What Characterised Churchill's Relations With His Generals Flashcards
Which campaign in 1915, with Churchill as first lord of the Admiralty, ended in disaster?
The Gallipoli campaign
What did a lot of general view on Churchill being?
He was unpredictable, lacked realism and amateur strategy
Who was Churchill’s key generals?
Brooke, Wavell, Auchinleck and Montgomery
What was Sir Alan Brooke conscious of?
The need to deploy British forces carefully and avoid casualties, which annoyed Churchill who complained of ‘thinking aloud’ and coming up with all sorts of different military ideas
Though Brooke and Churchill often clashed personality wise, what did they generally agree on?
Major decisions
Where did Churchill send a substantial amount of Britain’s military equipment?
The Middle East to deal with any potential Italian threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the route to India
Why did Britain concentrate fighting in North Africa in 1940?
After rapid British victories in North Africa
Who did Churchill personally dislike and gave little credit to the victories in North Africa?
Sir Archibald Wavell
When did Churchill take forces away from Wavell in 1940?
When Italy invaded Greece and the cabinet made a decision to send troops to defend it and establish a new Balkan front
Why was Wavell forced to evacuate to Crete and were defected by a German attack and forced out again, throwing away the early success in North Africa and eventually leading to Wavell taking the blame and resigning?
Wavell was not given time to prepare properly in the without him in command in Greece, with his troops taken off him in a deeply flawed campaign, without proper planning and resources, this was another expedition that failed
Who was Wavell’s successor?
Sir Claude Auchinleck
What did Auchinleck do that annoyed Churchill?
He was not prepared for a premature attack on the Germans and insisted on delaying until he was well prepared
Why was Auchinleck sacked, though had an effective defence against German attacks and miking thorough preparations for a counter-attack?
For his delays and not being sufficiently daring and aggressive
Who was Auchinleck’s replacement?
Bernard Montgomery
What did Montgomery insist on?
Very thorough preparations involving accumulating more than twice the men that Rommel had before attack at El Alamein in October 1942, leading to the first major British victory in the war, though should of gone to Auchinleck’s credit because of his efficient preparations
