Temple Church, Photo by PH Morton

History – Thought for the Day

“Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.”
– George Santayana, a Spanish born American Philosopher. 1863-1952

This truism can certainly be applied to periods in military history viz;

The Nazi German  invasion of Russia during the 1941 winter  in WW2. Napoleon had tried in 1812 faulty logistics, poor discipline under the renowned strong Russian resistance, disease, and not the least, the weather defeated them both. had the Nazis concentrated on the Western Front instead WW2 may have had a different outcome!?

The recurring military defeats can also  be ascribed to the British, Russian and Americans trying over the last two centuries  to subdue war lords in Afghanistan, failing with similar reasons to the above.

The French campaign failed in Vietnam followed by the US both halting because of  strong dogged resistance, climate etc and other factors common to both incursions.

In essence ,the invading armies underestimated their foes, not learning from the previous campaigns.