Home by Christmas: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''Months earlier, when Siétamo was taken, the general commanding the Government troops had said gaily: 'Tomorrow we'll have coffee in Huesca.' It turned out that he was mistaken. There had been bloody attacks, but the town did not fall, and 'Tomorrow we'll have coffee in Huesca' became a standing joke throughout the army. If I ever go back to Spain I shall make a point of having a cup of coffee in Huesca.'' |'''[[George Orwell]]''', ''[[Homage to Catalonia]]''}}

 

{{quote|''The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears to be one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions.'' |'''Robert Wilson Lynd''' }}

 

So you're at war, and you're preparing for a big offensive that will finally turn the tide in your favour. You have [[A Simple Plan]] for the whole affair, and your [[Redshirt Army]] far outnumbers the [[Mooks]] defending the city, bridge, fortress or whatever strategical [[MacGuffin]] you're planning to seize... and you confidently announce, '[[Nothing Can Stop Us Now]]!' After all, [[What Could Possibly Go Wrong?]]

 

{{examples}}

== [[Film]] ==

* Discussed in the opening narration of ''[[A Bridge Too Far]]'': 'The plan, like so many plans in so many wars before it, was meant to end the war by Christmas and bring the boys back home.' See below for Operation Market Garden, the [[Real Life]] example on which this film was based.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* In ''[[Honor Harrington|The Short Victorious War]]'', The People's Republic of Haven leaders decide to resort to war against Manticore. A short, victorious war, they believe, will both distract the proles from their current economic problems and allow them to use the riches of the Manticore system to prop up their welfare state. Needless to say, the war is a disaster for Haven and ends up lasting for almost 20 years.

** They even [[Lampshade]] this with a quote from V.K. Plehve (see the [[Real Life]] section below), providing the [[Title Drop]] for the book in the opening epigraph.

 

* The final episode of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' (the fourth and last ''[[Blackadder]]'' series, set during [[World War I]]) features characters making remarks like 'It's ice cream in Berlin in 15 days', 'See you all in Berlin for coffee and cakes', and 'We'll be sucking sausages in Berlin by teatime!' about the upcoming battle. Eventually Blackadder [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade on]] this by [[Deadpan Snarker|snarking]], 'I hope their cafés are well stocked; everyone seems determined to eat out the moment they arrive.'

* ''[[Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip]]'': during a two parter where a cast member's brother is being held hostage in Afghanistan, we see a [[Flash Back]], during which the President of the network (who was only a VP then) opines that the war will be over in a month.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* A complaint occasionally fielded about the American public during the [[War On Terror]], especially in the early years, was that they expected this ''despite'' warnings from government officials that they were in for a very long campaign. Blame for this is typically laid upon the surprisingly easy victory in [[Curb Stomp Battle|Desert Storm]], where the American-led coalition steamrollered over the Iraqi forces. Then again, the Gulf War of 1991 was a very different sort of war from the wars the US would be fighting in the early 21st century.

** Cleverly averted when the Americans left Iraq, however. The time table was "by the end of the year", even though they were gone by Christmas. [[Genre Savvy]] General, perhaps?

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]

[[Category:Christmas Tropes]]