Irony in history

[allhailIndia]

Mangoes in India acounted for as many Greek soldiers, if not more than any Indian prince, in Alexander's campaign. The Greeks did not what hit them as they devoured basketloads of the juicy sweet fruit only to be hit by serial diarrhoea and other intestinal troubles.

The three most powerful elected leaders in India today (the President is elected by legislators), none were born in India. The Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition were both born in Pakistan and the leader of the ruling Congress party, born in Italy.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

The entire German intelligence campaign in England proved to be one of England's greatest weapons in World War II. They turned every single spy, some immediately on arrival, and kept up a stream of false information to Berlin.

I think it was the same in Switzerland. The spies there made sure that Berlin thought that Switzerland was well-prepared for invasion so that Hitler wouldn't suddenly decide he didn't need spies there and send them all off to the Eastern Front.

 

[shortguy]

Demetrius Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus the One-Eyed, received his epithet (meaning "beseiger") for the inventive siege machines he used in the seige of Rhodes in 305 BC. The siege, however, was a failure.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

What sort of siege techniques did he use ?

 

[Fëanor]

Ironic was the conflict between Fascist Japan invaded Fascist China, Japan ended up occupied by US and Nationalist china exiled on taiwan (which had been Japanese for decades) with communist china taking all the mainland.

Ironic is how America's greatest enemy (Osama & Taliban) were trained, armed and funded by Americans to fight the Russians in afghanistan.

Ironic how gay rights are being recognized by more nations each passing year and Mr. Bush tries to ban them on a national level.

 

[ChrTh]

A contribution:
Samuel Adams, noted Revolutionary War firebrand, criticized Shay's Rebellion for daring to resist the government.

BTW, can we drop the whole 'put in place by then turned against' category from this thread? I mean that goes back millenia, there's nothing new or ironic about the fact that humans are opportunistic.

 

[sydhe]

The war to make the world safe for democracy ended with the Bolsheviks in control of Russia and led eventually to National Socialism in Germany.

 

[sydhe]

A contribution:
Samuel Adams, noted Revolutionary War firebrand, criticized Shay's Rebellion for daring to resist the government.

BTW, can we drop the whole 'put in place by then turned against' category from this thread? I mean that goes back millenia, there's nothing new or ironic about the fact that humans are opportunistic.

I was thinking about cases where A asks B to help them fight C and B winds up taking over A, but they're pretty common. I call it the Vortigen maneuver. Another example is one of the sides in a Byzantine civil war asking the Ottomans over to help him.

 

[Plotinus]

The war to make the world safe for democracy ended with the Bolsheviks in control of Russia and led eventually to National Socialism in Germany.

Surely WWI wasn't fought to protect democracy, even according to the propaganda of the time? "Democracy" wasn't universally regarded as A Good Thing then. This is why many people even in Britain did not have the vote.

 

[sydhe]

Surely WWI wasn't fought to protect democracy, even according to the propaganda of the time? "Democracy" wasn't universally regarded as A Good Thing then. This is why many people even in Britain did not have the vote.

That was Wilson's rhetoric at the time, especially after the February Revolution. Of course, that was democracy for white males.

 

[MISER SVM]

Jeanne D'Arc- burned as a heretic, but eventually became a saint.
Robespierre- the one responsible for ten thousands of deaths ended up under the guillotine himself.
The Nazis- the 1,000 year Reich lasted only for 12 years and in the utter destruction of the German Empire.
Hitler, again- ranting all the time that the Soviets were Slavic sub-humans dominated by Jews (who were really badly treated by Stalin) and finally saying "das Ostvolk hat sich als das Staerkere erwiesen*" (when Germany's defeat drew near), ordering the destruction of Germany (Nero-Befehl**).
WW I- Wilson counted Tsarist Russia among the countries promoting democracy, while Tzar Nicholas' rule was even more authoritarian than that of Germany and Austro-Hungary.
China- Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang, who originated from simple families, ended up as founders of dynasties.

*The Eastern people has proven to be the stronger one.
**An order to destroy Germany's remaining infrastructure (is a bit disputed now).

 

[Dann]

China- Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang, who originated from simple families, ended up as founders of dynasties.

No irony there. It's just the ultimate success story. And something that all Chinese with even a little bit of ambition secretly dream about.