Winston Churchill: Part 3 - Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat

So the World War is over and all of Europe is abuzz about this Hitler fella. Many of the Brits thought he was a bright young chap, and the kind of person they could get behind - the Nazis could be a good friend of the British. One politician praised Hitler, even going as far as comparing him to George Washington. Most people were more scared of the Bolsheviks at the time, even going as far to think that the Nazis and Fascism might stand to hold off the reds to some degree. As we have it in the 1930s, Britain seems to be growing ever fonder towards Hitler; Churchill is seen as a man prone to mistakes who had gotten his party kicked out of leadership, and then scuttled back to the Conservatives. It made him appear as an opportunist, and judging by some of his decisions and history, perhaps a bit of a warmonger.

Churchill's smile could light up a room.

It speaks to his character that he could bounce back the way he did. He was frequently controversial, but he was incorruptible and believed in his values. Say what you want about Churchill, but when he was in on something, he was in wholeheartedly. He was also one of few that distrusted the Nazis many years before they went full crazy.

Fast forward to World War II, and it would seem the world had turned topsy-turvy from what many of the citizenship (as well as a number of high ranking politicians) would have imagined. Hitler is destroying Europe, and things are looking bleak. I mean, really, really spectacularly bleak. Neville Chamberlain, then Prime Minister, had grossly underestimated Hitler's power. Appeasement of the Nazis was not only on the table but seemed a very reasonable course of action. The press was lobbying for talks with the Nazis, and the beleaguered forces of Britain would find it difficult to find the resolve to state that yes, they wished to continue fighting on what seemed like steadily diminishing odds. Think about what that would mean - appeasement would likely lead to disarmament, meaning Britain would be effectively taken out of the war. Who is to say how history would have changed had that occurred?

Chamberlain, acknowledging that he is not fit to lead Britain through those trying times, steps down. He advises the king on appointing Churchill, whom at that time was the Lord of the Admiralty as he had been in the first war, and back in those days, the word of the king was something that meant a heck of a lot more than it does now. Shortly after, Britain is on the brink of giving in to the might of the Nazi war machine, and Churchill takes the reins on May 10th, 1940. On the 18th, Churchill gives an impassioned speech to inspire the troops and politicians alike in fighting on, containing this powerful quote: "If this long island story of ours is to end at last, let it end only when each one of us lies choking in his own blood upon the ground." Holy crap, I think that just made me want to go to war for Britain. Well, in a video game maybe... and as a Canadian fighting with the British... but still, it's a great line.

One cannot overestimate the gravity of that decision for the British people. Within a year, thirty-thousand British were dead, mostly by the hands of the Germans. The stress must have been so strong one can hardly imagine, but war energized him, reportedly looking healthier and more alive than in decades. That spirit gave him the ability to make another unthinkably difficult choice in July of the same year; this one with the handling of a French harbour. In July of 1940, France was essentially Nazi territory, and the Germans were rapidly approaching their shipyards. The French ships were state of the art, top class vessels that could very well turn the tide of a war if they fell into the wrong hands. Churchill demanded that they either sail the ships out or scuttle them (pop a hole in the bottom of the boat) rather than risk them being used in helping their enemy. It was a dreadfully tense situation, and French reinforcements were coming and would find a number of British ships with their weapon sights locked-on to their own boats. Churchill urged the French, but they wouldn't listen; they didn't believe the Nazis would be able to overtake the harbour and steal their ships before they sailed them out. Churchill didn't want to take the chance, and time was of the essence.

The horrible tragedy that launched the Milton Bradley game.

The British fired upon the harbour, killing 1,297 Frenchmen, damaged five ships, and sinking a battleship. The French saw it as nothing short of a betrayal, and it's easy to understand why. It remains to this day a controversial move. If anything, it shows that Britain was in it to the last, would fight to the end, and any other cliched statements that are now used predominantly in sports movies.

Amidst all the war preparations and strategizing, he had to rally the public and the soldiers through his speeches. Fortunately, Churchill had to be one of the greatest speakers of all time. Both his willingness and history of being up close and personal in battle adds authenticity to when he calls for Britain to stand tall. Take this speech for instance:

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old. 

Chief Clancy Wig- I mean, Winston Churchill
during an air raid.

