Originally Posted by Galloper Thompson

Our biggest problem would have been finding somewhere to put all those German prisoners, as right now we cant even get the chavs off the streets...............

They could have been sent to a black hole. Larne comes to mind.

Originally Posted by Mackers

If the Germans had parachuted into Ballymena first, they would have called the operation off.

They might just have fallen in behind the parade.

Originally Posted by Tim Johnston

I imagine we'd have launched guerilla operations like every other Nazi-occupied state. Course, we'd have to have stopped killing each other for a while. Just temporarily, like.

AFAIK the plan was to resist by guerilla operations, as you say, until help came from the Allies.

And as we are discussing neutrality, this might be of interest

http://www.nationalarchives.ie/topics/AAE/Article.pdf

The German prisoners of war built the weir on the Liffey at Newbridge college.

There's not that many people that know that.

Just saying.

It's all a bit irelevant anyway.

Kevin Myers had a good article some time ago showing the Germans really didn't have the means to attack Britain and still less Ireland which was further away.

Kevin Myers: Everything people believed about Hitler's intentions toward Britain was a myth created by Churchill - Kevin Myers, Columnists - Independent.ie

Originally Posted by eoghanacht

The German prisoners of war built the weir on the Liffey at Newbridge college.

There's not that many people that know that.

Just saying.

Strictly speaking as Ireland was neutral they were not POWs but internees.

I hope they were paid union rates

Originally Posted by parentheses

It's all a bit irelevant anyway.

Kevin Myers had a good article some time ago showing the Germans really didn't have the means to attack Britain and still less Ireland which was further away.

Kevin Myers: Everything people believed about Hitler's intentions toward Britain was a myth created by Churchill - Kevin Myers, Columnists - Independent.ie

Nevermind the means they never had the desire, Hitler admired the British and their empire and he saw them as germanic cousins if you will and likewise he had plenty of admirers amongst the Royals and the aristocracy and poltical classes.

Thanks too Churchills intransigence and foresight we'd all be living in a European superstate with the Germans being the political and financial epicentre

Originally Posted by Cruimh

Strictly speaking as Ireland was neutral they were not POWs but internees.

I hope they were paid union rates

Strictly speaking if that were the case any allied pilot who crashed in the south would also have interned not given a lift up the road.

There was a programme about them and what happened to them after the war, some married locals and settled others (majority) returned to the Fatherland.

Originally Posted by eoghanacht

Strictly speaking if that were the case any allied pilot who crashed in the south would also have interned not given a lift up the road.

Officially allied pilots were, hem hem, interned

Would anybody be up for making a thread on 'Military Matters' where we take one topic at a time eg US Navy, Australian Army, footdrill, Tacticts etc etc and just talk about that topic of the day?