Home Before The Leaves Fall ?

(Home Before The Leaves Fall ?)

This is the end of July and the "Guns of August" are still a few days off. But what the end of July 1914, was the final stage of armies mobilizing all across the Continent. From the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and, at the time, Italy) to the to the Ententé, (Britain, France, Russia). There was a great elan as the armies took position along the various frontiers. The common phrase among the troops was "home before the leaves fall," meaning the War was supposed to be over by that fall.


What followed was the "Battle of the Frontiers." Then the German attack into France failed. The French attack into Germany failed. The Austrian into Russia failed and the Russian attack into Germany failed. Far from being home by fall, what was supposed to be a quick war was to last four the next four years with millions of casualties, the horrors of the Western Front and the utter defeat of Russia that sowed the seeds of Revolution. The First World War has since been called the Great War or the War to end all wars.


To say that the Capitols from London to Moscow were caught off guard as to the strategic morass that was to afflict the Continent till November 1918. The nations had to adapt. Since President Biden withdrew from the race, like the novelty of the 1914 frontier battles, it is a new race between former President Trump and Vice President Harris. Whereas Trump was up against Biden, he is tied with Harris. At the moment, Harris has momentum. That could change when she selects a Vice President of her own and Trump continues to campaign and point out Harris' positions.


This year, what will happen when the leaves fall ? What has to happen between now and November 5th ? First, Harris will finally settle on a running mate. Then, she will debate Trump. Vance will of course debate Harris pick for VEEP. By Labor Day, when people begin to pay attention to the candidates. While the media is running interference, over time, Harris extreme ideas will be progressively exposed.


For his part, Donald Trump will need to meet Harris with his own record. As an aside, and in some vain attempt to stay relevant, President Biden wants to influence the Supreme Court in an effort to reverse Trump's immunity ruling. With all the extremism Harris puts on display to have this beyond long shot of becoming reality ? Where are their head at ?


People could care less about the Supreme Court when inflation is the issue. They could care less when Harris' open border is such a catastrophe. They could care less when crime is such a problem. And besides, any such initiative would require a Constitutional Amendment and good luck with that.


In 2024, the effects of 1914 still resonate. Because no one could predict the ultimate outcome, the years and decades that followed took on a different character. Now the 2024 Election has that same effect. Something was started and no one has any idea what comes next.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TEQUILA !

(TEQUILA !) Happy Cinco de Mayo or May 5th. One can hope that a lot of you out there are awash in inebriation, seeking to mainline tequila shots or enjoying a nice margarita on the patio. Or, in other words, relax. Take a breath. De-compress. May 5th as it happens is the anniversary of Mexico's victory over French "occupation" of Mexico by Emperor Maximillian, brother to Austrian monarch Maria Theresa in what has been called the Battle of Puebla. The reason France was in Mexico in the first place was that Mexico, after the Mexican-American War and a more civil conflict called the Reform War, had bankrupted Mexico City. Mexican President at the time was Benito Juarez, who repudiated all foreign debt, of which France, Spain, and the United Kingdom were all major holders. A naval expedition was dispatched to Veracruz and France's Napoleon III thought it would be a good idea to establish a French "empire" in Mexico. But, on May 5th, 1862, in the aforementioned B...
Read more

Keeping The Faith ?

(Keeping The Faith ?) Happy Memorial Day ! This is the day when the nation pauses and recognizes the contributions of the men and women that strove, and often times perished in the defense of this country. How many campaigns and battles have been seen over the years with Americans in harms way. Theirs was not a pursuit of glory, necessarily but they are remembered as such. As an example, take the Joe Rosenthal photo of the "Iwo Jima Flag-raising," February 23rd, 1945. Most people know what that is and not a few have a copy on their wall. Three of those Marines survived Iwo Jima and went on a bond tour to promote that picture. The U.S. was able to fund the rest of the War off of that drive but the Marines in question did not fare well. Private Ira Hayes, the last casualty of the Volcano Island died of exposure some years later. There was one other Marine, Rene Gagnon, and who was originally believed to be Navy Corpman, John Bradley. Since then, the "place" in the Ros...
Read more

Siege Of The Alamo

(Siege Of The Alamo) Any visitor to Downtown San Antonio will recognize the City's most famous landmark, the Alamo. An old Spanish mission that means "Cottonwood" in English was the site where the likes of Jim Bowie, William Barrett Travis and Davy Crockett and about another 185 Texians defended the Mission and its compound for thirteen days against the Army of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana and his 5,000 troops. The garrison was finally reduced on March 6, 1836. However, the Texian defeat at the Alamo and another one at Goliad, bought time for General Sam Houston time to fall back and then face Santa Ana at San Jacinto. There, Houston's army surprised the Mexicans and yelling "Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad !" all but wiped out the Mexican force. Santa Ana was captured and was forced to recognize the Republic of Texas. Which is now the State of Texas and, like 1836 Texas War of Independence, there is a new invasion from Mexico. Not the armed body o...
Read more