I think the Queen forgot that Britannia no longer rules the waves.
America does.
Actually, it's a reference to Field Marshal Montgomery, near the end of 1944 (and before the Ardennes offensive, IIRC) who went straight to Eisenhower and quite nearly dressed him down with complaints about how he would be conducting this war, and if Monty had his way about it, they would likely be having their victory parade through the Brandenburg Gate at this very moment or at the latest, kicking in the doors of the Reichstag.
Eisenhower patiently sat there and let Montgomery have his moment and at the end of Monty's tirade, Ike politely reminded him that America is funding and contributing the vast majority of the Western front in this war; and whether Monty liked it or not, Ike was his superior.
This wasn't just a simple case of America forcibly sitting themselves at the head of the table because we were the ones contributing the most men and material. Ike was critical is maintaining the East/West alliance, especially at this late stage of the war whenever Stalin (as tyrants and dictators always do) fell into extreme paranoia that the West was not only going to take Berlin first (something the Soviets arguably earned) but that they would join forces with Germany and repel the the Communist onslaught of Europe. Ike was no Patton, but in this volatile situation, this is to his credit. Relations between the Allies and the Soviet Union would have broken down quickly if Monty and Patton had their way about it.
This is also why the United States created and only briefly used the 5-star rank, and this was to assuage the home front of our allies such as Britain who were quite upset that a mere 4-star like Eisenhower was giving orders to Field Marshal Montgomery, who was of a higher rank. So, by fiat, we added another star, and magically this requirement of authority filled via the short-lived 5-star "General of the Armies" rank.
Additional edit: I add historical WWII references like this whenever possible to Akagi^2. Some of them are slight (such as Hood looking away whenever Bismarck mentions being mistaken on the horizon because this exactly what happened and several of my readers caught this) but they are almost always strictly limited to WWII history.
Well, I don't think Akagi-chan can get into too much trouble here. What's the worst that could happen during a game of baseball!
Given the “tea party” incident, the press interview, and “letting the eagle driving”…. Quite a bit could happen… prepare the popcorn and enjoy the show!
CplEthane said: This is also why the United States created and only briefly used the 5-star rank, and this was to assuage the home front of our allies such as Britain who were quite upset that a mere 4-star like Eisenhower was giving orders to Field Marshal Montgomery, who was of a higher rank. So, by fiat, we added another star, and magically this requirement of authority filled via the short-lived 5-star "General of the Armies" rank.
And people think it was just France that had the impetuous and rank-obsessed threatening to derail everything. I have to wonder if Admiral King had something to do with that too, just to hamstring MacArthur from being the full-scale horse's ass he was capable of being, forcing him to answer to Ike.
This wasn't just a simple case of America forcibly sitting themselves at the head of the table because we were the ones contributing the most men and material. Ike was critical is maintaining the East/West alliance, especially at this late stage of the war whenever Stalin (as tyrants and dictators always do) fell into extreme paranoia that the West was not only going to take Berlin first (something the Soviets arguably earned) but that they would join forces with Germany and repel the the Communist onslaught of Europe. Ike was no Patton, but in this volatile situation, this is to his credit. Relations between the Allies and the Soviet Union would have broken down quickly if Monty and Patton had their way about it.
This is also why the United States created and only briefly used the 5-star rank, and this was to assuage the home front of our allies such as Britain who were quite upset that a mere 4-star like Eisenhower was giving orders to Field Marshal Montgomery, who was of a higher rank. So, by fiat, we added another star, and magically this requirement of authority filled via the short-lived 5-star "General of the Armies" rank.
If I remember reading correctly, wasn't there a situation where several American infantry and armor divisions were put under British command in late '44, because the British felt like they were being "left out" (since at that point, after 5 years of war, the British didn't have anywhere near the manpower the US still had)