Quote:
Originally Posted by chezlaw
History is very important. Its how we know when we have made the same mistake again
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icheckforvalue
Yes...this is it for me.
Those who fail to learn from their history are bound to repeat it, as is evidenced all throughout history.
Europe may still be under Nazi control to this day, if Hitler wasn't such a poor historian. He chose to open a war on two fronts and invade the Soviet Union during the course of a winter, which Napoleon already showed the world, cannot be done.
Not quite what I said but this is fairly interesting.
Firsty I doubt that Hitler didn't know about napolean's adventures. (he did earlier do a deal with Stalin to avoid a two front war)
Secondly " ....which Napoleon already showed the world, cannot be done." is a poor lesson, things change. Maybe hitler believed that technology meant he could move faster and it was different this time (something that may or may not be true independantly of napolean). Maybe he wasn't that wrong but underestimated the ruthlessness of Stalin.
Ironically, according to AJP Taylor, the lesson leaned about two fronts and the determination of germany to avoid the same mistake led to the Schlieffen plan to avoid a two front war which then caused WW1 which was a two front war.