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Britain and the Road to Blitzkrieg
This is the epic story about the invention and development of a new form of warfare that became known as Blitzkrieg.
When German Panzers broke out of the Ardennes Forest in the spring of 1940, the French and the British were taken by complete surprise. They should not have been. It was, after all, the British who had invented the Tank and had also developed it use.
But the Germans were now using it to great success against its own creator. This story features British political ineptitude plus complacent military commanders who lacked imagination. The result was a near costly blunder brought on by British short-sightedness in the face of a resurgent German Army of the 1930s. The story highlights concern over the recent failure of European politicians to learn the lessons from this story in maintaining adequate defences post the Cold War.
Tinned Snoek
During the Second World War, as sources of protein became increasingly rare, the British Government came up with the idea of importing millions of tins of Snoek from South Africa.
It proved to be disastrously unpopular leaving tons of snoek unconsumed after the War. This is the story of the British population’s experience of tinned snoek and what the British Government did to get rid of the vast quantities that remained unconsumed.
While Snoek is much liked and eaten in South Africa, the product that arrived in Britain had been processed in such a way and placed in a brine that made it very different to that enjoyed in South Africa.