Turning 90, Head of State and Still a Class Act

[Travis In Austin]

Ask the Irish how great the English are. Of course, the current monarchial family is German. (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha)

As I tell my Scottish ancestory wife and business partner when they whine about the English: "You should have fought harder" and whom would the English be able to send in first on the next push on Berlin if not the Irish, Scottish or Welsh Guards? With the usual clever plan; they even get the Scots to make a god-awful racket with bagpipes to annoy the Bosch and draw their fire.

I think that is certainly true by WWII.

But I guess the reason I like the history of England so much is that there actually is a history going back an incredibly long way.

Who are the English?

The Celts

Romans

Jutes, Angles and Saxons

The Vikings

The Danes and Cnut

King Edward and the Anglo-Saxons

The Normans and their friends the Britons

Edgar the last remaining British King running to the Scots for help

William going to Scotland, Malcolm agreeing to give Edgar the boot

That nasty business with the French

Invasion of Wales by Normans

Invasion of Scots by England, and then in reverse in the Scotish Wars

The French invasion again in the 100 Years War

The Irish with Richard

The French with the Scots

The Scots and the English together to boot the French

That's up to about 1500

And on and on and on

So who are the English?

Your wife should read this book, if she hasn't already,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XUAEMG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1

Edited April 24, 2016 by dwilawyer

[Wolfbane]

The English have a 1,000 year military tradition of losing most of the battles they fight but winning the wars.

[Travis In Austin]

The English have a 1,000 year military tradition of losing most of the battles they fight but winning the wars.

I guess it is how you define "war". They had half of France including Paris and they gave that all away. But once they/we solidified as a people they were able to fend off any invasion including the Spainish Armada. Yet civil wars created such havoc they invited William of Orange and James' daughter to come over and run things.

They were the greatest and mightiest power in the world only to be considered a second rate country by the Suez Canel Crisis.

However, they were able to show some of that old British fortitude in the War over the Falklands.

[Woofers and Tweeters]

The Sun never sets on the British Empire 

[Woofers and Tweeters]

 

The English have a 1,000 year military tradition of losing most of the battles they fight but winning the wars.

<snip>

However, they were able to show some of that old British fortitude in the War over the Falklands.

 

Argentina never stood a chance and it was foolish for them to try to take it. 

[Wolfbane]

 

 

The English have a 1,000 year military tradition of losing most of the battles they fight but winning the wars.

<snip>

However, they were able to show some of that old British fortitude in the War over the Falklands.

 

Argentina never stood a chance and it was foolish for them to try to take it. 

 

 

The Argentine Air Force fought well and were deadly to the Royal Navy ships until they ran out of Exocet Misssles and the French reluctantly refused to resupply them. The Argentine's mostly conscript army should have known they were in for it when the Bristish included contingents of Royal Marines, Royal Welsh and Scottish Guard Units SAS and even some of their Gurkha's (the finest light infantry in the world for close in fighting).