Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Winston Churchill
- The Cambridge Companion to Winston Churchill
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Churchill’s Contested History
- 2 The Inheritance of Winston Churchill
- 3 Learning Lessons
- 4 Churchill As a Writer and Orator
- 5 Churchill and Social Policy
- 6 Churchill, the ‘Irish Question’ and the Irish
- 7 Churchill’s First World War
- 8 Churchill, Art and Politics
- 9 Churchill’s Economics
- 10 Churchill, the Roosevelts and Empire
- 11 Churchill, India and Race
- 12 Churchill’s Campaign against Appeasement
- 13 Churchill As War Leader
- 14 Churchill, The English-Speaking Peoples and the ‘Special Relationship’
- 15 Churchill As International Statesman
- 16 Churchill and the Bombing Campaign
- 17 The Influence of Clementine Churchill
- 18 Churchill and the ‘United States of Europe’
- 19 Indian Summer or Conservative Winter?
- Conclusion
- Book part
- Index
- References
13 - Churchill As War Leader
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2023
- The Cambridge Companion to Winston Churchill
- The Cambridge Companion to Winston Churchill
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Churchill’s Contested History
- 2 The Inheritance of Winston Churchill
- 3 Learning Lessons
- 4 Churchill As a Writer and Orator
- 5 Churchill and Social Policy
- 6 Churchill, the ‘Irish Question’ and the Irish
- 7 Churchill’s First World War
- 8 Churchill, Art and Politics
- 9 Churchill’s Economics
- 10 Churchill, the Roosevelts and Empire
- 11 Churchill, India and Race
- 12 Churchill’s Campaign against Appeasement
- 13 Churchill As War Leader
- 14 Churchill, The English-Speaking Peoples and the ‘Special Relationship’
- 15 Churchill As International Statesman
- 16 Churchill and the Bombing Campaign
- 17 The Influence of Clementine Churchill
- 18 Churchill and the ‘United States of Europe’
- 19 Indian Summer or Conservative Winter?
- Conclusion
- Book part
- Index
- References
Summary
Churchill has become the archetypal embodiment of the modern war leader, in part as a result of his own writings, but this chapter strips away the layers of hindsight and looks in detail at the challenge he faced in 1940 and the actions he took in response. By making himself minister of defence, he united the civilian and military administrative machines and established a streamlined decision-making process at the heart of government. He led from the front, both through the projection of his image and through his distinctive oratory. His strategy was to weather the immediate crisis and then to find means of taking the fight to the enemy, even if it meant prioritising the Mediterranean over the Empire in Asia, while also courting the United States and seizing the opportunity of the Soviet alliance. The strain undoubtedly took a toll on his health and, as the war progressed, his room for manoeuvre became more limited and fractures began to emerge over the future, both within his government and in his relations with his key allies.
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- The Cambridge Companion to Winston Churchill , pp. 244 - 262Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023