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Wars and Conflicts  permalink

The ramblings of an ex-squaddie.....

• Message 1. 

  Posted by DL (U1683040) on Thursday, 10th November 2005

  Hi All,
  
  As we're coming up to Remembrance Day again, and indeed Armistice Day tomorrow, just thought I'd stick a few ramblings on regarding the past and the future.
  
  So many millions of people have died in wars across this little planet in the last century, it is impossible to imagine the total number. How is it that the general population sees the years since 1945 as a time of peace? It's just a fallacy! Since World War Two, there is only one year that a British Serviceman has not been Killed in Action. We all think of World War Two when we look at Remembrance Day, so I'd just like everyone for once to acknowledge the forgotten wars, the wars in this peaceful time, that happened, and were forgotten, and these are just the major ones.
  
  Just a few examples for you where war of one sort and another has been fought, be it conventional or terrorism since 1945....
  ( and sorry not in chronological order!)
  Aden
  Korea
  Malaya
  Indonesia
  East Timor
  Suez
  Palestine
  Cyprus
  Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)
  Kenya
  Greece
  Congo
  Libya
  Turkey (Kurdistan)
  Algeria
  Namibia
  Vietnam(French War)
  South Vietnam (US War)
  North Vietnam
  Cambodia
  Laos
  The Falklands
  Northern Ireland
  Somalia
  Rwanda
  Bosnia-Herzegovina
  Croatia
  Serbia
  Kosovo
  Macedonia
  Slovenia
  Panama
  Grenada
  Afghanistan (Russian Invasion)
  Kuwait
  Iraq (1990-91 Gulf War)
  El Salvador
  Nicaragua
  USA
  Afghanistan (2001- )
  Iraq (2003- )
  Israel
  Egypt
  Syria
  Lebanon
  Jordan
  Chechnya
  Sri Lanka
  Russia
  Cuba
  Saudi Arabia
  Czechoslovakia
  Hungary
  Romania
  India
  Pakistan
  China
  
  So much for peace!!!
  
  Apologies as I have no doubt forgotten some.
  
  DL
  
  
  
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Thomas_B (U1667093) on Thursday, 10th November 2005

  Hi DL,
  
  Your message is very welcome, because on these boards it really seems that the history for many people ends in 1945 and only a few think about the decades of the another 55 years.
  
  I think that not many people care about the other wars and conflicts in other regions outside of Europe and the failed uprisings in the former East-Block, like 1953 in the German Democratic Republic, in Poland, 1956 in Hungary, 1968 in Czecho-Slovakia, 1989 in Rumania, the Civil Wars in the former Yugoslavia, the mass-murdering in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and so on and so on.
  
  Sometimes you had can read an thread about the Vietnam War in the 1960s, less about the French in Korea and after them the U.S. Forces. I may tell you why, because all the mentioned places are not that attractive as the topics about Hitler, the Nazis and WWII. And from that point of view, it might be clear that all the wars which occased after WWII got less attention, because the rule of Britain was not so important as from 1940 to 1945, because the own country of the British was no more attaced by foreign forces. And the fact that the British Empire doesn´t existed any longer after the 1950s and changed into the Commonwealth of Nations might be an point to look back to the old times, when Britain was an World Power, replaced after WWII by the USA and the former USSR.
  
  Britain payed an huge price during WWII. I think that it was the last heroic time Britain had, when it stands alone against Hitler for five years. No other country fought that much time against Hitler than Britain.
  
  But you are right when you throw the wars and the uprisings together, because every conflict which was resolved or isn´t resolved yet by military actions is war and worth to mention it, because there were also so many people killed and we are more far away from an really peacefull world as we think.
  
  Kind Regards and
  Beste Grüße
  
  Thomas

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Elistan (U1872011) on Thursday, 10th November 2005

  That's a powerful post, DL.
  
  Thanks
  
  Elistan

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by OUNUPA (U2078829) on Thursday, 10th November 2005

  +fighting of OUN(UPA)for the FREE UKRAINE.
  P.S...To our pity many of events are still being deeply rooted in that 1945.
  LONG LIVE THE LIBERTY AND FREE WORLD!

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by Mani (U1821129) on Friday, 11th November 2005

  Hi Thomas,
  
  "when it stands alone against Hitler for five years"
  I'm sure the Australians, New Zealanders, Indians, Rhodesians, Canadians, South Africans, West Indians, amongst others would disagree with that statement!

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by Thomas_B (U1667093) on Friday, 11th November 2005

  Hi Mani,
  
  Yes I am sure that the people from the countries you mentioned would disagree with my statement, but wasn´t those countries each for itself an part of the British Empire?. They did their bid for the Empire in WWII and I don´t know whether those countries had to suffer under the bombing terror by the German Airforce. I think they don´t and in this point of view, Britain was alone after France felt and the Anti-Hitler-Coalition wasn´t made yet in 1940/1941. And then think about that the British Island was the platform for the bombings against Germany. When I write Britain, I don´t mean that with the British Empire together in one sentence, because that is different to me, also by considering about Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and the others.
  
  Another question is, if the people of those countries had joined the war against Hitler when they weren´t an part of the British Empire, I doubt it. The USA itself joined the war not before they were attaced by the Japanese Airforce at Pearl Habour in December 1941. The USA supportet Britain with material help and we know how hard it was for Churchill to convince Roosevelt to join the war until Pearl Habour set up the fact that the USA couldn´t stand aside any longer in that war. It is the same with the USSR, because it is not evident that Stalin had have attaced Germany, but it is evident that Hitler wanted to attac the USSR and he did. Without that, the USSR maybe had been neutral in the war.
  
  

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Battlegroup (U1908324) on Friday, 11th November 2005

  Since 1945, there has only been 2 Years in which no British Serviceman has been killed or injured.
  As an Ex Matelot, it hurts me to know that Children are not being taught about our History, and what it cost to get us to where we are.
  Thankyou to all present serving military

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by DL (U1683040) on Friday, 11th November 2005

  I stand corrected Battlegroup,
  
  I thought it was one year, not two.
  I remember seeing the old boys with all their rows of medals just after I joined up in 89, and at that time you usually only saw 1 or 2 medals on current serving soldiers, usually NI and the occasional rare UN medal. I guess when you look now, things are different. A uniform with a campaign medal on it was quite a rarity back then, things were very different when I left 10 years later, I could almost match the old WW2 boys by then.
  
  There just isn't much peace in the world.
  
  Well it,s just past the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
  
  Remember them.
  DL

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