| Tango01 | 28 Jul 2020 11:01 p.m. PST |
"Japan fighting Italy in the Pacific Theatre – sounds unlikely, but incredibly combat did occur between these two nations in 1943. Find out the full story here…" YouTube link
Amicalement
Armand
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 deadhead  | 29 Jul 2020 1:21 a.m. PST |
|
 Dan Cyr | 29 Jul 2020 7:42 a.m. PST |
Interesting, I'd not known of this. Thanks. |
| skipper John | 29 Jul 2020 7:53 a.m. PST |
Interesting! I never knew. |
 Legion 4 | 29 Jul 2020 10:25 a.m. PST |
|
 The Virtual Armchair General  | 29 Jul 2020 10:42 a.m. PST |
The BEST history is the history you did not know! Most remarkable…. TVAG |
| Tango01 | 29 Jul 2020 12:02 p.m. PST |
Happy you enjoyed it boys!. (smile) Amicalement
Armand |
| deadhead | 29 Jul 2020 12:12 p.m. PST |
The tales of Units whose home country swapped allegiance is just fascinating. We all know about German attacks onItaly in the Ionian Sea or Aegean, but Italian troops fighting in China? France and its far Eastern, indeed African too, colonies and shifting allegiances and the wars that resulted. Always wondered about the Dutch in the East Indies 1941-2. Presumably their allegiance was to the govt/monarchy in exile in London? Belgium I guess only had the Congo, but just as well, as the monarch stayed at home. Can't think of any other colonial powers who were not neutral or else escaped invasion…am I right? I guess Denmark and Iceland might count. |
| Mark 1 | 29 Jul 2020 2:09 p.m. PST |
Bit of a side-track here, but the question was raised… Can't think of any other colonial powers who were not neutral or else escaped invasion…am I right? I guess Denmark and Iceland might count. Iceland was separated from Denmark as a sovereign nation in a progression of acts beginning in the 1870s. By 1904/1905 Iceland was reasonably established as a constitutional monarchy, but with an act of union with Denmark. Iceland was domestically ruled by it's own government, but Denmark conducted Iceland's foreign policy and defense (Iceland had no military). Part of the agreement was that Denmark was to represent Iceland as permanently neutral, even in cases of Denmark itself not being neutral. The act of union of 1905 had an expiration date of 1940, with a 4 year provision for Iceland to reach a new agreement with Denmark regarding levels of union or independence. When Denmark was occupied by Germany in 1940, Iceland asserted it's own independence as a de facto interim, while still retaining it's intention to negotiate a final settlement with the King of Denmark when the war ended. Only Britain and the US established diplomatic missions to Iceland when it asserted it's control over it's foreign affairs in 1940. Iceland continued to assert neutrality and protested British interference with it's trade with Germany, even though it had no diplomatic relations with the Nazi government. It turned down offers of British protection, even after Norway was occupied by Germany (which placed Iceland at risk). But alas the British offer was not voluntary in the end, and soon after the offer was turned down the British sailed into Reykjavik to invade, occupy and defend Iceland. When they did, the Icelanders did not resist, and were instructed by their government to treat the occupying British politely as guests. Thus ended any potential for conflict. There was evidently at least one German incursion, as there is evidence they set up a clandestine weather station in some desolate location in Iceland (along with a couple of other locations). But no conflict that I know of. Or so I have read. Never been there, don't know any more of the local perspectives. -Mark
(aka: Mk 1) |
| emckinney | 29 Jul 2020 2:30 p.m. PST |
I suspect that the average Icelander didn't particularly mind the British being there. After the Americans showed up, it was a competition between all the money they were spending, how they were building things everywhere with little regard for the locals and landscape, and G.I.s chasing the women … |
| Legion 4 | 29 Jul 2020 3:38 p.m. PST |
G.I.s chasing the women … So you'd expect anything else !? 😁 That being said, I knew a couple of guys who were stationed there. The women didn't run very fast … 🤩 |
| Tango01 | 29 Jul 2020 11:05 p.m. PST |
Ha!Ha!Ha!…. Amicalement
Armand |
| deadhead | 30 Jul 2020 1:24 a.m. PST |
That is really interesting. Now you have set me thinking about the Faeroes, in a much more dangerous location. Off to Wiki to find out. |
| 4th Cuirassier | 31 Jul 2020 5:49 p.m. PST |
Grim place, the Faeroes. There were British seaplanes based there I believe. There was a German plan, Operation Ikarus, to grab Iceland but the conclusion was that although Iceland could be taken it couldn't be held. This conclusion might have been different if Germany had built four aircraft carriers instead of four useless battleships. |
