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Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill Winston Churchill was a man full of principle, courage, and compassion. Nevertheless, it was his excellent leadership skills, his instinct for making beneficial wartime decisions, and motivational speeches, which inevitably lead to the success of Great Britain in World War II. Britain and the world free of Hitler and the Nazis looked to Winston Churchill for leadership. Because of his soldier's training, his historical knowledge, and a statesman's beliefs that had filled his mind for a long time, he considered the burden of leadership to be very light. Many still regard him as the greatest British leader of the last century. Winston Churchill had already demonstrated he had the aptitude for being a leader by holding positions such as serving as a member of parliament, acting as a secretary for war and air, and the colonial office; However, what made him such an excellent leader was that he was not concerned about his own welfare politically, but rather about the welfare of his country. This was demonstrated by his warnings which were addressed to the House of Commons: "Germany has the power at any time henceforward to send a fleet of airplanes capable of discharging in a single voyage at least 500 tons of bombs upon London." His warnings were not given heed to and his popularity among the people of Britain declined. As a result in 1935 when Baldwin became prime minister, Churchill was not given a cabinet post. However, Churchill still continued with his unpopular warnings about Hitler and his Germany. Then in 1937, when Neville Chamberlain became prime minister of Britain, Churchill once again stood up for his beliefs even though they seemed to go against the beliefs of practically every one in the nation. Chamberlain, who was an advocate for peace, signed the Munich Pact with Italy, France and Germany, which allowed Germany to have a region of Czechoslovakia in return for a guarantee that Germany would not invade the rest of Europe. Churchill openly opposed this agreement proclaiming, "That there has been a gross neglect and deficiency in [Britain's] defenses." But still no one listened to Winston Churchill. Finally the rejoicing of peace came quickly to a halt when Nazi troops invaded Prague, Poland in the spring of 1939. It was inescapable that Britain would pay its price for not listening to Churchill's warnings. Britain had wasted about five years of valuable time, which could have been used to strengthen Britain's Army and arm the Air Force. This price would ultimately be war. Germany invaded Poland on September 1st 1939, and after two days of bombing, Britain, on September 3rd 1939 gave Germany two hours to evacuate its troops from Poland. There was no response, and thus Britain was at war with Germany. As the people as well as the government began to realize the danger of this approaching war they also realized the importance of having a man like Winston Churchill in the cabinet. In the same month as war began, Churchill was once again appointed to the cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty. Consequently, Churchill did not remain First Lord of the Admiralty for long. When Hitler invaded Britain's allies, Norway and Denmark, Prime Minister Chamberlain became defensive saying he could not "believe that there [was] anything different [he] could have done… [He] had a clear conscience." While Chamberlain was defensive, Churchill was defiant. Churchill gave a speech the same day saying, "There is no question of fighting for Danzig or fighting for Poland. [Well will] fight to save the world from a pestilence of Nazi tyranny. Let us go forward together in all parts of the empire, in all parts of the island. There is not a week, nor a day, nor an hour to lose." The defeat of Norway triggered a debate on the appropriateness of Chamberlain for prime minister. Churchill's courage and his ability to lead were becoming more and more obvious to the people of Britain. On May 10th 1940 Churchill was called to Buckingham palace to meet the King George VI. King George told him that a coalition government had been formed and that he was to be head of it. Winston Churchill was now the prime minister of Britain. Britain needed to be led and Winston Churchill was the one who would lead her. Winston Churchill set the manner of his leadership from the first day he became prime minister with a speech, which he dictated to the House of Commons, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat… You ask what is our aim? I can answer with one word. It is Victory. Victory at all costs- Victory in spite of out terrors- Victory, however long and hard the road my be, for without victory there is no survival." However Churchill was not just a man of speech, he was a man of action. He had an intuition for making decisions, which would benefit his country. One of the first decisions Churchill had to make was whether or not to give aid to the French forces, which were being over taken by Hitler and his army. The French pleaded with Churchill to send fighter squadrons to help them. Churchill was faced with a horrible dilemma; however, Churchill decided that the squadrons they were asking for would not be enough to save the French, and in fact Britain would soon need them for her own air defense. Churchill refused France's plea, for the welfare of Britain. He did suggest that Britain and France join together under one government and military, but the French refused and later surrendered to Germany on June 22nd 1940. With the Battle of France over Churchill knew that the Battle of Britain would soon begin. Churchill