Post by Diarist on Mar 23, 2017 15:52:14 GMT 1
Winston was correct about the many meetings planned today. Edward and I drove to Buckingham Palace to have a working lunch with various Heads of State while Winston and John were meeting military leaders at the MoD. Prince Albert has been entertaining the guests until we arrived. The only new face for me was King Umberto II of Italy. Speaking in French King Edward welcomed the guests and related that most of us were guests of King Leopold scarcely more than two weeks ago and how none of us imagined how quickly the recent events in Germany would unravel. He thanked France for its vigilance then France, Belgium and Holland for their swift response. "I would also like to thank my good friend Sir Robert. Not only did he first suggest that we must respond to aggression from Mussolini and Hitler he also was the driving force that ensured plans were developed and ultimately executed."
"I can't let that go unanswered. Yes, I admit that I have crazy ideas every now then but it was Secretary Churchill and Lord Gort that listened and supported them. Without their support nothing would have happened. There were two other people who contributed the most support. Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. They made the decisions that led to our victories and their demise. I'm not suggesting that we praise them, instead we should constantly remind ourselves of their actions.
We now have three great European nations negotiating non-aggression treaties. Something unthinkable as little as a month ago. But we have no reason to sit back and be complacent or less vigilant. I am 100% certain that we shall be engulfed in a terrible world war within the next few years. Mussolini and Hitler were both aware that we would respond militarily to their aggression yet it didn't deter them so to use deterrence against our future adversaries will be a losing strategy. We must prepare for the worst because the war will happen.
That is one reason why we are not mentioning the confederation or the mutual defence policies publicly. We now know that that our preparations caused Hitler to move his plans forward and we don't want to encourage Russia or Japan to do the same. Having said that I personally hoped that Mussolini and Hitler would make their stupid moves because I knew we could defeat them. We are not ready for Russia and Japan at the moment. We don't have direct borders with Russia but Finland, Poland and Romania do and we aren't able to adequately defend them. Our dispositions and options in the Near and Far East are even worse.
Finally I would like to thank King Umberto for being here. Now I can travel to Palestine next week without visiting Rome."
"You are still welcome to visit Rome, Sir Robert. I have heard some interesting rumours about you."
"Unfortunately they are probably true, Sir. Also I'm not a catholic so I don't need to pilgrim there. I could drop in on my journey home though."
"You are most welcome. I have heard that you spent your honeymoon in Piedmont."
"That's true. In fact I had my honeymoon and wedding night before I married so when I finally tied the knot I knew that my lady would be the right one."
PM Daladier asked about the meetings in Hamburg last weekend. "Very successful. We shall be discussing it at the MoD meeting after lunch."
"Did you convey my request to be present?" Queen Wilhelmina inquired.
"I did, Your Majesty. Winston Churchill is organizing that meeting, not me. There's nothing top secret being discussed so you can drive with me if you wish."
Edward nudged me. "Show her you photo. Do you have it with you?" It was in my briefcase.
"I have an excellent limousine," presenting her my gangster photo complete with Thompson SMG.
"It's not quite protocol but I would be honoured."
"Then it's a deal."
"Actually I have my own car."
Thirty minutes later we were at the MoD. With me were Queen Wilhelmina, King Leopold III, King Umberto II and Grand Duchess Charlotte who would be present as observers. PM Daladier and King Edward accompanied us too. I also explained that the meeting will almost certainly be in English.
"I can't let that go unanswered. Yes, I admit that I have crazy ideas every now then but it was Secretary Churchill and Lord Gort that listened and supported them. Without their support nothing would have happened. There were two other people who contributed the most support. Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. They made the decisions that led to our victories and their demise. I'm not suggesting that we praise them, instead we should constantly remind ourselves of their actions.
We now have three great European nations negotiating non-aggression treaties. Something unthinkable as little as a month ago. But we have no reason to sit back and be complacent or less vigilant. I am 100% certain that we shall be engulfed in a terrible world war within the next few years. Mussolini and Hitler were both aware that we would respond militarily to their aggression yet it didn't deter them so to use deterrence against our future adversaries will be a losing strategy. We must prepare for the worst because the war will happen.
That is one reason why we are not mentioning the confederation or the mutual defence policies publicly. We now know that that our preparations caused Hitler to move his plans forward and we don't want to encourage Russia or Japan to do the same. Having said that I personally hoped that Mussolini and Hitler would make their stupid moves because I knew we could defeat them. We are not ready for Russia and Japan at the moment. We don't have direct borders with Russia but Finland, Poland and Romania do and we aren't able to adequately defend them. Our dispositions and options in the Near and Far East are even worse.
Finally I would like to thank King Umberto for being here. Now I can travel to Palestine next week without visiting Rome."
"You are still welcome to visit Rome, Sir Robert. I have heard some interesting rumours about you."
"Unfortunately they are probably true, Sir. Also I'm not a catholic so I don't need to pilgrim there. I could drop in on my journey home though."
"You are most welcome. I have heard that you spent your honeymoon in Piedmont."
"That's true. In fact I had my honeymoon and wedding night before I married so when I finally tied the knot I knew that my lady would be the right one."
PM Daladier asked about the meetings in Hamburg last weekend. "Very successful. We shall be discussing it at the MoD meeting after lunch."
"Did you convey my request to be present?" Queen Wilhelmina inquired.
"I did, Your Majesty. Winston Churchill is organizing that meeting, not me. There's nothing top secret being discussed so you can drive with me if you wish."
Edward nudged me. "Show her you photo. Do you have it with you?" It was in my briefcase.
"I have an excellent limousine," presenting her my gangster photo complete with Thompson SMG.
"It's not quite protocol but I would be honoured."
"Then it's a deal."
"Actually I have my own car."
Thirty minutes later we were at the MoD. With me were Queen Wilhelmina, King Leopold III, King Umberto II and Grand Duchess Charlotte who would be present as observers. PM Daladier and King Edward accompanied us too. I also explained that the meeting will almost certainly be in English.