Category Archives: History

War Studies: The Annexation of Crimea, 2014

Posted on November 27, 2024 by odeboyz

The annexation of Crimea was a masterclass in strategic warfare. The transition from Ukraine to Russia was accomplished by subterfuge. Despite Ukrainian protests, the West metaphorically shrugged its shoulders. Putin had learned the lesson of 1939. Poland was partitioned by … Continue reading →

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TV Review: The Great (Channel 4 catch-up) (Elle Fanning & Nicholas Hoult) (2020)

Posted on August 28, 2024 by odeboyz

If you are ‘of a certain age’ you’ll remember the Carry-On films. The Great is a vastly superior version of them. The ascendency of Catherine (the Great) is viciously satirised and turned into a costume romp. The series is turbo-charged … Continue reading →

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The Israeli Strategy in the Gaza War, October 2023 – August 2024

Posted on August 14, 2024 by odeboyz

Israel was humiliated by the Gazan incursion, which was the result of a major security failure by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). Gazans live, ‘in a prison camp’ designed to prevent just such an event.1 Israel controls the air space, … Continue reading →

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Gerald Ratner: Honesty Isn’t Always the Best Policy

Posted on July 10, 2024 by odeboyz

Gerald rejected his grammar school to work on his father’s stall in London’s famous Petticoat Lane market. It was a cut-throat trading environment where traders were predators. He loved it. Gerald worked the crowds, seducing them into buying his goods. … Continue reading →

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Operation Barbarossa: The Road to Disaster

Posted on June 19, 2024 by odeboyz

Nazi Germany’s pre-1941 successes were unprecedented. They are epitomised by the 1939 diplomatic coup, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty. The partition of Poland followed immediately. 1940 saw crushing victories in western Europe. Germany’s triumphs weren’t critically analysed by either the political or … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Richmal Crompton ~ William: The Gangster (1967)

Posted on June 12, 2024 by odeboyz

I read the William books in 1950s Leeds. Leeds was grey, grim and far, far away from William’s world. There were no Vicar’s wives calling round for tea. No maidservants, no summer house, barns or fields. And there definitely weren’t … Continue reading →

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The Gaza Strip: a brief history

Posted on June 5, 2024 by odeboyz

The British Mandate, 1920-48 Palestine was a British quasi-colony after receiving a mandate from the League of Nations. The League expected Britain to train Palestinians for government before the mandate ended in 1948. The plan was for transition to self-governing … Continue reading →

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Pre-historic golf

Posted on April 27, 2024 by odeboyz
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Isaac Newton and Other Failures

Posted on April 17, 2024 by odeboyz

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”Winston Churchill People who triumph over failure are the stuff of legends. Seemingly they possess a recipe: “If you do as I do then good things will be yours!” … Continue reading →

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Joe Biden in 1982: pro-Israeli warrior

Posted on April 3, 2024 by odeboyz

In 1982, shortly before Reagan bluntly ordered Begin to cease his ‘holocaust’ in Lebanon, a young US senator who revered Elie Wiesel as his great teacher met the Israeli prime minister. In Begin’s own stunned account of the meeting, the senator commended … Continue reading →

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