What was Churchill's stance towards the war in 1940? Flashcards
10 May 1940
Churchill becomes PM; G. launches all-out offensive on Western Europe
13 May 1940
Churchill delivers ‘blood, toil, tears and sweat’ speech (first speech as PM), in which he sets out his position - to never give in
What did Chips Channon write about Churchill’s ‘blood, toil, tears and sweat’ speech (first speech as PM)?
‘The new PM spoke well, even dramatically, but he was not well received.’
15 May 1940
Holland surrenders
23 May 1940
Churchill orders the BEF to evacuate France
26 May 1940
Discussions begin, led by Lord Halifax, about whether or not to open peace talks w Hitler
27 May - 4 Jun 1940
Evacuation of Dunkirk (over 300,000 men brought to Br.)
4 Jun 1940
- Dunkirk evacuation ends
- Churchill delivers ‘we shall fight on the beaches’ speech
10 Jun 1940
Mussolini declares war on Br.
22 Jun 1940
France surrenders
27 Jun 1940
Churchill’s wife, Clementine, writes to tell him to be nicer to his staff
3 Jul 1940
Churchill tasks Sir James Somerville with sinking part of the French navy to prevent it falling into G. hands. 1300 French sailors killed
Jul 1940 - Oct 1940
Battle of Britain fought between RAF and Luftwaffe
20 Aug 1940
Churchill delivers ‘Never was so much owed by so many to so few’
When did the Blitz start?
7 Sep 1940
When did the Blitz end?
11 May 1941
12 Oct 1940
Hitler announces Operation Sealion (plan to invade Br.) is off for the winter
How can Churchill’s positions when he became PM be summarised?
- Never surrender (including refusal to ever talk peace terms w Hitler)
- French must fight and Br. will give what support it can
- Start to work on President Roosevelt to convince him to join war on Allied side
How did Churchill describe the G. invasion of Western Europe in a telegram to Roosevelt?
‘The small countries are simply smashed up, one by one, like matchwood.’
What did the Head of Fighter Command, Sir Hugh Dowding, think of Churchill’s policy that the French should continue fighting after and be supported by the RAF?
Critic - told Defence Committee shortly after collapse of Holland: ‘If the present rate of wastage continues for another fortnight we shall not have a single Hurricane left in France or in this country.’
How many times did Churchill fly to France between his becoming of PM (10 May) and France’s surrender (22 Jun)?
5
How did one diplomat describe Churchill on his first visit to France, and what did Churchill do following a meeting with the French generals?
‘full of fire and fury, saying the French were lily-livered (cowardly) and must fight’.
But following the meeting, he telegraphed the War Cabinet telling them to meet immediately, saying: ‘Situation grave in the last degree’
Dunkirk stats:
- 338,000 troops evacuated
- 68,000 BEF soldiers killed/captured
- 75,000 tonnes of ammunition left behind
- 60,000 vehicles left behind
What did Harold Nicolson say to his wife in a letter about Churchill’s ‘We shall fight’ speech on 4 Jun (last day of Dunkirk evacuation)?
‘This afternoon Winston made the finest speech that I have ever heard. The House was deeply moved.’
What did a RAF squadron leader in 1940 recall about the ‘We shall fight’ speech?
‘After those speeches, we wanted the Germans to come.’
What did Halifax argue?
That it might have been better to consider terms before France was defeated and before German bombing destroyed Br. aircraft factories
What did the Australian High Commissioner plead for and what was Churchill’s response?
An appeal to Roosevelt for a peace conference but his memorandum was firmly rejected with the word ‘rot’.
What did Churchill do on 11 - 12 Jun 1940?
Churchill flew out to meet French gov.
What did the French ask Br. for, and what was Churchill’s response?
Air support, arguing that this was the ‘decisive moment’.
Churchill refused, replying ‘This is not the decisive moment. The decisive moment will come when Hitler hurls his Luftwaffe against Britain’.
14 Jun 1940
Germans enter Paris
16 Jun 1940
- Marshall Petain replaces Paul Reynaud as French premier and instructs French army to lay down their arms
- Meeting in which a plan is presented to fuse Britain and France together as a single country. Indicates how desperate British were to avoid French fleet falling into G. hands
What did Churchill do during the Battle of Britain on 16 Aug?
Visited the Battle of Britain Bunker at RAF Uxbridge - was so affected by what he saw that he told General Hastings Ismay, ‘Don’t speak to me, I have never been so moved.’ and then ‘Never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few’ - wld form basis of his speech on 20 Aug
What did Churchill do during the Blitz?
Personally visited places that had been bombed - travelled to 60 towns in total. Became v. angry - said he wld pay back Germans w ‘compound interest’ - 58,000 Britons dead from aerial bombing vs 500,000 Germans
What did the King record in his diary during the Blitz?
‘I cannot afford to lose him nor can the country at this moment.’
How many times was the possibility of peace negotiations with Hitler discussed from 26 May 1940 (when discussions began)?
8 times in the next 4 days
Why did Churchill instead say ‘the supreme question of whether we should fight on alone never found a place on the War Cabinet agenda…we were much too busy to waste time upon such unreal, academic issues”
Probably to protect the reputation of Britain (and Halifax) after the war
What did Halifax threaten to do on 27 May 1940?
Resign
How many times did Churchill write to Roosevelt during the war?
2000
What did Churchill do returning from a trip to France on 16 May 1940?
Wrote to Roosevelt, warning him of a potential G. invasion of Br. and describing how the combined might of G. + Br. navy wld dwarf the US navy and they wld be able to attack the eastern seaboard
3 Sep 1940
Churchill announced ‘destroyers for bases’ deal w US. US gave BR. 50 destroyers in return for long leases on land in various Br territories - propaganda of US support had enormous value
What did Churchill do to Halifax towards the end of 1940?
Sent him away to Washington as ambassador. Halifax threatened to resign but eventually went