I'm not typically one for quoting whole paragraphs, but it's really something else. Plus, it leads me into the next section of Churchill's ambitions: to bring America into the war (and maybe work on reducing run-on sentences in his speeches). Churchill met with Franklin Roosevelt countless times during his run as P.M.. He had a strong relationship with F.D.R., which meant that the U.S. helped provide the British with close military help if not direct aid in manpower. Of course, it was Pearl Harbour that brought more than just American weapons to the European theatre, ultimately turning the tide against the Germans, but in the times leading up to the attack it was Churchill that had them shipping weapons.

Right when the Allies won the war (spoiler) Churchill lost his seat as Prime Minister. From there, he continued warning against the Russian powers (turns out he called that one too) before once again being elected as Prime Minister.

Winston Churchill died in 1965, leaving quite the legacy. He had been of critical importance in both world wars, served twice as P.M., won the Nobel prize, and fought in armed combat personally on multiple occasions. I don't think we've seen another politician quite like him. I don't think we ever will.

Winston Churchill: Part 2 - Missteps in the Great War

His quotation "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage
is also what it takes to sit down and listen" must have been a
real hit with the ladies.

When people speak of the greatness of Winston Churchill they probably gloss over World War I with a cough, muttering "he had some exploits then, too." His intentions (for most of his mistakes at least) were well meaning, but through bad luck, bad admirals, or flat out bad decisions, Churchill bumbled through the war with a number of errors under his belt - and his political career surely felt the brunt of it. It may not have been all terrible, though, so lets get the good out of the way first. It won't take long.

Trench warfare has got to rank high on the list for the worst things humanity has done to itself. Soldiers are human cannon fodder, rife with disease and shell shocked into delirium, with their generals having little more of a plan for them beyond running straight into the line of sight of the enemy for the purposes of gaining a scant few yards of territory. Churchill knew of the savagery of trench warfare, and hoped to break open holes in the front with a new and innovative idea. A fan of the use of technology to spill oil rather than blood (at least not British blood, that is) he helped to pioneer area bombing and was a strong supporter of the use of mustard gas. Surprisingly, his greatest contribution was coming up with the idea for the tank, if not the exact design. He took his chance at having a team put together the plans for caterpillar tanks, equipped with treads rather than wheels to traverse the rough terrain of the front. I shouldn't have to tell you that it was not only a major success, but it changed the face of warfare for years to come. The technology also may have been a crucial component to Hitler's Blitzkrieg tactics later on, but... hey, you can't blame him for that. As a bit of trivia, the name "tank" came from the way they hid the planning stage from the Germans. It was meant to sound like an operation in which the British were sending water tanks to beleaguered soldiers, and the name tank just stuck.

So lets get to the bad, now that we're feeling a little better about ol' Winny.

The first mistakes in his WWI campaign were fairly minimal. Antwerp, one of a few critical ports, was sure to fall into German hands. Churchill sent a number of British troops to help defend it as it could not do so on its own. What went wrong is, in a nutshell, they lost. They couldn't hold on, and the Germans eventually took Antwerp - but - they held on long enough to secure some of the other ports that would likely have been lost if it were not for the time that Antwerp bought them. So... as far as blunders go, he's off to a rough start but nothing really all that bad. In fact, you can argue he's coming out slightly better than even.

Big Berta howitzers were in the German's arsenal at Antwerp.
Churchill foolishly brought the American-made Little Debbie.

What really goes wrong is his decision to attack through the Dardanelles, a strait near the Mediterranean. His plan was to attack Constantinople and take the Ottoman Empire out of the war (it's easy to forget that the Ottoman Empire was actually in World War I, as the name sounds so middle-ages). In doing so, they could free up some allied-leaning countries to their side and flank the Germans, forcing them to fight on two fronts. Wording it that way it sounds like a solid plan. In reality, however, 180,000 died by the time the operation ended, many falling to disease, without getting near Constantinople. It has remained a sore spot on Britain's Commonwealth as a tremendous number of soldiers died there. They lost their lives, he lost his job.

The Ottoman generals that were victorious in the
Dardanelles. Each man's surname is now a product line
of ottomans at Ikea.

Churchill later rejoins the government as the Minister of Munitions, and this time he sets his sights on those pesky Russians. His plan was to squash communism and the Bolsheviks whom he thought were a major threat - which, in retrospect, seems pretty spot on. To summarize it, he lost. Again. But - he came very close to victory, nearly reaching Moscow, which would have turned the tides of history who knows where. It may have saved countless Russians from living in tyranny for, well, pretty much then until now, depending how you see Putin.

