How we cite our quotes: Chapter name.(Chapter Number).Paragraph
Quote #7
The Germans loaded the four badly injured men into a truck. By the accepted rules of war, the British soldiers should have been treated as prisoners of war. Instead, the Germans poisoned them and dropped their bodies into the sea. The other five were taken to a concentration camp and interrogated by the Gestapo. They refused to give more than their name, rank, and service number. German soldiers blindfolded and handcuffed the prisoners and shot them in the head. (Gliders Down.(10).27)
Warfare is never pretty, but when one side decides they no longer have to adhere to the rules, it gets really ugly. Based on the Geneva Convention—which the Germans definitely signed after WWI—the British soldiers were entitled to certain rights. Those rights did not include being poisoned and unceremoniously buried at sea, though, so in addition to being absolutely morally reprehensible, these acts were also illegal.
Quote #8
They removed their white camouflage suits, revealing British military uniforms. They wanted the Germans to know they were soldiers on an official Allied mission—that way, hopefully, the Germans wouldn't retaliate against Norwegian civilians in nearby towns. (High Concentration.(15).6)
The fact that they were worried about the Germans retaliating against civilians shows how awful the Nazi occupation could be. But major brownie points go to the Norwegian group for showing pride in their service and at least trying to protect their fellow countrymen.
Quote #9
But the fighting raged on, with some of the biggest battles in the history of war taking place on the blood-soaked Soviet soil that spring. Joseph Stalin, the Soviet premier, called desperately for the Americans and British to launch an invasion of German-held Western Europe. This would force Hitler to fight on two fronts, taking pressure off the Soviets.
President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill told Stalin it was coming. American and British troops were just beginning their attack on Germany's ally, Italy. And American forces were locked in ferocious battles with Japan all over the Pacific. A major invasion of Western Europe was still a year away. (Laboratory Number 2.(18).2-3)
Military scholars to this day argue over what would have happened if the Americans and Great Britain had launched an invasion of Western Europe sooner. Do you think it would have made a difference in the war's outcome? Could it have possibly negated the need for the atomic bomb?