UPON IT DEPENDS THE SURVIVAL OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION

GERMAN LUFTWAFFE ATTACKS GREAT BRITAIN

London, U.K. (JFK+50) On July 10, 1940, Adolf Hitler's Luftwaffe launched its first attacks on Great Britain.  In a battle that would last from July to October, the German dictator was to suffer his first military defeat.

On June 18, 1940, Winston Churchill said...

"What General Weygand has called the Battle of France is over.  The battle of Britain is about to begin.  Upon (it) depends  the survival of Christian civilization.  Upon it depends our British life.  Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say 'This was their finest hour.'"

On the first day of the Battle of Britain, 120 German bombers and fighters struck a British Convoy in the English Channel while 70 more attacked key installations in South Wales.

The battle was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces and the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to date.  It was also costly for both sides.  The Royal Air Force (RAF) lost 1023 of its planes and 544 of its pilots while the Luftwaffe lost 1187 aircraft and 2500 of her personnel.

British civilian casualties from July to December 1940 included 23,002 killed and 32,138 wounded, but the failure of the German war machine to defeat the RAF "was one of the turning points of the Second World War."

SOURCE

"Battle of Britain 75th anniversary flypast takes place," BBC News, July 10, 2015, www.bbc.com/

Hawker Hurricane R4118

Royal International Air Tattoo

Photo by Adrian Pingstone (2014)

75TH ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE OF BRITAIN

THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN BEGAN 75 YEARS AGO

London, U.K. (JFK+50) Seventy-five years ago today, July 10, 1940, Adolf Hitler's Luftwaffe launched its first attacks on Great Britain.  In a battle that would last from July to October, the German dictator was to suffer his first military defeat.

On June 18, 1940, Winston Churchill said...

"What General Weygand has called the Battle of France is over.  The battle of Britain is about to begin.  Upon (it) depends  the survival of Christian civilization.  Upon it depends our British life.  

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say 'This was their finest hour.'"

On the first day of the Battle of Britain, 120 German bombers and fighters struck a British Convoy in the English Channel while 70 more attacked key installations in South Wales.

The battle was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces and the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to date.  It was also costly for both sides.  The Royal Air Force (RAF) lost 1023 of its planes and 544 of its pilots while the Luftwaffe lost 1187 aircraft and 2500 of her personnel.

British civilian casualties from July to December 1940 included 23,002 killed and 32,138 wounded, but the failure of the German war machine to defeat the RAF "was one of the turning points of the Second World War."

Today, on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, aircraft belonging to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, flew over Buckingham Palace.  The aircraft included Hurricanes and Spitfires.  Six RAF pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain were on hand for the celebrations.

SOURCE

"Battle of Britain 75th anniversary flypast takes place," BBC News, July 10, 2015, www.bbc.com/

Hawker Hurricane R4118

Royal International Air Tattoo

Photo by Adrian Pingstone (2014)

FIDEL CASTRO CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY

August 13, 2013

FIDEL CASTRO CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY #87

Havana (JFK+50) Fidel Castro* was born 87 years ago today, August 13, 1926, the son of a Spanish immigrant who made a fortune building a rail system to transport sugar cane.

                             Fidel Castro
                     Jose Marti Monument
                          Havana, Cuba
          Photo by Ricardo Stuckert (2003)
                    Agencia Brasil Image

*Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born in Biran, Cuba.  His father had fought in the Cuban War for Independence on the side of Spain and in the Spanish-American War.  Castro, who was raised in wealth, studied law at the University of Havana.

In the late 1940s, Castro moved politically to the left as he supported the views of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.

Fidel Castro, who led in the overthrow of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, served as prime minister (1959-1976), president (1976-2008), and 1st secretary of the Communist Party (1961-2011).

According to Reuters, the only official event relating to Castro's birthday was held yesterday at the Jose Marti National Monument in Havana.  The event included a choral concert.

Reuters says...

"The once towering, broad-shouldered man is now stooped.  He has trouble walking and his famed booming oratory has softened to a near whisper."

Cuba is now under the direction of Fidel's younger 82 year old brother, Raul who has devised a plan to...

"move the economy (to a) more market-friendly direction, like...Vietnam and China."

Reuters adds...

"Cuba struggles to move on from (Fidel's) half-century rule as many of his policies are reconsidered...."

Fidel lives on the outskirts of Havana with his wife.

When Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959, the United States officially recognized his government but when he established a relationship with the USSR and expropriated U.S. oil refineries on the island, the Eisenhower administration broke off diplomatic relations (January 3, 1961).

JFK, inaugurated 17 days later, inherited a secret CIA plan to overthrow Castro and gave his approval for an invasion at the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961,carried out by Cuban refugees trained by the United States.

                          Map of Cuba
                      by User: Zleitzen
                      en.wikipedia.org

The failure of the invasion tarnished the image of the new administration and on February 7, 1962, an economic embargo was placed on Cuba by the United States which continues to this day.

The resolution of the subsequent Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 did not include the input of an embarrassed Fidel Castro and to add insult to injury, the Organization of American States also broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Despite the best efforts of the government of the United States, Fidel Castro remained in power until he stepped aside for his brother in 2008.

SOURCES

"Fidel Castro's role in Cuba is chiefly offstage as he turns 87," by Marc Frank, August 12, 2013,  www.reuters.com/

"Fidel Castro," www.biography.com/

BATTLE OF BRITAIN BEGAN 73 YEARS AGO 

London, England (JFK+50) The Battle of Britain began 73 years ago today, August 13, 1940, when the German Luftwaffe began bombing raids on southern England.

The raids were aimed at destroying British radar stations in preparations for an amphibious attack across the English Channel.

Of 1500 German aircraft that took part in the air attack, 45 were shot down and the Luftwaffe only succeeded in destroying one radar station on the Isle of Wright.

                      RAF Squadron 264

                          August 1940

                  Photo by B.J. Daventry

                   Royal Air Force Image