American Reacts to Know Your Ally: Britain 🇬🇧🇺🇸 

The George Washington statue was a gift from the US in 1921 ... George Washington allegedly said he would never set foot on British soil ever again, so the statue was erected on a foundation of Virginia State soil to ensure that Washington did not tell a lie ... King George 3rd came to admire G Washington and once called him " the greatest man of the age" ... The British Prime minister at the time of American Independence commissioned a life size portrait of your first President during his last year in office... that portrait has become one of the most iconic of your first President.

Girl, you convinced me to watch another video of US National Archives. I selected "Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia" and after watching 33 minutes of it I must say: It's great... despite they showed USSR much more organized, white and fluffy than it in reality was... and despite their underestimation of how much Poles and Serbs were devoted to their partizan efforts and how effective those partizant fight was in breaking German supply lines and sucking soldiers from the front into forests and hills deep in occupied territories. Ok, this is divided in itself, internally into two parts. First was 36 mintues long.

Another fearless piece of enquiry...Kudos So Gal..

I think he was saying 'John Britain ' because Americans wouldn't be familiar with 'John Bull ' John Bull is an imaginary figure who is a personification of England, similar to the American ‘Uncle Sam’

PLEASE react to " Jeremy Clarkson the greatest raid of all time " It's about when the British used a USA warship to attack a Nazi naval base

You'd think they'd find him a shore job - the guy is bad luck!

SIX TIMES You'd think after the 1st time they would have realised their mistaken not continue to load and fire him as a torpedo! He must enjoy it if he keeps signing on though I guess

"During the.." "If you say during the war, I'll pour this cup of tea over your head" "I wasn't gonna say the war" "Alright, I'm sorry. Go ahead." "During the 1939 to 1945 Conflict with Germany.."

@@derekmills5394 Savage 😂

People round here on Merseyside still mourn the loss of merchant navy and Royal navy seamen from the Atlantic and Murmansk convoys..we also have a monument in Liverpool Pier head for the sacrifice of the Royal Canadian navy for their pivotal role in the battle of the Atlantic...

Yes ..... Documentary.....

D-documentary..

@@adolflenin4973 what?

@@infertilepiggy5667 Expand your knowledge, udumbyank

"Were in the stickiest situation since sticky the stick insect got stuck on a sticky bun" classic.

It "Sounds good", to a "yankee plebescite" , Daniele. Not sure how many people had "The franchaise" in those days, mind. ( my ignorance shines through ! ) Here in Albion, you had to have a certain amount of "wealth" to be able to vote, for a long time. I know that much.

@@blackbob3358 late to the party, but I thought in Britain universal suffrage (franchise) was voted in after the first world war?

Wow...I had no idea.

You do have Mr D Trump.

@@jhnshep it was, I believe, in the early 1920's. Prior to that only land owners (about a third of the male population) could vote. Incidentally, that is a similar situation to something many Americans are discussing these days. 'Service Guarantees Citizenship'

Just a note for the John Britain part. He also used John for the Americans in the video. It's just used as a generic name eg: John Doe/ Jane Doe

To be fair, we did walk out leaving a bloodbath, but it was a bloodbath with a constitution.

@@MrEsphoenix True enough but John Q Public doesn't sound any better really ..... it's just a product of the 40s, they were experts in cringeworthy names on both sides of the pond 👍😁

@@DaveF. the partition was one of many mistakes we made during the post war dismantling of the empire, it was damn bloody, but given how bloody it could have been given how many groups fundamentally detested one an other maybe it was the lesser of a great many evils? not defending it and i am sure there was a much better way of sorting our mess out, but you know what they say about hindsight.

@@DaveF. But the point is that we did try to avoid it and once there was an agreed constitution we had absolutely no grounds for refusing to hand the country back to its people even if we had wanted to.

During one battle in the Korean war a British company sent a request for aid saying the situation was a bit difficult. What they meant was they were holding off an entire Chinese Division.

@@eagleofceaser6140 The Gloucestershire Regiment on Hill 235 (or Gloster Hill).

What I found interesting about this is that I read it and thought it was a perfectly proportionate statement and request. They're in a spot of bother and need a little help. I understand fully that they're in a bit of a pickle. Then again I'm British. Whoever it was that said America and Britain are two nations separated by a common language nailed it!

