I hope Louis de Bernières remembers what he wrote in 1994.
But first: he was born in 1954, might live near Bungay in Suffolk and plays flute, mandolin (natch), clarinet and guitar. Now here’s what he wrote about the unprovoked Italian invasion of Greece in 1940; Mussolini’s land-grab to show Hitler that Italy could create a Mediterranean empire. This is a Greek girl, the doctor’s daughter, writing to her boyfriend who has joined the army.
“All the news from the front is so good that our victory seems already assured. Every day we hear of more Italian armies driven back or defeated, and we feel the jubilation of David with Goliath dead at his feet. Who would have believed it only two months ago? It seemed an impossibility. We sent you away to resist them for the sake of honour, but without hope of success, and now we wait to welcome you home as conquering heroes. All of Greece is bursting with pride and gratitude for our men who are greater than Achilles and Agamemnon put together. There is talk that you have won back all the land that was disputed in past times and that the Italians have been virtually expelled from Albania. How great you are, your names will live eternally in the hearts of Greeks, and the world will remember forever what happens when anyone dares to wound us.”
Greece was invaded in October 1940; by June 1941 all of Greece and Crete was occupied by Axis troops. I hope history does not repeat itself in Ukraine. My, naive, view is that Ukraine is fighting a proxy war for NATO. A war in which there will be no winners. It’s history repeating itself: UK/France, Suez; US, Vietnam; US/UK – Iraq, Libya, Syria. I wonder if wars are started by politicians or soldiers? I think the latter persuade the former. One thing is sure, it’s always a rich nation declaring war on a poor nation. Shame on us who live in affluent, sometimes democratic, countries that cast the first stone.
Well said sir. It is a proxy war I believe and they are started by “politicans”.