Very OT but of Interest to the Likes that Hang Here

[Adm.Lee]

Originally Posted by Targan

It's a couple of decades since my high school post-WWII history classes but hey, that's what Wikipedia is for right?

Foreign policy of the John F. Kennedy administration

I think it's fair to say that the Kennedy Administration's relationship with France was complicated.

Agreed, but I don't see anything there about US withdrawal, or threats to withdraw, the nuclear umbrella from Western Europe. I understand that that is what France and other European nations worried about constantly, but I never heard that it was explicitly or implicitly said.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

The statement wasn't about the withdrawal of the US nuclear umbrella, it was about the use of those weapons as a first response should the Soviet Union invade Western Europe.
De Gaulle's argument was not that the US should withdraw nuclear weapons, it was that by softening the former hardline of nuclear response, it would make the Russians* believe the nuclear option would not be used to prevent aggression on their part.
De Gaulle believed that the threat of nuclear destruction was so overpowering as to encourage those involved in Europe to actively avoid another war. By toning down the nuclear deterence, it would, in his view, allow events that could lead to another war in Europe.

* de Gaulle typically referred to the Soviets as the Russians, probably because he saw them as the real power of the Soviet Union.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Webstral,
My deepest apologies for derailing your thread.

[Tegyrius]

To be fair, SSC, this is one of the most informative and civil derailments I've seen on this forum...

- C.

[stormlion1]

Colonial Militia's during the era of the American Revolution were pretty simple things. All adults above a certain age and below a certain age gathered together a few weekends a year and practiced and drilled for several possible eventuality's. Things like Indian attacks, Invasion from the French or whomever, or even between other colonies. But they were not professionals, not by a long shot! When they attempted to use European tactics, the tactics they drilled in they got slaughtered every time. It was only when they changed tactics and fought from ambush or used cover and concealment that they had a much better time of it.
The other part of the equation for these citizen militias was that they were all armed and usually had the mixings to produce shot and shell and more weapons in there hometowns. They knew they couldn't depend on supply so they had to make there own and have there own ready to use. Every man in the militia had there own weapon, a ready supply of powder and shot, and all were close at hand. They literally could be out the door armed and ready to muster within a minute of being informed of trouble.