SC - Anzac Biscuits/Day?

[Philip & Susan Troy]

CorwynWdwd at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Few other countries celebrate a
> defeat in war.

Oh? How 'bout the Charge of the Light Brigade? For those who don't
follow this stuff, this was a cavalry unit's attempt to recapture
Turkish artillery previously abandoned to the Russians in the Crimean
War, for fear said guns would be used against British troops, said fear
being well-founded. British commander, Lord Cardigan, in mid-conflict
with his brother, rival commander Lord Lucan, affected to be unable to
understand the orders given to retake the gun emplacements. Several
hours were wasted in this way as the Russians comfortably trained their
new guns downhill toward the British forces, who proceeded to wait until
the Russians saw the whites of their eyes, and then finally charged
_uphill_ right at the muzzles of the cannon. It is said that most of the
survivors of this action (roughly 20% of the force) escaped death
because the Russians were so amazed at the British cavalry's bravery,
bordering on (no, not bordering, spot on) madness, that their artillery
and infantry units stepped aside to let the charging survivors pass
unharmed. Many of those survivors then escaped because the Russians,
still completely confused at this insane behavior, failed to capture
most of them on their return charge _down_ the hill. The fact that this
occurred on the _same day_ as the stand of the Thin Red Line (a severely
outnumbered infantry unit being attacked from higher ground by Russian
heavy cavalry, and living to tell the tale...of course, they _were_
Scots, which may have been a factor) and the Charge of the Heavy Brigade
(again, charging uphill at a much larger force of Cossacks, no less, and
winning) makes this incident all the more mind-boggling. Lord Cardigan,
BTW, has other claims to fame, including a type of sweater named for
him, and for being the original prototype for the much later
German-backed propaganda broadcaster, Lord Haw Haw. Cardigan is said to
have had a pronounced speech impediment and an annoyingly recurrent
guffaw of laughter. Haw Haw!)

Then, of course, there's that unit of the French Foreign Legion, under
siege in Mexico, I believe, and down to two survivors, the senior
officer of the pair deciding that the thing to do was charge the
besieging force of several thousand. The anniversary of this event, way
more than a hundred years ago, is still a national holiday in France.

Oh, and need we mention the Alamo?  

As has been said, it's not the _defeat_ the Ozzies are celebrating.
That's kind of beside the point. 

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com