would take the newly-tailored, Italian suit, ‘So long as I don’t look like a gigolo’ “ 😂 ….( I don’t know if anyone understood the import of that remark, but, British of good taste during that era regarded what passed for male fashion in Italy at the time as being “flashy & low-life”) — or, as the great Somerset Maugham put it, “These Italians all wore the conspicuous feathers of a Kept Man—lacking only a visible leash connecting them to their wealthy ‘Mamas’ “
2
One has to wonder how much truth is contained in these stories about the Rani….Who was it who “overheard” her supposedly giving military advice to her male co-conspirators ( which they “ignored,” thereby suffering defeats )?….Surely, no underling ( let alone, any Hindu male ) would so embarrass his male superior by spreading such tales (,and there were no female soldiers )…. The same can be said about her “advice” regarding preparing for the British, rather than feasting ( surely she wouldn’t have emasculated the leader by hectoring him in front of others )?….Such “legends” rarely bear such close scrutiny, I find….
2
THIS is a man whose exploits one can rightfully chuckle at ( at a safe distance ), while shaking one’s head in disbelief…. Unlike the famous Gillespie of the 18th C — whose death-defying exploits were both subject to the exaggerations of the era + lacked the more modern, critical & methodical method of verifying information used by the military in the late 19th/early 20th C — this chap’s exploits were all documented.…Each “event” had multiple, reliable witnesses—with unimpeachable reputations….The chap was, indeed, “born to fight”
2
Really a SUPERIOR history channel! New sub ❤
2
I had a Chinese history instructor at university….He told us that, “The dirty, little secret today’s Chinese would never admit to : China already had a significant opium addiction problem PRIOR to the British trading in it”….. He explained, “It WAS ‘cause & effect’ — The British finally landed on Opium as their premier choice of trade AFTER recognizing how many Chinese used it—and thus, how lucrative it could be….”
2
I have always respected the Sikhs….There is no community in the world more generous to the poor & downtrodden. Their generosity was really on display during COVID—when they distributed meals to all….
2
“Hicks was horrified by the state of the Egyptian army : undisciplined, uneducated & unwilling to fight”….This has been a common refrain by military observers over the years….
1
“Booth, some said, was a bit too eager for promotion”……( With 8 children to support, it’s little wonder )…. I enjoyed the tale of this small engagement; the characters really came to life for me….( and once again, I’m left to marvel at the stoicism & devotion to duty of the British soldier ). I was so pleased to learn of Booth’s VC!
1
Can’t really compare Napoleon’s once-in-a-millennium military genius with Wellington, surely?
1
Since WHEN did military professionals use “Right” or “Left” for directional orders to subordinates ( I thought that, “N,” “S,” “E” & “W” were standard protocol )?
1
I’m always astonished at the degree of serendipity with which certain authorities tended to regard “rescue missions” in the 19th century—and how the main objective often acquired secondary importance to the vanities/ego of the individual(s) selected to head the mission….. Wood’s desire to lead an expedition free of any blunders, and which would be seen by his fellows as being minutely planned & executed, led to defeating the mission’s very goal ( taking a route that took “4X longer” than the fastest way; delaying 2 mos. in order to acquire specialist “oarsmen;” etc.)….Rather than prioritizing time—while ensuring adequate provisions and planning for the most likely contingencies —Wood ( like many others ) appears to regard the venture as a “stand alone assignment,” unfettered by any underlying mission principle ….Perhaps as surprising is their complete autonomy—lacking pushback as to their methods….
1
With 20/20 hindsight, ANYTHING would have been better than surrendering to the Japanese ( and even if Percival was truly ignorant about how the Japanese treated POWs & civilians —almost inconceivable if he had given even cursory attention to Japanese atrocities in Nan King & elsewhere — his surrendering long before his troops had “fought to the last,’, given their all & exhausted all chance of victory—goes against not just military ethos, but against even an amateur’s assessment of Singapore’s strategic importance to the British in a conflict with Japan….) It is for the above reasons ( rather than simply his “surrendering too easily” ) that I have always found Percival to have been so culpable—not only for the defeat, itself, but for the deaths of tens of thousands ( of both his own men, and the captured & executed native population )….In a dictionary on “Military Terminology,” Percival’s picture should have place of pride under the definition of “Military Incompetence”….
1
Unlike the American Revolution, the English Civil War, the Russian Revolution ( all of which involved fighting almost exclusively between competing armies ), what Indians term their “War of Independence” was far more indiscriminate —involving massive & brutal attacks against women & children, and generalized slaughter…. Although I understand Indian sensitivities on the war, history can only inform when it is truthfully & fully presented….It cannot be emphasised enough that the uncharacteristically violent reprisals by professional British soldiers against the mutineers was a direct response to the genuine horror felt by the entire British public toward an enemy that would break the cultural taboo of murdering so many women, mothers & children ( often, in the most brutal manner )….Had that cultural line not been crossed, Indian fatalities would likely have been far smaller
1
Fun stuff ( however, I take at least half of it with a very large grain of salt :)
1