GREAT BRITAIN AND FRANCE (THEN JUST GREAT BRITAIN)

 

My review of Winston Churchill’s Their Finest Hour (1949)

Part II of Winston Churchill’s World War II memoirs

(Rating 4 of 5)

                Like many people 2016 was rather ruff for me.  The loss of couple close relatives, chaos at work, and other issues forced my reading to take a huge hit.  That said I could go weeks without even touching one of my books.  I normally try to make myself at the very least read a chapter a day.  But this year that didn’t happen.  Even though I am writing this at the end of January I don’t expect to post it for a long while. (In fact, we are now in July of 2022 folks!)

                Well on with my review.  Their Finest Hour starts write where The Gathering Strom left off, the fall of Chamberlin’s government and the rise of Churchill as the Prime Minister.  I think American readers might be taken aback by how British Prime Minsters can rise and fall not by an election by just a reorganization of party.  As in the case with both David Cameron’s predecessor, Gordon Brown, and successor, Theresa May.  May is the Prime Minister currently. (Nope! Not anymore!) The executive power changes without the people having any say in it what so ever.   Yet in the United Kingdom it is the system they have and it is viewed as quite natural. 

Chamberlin stood aside for Churchill 

                It is useful trivia that Churchill was the last Prime Minister not to be the leader of party.  Chamberlin retained that for six months until he resigned for health reasons.  At first Churchill wondered if he should take it, since his government was an all talents government, but the more he thought of it allowing someone else to be the leader of the majority meant giving someone the power to bring down his government at will.  So he took the job.

                Despite being a supporter of Nevil Chamberlin and having tried to prevent his resignation, Churchill really enjoyed his new job.  This type of person Churchill was: when there was a crisis he wanted to be in the thick of it.  With the job of Prime Minister he was able to take on the challenge in the manner in which he most saw fit.

“In my long political experience I had held most of the great offices of State, but I readily admit that the post which had now fallen to me was the one I liked the best.  Power, for the sake of lording it over fellow-creatures or adding to personal pomp, is rightly judged as base.  But power in a national crisis, when a man believes he knows what orders should be given, is a blessing.  In any sphere of action there can be no comparison of number one and numbers two, three, and four.” (p. 15)

In taking command Churchill reorganized the government to be more efficient in war time.  He created a new ministry called the Minister of Defense and gave himself, as Prime Minister, the job.  This allowed all the military heads to report to a single executive authority. 

“In calling myself, with the King’s approval, Minster of Defence, I made no legal or constitutional change.  I had been careful not to define my right and duties.  I asked for no special powers either from the Crown or Parliament.  It was however, understood that I should assume the general direction of the war, subject to the support of the War Cabinet and of the House of Commons.   The key-change which occurred on my taking over was, of course, the supervision and direction of the Chiefs of the Staff Committee by a Minster of Defence with undefined powers.  As this Minster was also the Prime Minister, he had all the rights inherent in that office, including the very wide powers of selection and removal of all professional and political personages.   Thus for the first time the Chiefs of Staff Committee assumed its due and proper place in direct daily contact with the executive Head of the Government, and in accord with him had full control over the conduct of the war and the armed forces.” (p.16)

Churchill with King George VI

The first half of this book involves Great Britain and France against a revived Germany hell-bent on conquest.  They start at war against Germany alone but quickly Italy, who was already invading other counties, joins the fight as well.  Germany was prepared and the allies were not.  As a consequence France found itself pushed back into their own county.  They were beaten and at one point the Third Republic realized their end came in the way it began, with a German invasion.  Not all parties accepted this however. 

“It was clear that France was near the end of organized resistance, and a chapter in the war was now closing.  The French might by some means continue the struggle.  There might even be two French Governments, one which made peace, and one which organized resistance from the French colonies, carrying on the war at sea through the French Fleet and in France through guerrillas  It was too early to tell.  Though for a period we might still have to send some support to France, we must now concentrate our main efforts on the defence of our island.” (p. 159-60)

There a couple of things about the fall of France that I found fascinating.  The first was the state of the French Navy, where the main capital ships sat in the water for duration of the war officially in the service of the Vichy puppet government.  The second was the fact serious consideration was given to the idea of combining the United Kingdom and the French Third Republic would combine into one great supernation.  Basically reviving the old Plantagenet claim for King George VI. 

“He hoped with us that this solemn pledge of union and brotherhood between the two nations and empires would give the struggling French Premier the means to carry his Government to Africa with all possible forces and order the French Navy to sail for harbours outside impending German control.” (p.209)

King Edward III's old French claim revived for the 20th century

The second part of the book is “when England stood alone” against the German militarily might.  This part you get a view of Winston Churchill: war leader.  Giving orders to and receiving reports from his subordinates.   He also would write letters back and forth to President Roosevelt.  As time went on Great Britain would get pounded with bombs.  Churchill writes with admiration about the people partially the public servants who continued with their duties in the face of danger.  

“It will always add to the renown of the British Parliament that its Members continued to sit and discharge their duties through all this period.  The Commons are very touchy in such matters, and it would have been easy to misjudge their mood.  When one Chamber was damaged, they moved to another, and I did my utmost to persuade them to follow wise advice with good grace.  Their migrations will be recorded in due course.  In short, everyone behaved with sense and dignity.  It was also lucky that when the Chamber was blown to pieces a few months later, it was by night and not by day, when empty and not full.  With our mastery of the daylight raids there came a considerable relief in personal convenience.  But during the first few months I was never free from anxiety about the safety of the Members.  After all, a free sovereign Parliament, fairly chosen by universal suffrage, able to turn out the Government any day, but proud to uphold it in the darkest days, was one of the points which were in dispute with the enemy.  Parliament won.”  (p. 356-7)

Hitler having conquered France

The land lease was historically one of the most important acts that President Roosevelt ever did.  It gave important aid to a past and future ally at a difficult time.   Without the British might of run out of capital before they ran out of bombs.

“Up till November, 1940, we had paid for everything we had received.  We had already sold $335,000,000 worth of American shares requisitioned for sterling from private owners in Britain.  We had paid out over $4,500,000,000 in cash.  We had only two thousand millions left, the greater part in investments, many of which were not readily marketable.  It was plain that we could not go on any longer in this way.  Even if we divested ourselves of all our gold and foreign assets, we could not pay for half we had ordered, and the extension of the war made it necessary for us to have ten times as much.  We must keep something in hand to carry on our daily affairs.” (p. 557-8)

By the close of the year the British people had prevailed.  They were headed into the year 1941 with a continued great challenge in front of them.  They would get help from the nations of their Empire and throughout the year the United States would provide arms before joining the conflict at years end.

{Video is from the 2017 film The Darkest Hour}