Putting Lenin on the train: History’s biggest blunder
by Jeffry Babb In the winter of 1917, Germany was on the verge of starvation; some people ate turnips, some didn’t have that. On the Western Front, the Allies were proving to be obdurate foes. Despite the mutiny at Verdun, which was put down with condign severity, the French refused to surrender. The English were being bled white, but they were supported by Empire troops, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. Already, troops from the United States were arriving in their tens of thousands. The “Doughboys” were raw, but they could fight, as the Marines soon proved…