Churchill As War Leader Flashcards
(23 cards)
What happened in Churchill’s first year as PM ?
- Evacuation of Dunkirk
- Lose access to Suez
- Scuttling of Fleet
- Battle of Britain
- North Africa success
When was North Africa Campaign ?
1940 - 1943
What happened in North Africa Campaign ?
- Italy invades Egypt (40’) but Britain counter and capture 190k soldiers
- Rommel pushes back into Egypt but is denied reinforcements and fails to take Tobruk (41’)
- Allies advance to El Aghelia after Rommel retreat (41’)
- Rommel advance to Tobruk and takes 30k allied soldiers (42’)
- USA land in Morocco in Vichy troops surrender (43’)
- Allied Victory & 275k German prisoners (43’)
Main Operations of North Africa Campaign ?
Compass : Wavell (Dec 40’ - Feb 41’)
Crusader : Auchinleck ( Nov - Dec 41’)
Torch : Montgomery ( Nov 42’)
Churchill Positive relationship with Generals ?
- Alan Brooke kept his job for 4 years
- Wavell convinced Churchill to focus on N. Africa
- Churchill trusted Ismay greatly
- Churchill respected Montgomery
- Churchill ‘admired men of action’
Churchill Negative relationship with Generals ?
- Cunningham said Churchill ‘poked his nose into matters that didn’t concern him’
- 90% of naval offices disagreed with scuttling the fleet
- Gort ignored Churchill’s order to open another front
- Dill was called ‘Dilly Dally’
- Brooke called Churchill a ‘public menace’
- Wavell captured 11k men and Churchill still wasn’t happy
- Disliked Auchinleck’s plan to regroup
- Churchill said Montgomery was ‘insufferable in defeat’
Argument for opening the second front in Europe ?
- Stalin wanted relief from fighting Germany in the east
- The Med was secured
- Allies have land in Italy
- Germany weakest as ever
- USA adopted “Germany/Europe first policy”
Argument for delaying the second front in Europe ?
- Protecting empire is vital so N. Africa needs to be secured first to use Suez
- In 1942 Britain already failed at Dieppe
- No allies in France as Vichy forces cut off
- Germany were nearly at Moscow
- Allied landings at Dodecanese fail in September 1943
- Troops committed to Italy so spread thin
- Germany had “Atlantic Wall”
Argument that the Bombings of Germany were justified ?
- Germany lied and said 250k died but only 25k
- Germany bombed London for 50 nights in the Blitz
- Allies learnt tactics from the Luftwaffe
- RAF missed targets on avg by 5 miles
Argument that the bombings of Germany were not justified ?
- 40k people died in Germany
- Germany only sed 18k tonnes of bombs and allies used 1/2 million
- Allies were using waves of bombing
- Allies resorted to area bombing where in Hamburg over 60% of residential areas were destroyed
What happened at Tehran in Dec 1943 ?
- British empire criticised
- Stalin suggested 50k German officers be shot and Churchill walked out
- Stalin created tension between him and Churchill
Why was Churchill important in Tehran ?
USA and Britain invaded France in 1944 on D-Day
Why was Churchill not important in Tehran ?
Thought that the “Big three” had become the “Big two and a half”
What happened at Yalta in Feb 1945 ?
- Decided Germany would be divided into 4 zone of occupation
- Stalin committed to war against Japan
- UN established
Why was Churchill important in Yalta ?
- Negotiated with Stalin to stop him taking all of Eastern Europe
- Discussed final plans to defeat Germany
Why was Churchill not important in Yalta ?
- Roosevelt ignored all of Churchill’s advice
What happened atPotsdam in Jul/Aug 1945 ?
- Policy for Germany discussed
- Powers were divided according to contradicting views
Why was Churchill not important at Potsdam ?
He was replaced by Attlee straight after so anything he suggested was wiped
Positives of Churchill in the war ?
- Allies made progress through Italy in taking Sicily
- Churchill planned D-Day in 1944
- Britain faced little resistance in Normandy due to good planning
- Churchill still saw the Med as key and allowed him to defend Greece and the empire
Negatives of Churchill in the war ?
- Progress through Italy was slow and spread forces thin, forcing Russia to do more
- Alan Brooke was not in charge in 1944 and US general instead making Britain look weak
- Britain were slow to take the port of Caen in Normandy in 1944
- War in North Africa was characterised by Churchill’s lack of cooperation with his generals
- Britain became dominated the US and became a junior partner in the Grand Alliance
- Operation Market Garden was a huge fail due to lack of planning
- Churchill was sidelined in meetings with the Big 3
- ## Churchill made concessions at Yalta and had to watch Stalin ignore a revolt in Warsaw
What was opinion on Social Reconstruction ?
- Public unclear as to what we fighting for and want ro rebuild
- Churchill hated Social Reconstruction
Some examples of Social Reconstruction ?
- Emergency Hospital Service - By 1941, 8/10 hospitals were under gov control
- Wages Act 1942/45 - Increase in wages
- National Fire Service - Over 15k services brought together
- Beveridge Report - Dealt with causes of poverty, ill health and unemployment
Why did Churchill lose office in 1945 ?
- Labour Party Manifesto
- Churchill’s views on Attlee
- Army Bureau of Current Affairs - Education programme to teach dangers of Fascism
- The Media Supported Labour
- Tory MP found to be fascist leading to scandal