The greater the deemphasis the graver it is, too.

@@simonoleary9264 600+ gloster rifles fighting off around 20,000 chinese and north korean soldiers until they ran out of ammunition

We have a memorial of the Canary girls in Hereford, Rotherwas was 1 of the many locations used to produce munitions for the war effort.

Both my grandfathers were Scottish Victorians. One was wounded twice at Ypres. His brother had 2 sons - both were killed during WW1. He never really recovered from his loss.

There are places known as "Thankful villages" which are villages who didn't lose any men in WWI. The current estimate is that there are about 56 thankful villages in the UK. There are 14 "Doubly thankful villages" which didn't lose any men in either World War. Just to illustrate the fact that the World Wars impacted almost every community in the country. One of the doubly thankful villages is Catwick in Yorkshire. There's a quote that says "Thirty men went from Catwick to the Great War and thirty came back, though one left an arm behind."

Don't Drink?

@@Bosspigeon230 that wouldnt make much sense, considering the anount of pubs

​@@Bosspigeon230 it's basically the same now " Don't drink, gamble or fight with the UK forces because you will lose " l😅😅 Years ago whilst I was in Manchester visiting a friend I met his American friend who was a officer in the USMC , he told me that he had to prove if he was any good so he did the RM course and passed, upon getting back home the first thing he did was to put a shelf up above the entrance to the mess hall and on that was his Green Marine Berry with a notice that said , " You are not a Marine until you can Officially wear one of these " . The reason for being in Manchester was he was on one his regular visits to a RM Officers bit of a do.

Good point Ian ,check out the battle of Bamber bridge....

“Several instances of hostility” pales into comparison against the overall positive effect of the US joining the European theatre of the war and, when put into context against the atrocities of the common enemies we were fighting, is like complaining about the side effects of an immunisation.

@@neilturner6749 Why wouldn't you talk about it? It's one of the biggest problems still present in modern day USA, and elsewhere.

There was one pub that the Americans said would be off limits unless it was segregated. So the pub put up a : " No White Americans " sign.

@@BrianMcGuirkBMG He was showing the other side of the coin. It was talked about in the original comment. Bottom line: The US helped save Britain's ass...again.

True, we've influenced their culture and history for so long, whether for right or wrong, it was only proper to have a sensible withdrawal. It wasn't perfect though, there's still tension between India and Pakistan to this day but at least we tried and we're at least on relatively good terms with India politically and have done some military exercises regularly together. Hong Kong I think we did a bit better job of leaving it in a fit state, so much so there's still good feeling from Hong Kong citizens about the British, especially considering China's recent actions these past few years.

It was always going to be difficult. For an example of what happens when an occupying force leaves a country with a power vacuum, one only needs to look at Iraq and Afghanistan.

More than that: what do you do after you've occupied it for around 100 years and the only thing stopping 90% of the population murdering 5% of the population for subjugating them for 3 centuries before you arrived is you?

@@misterflibble9799 India was a foreseen bloodbath, train by train by train....

My East-end mother was teen Forestry Jill, sister and brother at Dumfries Airdrome

Great work mate & thankyou for serving. From Australia

I can remember being carried to the shelter by my father,and my mother pushing my little brother in a stroller

@@jeanbrown8295 That I would not want to see very horrible.

My nanny talks a little about the shelters sometimes, though she was very young during the war, she said she never used to like the shelter. A lot of people had home air raid shelters outside of London

They were also fighting in South East Asia.

Initially, the small number of Americans who came to the UK to fly with the RAF were simply allocated to various RAF squadrons. It was only after the Battle of Britain that there were enough Americans to be able to form a full All-American Eagle Squadron. It didn't last that long because, in 1942, the RAF Eagle Squadrons were transferred to the rapidly expanding USAAF. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada etc joined Britain's war effort within days of the declaration of war in September 1939. However, for logistical reasons, most of their troops and airmen ended up in the Far East, North Africa and the Middle East. Later, many Australians and Canadians made up a large part of RAF Bomber Command and were based in the UK. Churchill is indeed addressing Congress.

