One can only marvel at the heroism of men such as Khudadad Khan.
I'm not given to jealousy but I can't help being envious of the Duke of Connaught having his own Regiment of Baluchis...
Denmark was occupied without a shot being fired (the King ordering no resistance due to force majeur)to "protect" it from British invasion, but soon had a thriving resistance and did what a small nation could for the Allied cause.
1) When the German High Commissioner ordered that all Jews were to wear the Star of David, the King and his Court added it to their clothing
2)The Resistance, with the aid of the fishing fleet, managed to get almost every Jew in the country (ie: some hospital patients too sick to be moved had to be left behind)to safety in Sweden in one frantic night shortly before they were to be rounded up
3) When Iceland declared its independence during the occupation, the King sent a telegram of support to the "rebels" ("Sorry, Herr High Commissioner, they are traitors, we had nothing to do with it") via the Swiss embassy
4) Greenland's governor declared that he did not recognize the occupation as legal and requested US protection in 1940. To operate with the US garrison, Danish settler and Inuit volunteers formed a ski patrol which hunted down German weather stations that attempted to infiltrate the island and performed rescue missions for downed aircrew
5) The sail training ship Danmark was visiting the US in 1940 as part of its annual training cruise and its skipper placed it and its crew at the disposal of the US government. The cadets obtained their ticket as officers in the US merchant marine, while the regular crew trained cadets at the Coast Guard Academy (which served as part of the Navy)for the duration. The later was so successful that the US obtained a German sailing vessel as a reparation after the war which serves to this day as the USCGC Eagle
Col Beausaber
Posted by Beausaber at October 31, 2009 5:23 AMFascinating stuff, thanks for the post.
That Mosquito raid on the Gestapo HQ is deserving of a movie.
If only Cliff Robertson would star in such a film.....
Posted by Chris at November 4, 2009 2:46 AM