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The name of the man who organised, controlled and commanded the two largest fleet actions in combined operations during WW2 is often unknown and unsung.He was coaxed from retirement although he then commanded vast forces as a ‘retiree’ without actually being on the ‘Active List’ so he had to be ‘restored’ so as to promote him.The peak of his achievements remains the largest and most complex combined operations feat to this day yet few know his name . . . The historian Correlli Barnett expressed his greatest work as a "never surpassed masterpiece of planning"Who was he? Admiral Bertram Ramsay.Attribution Collection Imperial War MuseumRamsay was the man who controlled the ‘narrow seas’, the Southern North Sea and the English Channel, he was a man who excelled in both improvised and set piece intricate actions requiring coordination of land, sea and air.Events that are known to much of the world by their popular or ‘Hollywood’ names were conceived and orchestrated by him yet few know it.Operation Dynamo - Known to most as ‘Dunkirk’. The quickly improvised lifting of over a third of a million men from the beaches of North Eastern France in the teeth of an army, an air force and a navy intent on stopping him.Ramsay then devised the plan for the defence of Britain against Operation Sealion, the Axis plan to invade the South of England.Reversing the removal of forces and defence Ramsay then immediately began to prepare for the offensive, beginning planning for the landings in France interspersed with his being appointed as:Deputy Naval Commander of Operation Torch - Landings in the North West of Africa to forge the pincers that together with the Eighth Army advancing from the East would destroy the Axis in North Africa.Commander of the Eastern Task Force and planner of the landings in Sicily.He then returned to his final climactic event, Operation Neptune. The complex detailed and staggeringly complex and effective plans (I know, I’ve seen much of it but still a tiny part) for the naval operations enabling Overlord - or in common parlance ’D Day’. To quote Wikipedia — coordinating and commanding a fleet of almost 7,000 vessels to delivering over 160,000 men onto the beaches of Normandy on D-Day alone, with over 875,000 disembarked by the end of June.Ramsay commanded more vessels overall and more vessels of every type and from every country (UK, US, Canada, Free France, Norway, Poland, Free Netherlands to my certain knowledge) at that time in the inventory than any Admiral of any nation before or since. Few people know or care that there were brisk naval actions on both the Atlantic and North Sea flanks as the carefully prepared plans to safeguard the transit of the armada smoothly meshed into action.Perhaps his greatest tribute lies in his obscurity. He did things so well that there is little debate or criticism. His plans were so thorough and worked so well that there is little controversy, no one has loudly claimed that anyone or someone else could have done better either in delivery of objectives or minimising of losses. And he was also a self effacing man never calling attention to himself as the ‘prima donnas’ did.Who has not heard of Dunkirk or D Day, slightly less well known generally but who in the communities with an interest in such things has not heard of Torch or Sicily? Surprisingly few are aware of the same masterly hand that orchestrated these great events and fewer realise that this is the man who commanded the largest and (at the time) most powerful fleets ever to set sail.It is significant that he enjoyed the confidence and respect of the Americans maybe starting with their appreciation of the epic of Dunkirk but cemented and enhanced by his work with them off North Africa and in the Mediterranean. He also, when necessary, had the balls to say ‘No’ to Churchill! He worked across services and nationalities in constructing great events and always delivered.Oh, and he was my dad’s boss for a time and showed an interest in even the smallest vessels that formed cogs in his vast machine. Even those vessels themselves were the result of specifications and outline designs sent to the USA years before when the need for specialised ‘over the beach’ vessels had been noted! Three years later Ramsay was admiring the handiness and utility of the final product . . .

Well I feel if the Earth was attacked by a Subterranean race of beings we would probably do better than the COG. However, I do think we would suffer dearly on our version of E-Day just like the Cog did. I mean the Surprise attack would effectively cut off whole regions until the armed forces and other forces like civilian militias could be mobilized. Although I do think the locust would be in for a big surprise in the form of gas attacks on the hollows themselves earlier than the Cog ever did. The reason being we have far more advanced tech in certain areas than they did, but also because we wouldn't nuke our own lands we would just nuke their tunnels. I can see the locust taking a lot of ground early on due to the surprise attack which is to be expected.However once that initial shock was off they would be in for hell from the armed forces and guerrilla attacks from the countries they occupied in their quest for human eradication. So many locust would and much blood will be spilt as we begin the long and arduous task of reclaiming our lands. Oh and once we find out about the hollow we would have begun plans to fill it with water from day one and let them drown in it all. Now if we find out the locusts motive for attacks are because of the Lambent then we would have to worry about that since it was tied to the major fuel source so basically oil. Either way the war would be just as bloody and costly on both sides. However humans would be victorious even if we have to kill every locust that ever lived one by one.