also knew that because Britain had wasted years earlier not preparing for the war that she would need support from the isolationist country, America. It was because of one of Winston Churchill's speeches that Britain got this support. With the defeat of France, Churchill was to give a speech in the House of Commons. " Well shall defend our island whatever the cost my 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. Even 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 would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time the New World, with all it's power and might, steps forth to rescue and liberation of the old. " Churchill's speeches were often recorded and aired on the BBC, but this speech in particular Churchill want America to hear. It was recorded and later broadcasted on the BBC. Across the Atlantic President Franklin Roosevelt did hear this speech, and was quite moved by it. So much so he leaned across to Harry Hopkins, his government official and advisor and said, " If we give to England, it's not money down the drain. As long as that old bastard is in charge, England will never surrender." On July 10th 1940 the German air force began a series of almost continuous attacks on the southern counties of Britain. This was an attempt to gain control of the air before launching an invasion of Britain. The German Luftwaffe first bombed the aircraft factories and air force bases. During this time Churchill and his wife traveled to the nerve center of the Royal Air Force. Here red lights signaled that all 25 squadrons were in the air. The British fighters were on their last round of ammunition and their last once of fuel, but Churchill told them to remain in the air until the last moment possible. Sure enough the Luftwaffe returned home shortly. Only 800 RAF pilots had beaten back the Nazi bombers. The Battle of Britain had been won and the Germans were defeated. World War II ended in 1945. Germany had lost and the world was free from the Nazi power. May 8th 1945 was then declared VE-day or victory day in Britain. As Winston Churchill stood on the balcony of the Ministry of Health building he looked into the crowd and declared, "God bless you all. This is your victory." In response the crowd yelled back, "No, it's yours, it's yours." And it truly was. The response of the crowd to Winston Churchill was due to one thing, Winston Churchill's infinite patriotism and inspiring speeches. This patriotism and these speeches set the tone for the rest of Britain and even other allied countries. Winston Churchill did not doubt for one second that Britain would not succeed in the war, and because of this, every person in Britain believed him, and instilled their faith in him. After he gave his first speech in parliament claiming all he had to offer was blood, tears, toil and sweat the members of the House of Commons, some who were even originally Chamberlain supporters, were saying that they had found their leader. After this speech the soldiers, as well as the people of Britain, were overcome with relief and took his promises as an indication of nobility. Churchill's qualities even shone through to his former critics. Some stated, "[he was] the only cabinet Minister who [could] put things across in an arresting way to our people." Churchill dismissed his speeches as sheer words. He believed that, "Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king." Part of the reason people respected him so much was because of his interaction with them. In no way did Winston Churchill think he was above the people of Britain. During the Battle of Britain, when many people lost their homes due to bombings, Churchill was often found comforting these devastated people amongst their ruins. At one site, which had been bombed, Churchill walked among the ruins until he finally just broke down and started to cry. One woman was overheard saying, "See he's crying, he really does care." Now some people might say that yes, Winston Churchill was a good public speaker, but so what? Well the importance of Winston Churchill being an excellent public speaker is very great. During the inter-war period Britain was torn apart by war. Many people lost their homes, belongings and even their loved ones, but Winston Churchill's inspiring words helped to instill hope and faith in a nation, and inevitably helped these tired people to come through war with a sense of belief. Winston Churchill was a man of boundless energy and incredible faith, faith in his country and its people. His excellent leadership, the dedication to his position as a prime minister, and powers of motivation through speeches, were all qualities that lead to Britain's success in WWII. One of the finest aspects of this man was that he was also incredibly honest, even when crowds were cheering solely to him, he never became over confidant and never strayed from his cause. Many might say he was bigger than Britain itself, but Winston Churchill as the leader of Britain was best concluded in a quote by a fighter pilot who fought in the battle of Britain and is still alive today: " At the time Britain needed someone like Winston Churchill to led and inspire us, and fortunately Britain had him." John Charmley, CHURCHILL, The End of Glory, A political Biography. Martin Gilbert, CHURCHILL, A life. Great Britain: Henry Holt and Company Inc. 1991 James C. Humes, CHURCHILL, Speaker of the Century. New York: Stein and Day Publishers 1980 John Pearson, The Private Lives of Winston Churchill. MacMillan Ltd. Mary Soames, A Family Churchill Album (Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd) 1982 Bibliography:

Word Count: 1991

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