Britain's Greatest Foe - Michael Collins ?

[LondonCamanachd]

We caught the Turk, leading by 6 now!!!

Internet polls: Britiain's Greatest Foe

[Hardy]

I am presently reading "The Great Game"

Let us know when you start it.

Yes, I'm a pedant and sometimes I can't resist.

[Evil Genius]

Plus I am presently reading "The Great Game", a history of Anglo-Russian rivalry over India, which makes a good case for another from the list, Akhbar Khan.

Is that the Peter Hopkirk book?

Yep - a hell of a read (in more than one sense of the term!)

I presume you can see why a central Asian leader wouldn't be the National Army Museum's choice right now.  The list will have been chosen to elicit the least controversy possible.

On the contrary, by including him  in their List, the National Army Museum has actually drawn attention to someone of whom 99.9% of the British public will hitherto have been entirely unaware (also Sultan Tippoo).

I think they deserve credit for this, for if you think about it, rather than being dubbed a list of "Britain's Greatest Foes", this might alternatively be called a list of "Bloody Foreigners Who Managed To Kick British Arses".

If the Museum were genuinely trying to avoid controversy, they would instead have organised a poll to determine "Britain's Greatest General" (or somesuch).

[haranguerer]

Some foe aright!! Didnt they f**king hammer him in the easter rising, and then he signed away half his country!!

With enemies like that, who needs friends??

He didn't sign away half the country, just 6 bitter counties

They weren't always bitter, only since given reason     

[armaghniac]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbqXpCzB9xk

[thejuice]

BBC 4 documentary tonight suggests Collins acquired he help of British troops to attack the four courts. Indeed it is written in the diary of the soldier who pulled the trigger that it was a British soldier who fired the opening shots of the civil war.

Apparently they were a regiment based briefly in fermanagh that covertly moved to Dublin to assist the untrained free state troops in the use of howitzers and 16 pounders.

[Celt_Man]

BBC 4 documentary tonight suggests Collins acquired he help of British troops to attack the four courts. Indeed it is written in the diary of the soldier who pulled the trigger that it was a British soldier who fired the opening shots of the civil war.

Apparently they were a regiment based briefly in fermanagh that covertly moved to Dublin to assist the untrained free state troops in the use of howitzers and 16 pounders.

What was the name of the programme?  Till I go and search for a repeat

[thejuice]

It's called document on BBC radio 4. Was on last night at 8pm

[Shamrock Shore]

From my history class long long ago I 'learnt' that the Brits supplied the large guns for the attack. Didn't think troops were used. Thought they all effed off in Dec 1921.

[Evil Genius]

BBC 4 documentary tonight suggests Collins acquired he help of British troops to attack the four courts. Indeed it is written in the diary of the soldier who pulled the trigger that it was a British soldier who fired the opening shots of the civil war.

Apparently they were a regiment based briefly in fermanagh that covertly moved to Dublin to assist the untrained free state troops in the use of howitzers and 16 pounders.

What was the name of the programme?  Till I go and search for a repeat

Here ya go:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01nl67c/Document_The_British_Gunner_and_the_Irish_Civil_War/

[Wildweasel74]

Still think the wee guy with the wee man sydrome from Austria should win hands down.Had he not spend his time f**king around Russia in winter time back in 41-43, and had cut west instead, i think we all still be speaking German, but got too cocky, thought he could take on all comers on all fronts and paid for it. Now Germany just takes over Europe by lending everybody money then getting them by the financial balls, if only they had thought of that 70 odd yrs ago!!soon be a federation of Europe with German running the show, France the whipping boy in the corner again, and Uk not looking so great as an outsider looking in, looking back at an age when they actually f**king were something. Beside Russia beat Hitler not the English and Americans as they all like you to believe.