@@MichaelJohnsonAzgard British and allied forces weren’t sent to fight the Japanese in Asia until December 1941

@@langdalepaul Hawaii was not the only place the Japanese attacked in December 1941. The Japanese simultaneously moved against Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, and other British territories in the region - they even threatened the Australian mainland. That's why the British Empire joined America in the Pacific theatre.

@@IamtherealDodger67 yes. I’m not sure I understand your point. I was simply saying to Michael that there were no British or Commonwealth troops deployed to SE Asia until December 1941.

Even enemies can show respect, especially ones that you’re related to.

Many Brits were on the Americans side, and not only those who had family there; rumblings of overthrowing the monarchy were very strong and a major fear for those in power.

What Americans don't realise, is that the War of Independence was a civil war. Before it started the people in the american colonies considered themselves British, and the people in Britain, did too!

@@duckwhistle too!

@@duckwhistle It was also part of a series of wars between Britain and France, as far as France was concerned. It was a pretty global series of engagements.

Same, to think of the struggle our recent ancestors went through. Certain parts are really very difficult to see. The struggle and pain. It's also quite cute how the Americans try to sell us to the American people. There's a certain fondness there that... makes me pleased that we've always had good relations with the US.

And now look what we have become . I’m glad my grandparents are not around to see there legacy pissed down the drain by stupid ,incompetent ,corrupt politicians . God help us .

@@pauldirac808 In 70 years, people will watch old videos of 2023 and think "my God what a stoic, classical society 2023 had, it's a shame we pisse dit all away!" :D

"Sardine can" He should see it now ! If we don't stop immigration we will be squashed into diamonds !

If you are proud of the British empire then you are either a Nazi or an idiot.

I doubt most US soldiers could even point to the UK on a map at the time.

@@smooth_sundaes5172 When my friend and I got off the Greyhound in Texas, someone asked if we came all the way from England on the bus.

​@@alansmithee8831 Same happened to us in Disney World, Florida. Hearing our accents an American asked "Say, where are you from?". We said "England" and their teenage son asked "Did you drive all the way?".

Cheap shots....the reason you can do what you do, is down to selfless sacrifice...ma da was from the back of beyond in the Republic of Ireland...still joined up, came back to service accommodation with signs saying ...No Blacks or Irish...step around your keyboard and serve...

By

we didn't have that by me to the point it was called the 'Black country'.....god it's hilarious every time i have to explain the name to an american XD

In the 50s in Britain they got the clean air act because people died from coal smoke smog.

I'm a boilermaker in the USA. I also know that what most people think is smoke. Is just steam. The big mushroom shaped looking smoke stacks are not smoke stacks. They are water cooling towers. It's like a big hotspring water fall inside it. With tones of steam rising.

I Like being English but I find so much more than war to celebrate, our music, arts, architecture, literature, technology. Lots of countries are fantastic and the people warm and courageous.

A lovely comment....

@@nudal9993 Absolutely so. Unfortunately much of that reached the farther reaches (from Britain) only through war/subjugation and more kindly through trade.

I agree. Films like this always hit the spot. I'm a Brit. There may be some things to be critical of in our history (Like any nation), but there is a hell of a lot more to be proud of.

@@scaleyback217 trade yes, wars came from protecting trade routes.

Reminds me of the old joke when a Briton was asked what they thought of the GIs when they started coming over: "They're alright, but I don't much like the white fellas they brought with them." There was never racial segregation in Britain in the same way that there was in the US. I wouldn't be surprised if it's expanded with every retelling, but attempts by white US servicemen to enforce such an alien system were typically rebuffed quite robustly.

I don't remember that part.

@@charleshowie2074 - The film I referred to starring Burgess Meredith is a different film to the one reviewed in this video. I can’t remember where I saw it (perhaps as a DVD extra?) but it’s well worth seeing if you can find it.

@@AtheistOrphan I watched it since commenting, it's around the 23 minute mark of what you rightly point out to be another US Archive film of which I had previously only seen a clip. Thanks for the tip!

It was a very different time

But, it is not 26 (not 20) along all of it, just to the narrowest point - Dover to Calais.

The CSS Alabama was built here in Cammel Lairds...

