Intro & Preface & Contents
Previous: Winter VII. English cooking + Yanks
... It is a lamentable fact that the multitude of English people nowadays never taste roasted meat; what they call by that name is baked in the oven -- a totally different thing, though it may, I admit, be inferior only to the right roast. Oh, the sirloin of old times, the sirloin which I can remember, thirty or forty years ago! That was English, and no mistake, and all the history of civilization could show nothing on the table of mankind to equal it... Have I not with my own eyes seen it turning, turning on the spit? The scent it diffused was in itself a cure for dyspepsia.
Your educated Englishman is an infallible guide in all that relates to the table... We are content with nothing but the finest savours, the truest combinations; our wealth, and happy natural circumstances, have allowed us an education of the palate of which our natural aptitude was worthy....
Alpha.
Since I was raised on grilled steak, I think I see what he means. Though I still maintain that the English went to India and China mostly to find something decent to eat.
Yanks cont.
1942-1943 was largely a repeat of 1917: In Europe, the U.S. Army first deployed the 1st, 3rd, 9th, and 34th (National Guard) infantry divisions in North Africa, supported by the 1st and 2nd Armored divisions. (The 9th and 34th were units that had been mobilized for WW1 but the war ended before they saw action.)
These divisions were dispatched from America to take the war to the “Soft Underbelly” of Festung Europa (Churchill did have a way with words). As the fighting expanded into Italy, more federalized National Guard divisions were added to the mix, usually with dire results. In truth it required many months, even years, to train National Guard or newly raised formations to the point where they were competent to face either the Germans or the Japanese.
The U.S. war effort was just starting to hit its stride in 1944 and 1945. Even then, when you read a detailed account of ground battles, the reverses the U.S. suffered and the failures to execute, are most often associated with National Guard divisions or divisions with very high numbers. These units lacked experienced (or particularly qualified) officers, and also lacked the kind of unit cohesion and tradition common to regular formations. Most often in history books, even fairly specialized books on military history, the strength of the varying sides is denoted by a simple count of men at arms, ignoring the relative value of particular units. Yet time and again throughout history, it is the training and experience of a unit that wins the day. This was the story of Sparta, of Caesar in the Civil War, and of Bastogne.
These divisions were dispatched from America to take the war to the “Soft Underbelly” of Festung Europa (Churchill did have a way with words). As the fighting expanded into Italy, more federalized National Guard divisions were added to the mix, usually with dire results. In truth it required many months, even years, to train National Guard or newly raised formations to the point where they were competent to face either the Germans or the Japanese.
The U.S. war effort was just starting to hit its stride in 1944 and 1945. Even then, when you read a detailed account of ground battles, the reverses the U.S. suffered and the failures to execute, are most often associated with National Guard divisions or divisions with very high numbers. These units lacked experienced (or particularly qualified) officers, and also lacked the kind of unit cohesion and tradition common to regular formations. Most often in history books, even fairly specialized books on military history, the strength of the varying sides is denoted by a simple count of men at arms, ignoring the relative value of particular units. Yet time and again throughout history, it is the training and experience of a unit that wins the day. This was the story of Sparta, of Caesar in the Civil War, and of Bastogne.
Next: Winter IX. Lentils, alas!.
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