Hello Michael, I just now got a chance to sit down and read this article. It's worth everyone who has a historical interest to take a look at this well written perspective. Thanks for sharing this!
Keith On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 5:47 PM, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > The Untold Story > > *World War I *by Taki > January 14, 2014 > > By the time August rolls around there will be hundreds of books, thousands > of articles, and millions of words spoken by mostly pompous people about > who was responsible for starting World War I. The Brits were the first off > the mark to blame the Germans. They would, wouldn’t they? Max Hastings, a > very good English historian who affects upper-class mannerisms (his father > was a tabloid hack) and has the most extraordinary accent in a desperate > effort to show he’s a blueblood, was among the first to produce a book and > place the blame where it doesn’t belong. Among the few who got it exactly > right is Christopher Clark, whose *The Sleepwalkers* hit the proverbial > nail you-know-where. The irony is that the sixteen million dead, the > disappearance of the great royal dynasties and of the upper classes, and > the birth of communism and Nazism could all have been avoided if a certain > Joseph Caillaux had kept his pants on. Let me explain. > > Caillaux was French prime minister and a friend of Germany’s. He > mistrusted the British who ruled half the world. He decided that Germans > should not build a larger navy lest they get any big ideas about having an > overseas empire like perfidious Albion. He had stepped down in 1912 and was > running against a warmonger in the 1914 elections. In early 1914, *Le > Figaro*, France’s most respected newspaper, published an exposé of the > affair of Monsieur Caillaux with a certain Madame Henriette. (*Plus ça > change*, as they say in the land of cheese.) > > Madame Caillaux, known for her elegance and noble breeding, had herself > driven to the offices of *Le Figaro* and asked to see the editor. He was > out to lunch, so she waited in his office. As soon as he entered, she > greeted him politely, announced her name, took out a revolver from her > gilded purse, and shot him dead. She was immediately tried and > exoneratedthe French called it a *crime passionnel*but her hubby had to > resign. The warmongering Raymond Poincaré remained in power. > > Gaston Calmette, the dead editor, was the first man to fall, but you won’t > find his name among those who fell on the “Champs d’Honneur,” or field of > honor. All but a few of the French aristocracy were wiped out, but even > more nobles died on the German side. The British upper classes also lost > big time, but not as many as the Germans and the French. The irony is that > the much maligned Kaiser Wilhelm -- a nut to be sure, but a silly nut -- > refused to believe a war would break out between his cousin George V and > his other first cousin Nicky, who ended up murdered along with all his > family by the reds in a cellar. An even bigger irony is that Germany did > her utmost until the last second to avoid going to war. > > Here it is nice and simple. Serbia is an Austrian dominion, or whatever > you want to call it. She is part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Crown > Prince Franz Ferdinand visits Sarajevo and is shot dead along with his wife > by a Serb nationalist with close ties to other Serb nationalists in the > armed forces. Austria is outraged and makes heavy demands, as well she > should. This is stretching it, but let’s have some fun. What would Uncle > Sam have done if, say, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton had been cut down by > some extremist in Puerto Rico? Well, I for one would vacation in San Juan > the next day, and I’d spend lots of money too, but then I am known to say > and do rash things. So the Serbs ask the Russians for help and guarantees > in case the Austrians march in, and the Russians give it. The trouble is > that the Russkis have a treaty with the French and the British that if they > go to war, the other two will follow. So the Austrians ask the Germans for > a guarantee and the Germans refuse to give it. > > This is the big lie historians have perpetrated since World War I. They’ve > refused to acknowledge this fact. According to most British writers, > Germany pushed Austria to declare war on Russia and make war on Serbia. > Germany in fact declared war on Russia once the silly Tsar had mobilized > and sent hundreds of thousands of troops to its western front. (If a man’s > about to punch you, you hit him first, which is why Germany declared war on > Russia.) > > Well, we all know the rest. Yes, the great powers sleepwalked into war, > and war was declared while all foreign ministers involved were on holiday, > the French one taking the waters in Vichy, the German getting married in > Baden-Baden, the Englishman -- and among the few desperate to keep Britain > out -- Sir Edward Grey somewhere up in Scotland, and all three monarchs on > their respective yachts working on their gout. European civilization has > never recovered. Russia in its drive to dismantle Turkey and have access to > the Dardanelles wanted war with Turkey’s ally, Germany. France wanted war > to avenge her 1870 drubbing by Germany that saw Prussian troops march down > the Champs-Élysées. Britain, ever sneaky, wanted to limit German power and > to surround her with hostile alliances. Serbia wanted to split the Austrian > Empire. Germany had to stick with her brothers the Austrians and > reluctantly went to war. > > It is a very sad story, a great tragedy that didn’t fully end until 1945. > The intervention of American troops saved the day for the imperialists, and > the Treaty of Versailles and that awful man Wilson ensured that Germany > would be put to the cross. Hitler was a direct result of the > narrow-mindedness of the victorious allies, especially the frog Clemenceau. > Oh yes, I almost forgot. Monsieur Caillaux went on to divorce his wife and > marry Henriette. He lived until 1944, long enough to see the Germans > marching down the Champs-Élysées daily. > > http://takimag.com/article/world_war_i_taki#axzz2qesGpIUZ > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