The UK even named a city after him! (joke)

@@wbertie2604 🤣

There's a statue to Lincoln in Manchester, which was a major textile town at the time.

@@eamonnclabby7067 the CSS Shenandoah was registered in Liverpool, and surrendered in Liverpool.

Sounded a bit odd.

Thanks. It did sound a bit off as the voice was too thin.

I just learned through a video by the excellent Mark Felton that this was almost certainly the voice of Norman Shelley, who stood in as a 'voice double' for Churchill on a number of occasions. Shelley made a recording of the 'We shall fight on the beaches' speech in 1942 from which this was taken. He also, somewhat suprisingly, provided the radio voice for Winnie the Pooh.

​@@billb207 Mark Felton?! ... Tsk, tsk!

Not to mention north to south

Yes..... I used to be a moderate monarchist , but ever since the advent of Diana , it has just been a sad demise . Does anyone blame Harry for legging it ?

@@michellebrown4903 hate Harry more than andrew

@@michellebrown4903 I do support Brexit, but I am not happy with the government, unlike you, I am not a mindless zombie

@@michellebrown4903 "Oh no, Britain can trade outside the EU, the horror!" No I don't like the government either, however had the EU stayed purely about free and fair trade I wouldn't have minded staying in, but no. Edited.

As much as I agreed with Corbyn on some things done in the name of the monarch might be better shifted explicitly to The People, or Parliament. an idea of President Thatcher, or Blair keeps me thinking that even Charlie boy is preferable if all goes wrong - our right of appeal to the monarch is perhaps the most british thing to retain.

The Washington statue was a gift from the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1924. It is a replica of one which stands in the USA. The Lincoln statue (also a replica) was put up in 1920 to mark 100 years of peace between the USA and the UK. There are statues of FDR and JFK which were actually paid for by British people.

Besides Washington, Lincoln, FDR etc we have statues of Gandhi in London and of Martin Luther King. We are an outward looking people which doesn't discriminate on grounds of race or nationality: if they're great people we admire and honour them.

Prat. Churchill was a puppet of the RothchiIds, who subsidised his lifestyle and, in the end, controlled him. As for the Queen, she, like her heir, supports muIticuIturaIism, which will be the death of Britain as a nation state.

@Aiden Cox That's ad hominem, the kind of tactic employed by those who have no valid argument.

@@CrankCase08 Churchill will resound through history as opposed to you who doesn't even have the courage to put your real name out there. Just another gutless keyboard warrior. Aiden Cox summed you up

Churchill & the sound of a Merlin engine

Andy Williams Is it? I live just down the road in Tamworth.

I think Milton Keynes is furthest from the sea, or at least it seems to be.

I didn't know that

@@robertjohnson-taylor2596 An internet search suggest Milton Keynes is 68 miles from the sea. A key point to note is that all of these measurements are based on straight lines. Travel distances around obstacles like hills, rivers or buildings would be somewhat larger.

Leicester is supposed to be the city farthest from the sea, although the actual point is some little village near Litchfield

I used to collect WW2 US Army equipment and had pretty much an entire set of web equipment and some uniform items that had been made in the UK. USA uniform production was of much better quality, but the UK webbing gear was excellent. Oddly, a lot of the UK webbing I collected had never actually been issued. The USA also provided some weapons, and a few UK designs were adopted by the USA, although many more in the other direction.

Strangely Russia rejected the Spitfires sent and asked for more Hurricanes (Stole a Merchant catapult Hurricane, thought it was special/better ?)

To to say, the British saved the Americans in North Africa. Even knowledgeable Americans admit that.

And it was freely given! FDR loathed Churchill and was determined to bring Britain to her knees - thereby allowing the US to gain the reins of world power. Made a right cock-up of it! They do nothing other than instigate wars. When Britain held those reins she ended the West African slave trade. If people didn't stop it voluntarily, the Royal Navy would enforce it!

My Mum built torpedoes at Morris Motors Oxford. The first day she was taken round and on looking out of one grimy window she saw some laundry. Going home that night she realised it was her laundry. She never told Dad what she did for months and when she did he told her off!

Good to hear that your mums worked so hard...heroines...

