What Was Churchills Stance Towards The War 1940 Flashcards
What was the situation when Churchill took over in 1940? What was he determined to do and why did some have little faith in him ?
- situation: dangerous British army still intact but the French still had forces and Italy hadn’t joined the war
- he remained determined to wage war energetically
HOWEVER - US President Roosevelt refused to send forces to Europe and had little enthusiasm for war
- some had little faith due to the failures of Norway and his record from Gallipoli
How did the situation change by mid May ?
May 14th 1940: Germans broke French defenses and the prospect of Britian becoming isolated began too look like a reality
22 June France fell after the evacuation of Dunkirk
What challenges did Churchill face by the 28th May 1940?
- Brit forces cut off from the French with 300k troops awaiting rescuing from Dunkirk facing German air superiority and ground attacks
- danger of Italy entering the war threatening Egypt and vital Suez Canal cutting off the quickest sea route to India and eastern colonies
- Japan as a threat to South Asia
- Gold reserves running out: could Britian afford the war
- Threat of German bombing in Britain with air superiority becoming a major concern with its power demonstrated to Poland
- Halifax ( supporter of appeasement) as foreign secretary made discreet approaches over terms of peace
How and why did Halifax explore terms for peace ?
What was the next development ?
- Italy was still neutral by this point
- 28th May cabinet discussed a French proposal to approach Mussolini finding out what Hitlers terms of peace where
- it’s improtant to remeber as foreign secretary it’s his job to do this
- it was not defeatist or cowardly
- ITALY declared war 10th June
How did the situation improve by the 4th of June ?
Extra: what did Churchills famous speech suggest
4th June 1940 Dunkirk evacuation of 224,318 Brit troops and 111k allied soliders
Portrayed the war in dramatic terms helping to maintain public support ‘we shall never surrdener’ encouraged a patriotic spirit
What did Churchill offer France to try and prevent a surrender ?
A political union with both countries becoming one and making a coalition of forces
Where was Britian seeing success in 1940 ?
Britain survived the fall of France and prevented a crisis turning into a disaster at Dunkirk
Winning victories with its armored forces against Italy in Egypt and North Africa
How did Germany attack Britian by air ?
August 1940 air offensive aiming to destroy RAF
This was diverted in September to target cities however this allowed the RAF to recover
Britian also maintained the RAF as Sir Hugh Dowding mobilized small groups of fighters and did not send large amounts at any one point proved effective
How was Sir Dowding treated ?
Despite his success many thought larger scale defence would be better and Churchill did not back him
Removed from command in Nov 1940
