Chapter 3: Churchill and international Diplomacy 1939-51 Flashcards
What did Churchill say in a speech about the importance of German defeat?
‘upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation’ and ‘our own British life and the long continuity of our institutions and our empire’
What did Roosevelt do?
Sent a letter to his son criticising Britain’s ‘archaic medieval ideas’
What did Churchill characterise the war as and what was the focus at first?
A conflict between democracy and dictatorship
To protect British interests
What was the U.S. persuaded to do?
Prioritise ‘Europe First’ over the Pacific
What did Roosevelt describe Churchill as and what did Churchill remark?
A ‘stinker’ and that he had ‘lorded it over him’ in 1918
That Roosevelt was playing a ‘nasty trick on the world’ to secure reelection and disliked his commitment to isolationism
What did Roosevelt think regarding empire?
That it was morally wrong of Britain to still have a empire; and that colonial peoples should be free
What happened in November 1939?
The U.S. repealed the Neutrality Act so Britain could purchase American arms but this was driven out of profit
What happened in October 1939?
A ‘neutral zone’ was declared along the U.S. and South American coasts to prevent the sinking of merchant shipping by the Germans -> Anglo-American naval cooperation but motivated by the defence of trade
What happened in September 1940?
The U.S. exchanged 50 obsolete naval destroyers with Britain to lease 8 British naval bases
What happened in March 1941 and what was the consequence?
The U.S. passed the Lend-Lease Act which allowed Roosevelt to exchange articles to any country that needed defence vital to the U.S.
It provided $31.6 billion in defence funds to Britain by 1945 but took gold reserves in South Africa
What happened at Placentia Bay August 1941?
The Atlantic Charter
Churchill didn’t believe this applied to Britain
The first sign of a tacit alliance as the U.S. had not entered the war
What did Churchill reply to the South African General?
To ‘trust the tide that is turning our way’
What were U.S. chiefs concerned about?
The dispersal of forces in North Africa
What happened in December 1941?
The U.S. entered the war after Japan attacked Pearl Harbour
What was agreed at the First Washington Conference (blank)?
That the U.S. would prioritise defending Hitler over Japan
December 1941 - January 1942
What happened at the Second Washington Conference (June 1942)?
🇫🇷❌
🛷
Churchill persuaded Roosevelt to delay D-Day and cancel Operation Sledgehammer to plan better
June 1942
What happened at the Casablanca Conference (blank)?
Churchill persuaded Roosevelt to accept the proposal for an allied invasion of Sicily and Italy
January 1943
What differences were there regarding Generals?
Roosevelt preferred to work for Giraud over De Gaulle, whom Churchill favoured
What happened at the Third Washington Conference (blank)?
🇫🇷
📈🫡
🇷🇺😍
The U.S. forced a date for the invasion of France
Sidelined Churchill whose troops weren’t contributing to the war
Favoured Stalin given Russia’s immense war effort
May 1943
What happened at the First Quebec Conference (blank)? 🇫🇷🅱️
They disagreed on where they should attack: the U.S. favoured Southern France whereas Britain favoured the Balkans
August 1943
What happened at the Tehran Conference (blank)?
📈🇺🇸😍🇨🇳
🇪🇺❌
🇷🇺😍
❌🅱️
Roosevelt sidelined Churchill - refused to privately meet him on a joint policy and met with Jiang Jieshi (Chinese leader) without Churchill’s knowledge
Abandoned Europe First
Favoured Stalin
Rejected plans of setting up a Balkan front
November - December 1942
What happened at the Second Quebec Conference (blank)?
🤑
Churchill failed to get a commitment for post-war financial assistance for Britain
September 1944
What was Roosevelt not as concerned about?
Post-war Soviet expansionism or the Anglo-American race to occupy Berlin before Russia did
In 1940 what did Churchill want to do 🇫🇷
Send further forces to France even after Dunkirk and commit extra air forces against the advice of his commanders
What did Churchill do on 18/6/40?
Authorised CDG’s speech on the BBC where he told French people to resist the occupation of France - leader and symbol of the resistance
What did CDG see Operation Catapult as?
A betrayal
What would CDG not do and what was the impact?
Work closely with former Vichy leaders in North Africa
Embarrassed Churchill and annoyed Roosevelt
What was Churchill’s position on CDG?
Admired him but found him difficult to work with
What happened after November 1942?
CDG was suspicious that Britain wanted to steal the colonial assets of France after the Battle of Madagascar
What did Churchill and Roosevelt not accept?
CDG being the leader of post-war France or self-proclaimed champion as he wasn’t a high-ranking officer
What happened on 2/8/40?
CDG was condemned to death for treason which made him even more a symbol of French resistance
What did the war cabinet do in 1943?
The war cabinet advised Churchill against announcing a break with CDG as it would have a disastrous effect on the resistance movement
What did Churchill remark on the eve of the D-Day invasion?
To ‘put de Gaulle on a plane and send him back to Algiers - in chains if necessary’
What was Roosevelt forced to do in 1944 but what did he do in 1944 regarding CDG?