The Queen features in this video. The girl standing next to the king near the beginning is then Princess Elizabeth

There are certainly photographs of the then Princess Elizabeth working on and driving Austin K2Y ("Katy") ambulances, but not, I think, lorries

I think the video is talking more specifically about the western front. Obviously the Soviets were still fighting on the eastern European front.

You are so wrong, you nugget. The film refers to the period from June 1940 to June 1941, which is after the fall of France and before Hitler launched his surprise invasion of the USSR.

@@ItsSpecialHands No they weren't. The USSR was till not in the war at that point having signed a pact with Hitler in 1939 so they could both carve up Poland.

@@claymor8241 oh my bad, I had thought that they had already started the invasion by 1940, it was 1941, you are correct

You are not thinking things through when you talk of the "Britain standing alone" point. Yes, other countries joined in the fighting subsequently. But aside from the Poles and Czechs during the Battle of Britain in 1940, for the first two years they weren't in a position to assist Britain militarily. And even in the case of the Poles who fought in the Battle of Britain, you need to be aware that there were only two Polish squadrons in RAF Fighter Command out of a total complement of 52 squadrons. That in no way denigrates the outstanding bravery and skill of those volunteers, or that of our other WW2 allies who, over time, and as the war developed, took part in the fighting on Britain's side. It simply simply puts things in perspective. The fact is that, from the beginning of the war until early 1942, the UK WAS alone.

How are they surprised? Of course we fought so much, at one point we got pushed to a singular beach because of everything being conquered by the Axis.

@@triffonyt they're surprised because their education system is so poor.

Beat me to it 👍😁

Written 20 years before US independence.

Yes as ex RN when played by the band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines followed by Senior Service flying the white ensign, lump in throat and moist eyes time... Stead, boys, Steady..

Oh dear, I duplicated the answer before reading a long way down, but I did put a link.

Prithee, mr Bralee, what were they doing there in the first place ? ( it's a rhetorical question, btw, we all know, like.)

The question of what happened after the British left India has some part to do with how India was ruled before the British arrived for good or bad.

@@blackbob3358 "What were they doing there?". Well what were Indian's doing in India? Such a silly question.

Problem was that Britain prevented Indian input to government for a century . They stamped on any home rule. Therefore India not prepared. However this applies to all colonies

I used to pass the Washington family home on my way to school, unsurprisingly in Washington, Co Durham (now Tyne & Wear). School trips there were frequent and many famous Americans used to visit, including Jimmy Carter when he was President at the Bicentennial in 1976.

I haven't stopped to look at the statue of George Washington in London for many years. It can be found at the front of the national gallery in Trafalgar Square - to the right of the entrance (as you enter it). My memory may be a little fuzzy, but I seem to remember that the inscription suggests that the statue was gifted to the UK by the Commonwealth of Virginia sometime in the 1920s. It is an exact replica of the one that stands in the Virginian Capital, Richmond. Contrary to what you might imagine, George Washington was widely admired in the UK - even in governmental and royal circles...the film briefly mentions one prominent supporter of the American colonists - the former Prime Minister the Earl of Chatham (William Pitt the Elder).

Essex is the ancestral home to 2 US presidents (the quincies), the ancestral home to General Sherman and The pilgrim father's were financed by an Essex landowner and had their last communion at his home in billericay. Essex created the world 😁

@@Trebor74 President Hayes (19th) and Roosevelt where decendants of a Cornishman from Truro called Thomas Burgess.

Is that the one that prepared US troops for the shocking sight of black people being allowed to drink in the same bars as white people?

@@ashscott6068 there is a story that in one village the American CO got all insistant that the pubs and similar establishments define themselves as to whether there were for whites or coloureds. In response the locals designated pretty much everything as catering to coloured Americans leaving the white officer nowhere to drink. Of course the locals didn't care anyway and drank in the same pubs they always did

unlessyou were in newcastle. then the guns were as close as the ships got.

c.f. and then there is Johnny English, of course!

That is strange it was put up for the 1812 war because Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil War in 1861-1865.

@@erinnswan7063 I think the Lincoln statue is more based on his fight against slavery.

