The Climax of the Story

Most Americans are taught that the climax of the Civil War came at Gettysburg, and that of World War II on D-Day.

These were turning points. Just as last November was a turning point.

Contemporary accounts tell a different story.

The climax of the Civil War came when Atlanta fell in September 1864.  Atlanta was the center for Confederate manufacturing. Birmingham hadn’t been invented yet. Wars are won by logistics. Without weapons or ammunition the Confederacy was toast. Lincoln was an underdog for re-election before Atlanta. After that he romped to victory.

The climax of World War II came with the Battle of the Bulge. News of the result didn’t come until practically the New Year. Even then the headlines were filled with the bloodier battles of the Pacific, which high school historians now ignore.

I believe we’re now at that point in the current struggle with fascism.

Kherson will be our Atlanta.

Ukraine isn’t moving the way Russia moved in the Donbas. Rather than overwhelm the battlefield with infantry, Ukraine has focused on destroying Russia’s logistics behind the battle line. Ammunition dumps have been destroyed. So have bridges across the Dnipro River that were used for re-supply. Russia has already moved its headquarters to the other side of the river. This has left demoralized, undertrained troops in the way of experienced Ukrainian volunteers. As Russia has tried to shore up this front, it has left the Donbas open to Ukranian advances.

Patton had it right. No son of a bitch becomes a hero by dying for his country. He becomes a hero by making the other son of a bitch die for his country. Logistics, and a well-trained army, are what win battles.

Something similar is happening here, where the Republican battle for Trumpism, a Latin alliance of oligarchs, religious zealots, and militarists, is starting to fall apart. The Supreme Court has overreached. Mass murder has become routine. Trump himself is sucking all the oxygen from the room in his desperate attempt to avoid indictment.

None of this seems obvious. Russian propaganda is flooding the zone on Twitter. Trumpist voices are louder than ever. The two are connected. Major news outlets seem to be suddenly taken with the politics of their right-wing owners. This too is connected.

But none of it matters. Wars are won on the battlefield. Elections are won on the ground. There’s a wave building on both sides of the Atlantic, and I don’t think it can be denied.