Officially recognise CDG as the leader of the Free France
Excluded CDG from the Yalta Conference
What did Churchill despise?
Communism and by association, Stalin
What did Churchill remark in June 1941?
‘if Hitler invaded hell, I would at least make a favourable reference to the devil’
What happened in October 1942 regarding Stalin/Churchill?
Stalin was openly scornful of British strategy but persuaded Stalin that the Mediterranean strategy and the invasion of Italy were attacking the soft underbelly of the German defence
Why did Stalin and Churchill have good personal relations?
They both wanted to maintain their empire and had unwavering support for their own interests
What did Russian protests about the lack of a second front show?
That the British weren’t doing enough in the war to help the Russians
What was the case regarding agreements/disagreements?
Churchill had less to disagree on strategically with Stalin as he had nothing to offer him as Britain wasn’t fighting alongside Russia
What happened in 1943 🇷🇺
The sheer effort of Russia convinced the U.S. that Stalin was a key leader
What happened by 1944 🇷🇺➡️
Churchill was concerned about post-war Russian advances
What was the Percentages Agreement of (blank)?
Romania was split 90% Russia - 10% Britain, Greece was split 90% Britain and 10% Russia, and Yugoslavia was split - 50-50. Bulgaria was split 75% Russia and 25% Britain
October 1944
What demonstrated their alliance 🇷🇺🇬🇧🇬🇷
Stalin didn’t offer support to Greek communists whereas Britain backed the royalists
What did Churchill have to accept and yield to at Yalta in 1945?
That Poland would lose her eastern territories to Russia
Yield to demands for the return of prisoners of war (Cossacks) who faced almost certain death
They would join the war but not until Japan was weakened significantly
What did Churchill not get and why?
Any support to oppose Russian demands from the U.S. due to the massive war effort and British forces being dispersed across Europe
What happened to Churchill on 27/2/45?
Churchill was forced to defend his actions in Parliament
How did Stalin describe discussions on opening a second front?
As a ‘most unpleasant discussion’
What did Stalin say in August 1942?
That ‘it was a divergence of view’ in regards to Britain not doing enough to help the Russians by not opening up a second front
What did Churchill have to do in 1941 🇬🇧🇺🇸
Accepted the Atlantic Charter in 1941 against its imperial interests and gained no real reassurance on U.S. entry
What was Churchill successful in doing but what did Britain become in 1943?
Convincing the U.S. to abandon the Pacific
Junior partner
How was Churchill described at the First Quebec Conference of August 1943?
‘Winston made matters impossible’
How was Churchill described at the Moscow Conference in August 1942?
‘behaved like a bull in the ring maddened’
What happened by 1943?
Britain’s contributions were becoming less important and had to concede to the more powerful U.S. and Russia
What did Churchill’s focus remain on following the war?
Special relationship with the U.S.
A defence of the empire
Greater interest in the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean
Opposing communism
What was Churchill’s position on Germany following the war?
Initially in favour of harsh measures against Germany but scrapped this as he feared creating resentment which might lead to another war
What was faltering and why?
Hopes that Stalin might stick to his agreement made at Yalta for free elections
The Soviet hold on occupied territories strengthened
What was his position on Europe and what had demonstrated this?
Believed that Europe was central to the defence of the empire and despised those who thought that Britain could opt out of European affairs
Wrote about a ‘united states of Europe with reduced barriers or trade and movement’ in 1942
What was his position on Europe and what did he call for at Zurich in 1946?
Churchill did not favour much more than a loose association of European nations affirming shared values
A ‘partnership between France and Germany’ and ‘enlarged patriotism and common citizenship’
What did Churchil write in 1951 to the cabinet?
That Britain’s first objective is ‘the unity and consolidation’ of the Commonwealth and the empire
What emerged?
An ‘iron curtain’
What were the advantages and disadvantages of being a key player in the world?
Being part of the Anglo-American group; the Commonwealth and empire group; and western Europe would strengthen Britain’s position but the defence cost costs were very high
What did Churchill do in March 1946?
Delivered a speech called ‘The Sinews of Peace’
How did Stalin respond?
Saw it as an act of aggression and hostility and wrote in an article in Pravada that Churchill now stands in the position of a ‘firebrand of war’
What did Churchill enable the West to do?
Label Soviet-dominated eastern Europe as the ‘iron curtain countries’ = set up the image of a real and permanent division between the West and the East
What did Churchill say regarding Russia and Stalin?
He had a ‘strong admiration and regard for the valiant Russian people and for my wartime comrade, Marshal Stalin’ and spoke of the ‘increasing measure of control from Moscow’ but that he didn’t believe ‘Soviet Russia desires war’
What did the Chicago Sun newspaper call the speech?
‘poisonous’
How did the speech not in itself bring about the Cold War?
Anti-communist pressures had been building up beforehand and Truman was unsympathetic to communism
Kennan called for U.S. action to contain the threat
