Churchill as a war-time leader

Question 1

How was Churchill made Prime Minister?

Answer 1

By King George VI
10th May 1940

Question 2

What were Churchill’s views on becoming Prime Minister?

Answer 2

• Destiny
• First-hand experience of war
• Confidence in the ability of Britain

Question 3

What proposals of Halifax’s were rejected?

Answer 3

• Approach Mussolini and USA
• He suggested that Britain should surrender before France was occupied and German bombing destroyed Britain’s aircrafts. Churchill called his proposals “rot”.

Question 4

How many people were evacuated from Dunkirk?

Answer 4

224,000 British troupes
111,000 allies

Question 5

What was the state after Dunkirk?

Answer 5

• Belgium surrendered
• Relations with France was poor

All those who favoured negotiations were silenced.

Question 6

Quote from Churchill’s speech after Dunkirk?

Answer 6

“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on till the end…”

Question 7

How did Churchill appeal to USA in his speech after Dunkirk?

Answer 7

“the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old”

Question 8

Who acted as Churchill in the speech after Dunkirk?

Answer 8

Norman Shelley

Question 9

Dunkirk date?

Answer 9

4th June 1940

Question 10

When was Churchill’s air attack on French fleet? - prevent them from falling into enemy hands.

Answer 10

3rd July 1940

Question 11

When did Germany start bombing the RAF?

Answer 11

When Germany started to invade the low countries. Despite German reprisals

Question 12

When did Hitler launch an air raid that aimed to destroy the RAF?

Answer 12

20th August 1940

Question 13

What speech did Churchill give on 20th August 1940?

Answer 13

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed to so many by so few. A hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see in our own eyes day after day; but we must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squads travel far into Germany.”

Question 14

Who was head of the German air force?

Answer 14

Göring

Question 15

When did Goring change his approach from RAF airfields to British cities?

Answer 15

September 1940

Question 16

What was Sir Hugh Dowding strategy after September 1940?

Answer 16

• Mobilising small groups of fighters
• Preserving the strength of the RAF by not pursuing German bombers over the channel

Question 17

What strategies were used before September 1940 when following German bombers over the channel?

Answer 17

“Big wing” formation
- Mass groups of aircrafts

Question 18

Did Churchill like Dowding’s strategy?

Answer 18

No. Many people wanted a larger scale strategy against Germany.
Churchill did not back him.

Dowding was removed from command in November 1940 with Churchill’s blessing

Question 19

What victories did Britain enjoy by the end of 1940?

Answer 19

• South Africa
• Had defeated a German air defensive

Question 20

Churchill at the end of 1940?

Answer 20

• He had established his position over his rivals.
• His oratory had become a weapon
• His determination prevented any negotiations with Germany. The nation had prepared itself for a long struggle.

Question 21

Allies by the end of 1940?

Answer 21

Britain was standing alone against Germany, Japan and Italy.

Question 22

Memo of 1940 describing Churchill?

Answer 22

“The Prime Minister expects all his Majesty’s servants in high places to set an example of steadiness and resolution.”

Question 23

What idea was Churchill fascinated with even when scientific experts told him they were a bad idea?

Answer 23

Germ warfare

Proposed by Fredrick ‘The Prof’ Lindemann

Question 24

How did Churchill exhaust his staff?

Answer 24

• Irregular hours
• Paperwork needed to precise and concise
• He insisted that queries and ideas were only presented on ‘one piece of paper’.
• Fire off demands in mass written instructions
• Would dictate from bed and the bath

Question 25

What happened to Churchill’s staff?

Answer 25

Those who could not keep up or displeased him were dismissed.

Question 26

Good leadership: allies?

Answer 26

Churchill developed close bonds with his allies: Roosevelt, Stalin.
Relied on strong relationships with informal advisers and friends.

Question 27

Good leadership: speeches?

Answer 27

He had mastery in both written and spoken dialect.
- Best speeches in 1940
- Many in house of commons
- Never neglected throughout the war

Question 28

Good leader: flamboyance?

Answer 28

• Array of uniforms and costumes
• Famous one-piece ‘siren suit”
• Naval and military uniforms he wore

Question 29

Good leader: travelled?

Answer 29

• Most travelled of all the Prime Ministers before him
• Wartime journeys taken at considerable hazard and lack of comfort for a man his age.

Question 30

Good leader: daring and ruthless ?

Answer 30

• Determination to keep fighting in 1940
• His decision to destroy German air fleet, killing thousands of former allies.
• Support of civilian bombing in Germany
• Plans to destroy German invaders by poisonous gases
• Impatience with any signs of delay
• Support of covert operations by spies and saboteurs in occupied Europe, regardless of the cost of agent or civilian lives.

Question 31

How many spies died from the UK alone?

Answer 31

26