Key Question 3: How far does Churchill deserve his reputation as a great wartime PM?

Key Question 3: How far does Churchill deserve his reputation as a great wartime PM?

1. Churchill as PM

   • Reasons why he became PM in 1940
     • Norway Campaign
     • Role of Labour
     • Halifax didn't want the position
     • Military expertise
     • Opposition to Appeasement
     • Chamberlain's poor organisation of the war
     • Not afraid of making unpopular/tough decisions
   • His attitude in 1940
     • 1st speech to the Commons
     • Refusal to agree with Halifax and Chamberlain in May 1940
     • Visits to France before her surrender
     • Reaction to Dunkirk
     • Battle of Britain
     • Decision to sink battleships at Oran
   • His style of leadership
     • Rhetoric
     • Working hours
     • Degree of authority
     • Composition of war cabinet
     • Organisation of information
     • Travel
     • Public relations

2. Bombing of Germany

   • Churchill's attitude to the bombing
     • Change over time
       • 1940
         • Very supportive of the campaign
         • Opposite of Chamberlain
       • 1941
         • Losing confidence in how decisive bombing would be
       • 1942
         • Publicly supporting the shift in tactics from precision to area bombing
       • 1944
         • Worried about the ethical implications of the campaign
       • 1945
         • Didn't mention bomber command in his VE day speech
   • Scale of involvement in the policy
     • Particularly the controversy surrounding Dresden 1945
   • Arthur 'Bomber' Harris
     • 1942
       • Appointed Commander in Chief of Bomber Command
       • Shift from area to precision bombing
   • Significance of the campaign
     • Filled time during preparations for Operation Overlord
     • Helped gain support from Stalin
     • Drew German air pressure away from the front lines
     • Bombings are controversial

3. The reasons for Churchill's loss of the 1945 election

   • The people were war weary
     • They wanted a better post war world
     • They wanted more from their government
   • They didn't want another Conservative Government - like in the 1930's
     • Unemployment in the'Hungry Thirties'
     • Appeasement
   • Churchill himself
     • Exaggerated rhetoric
       • Gestapo speech
     • His views on the Empire
     • From a different time
       • Getting older
       • Still has a very upper-class, old-fashioned way of living
     • War-time leader
   • Labour politicians' reliability & experience in government
     • Attlee, Morrison & Bevin
   • Poor Conservative Party organisation
     • No party conferences during the war

4. Relationship with Generals

   • Sir John Dill
     • appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS)
     • Churchill thought he was tired
       • nicknamed him 'Dilly Dally'
     • troubled relationship with Churchill
     • December 1941: moved to help direct Anglo-American strategy
   • Sir Alan Brooke
     • replaced Dill in December 1941
     • a "brake" on Churchill's impulsiveness
     • stood up to Churchill
     • despised and admired Churchill
       • appreciated what Churchill meant to Britain
     • didn't like the way Churchill worked and his lack of consideration for others
     • Churchill prone to being very critical
       • Alanbrooke more private
     • didn't like micromanagement
   • General Wavell
     • Commander-in-Chief of Middle East (1931-40)
     • Italian forces drove the British out of British Somaliland in 1940, Wavell did best to reduce retreat
     • coordinated victory against Italy in Libya
       • captured 11,000 men
       • drove them back hundreds of miles
     • wanted to build up resources and regroup
       • Churchill wanted to keep attacking