The main war memorial in virtually every town and city in the UK (and in many other Commonwealth countries) is known, either officially or colloquially, as _'The Cenotaph'._

Indeed, we always tried to leave our colonies as well organised democracies, respecting freedom under the rule of law, with an independent judiciary, and freedom of speech. Unfortunately, quite a few of them didn't remain in that state once we were no longer there to ensure it.

You're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Everyone has has heard about the religious bloodbath that took place in India after the British left.

@@neilcampbell3212 Yes, the British were opposed to partition and tried to avoid it. Certain Muslim elements, however, were dedetermined to create the "Land of the Pure" (Pakistan) come what may. The British usually still get the blame though.

Nice one ,sir.....

It's not what ya know, it's who ya know. Churchill was "half septic" , he had loads of connections "in power" over there. They knew they had "bigger guns" than either "gerry or vlad" . Understated/Overstated ? I do'nt know. Peace in our time, i know that . xx

Just enforcing the stereotype that we all live In old houses, I live in a super old stone cottage in Northamptonshire, built in 1701. Can confirm there isn’t a straight wall in the place, everything falls apart and the entire house shakes whenever a bus drives past!

Well done for sharing this with us all...my da joined the RAF from the Republic of Ireland and served in Egypt,Libya and Malta and finally Germany..peace and love from the wirral..E

@@eamonnclabby7067 many from Ireland came over to fight on the British side, including my dad and 6 of his brothers. They fought in many different campaigns; my Uncle Danny, the youngest who died recently, was in the D-Day landings.

@@eamonnclabby7067 Another example ... At the time of his death in 1942, 'Paddy' Finucane was the highest scoring ace and youngest Wing Commander in the RAF. His father had served under de Valera in the 1916 Easter Rising, fighting against the British.

@@catherinerobilliard7662 his memory will live on...Mrs C,s da served in the Chindits, and her uncle served in the East Lancashire regiment alongside the American paratroopers at Nijmegen,sadly succumbed to his wounds RIP, thank you for sharing this with us all,best wishes from the wirral..E

@@pitanpainter2140 yet another example my great uncle served on the river Imjin with the Royal Ulster Rifles and survived being a POW and made it back to Ireland ,after the end of the Korean war..

And there is another Lincoln statute in Old Calton Cemetery in Edinburgh commemorating Scottish American Civil War dead.

There was also the two engine Wellington and a flight of Mosquitos.

... and I saw a Bristol Blenheim at 16:30. At 17:11 is a Spitfire.

At 12:30 there are some Junkers Ju 52 dropping paratroopers. At 13:50 it's a Dornier Do 17.

The Stirling had a slight kink in its fuselage, as Shorts had previously built flying boats, which also had a kink to keep the tail clear of spray. Technically, the Lancaster and Halifax were to be medium bombers, but with four Merlin engines as originally flown, their bomb load was only 1000 lbs less than that of the Stirling, and they could carry bigger individual bombs, so there wasn't much point continuing to build Stirlings.

Norman Wallace. Yes but the vast majority of pilots in the Battle of Britain were British. In fact I think there were only 2 Americans.

I like the end of 'The Battle of Britain' film as it lists the nationalities of the pilots, how any fought and how many gave their lives.

Sorry to keep banging on ,my da was one among tens of thousands of Irish men and women who joined up bypassing De Valera, he served in Egypt,Libya and Malta and finally Germany..

@@eamonnclabby7067 It is remembered, and there is gratitude, particularly as it would perhaps have met some opposition from others in the community who felt differently about being involved.

@@eamonnclabby7067 I heard that their children in Ireland were singled out for harsh treatment at school.

You were not fighting Japan years before the US got involved. Pearl Harbor ushered in war between the European empires and Japan as well as between Japan vs USA.

Commonwealth troops between 1939 and 1941 were in Europe, Asia and North Africa. When UK declared war after Japan attacked Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, it was a matter of hours before USA declared war on Japan for the more or less simultaneous attack on Pearl Harbour.

No, Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan in another bloody war.

Whole train loads of corpses in both directions.....

See also; Congo.