So World War I ends, but Churchill in 1922 still has some ammunition left in his rifles and he feels it just wouldn't be right to let them go to waste. He gets word that the Turks may be threatening some garrisons over near - where else? - the Dardanelles. He wanted to step in and show them who's boss, perhaps winning back some of the pride he lost in his first defeat there that nearly ended his career, but the British people for some difficult to pin down reason had grown rather tired of warfare. The Liberal party in which he joined after leaving the Conservatives collapsed and he lost his seat.  His career in shambles, one can only assume this spells the end for Winston, one of the greatest political minds in history.

Right? Right?

Better check in next time and see.

Winston Churchill: Part 1 - The Man Himself

"Yes, mother, I am quite dapper"
says Winston, aged 7.

Winston Churchill was a politician that in no possible circumstance could exist today. His bravery and constant desire to be close to the line of fire would have his bodyguards shaking in their boots; his strong views would cause the party in which he belonged panic (let alone the fact that he switched from the Conservatives to the Liberals and then back again, which by all means should be political suicide enough); and his quick but often abrasive wit would surely get him in trouble time and time again, causing what would now be a massive political scandal on a bi-weekly basis. My personal favourite quote has Churchill being accused of being a little under the influence. "Winston, you are drunk", she said. He replies, "Madam, you are ugly, and I will be sober in the morning." (Note - a number of his quotes have changed albeit slightly over the years, so you may have heard it slightly differently.) It has to be the best political "burn" since the countless quips of the Spartans. In all fairness to the presumedly ugly woman, he probably was drunk at the time as he had a propensity to be drinking and smoking at every waking hour, adding to his mystique in that one wonders how he survived past thirty with his lifestyle and habits. So in a nutshell - he's as quick with his words as he is rushing into a fight. Somewhere along the way he would find the time to win the Nobel Prize in literature. But that's the understanding of wartime Churchill - let's start with how he got there.

The Churchill family home. I bet they film Downton Abbey
here.

Churchill wasn't a product of a rough neighbourhood that led him to be so astoundingly courageous in the many wars in which he participated. In fact, quite the opposite - he was born into wealth and class, and darn near became the Duke of Marlborough (I assume that's prestigious). His father was a renowned politician, and his family dynasty includes one of Britain's great military heroes that fought with the French - and seeing as how no one likes the French, that must have helped a lot. That doesn't mean he had an easy life, though. His father Randolph was as bristly in personality as colossal Victorian era British moustaches are in feel, always disapproving of Winston and being astonishingly open of his disappointment in his son. He just wasn't what one would call a loving father; in one letter to his Winston, he instructs him to refrain from calling him such an affectionate term as Papa and to use the more formal word, father.

Sheesh.

Winston frequently sought the approval from his father he so sorely lacked. He followed in his footsteps, becoming a wealthy reporter in South Africa (just like his father) and became a politician that was skilled in the art of rabble-rousing (switching parties, just like Randolph). What is strange is Winston seemed like a pretty good kid, and if anything it was Randolph that fell short. He died when Winston just hit his twenties from syphilis, which, just as it does now, has certain connotations that ruined his political career and caused him a great deal of shame. Winston felt Randolph deserved better, and sought to restore the family name. (Spoiler - he succeeds.)

Churchill in full military regalia. Amazingly,
he has retained his ability to stay dapper.

Around the time of his father's death, Winston began his lengthy and prestigious military career. Starting in Cuba at age twenty as a British officer and front lines reporter, he then moved on to India, Sudan and the Boer War, before the big two. During these battles Churchill seemed to almost have a suicidal level of daring, charging into battle and taking a strange level of enjoyment in bullets whizzing past his head time and time again. In his life, he would be shot at on four separate continents, which seems like something only a handful of people could say, let alone arguably the most famous Prime Minister in British history. He revelled in war, feeling a great deal of excitement - somehow. This plays well into his later years, frequently requesting to be closer to the front lines and occasionally succeeding in doing so in spite of being in positions where he could very reasonably stay on the sidelines without anyone batting an eye.

In the coming blogs, we'll see Churchill fight the Germans, become a Prime Minister, then fight Nazi Germans, and provide so many great quotations that you could fill an entire junior high classroom with his motivational statements alone. You might want to omit the times he commented on people "working like blacks" or the time he declared he had "no interest in the quarrels of the yellow peoples" and instead focus on things like "attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."