Neville Chamberlain, former UK Prime Minister: "Go home and get a nice quiet sleep"

[Om]

Neville Chamberlain "Peace for Our Time," September 30, 1938

http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/peacetime.html

The following statement was made by British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, in front of #10 Downing Street, London, after his arrival home from the notorious Munich Conference of 1938:

We, the German Fuhrer and Chancellor, and the British Prime Minister, have had a further meeting today and are agreed in recognizing that the question of Anglo-German relations is of the first importance for our two countries and for Europe.

We regard the agreement signed last night and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement as symbolic of the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again.

We are resolved that the method of consultation shall be the method adopted to deal with any other questions that may concern our two countries, and we are determined to continue our efforts to remove possible sources of difference, and thus to contribute to assure the peace of Europe.

My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is "peace for our time." Go home and get a nice

quiet sleep.

*

[redman]

And on September 1, 1939 - less than one year later - German tanks, troops and planes roared into Poland, followed shortly thereafter by Great Britain declaring war on Germany. As long as "our time" was defined as approximately 11 months, then Chamberlain did indeed achieve "Peace in our time."

[Johnny Punani2]

Some of the anti-war morons even had this slogan 'peace for our time' on their banners. :doh: :doh: :doh:

[phantom]

FYI,

After the blitzkrieg in Poland, though war was declared, Chamberlain STILL did nothing for an entire winter while Hitler secured his northern flank in Scandanavia. Finally, Chamberlain was then replaced by Winston Churchill (thank God)

Side note:

On horseback, the Poles fought the blitzkrieg for just as long as France (France surrendered less than ONE MONTH after German offensive!!!!!!!)

Hey Eddie & Dixie Chick, what happens to those who cannot remember the past?

[chiefhogskin48]

I've always wondered what accounts for the difference in the quality of the soldiers from different nations. Morale, heart, determination, organization, equipment, and intelligence me thinks. The French had all of those except heart and determination, but unfortunately for them, those are perhaps the most important on an individual level.

These are my "soldier rankings", looking at history as my guide, which includes the general success/defeat in battles and wars.

The Good:

America/Britain- push. Both have won just about every "real" war that they've fought. And when fighting each other, the slight advantage goes to the Americans, probably because we were fighting on our home turf.

Germany- Despite their diabolical role in World War II, their fighting ability is not in question. Facing long odds in both World War I and World War II, they proved themselves to be excellent soldiers. Remember that France and Germany were roughly the same size for the Franco-Prussian War, WWI and WWII--- and yet Germany basically kicked their ass in each instance.

Japan- Again, a very militaristic recent history, but one which distinguished them among the most ferocious fighters in the world because of their sense of discipline, sacrifice, and determination. In a matter of a century, they conquered China, Korea, the whole of Southeast Asia, Polynesia, defeated Russia, and seriously threatened both the US and Australia.

The Bad:

Russia- a Mixed bag of sorts. The lose the battles, yet win the war because of the sheer size of their country and enormous number of troops. I would grade them as very poor soldiers, though, constantly stuggling with weaker, smaller nations. The list of these flops goes on and on, most recently with Afghanistan.

France- Total disgrace. The funding, technology, and organization is usually there, but the desire is not. Constantly must be bailed out by other nations, and their greatest victory was, in fact, a defeat (Napolean's wars).

Italy- Can this even be the same people that once dominated the majority of Europe under almighty Rome? Apparently not. The modern era Italians have no sense of national pride, and thus haven't seen a war they liked. Most notable successes were the defeat of Ethiopia, Albania, and winning independence from Pope.

Poland: Usually a victim of circumstance, being a small nation caught between the tugging matches of the heavy-weights. But nevertheless, they usually get rolled hard.

Please feel free to add some more, since there are so many on either side of the ledger.