churchill Flashcards
what were churchill’s views on india?
- he had served in india as a young man
- believed in the glory of the empire and thought that the raj was its jewel, wanted to preserve this
- believed that anglo saxons had a natural right to rule over inferior races and that Britain was the only thing that put an end to oppression of a large number of indian Muslims by hindu elites and ended the barbaric practices taking place in India
- throughout the 1920s and 30s there were increased calls for independence in India, massive civil disobedience campgains lead by ghandi following rowlatt act (1919) lead to increased measures of independence such as montagu-chlemsford measures (1919) and government of India act (1935) expanded the electorate to 35 million.
british views:
- societal changes: Britain was only given democarcy in 1918 and before this they had as little democracy as indians. so this may have increased rights culture in Britain.
- Canada, Australia and new Zealand had been self governed, yet remained loyal to Britain during the war, denying India this seemed to be prejudiced
- - churchill’s more extremist views isolated him from the rest of the party and stanley baldwin was more calm and moderate in his speeches and so seemed to undermine him by mockingly referencing him
- aimed to make Sir Samuel Hoare resign by attacking his India reform proposals, this made the conservative party mistrust him and ridicule him
CHURCHILL SEEMED TOO OLD FASHIONED, OUT OF TOUCH AND LOST IN IMPERIALIST, VICTORIAN VIEWS
what was appeasement and churchill’s reaction ?
- 1937 onwards chamberlain wanted appeasement. Munich agreement: dismembering of Czechoslovakia and allowing sudentland to be gained by Germany, accepted annexation of Austria and Munich conference accepted germany taking over the territory of people who were not germans
Churchills reaction: highly critical of Munich agreement. churchill believed britain was weak and in danger of being dominated by Germany and unable to control future expansion
what did Churchill want: Churchill believed that Britain should have gone to war in 1938 and seemed unrealistic. people in England didn’t know too much about czechoslavakia and weren’t too fussed. - uncertainty about whether Britain would even have allies: didn’t know if france, USSR, USA would join. doubted the reliability of dominions in the commonwealth.
why was Churchill criticised?
- worried that war against Germany would also become a war against Italy and japan
- Churchill hoped that the war would turn germans against hitler, little evidence to support that this would happen.
churchill was right: Munich agreement said that germany would only take the sudentland, hitler broke this by occupying the Czech state
- Munich gave britain a chance o rearm but germnay also began rearming quickly
- chance of working with USSR and France and divisions of czech troops
why did churchill become prime minister?
how as churchill unpopular?
- attacks on the conservatives in 1930s made him unpopular
- chamberlain was well respected
- had been overbearing as member of the war cabinet and as first lord of the admirality
- urged the mining of Norwegian waters and provoked norway campaign which failed
- naval commanders found him interfering and overbearing
- civil servants found the prospect of him being in power worrying
- had a record of failures: gallipoli campaign, and the gold standard
- out of office in the 1930s
- queen resented his support of edward viii and she supported appeasement
why did chamberlain resign?
- mps felt that he as not waging war well enough: shown in the commons when 40 tory MPs voted against norway and 40 abstained
- chamberlain was also seriously ill
why did Churchill become PM?
- Churchill had popular support due to stance on appeasement and determine to pursue war
- lord halifax was the preferred candidate and was a friend of the king. but halifax was associate with appeasement, was a peer and therefore couldn’t sit in commons and didn’t want to accept the post
king appointed Churchill. because: germnay had invaded hollan and belgium, therefore creating a sense of urgency and showed that there needed to be a leader who understood the war. C was a powerful orator, determined leader and was experienced in the war cabinet
what was churchills stance towards the war in 1940?
- german forces made rapid advances in a blitzkrieg attack through the low countries in France and by 28 may British forces cut off from France and there was a danger that they would be cut off from France and be destroyed at dunkirk. danger Italy would join the war, gold reserves running out, fears that obtaining war supplies from north America wouldn’t be possible.
- Churchill was focused and determined for a victory and never to surrender through speeches. gained public support and boosted morale
- made it clear to cabinet not to even discuss possible peace terms.