Wow! That's a very rosy, generous description of the partition and the *noble* efforts of Britain and especially Lord Mountbatten. Sorry, but there's really nothing about the partition for Britain to be proud of. Yes, they insisted on constitutions being written and basic framework before they left, but it could have been done MUCH better with one simple change: Mountbatten could've spent more than 6 months on the partition of India/Pakistan and the transfer of power. There's "leaving in an appropriate timescale" and then there's "We don't want to be here. NOW we're losing money and we just want to go home and focus on rebuilding ourselves." The British made boatloads of money from India for over 200 years and hauled away any valuables and artifacts they could possibly take home. (Koh-i-noor Diamond anyone?) The LEAST they could've done was spend more than 6 months on the independence and transfer of power back to the people they'd violently subjugated for 200 years. You don't get to raid, loot and destroy a giant region, then when YOU have problems at home, unrest in the colonies, and nothing more to extract, wash your hands of the problem, run home with your tail between your legs, and absolve yourself of the resulting chaos and violence saying "We kinda, sorta, tried. We insisted they bang out a couple of constitutions before we left." Britain created the problem, and tried not leave a TOTAL disaster, but a little more work, understanding, and another few months for the transition could have prevented up to 2 million deaths, 14 million refugees, and countless more maimed, and traumatized. (British soldiers who had just liberated the Nazi concentration camps said the violence in India/Pakistan after the partition was worse.) There's absolutely no excuse for Mountbatten to only spent 7 months, start to finish, on the creation and transfer of power to 2 new nations in an already volatile region. He was assigned to lead the transfer of power by his cousin, the King (gotta love nepotism) and was given until June 1948 to complete the job, which would've been an "appropriate timescale." Instead, Mountbatten arrived in India to be Viceroy on 12 February 1947, took office on 23 March, announced an incoherent, basic 'plan' on 3 June, and decided it would take effect on August 15, 1947, only 2 months later, even though his mandate didn't end for another year. A British lawyer who had never set foot in India before and had absolutely no understanding of it was given 5 weeks to draw the borders. Imagine what more could've been accomplished with another 10 months to create 2 new nations. Everyone expected violence, as there had already been riots and massacres. (one in Calcutta exactly 1 year before independence on 16 August 1946 is sometimes called "the week of the long knives" and killed at least 4,000 people and left 100,000 homeless) But Mountbatten just wanted to get back to Britain and pursue his Naval career (he had to fulfill his father's dream and become "First Sea Lord," which he eventually did) so he sped things up for no justifiable reason. He should've allowed a reasonable time for leaders to write better constitutions, transfer power/set up governments, and for ordinary people to learn what would happen and react appropriately. Even Churchill called it a “premature, hurried scuttle.” Britain tried not to leave a total vacuum, but they could've saved countless lives, and maybe it would've just been violence and a few massacres instead of genocide on both sides and lasting, absolute hatred between the 2 new countries. Y'know, actually spending the time to do such an important task right. I can't believe that either country (India or Pakistan) would've rebelled and resented British rule for a few more months after the plan was announced and the end was in sight. They knew it needed time to set everything up. THAT would've been an "appropriate timescale" to create 2 new countries and transfer power to them. Calling what happened "an appropriate timescale" is horribly ignorant and apalling. If you actually care to learn the truth, this site sums it up quite nicely. (I have no connection to it, it's just an excellent summary and analysis.) How a British royal's monumental errors made India's partition more painful theconversation.com/how-a-british-royals-monumental-errors-made-indias-partition-more-painful-81657

@@SaguaroBlossom Wow, what a long yet inane respose. The Labour government decided to give full independence to India because they were enthralled by Ghandi and Britain was broke. There was no way (and there never had been) that India could be held against its will. The Muslims insisted on being a separate state because they feared being in a Hindu state. Mountbatten did not have the luxury of preparing a carefully-considered consensual plan - he had to just get Britain out as quickly as possible because his political masters insisted. Churchill was against because he believed in the White Man's Burden and if he had won the General Election he would probably have stalled independence, which would have led to insurrection and expense that Britain could not afford. Which leads us back to why the Labour government wanted it done quickly.

"All our yesterdays" is also the title of a memorable episode of "Star Trek", but the phrase is originally part of a line from Macbeth ("And all our yesterdays have lighted fools. The way to dusty death").