The Defiance of Duskendale is an important part of history that explains what may have triggered Aerys’ spiral into madness. It also bears resemblances to numerous current and past events and acts as foreshadowing.A brief overview of the Defiance of Duskendale:Duskendale was once a wealthy port town. King’slanding was its direct competition in the East. King’slanding grew whilst Duskendale’s wealth shrunk and its growth stunted. Lord Denys Darklyn desired to improve his situation by asking the Crown to grant his city similar rights to a charter Dorne had secured over a 100 years ago. Tywin Lannister, the king’s Hand, refused Denys’ proposal firmly. Denys didn’t take it too well.Denys refused to pay his taxes as a sign of protest. Aware of Aerys’ petty jealousy for Tywin, he invited Aerys to Duskendale to solve the matter in person. Tywin advised Aerys against it. Aerys wanted to outdo Tywin, so he traveled to Duskendale with a small escort, including one member of the King’sguard (Gwayne Gaunt). Once he arrived in Duskendale, he was seized and most of his escort were put to the sword, including the White Sword.Aerys was treated roughly, struck and stripped of his royal dressings, and even had his beard pulled by a squire. He was then placed in the dungeons.Tywin besieged the city for over 6 months. Neither, Tywin, nor Denys accepted each other’s terms. Tywin was ready to storm the city, before Barristan offered to rescue Aerys single-handed. Tywin gave him one night. Barristan succeeded. He also avenged his White Brother.Denys knew his cause was lost. He surrendered, but begged for mercy. Aerys would not hear of it. He put everyone in the Darklyn house to sword. Including his wife who was burnt alive after her tongue and female parts were torn out. House Hollard was destroyed too as they were a Darklyn kin. Everyone, barring Dontos Hollard.Important points:It is said that Denys’ wife, lady Serala of Myr, convinced Denys to commit such an act and rise in defiance.Many blamed Serala to have enticed and corrupted Denys with her female parts.Serala was brutally killed. Her tongue and female parts torn out, and then burnt alive.Aerys grew evermore petty, fearful and paranoid after the Defiance.Tywin refused to accept any sort of terms, in spite of the possible trauma and dangers to Aerys.Tywin would storm the city, eventually.Conclusions:It is assumed that Tywin saw this as an opportunity to have Aerys disposed off, and then a better king, one who Tywin prefered, take the throne. Rhaegar was that candidate. Tywin could have accepted Denys’ terms to have Aerys freed. But he did not. With Rhaegar as king, and Elia sickly, Tywin could have finally had Cersei and Rhaegar together. Elia was easy to dispose of due to her fragile health. Rhaegar was very likely to keep Tywin as Hand since he was quite competent.Aerys saw it the same way. And he grew evermore suspicious of Tywin, and his son, Rhaegar, who he assumed to have been in cahoots with Tywin.Denys’ plan was quite mindless. There was no happy ending to it. Even if he did get the terms he desired, he would have to let the king go free. After which, Duskendale would be open for slaughter. If he still kept the king as a hostage, then that king was no longer a true king. He was a liability. There is every chance that the city would have been stormed, regardless of the dangers to Aerys; or, Aerys would have been deposed in some form with Rhaegar ascending to the throne and taking out Duskendale. Albeit, in a less gruesome manner.It is said that the trauma Aerys experienced caused his descent into madness. A spoiled, brat-like king was cast down and treated as a criminal peasant. That made him fearful and paranoid since his loyal subject treated him in such manner, and his closest friend, Tywin, would not rescue him.Lady Serala is the important cog in this puzzle. She represents a recurrent theme within ASOIAF. She is a foreigner who seduced a Westerosi to perform heinous acts. I doubt Denys was such an imbecile. Serala is nicknamed the Lace Serpent. Serpents are symbolic of dealing with poisons. I think Serala may have used some sort of potion or magic to enchant and enslave Denys’ mind. This is similar to Sybell Spicer, who descends from Maggy the Frog and is rumored to have possibly used some sort of love potion on Robb Stark.Serala may have used her body and some magical charms to entice Aerys as well. However, to her ill luck, she didn’t succeed. It may have in fact backfired and caused Aerys’ madness. Aerys was known to be fond of women and sleazy acts. I don’t think he would have responded to Serala’s advances so terribly (this is not to say men welcome any sort of attention from women and would enjoy rape. I am only referring to a sleazy Aerys). The cutting of her tongue and female parts would be symbolic of the parts she used on him, similar to what we see in the show with Melisandre and Gendry. We don’t really know what happened in there, but I think she used Aerys for more than just sex. She may have seduced him to get king’sblood from him.Serala’s involvement is also in accord with foreigners from the east, charming Westerosi people in power to commit acts they usually would not. This theme is evident in the interactions of,King Stannis Baratheon & MelisandrePrince Aemond Targaryen and Alys Rivers (she saw visions in the fire - Essosi magic)Prince Daemon Targaryen and Lady Mysaria (Misery)King Maegor Targaryen and Tyanna of the TowerPrince Viserys II Targaryen and Larra RogareLord Gawen Westerling and Sybell SpicerKing Aegon IV Targaryen and Serenei of LysKing Aerys II Targaryen and VarysThis foreshadows the downfall and betrayal of Cersei to her enemies by Taena Merryweather. She was the sultry foreigner whom Cersei trusted and divulged many secrets to.Aerys’ trip to Duskendale and his subsequent imprisonment also foreshadows Cersei’s voluntary trip to the Great Sept of Baelor and her imprisonment.There is more to the story of the Defiance of Duskendale told to Brienne than just filler conversation.Brienne’s roaming in the Crownlands and Riverlands appear quite boring and a side show at first. However, it is filled with history, parallels, symbolism and foreshadowing for numerous important events.