- by the end of 1940 britain had survived the loss of France, had won some victories against the italians in north Africa and Churchills stance was being justified
what was churchills leadership style?
- needed to direct the war effort. favoured daring ideas and actions and was frustrated by delays or signs of weakness
- took advice from those talented and professional civil servants and military leader
- reported regularly to the commons
what was churchills relationship with roosevelt like ?
Friendship before entering the war:
- c had made unfavourable remarks about r in 1937, this was quoted by r’s opponent. R first met c in 1918 and called him a stinker and said that he had lorded over him
Before entering the war: r didnt want to commit to giving b direct aid. but Britain was allowed to buy arms: they gained 50 US destroyers in return for naval bases. Roosevelt had a reputation of not committing himself
+ lease lend agreement: agreement where the USA could extend credit to Britain to buy war supplies for ww2. allowed britain to get war supplies and credit. HOWEVER, BRITAIN HAD TO USE ITS GOLD RESERVES TO GUARANTEE THE LEND-LEASE AGREEMENT. 50 DESTROYERS WERE TOO OLD AND WERENT THAT USEFUL.
+ US provided help through its navy patrolling a neutral zone in the Atlantic to prevent merchant shipping from german attacks
- c met r in august 1941 to agree common principles in the Atlantic charter, they developed warm relations and agreed on 8 common principles. HOWEVER, ONE OF THESE COMMON PRINCIPLES WAS THAT ALL PEOPLE WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT AND THIS ALARMED BRITAIN BECAUSE THIS WOULD MEAN A LOSS OF THEIR COLONIAL TERRITORIES. BRITAIN ALSO FAILED TO ENSURE A PROMISE THAT THE USA WOULD ENTER THE WAR
- Britain was frustrated and anxious that USA wouldn’t join the war, but this had always been unlikely. only hitler’s declaration of war guaranteed americas’ entry
Churchills initial successes: + c got USA to adopt a Europe first policy of defeating germany before japan and made them accept Mediterranean strategy AT THE ARCADIA CONFERENCE
+ USA contributed to the invasion of northern France
+ c and r corresponded frequently and would meet to discuss the war and post-war settlement
Near to the end of the war: - in 1943 Churchill and r became less close. r was unhappy about late invasion of France and wanted to commit more resources to japan. also didn’t agree to opening a second balkan front
- didn’t share c’s distrust of stalin they became more close in later conferences
- CHURCHILL WAS THE ONE WORKING HARD TO MAINTAIN THE FRIENDSHIP, AND THIS RESULTED IN THE PARTNERSHIP THAT SAVED THE WEST. HOWEVER ROOSEVELT WASNT AS NICE TO CHURCHILL, HE SNUBBED HIM AT THE TEHRAN CONFERENCE. Further events at the Tehran conference: r refused to meet with c privately before the conference, met jiang jieshi without knowledge of c, wanted more attacks in Burma at the expense of the Mediterranean strategy, USSR had completely abandoned Europe first and now wanted to defeat japan
- Quebec sept 1944: c got no commitment of financial resources for Britain post-war
- by 1944 it was clear that USA didn’t really care about post war soviet expansion and didn’t want an Anglo-American race to occupy Berlin before the Russians got there
- at the last meetings at yalta in feb 1945 r and c agreed that there should be free elections and democracy in Europe - r concerned that this wouldn’t apply to the commonwealth
Friendship after the end of the war: c paid tribute to r in the hoc when he died in April 1945
what was churchill’s relationship with stalin like?
- never entirely trusted him, c had been a critic of the Russian revolution and had done his best to overturn Lenin’s regime by sending British forces. BUT WITH THE WAR, C BUT HIS FEELINGS ASIDE AND TRIED TO WORK W S
- C was skeptical that Russia would be that strong, he felt that they had been weakened by communism but his expectations were subverted by the Russian resistance of 1941-2 and showed that Stalin would clearly become one of the big three
- first meeting in 1942 Stalin criticised britains failures to invade Europe
- went to Moscow in aug 1942 but there were disagreements about opening up a second front
- Churchill was resentfull when stalin and r were on better terms with each other than with him
PERSONAL FRIENDSHIP: - kind of a good relationship, both enjoyed drink and both put their countries first, relationship was arguably less complicated because Britain was not fighting alongside Russia the same way it was fighting along with USA.
