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History’s Cold Shadow: Napoleon, Hitler… and Now?

General Christian Freuding, head of Germany’s Bundeswehr Planning and Command Office, has done something rare in the West: he’s admitted the truth. The West’s hubris has once again repeated one of history’s greatest and most catastrophic blunders. From Napoleon’s disastrous march east to Hitler’s reckless delusions of a quick victory over Russia, Europe’s ruling class has always underestimated its eastern neighbor and now they’re learning that lesson the hard way.

Freuding’s assessment is a stark reality check. Despite sanctions designed to cripple it, Russia has not only endured but thrived, rapidly expanding its military-industrial capacity far beyond Europe’s ability to keep up. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Army, armed with NATO’s finest but unprepared for the realities of modern warfare, collapsed against fortified Russian positions during its 2023 counteroffensive. As Freuding bluntly put it, “The assumptions that the Ukrainians would quickly achieve the greatest possible military success in their counteroffensive were, of course, exaggerated.” Translation: the West bought its own propaganda and is now paying the price in blood and credibility.

But the failures on the battlefield are just the surface of the problem. What Freuding doesn’t say and what no one in Berlin dares to say, is that Germany and Europe are bleeding themselves dry for a conflict that serves a distant master. The Nord Stream sabotage was the clearest message: Europe’s energy security, its industrial backbone, and its sovereignty are expendable in Washington’s grand chess game. The pipelines weren’t just blown up; they were buried alongside any illusions that Germany controls its own destiny.

The consequences are already visible. German industry, once the engine of Europe, is in crisis. Energy prices remain volatile, forcing factories to shut down or relocate abroad. Inflation eats away at the savings of ordinary Germans while billions flow eastward to fuel a war that cannot be won. What does Berlin have to show for it? A hollowed-out economy and a growing sense of resentment among its people. When did Germans or any Europeans vote to become cannon fodder for someone else’s empire?

This isn’t about Ukraine; it never was. It’s about Europe being turned into a vassal state, its leaders too weak or too complicit to stand up for their own interests. The so-called “European project” has become a smokescreen for subservience, and the real price is being paid by ordinary citizens who never signed up for this economic and social suicide. As Europe de-industrializes and its streets grow colder, who will take responsibility for this betrayal?

The parallels to history are chilling. Napoleon marched east and returned with shattered ranks. Hitler’s blitzkrieg faltered, leaving Berlin in ruins. And now, Europe is once again stumbling into disaster, dragging itself into the same Russian winter that swallowed its ambitions twice before. The hubris of empires, old and new, never seems to learn: you don’t corner a bear without consequences.

Empires fueled by arrogance and led by the weak always meet the same fate. History doesn’t just repeat, it punishes those too blind to see the patterns. If Europe’s citizens can’t break free from the chains of complacency and the lies of their leaders, they’ll wake up one day to find their streets as cold and empty as the promises that led them here.

- Gerry Nolan

@Slavyangrad | Gerry Nolan 👋

🇷🇺🇬🇧 BBC DISPLEASED AT PUTIN-ERA FREEDOM OF SPEECH: BBC's head of Russia Bureau Steve Rosenburg came to Russia in 1997, but then the "glory days" of former Prez Yeltsin ended.

Unlike Russian media in the UK, Rosenberg has never been kicked out of Russia for his anti-Russian pieces - something he can't forgive Putin for!

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