This Day In History

My father sent me this in the email:

May 10, 1940

German forces have invaded Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg by air and land.

The invasion began at dawn with large numbers of aeroplanes attacking the main aerodromes and landing troops. The Dutch High Commission says more than 100 German planes were shot down by its forces.

In London, it has been announced that Winston Churchill will lead a coalition government after Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said he was stepping aside.

Two days ago his majority plummeted in a vote of confidence in the Commons during a debate on the war and there were calls from the Tory benches for him to go.

Imagine that - the British Parliament, in response to the incompetent prosecution of the war, responded by abandoning the disastrous leadership and replacing them with someone new.

Of course, if Chamberlain had only had Karl Rove on hand, he could have accused Churchill of being a pro-Hitler terrorist-lover with an illegitimate black baby.

For a bit less sarcasm, let me just point out one sentence that stunned me, from the "in context" part of the above page:

Yet in six weeks, and at a cost of only 30,000 dead, German forces had conquered the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and on 21 June forced the capitulation of France.

The Germans lost 30,000 men, but this was considered the equivalent of a bloody nose for what they'd accomplished. It's clear, I presume, how much war has changed since 1940.