...then there's the cozy little arrangement the remaining French government after the fall of Paris entered into with the Nazis; the Vichy "government" and all of its attendant bowing and scraping to the Nazis did not engender much sympathy nor respect from the rest of the world, an impression that still exists today; the brutalization, under guise of "legitimate government" of the Vichy French citizens and the acquiescence of the Vichy "leaders", mainly to save their own sorry, pathetic skins, still rankles...
...and the concept of not blaming the soldiers is true; the rank and file are not responsible for the moral cowardice or failure to lead of their politicians; however, there can be bit of blame sharing for the highest and higher levels of military leadership who either failed to adequately advise and inform the political leaders and who capitulated more to save their skins than to ostensibly spare their troops...
<O>
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