EASTERN EUROPE:
- c was much more concerned about the consequences of Russian advance into Eastern Europe and thought that after defeating hitler, the next dictator would be Stalin
- c worried about s desires for expansion and made PERCENTAGES AGREEMENT with stalin to divide eastern Europe. stalin didn’t try to take over Greece when the communists tried to take over the country because Britain was supporting the royalists. but because ussr dominated romania, hungary, Bulgaria and Poland c had to accept russian domination of Eastern Europe
- yalta 1945 c had to accept that Poland would lose her eastern territories and be dominated by a pro- Russian government. Neither had the power nor the support of the USA to stop it.
what was c’s relationship with de gaulle like?
+ Churchill was the one that worked to preserve the friendship, loved France and spoke French. He wanted to send further forces after Dunkirk and commit more air force despite the advice of raf.
+ offered a union with France in order to keep them in the war
+ c admired de gaulle’s patriotism and confidence HOWEVER FOUND HIM DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH DE GAULLE DESCRIBED HIM AS UNCOOPERATIVE - THIS CAN BE VERIFIED BY THE AMERICANS ALSO DISLIKING HIM AND WANTED TO WORK WOTH GIRAUD
- de gaulle was clearly the incompetent one as he saw himself as france’s natural leader and would not work with other french leaders. this became a big problem after the end of the north African campaign because de gaulle refused to work with the french leader favoured by the us - giraud and resented US cooperation with french authorities in algeria and tunisia which meant the rivalry between de gaulle and giraud threatened unity and caused strains at the Casablanca conference in 1943
- Vichy France ( France occupied by Germany) didn’t like Churchill. Free France also didn’t like Churchill because he took unnecessarily brutal actions against France: concerned about the french fleet falling into German hands and so he sank 5 ships killing over 1200 french servicemen
what was churchill’s attitudes to post- war europe and the empire?
+ committed to ensuring peace in post war europe. c saw b having a major role in a more united and peaceful europe
+ spoke of greater European unity in Zurich 2946 and believed in the concept of a European family, encouraged a united states of Europe
+ didn’t see links with Europe as incompatible with links with the UN or the commonwealth. WANTED TO REDUCE TRADE BARRIERS AND PROMOTE ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITHIN EUROPE
+ had always promoted European unity, supported ariste briands idea of European unity in 1930 and offered to unite britain and France in 1940
+ agreed to set up the council of Europe in 1949 with 800 europeans committed to a forum for cooperation
was churchill committed to the EU?
- churchill still wanted to maintain the empire and this would require special economic relations with the commonwealth
- saw the relationship with USA important because of growing communism in Europe
- post war europe: Britain, Italy germany not economically strong
- france was not on good terms with Britain: Britain resented french surrender in 1940 and France remembered the sinking of french fleet by Britain. many french people had supported the vichy regime and de gaulle and his supporters had not been on good terms with Churchill. churchill saw the limitations of relying on Europe
- made clear to his cabinet that his policy wasn’t to become an integral part of European federation - priority should be maintaining empire and commonwealth. didn’t want to join European coal and steel community in 1951
- institutional development was not seen to be in britains interests and Churchill wasn’t keen on greater European integration
What was Churchill’s role in the international conferences?
- c attended 16 meetings, R attended 12 and Stalin attended 7
+ c wanted to be at the forefront of decision making and was truly committed to it - c wanted USA to commit and join the war, but instead he had that he would have to accept the Atlantic charter which went against imperial British interests and didn’t give assurance that USA would enter the war
+ when j attacked pearl harbour and g declared war on USA, they finally became formal allies and Britain visited USA twice in 1942. ACHIEVED ASSURANCE THAT AMERICA WOULDNT PRIORITSE WAR IN THE PACIFIC AND NO RAPID INVASION OF FRANCE
+ when hitler invaded Russia, c went to establish a personal relationship in Moscow - Britain was always going to be junior partner in the relationship, thus limiting how much Britain could influence decisions
- many sources describe c as being incompetent and hysterical: including sir Alan Brooke describing his behaviour as like a child
- humiliating put downs by Roosevelt at Tehran
- deal with Stalin was improvised and irresponsible, threatened the relationship with the US
- yalta conference really showed his lack of power: had to sign documents that didn’t match his beliefs such as the return of soviet prisoners of war to face punishment in Russia
What was Churchill’s relationship with his generals like?
