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Comment by kitd | Hacker News Reader

Ben Mackintyre's book about Colditz reveals that Douglas Bader was actually a pretty unpleasant character, often tolerated by his peers at best, and often loathed by his subordinates whom he would bully. He was an outstanding pilot though and was given the benefit of the doubt as a result.

To his credit, after the war he used his fame to become a vocal advocate for the disabled. I remember him as such when I was young.

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In WW2, Admiral Ernest King is reputed to have said "When they get in trouble, they send for the sons of bitches."

There were a lot of utter assholes and bullies around at that time. There were huge inter department feuds that resulted in many thousands of deaths. Part of why Eisenhower was a good supreme commander was that he could wrangle the assholes into at least not fighting each other!

>Part of why Eisenhower was a good supreme commander was that he could wrangle the assholes into at least not fighting each other!

That's a spicy take on the British.

(I kid, but the joke is in fact based in historical fact, managing relations with the British was a key reason he was given the job)

And the French.

As General Jacob L. Devers wrote to French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny in 1945, "For many months we have fought together, often on the same side."

Bader was also a chief proponent of the Big Wing, essentially flying a shitload of planes together in formation. The Big Wing which is usually considered [1] to have been a worse strategy than the more dynamic, targeted and integrated Dowding System [2] with which it competed.

He might have been a good pilot and a determined escapee, but I don't think history has much else to say in his favour.

[1] https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/battle-of-britain-big-wing-wa...

[2] https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-the-dowding-system

An extremely capable and heroic man. But also an out-and-out racist who was an unabashed supporter of apartheid Rhodesia. People are complicated.

Ben is unlikely to ever be surpassed as in author in my eyes. I have read most of his books, well listened on Audible during my commutes, and they are all amazing. He quite literally brings history to life for me. His descriptions make you feel like you're there. Prisoners of the Castle is the one I haven't really had interest in but I'll probably get it at some point just to hear them all.

Thoroughly enjoyable book. I read it recently and, having gone to a UK boarding school, the stories about life in Colditz being treated like a high stakes public (posh) boarding school by the British Officers rang very true to me.

Britain setup a holiday/prison camp for high-ranking german officers and bugged everything. It's a fascinating story..

https://www.amazon.com.au/Walls-Have-Ears-Intelligence-Opera...

Whereas bagging on a dead war hero due to something you read in a book is highly creditable behaviour

Mackintyre is a professional historian whose work is based on first hand accounts so I think it can be taken as fact that many found him unpleasant.

I found it interesting & surprising to read of his character, having (possibly like you) only known of him as a war hero, and thought it worth mentioning, that's all.

So no need for vicarious outrage. As you say, he's long gone.

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