- generals and no one really trusted c judgement. Gallipoli campaign in 1915, he tried to take Constantinople which was a complete failure. He was forced to resign. When he became in charge of the navy in 1940 he tried to lead a military campaign in Norway. The generals thought of him as unpredictable, and had amateur strategy
- his personality was to get involved and command things that he had no experience of: when he first became first lord of admiralty he tried giving direct orders to the navy.
- what did Churchill think of the generals?
Attributed the heavy losses of the fighting in France with letting politicians like haig pursue their costly plans without supervision. He had also been frustrated by the caution of military commanders during appeasement because they had advised against decisive action as they thought they w ould have been underprepared - German forces broke through french lines at sedan, British commander lord gort was forced to ignore Churchill’s orders in order to preserve British forces this was key in keeping Britain in the war
- c insisted the the port of Calais be defended ad was pointless militarily and lost men
- c wanted to send another British force when France was on the brink of defeat was thwarted by chief of imperial staff sir john dill - c got rid of dill asap
- after German retrace to Tunisia British forces began a slow campaign in Italy. Sir Harold Alexander merely showed peristance in maintaining a low advance but Churchill admired him for his gentlemanly and unruffled style of leadership
- Churchill and his generals didn’t really clash over overall strategy
- Churchill didn’t really reward planning and organisation: general Morgan was very good planner and his achievements were vital
What was Churchill’s relationship with sir Alan Brooke like?
- Brooke was much more organisational and wanted to deploy soldiers more carefully and avoid heavily casualties. Annoyed by Churchill thinking aloud and interfering. He expressed this in his wartime diaries and they were supported by recollections of many other officers
- Churchill made the decision to send a lot of British military equipment to the Middle East in case of an Italian attack on Egypt. Brooke and other generals supported this
- when Churchill wanted to defend the suez canal and India , leaders didn’t oppose this because it was seen as the role of the RAF and the navy
- Brooke was not put in charge of the invasion of France, Brooke felt that the invasion may not succeed and lengthen the war instead of shortening it because of the heavy casualties that would incur as a result. Us general eisenhower was in charge of it and churchilll wasn’t sympathetic.
What was Churchill’s relationship with wavell?
- churchull disliked him and took troops away from him
- Italy invaded Greece 1940, cabinet decided to send troops to defend and establish a Balkan front.
- Wavell not given time to prepare properly, he wasn’t in command failed when the German invaded the British had to be evacuated to Crete and then they were defeated there by German attack and were forced out again.
- This contradicts the early successes in North Africa and wavell did not have the resources to meet German forces under Rommel who was sent to Africa, wavells early successes in Italy were not acknowledged
- he took the blame and was demoted.
What was Churchill‘s relationship with Sir Auchinleck and Montgomery?
- auchenlick wasnt prepared for a premature attack on the Germans and had insisted upon delaying until he was well prepared
- this resulted in an effective defence against the Germans and he had thorough preparations for his counter attack. But he was still sacked for delays, not being sufficiently daring and aggressive
- Montgomery won over Churchill by being self confident. He too however wanted thorough preparations such as by accumulating more than twice the amount of men Rommel had before attacking at El Alamein oct 1942
- credit for this should have gone to auchinlech for making preparations, but churchull didn’t really like him and favoured Monty even though he was slow in following up his victory, which meant that the Germans could retreat to Tunisia, but Churchill continued to favour him.
- Monty in d day: they faced relatively limited resistance but they were slow to break through from the beach head and take Caen.
- Monty was very self confident and led a flawed operation market garden. It was flawed in planning execution and aim. He wanted to have airborne landings to outflank the Germans by taking the bridges at Arnhem leading to a possible invasion of Ruhr. Again, showed that Churchill couldn’t discern from a sensible and bold idea to a ridiculous idea.
