Finest Hour Autumn 2018

“When all was over, Torture and Cannibalism were the only two expedients the civilized, scientific, Christian States had been able to deny themselves: and these were of doubtful utility.” Such was Winston Churchill’s grim verdict on the Great War. It also explains the euphoria he witnessed when the tragedy finally concluded on Armistice Day and the description of that scene he recorded in his memoirs, which we reproduce here. One hundred years on, emotions have subsided, and it is possible to make sober reckonings of what was accomplished in and what lessons taken from the First World War. Andrew Roberts, whose Churchill biography is published this fall, traces the connections between Churchill’s experiences in 1914–1918 and his leadership in 1939–45. Allan Mallinson then deconstructs the myths about Churchill’s leadership in the…

Email: info@winstonchurchill.org Finest Hour 181 LEXINGTON, VA—Congratulations on the fantastic issue about “Churchill and the British Army”! It was nice to see the letter of introduction from the commandant of RMA Sandhurst. As a civilian “veteran” of Sandhurst, the institution remains close to my heart. The article by Churchill’s great-grandson Alexander Perkins is especially impressive.—R. P. W. Havers, President and CEO, George C. Marshall Foundation NASHVILLE—I have never enjoyed an issue more than this one. Congratulations! FH 181 could be “sold separately” and/or used for recruitment. I wish I had ten extra copies.—Richard H. Knight, Jr. Finest Hour Extras ROUEN—Thanks to Monroe Trout and Allen Packwood for their excellent “FH Extra” story about Churchill’s aborted visit to the United States in 1951 (“The Speech Churchill Never Gave”). I was struck by a passage: “The traditional sympathy…

Winston Churchill famously wrote about his feelings on becoming prime minister in May 1940, “ I felt as if I were walking with Destiny and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.” It was true, and no part of his life had been a better preparation than 1914–18. The way that Churchill learned from his and others’ mistakes of the Great War, putting the lessons to good use in the Second World War, is an object lesson in statesmanship. On the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Churchill set up the Admiralty War Group, which consisted of himself and the four most senior admirals there. It met daily—sometimes several times a day—to take all the most important strategic…

1. Winston S. Churchill, The Gathering Storm (London: Folio Society, 2000), p. 525. 2. Martin Gilbert, ed., Winston S. Churchill, Companion Volume III, Part 1, May 1915–December 1916 (London: Heinemann, 1972), p. 97. 3. Winston S. Churchill, Thoughts and Adventures (London: Thornton Butterworth, 1930), pp. 11–12. 4. Royal Archives, Windsor, GV/PRIV/GVD/1914. 5. Winston S. Churchill, Their Finest Hour (London: Folio Society, 2000), p. 15. 6. Julian Thompson, Gallipoli (London: Carlton Books, 2015), p. 3. 7. Robert Rhodes James, ed., Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches, Volume III, 1914–1922 (London: Chelsea House, 1974), p. 2340. 8. Ibid., p. 2348. 9. John Bew, Citizen Clem (London: Quercus, 2017), p. 13 and p. 86. 10. Francis Beckett, Clem Attlee (London: Haus, 2015), p. 61. 11. Winston S. Churchill, The World Crisis, Volume II, 1915 (London: Thornton Butterworth, 1923), p. 4. 12. Martin Gilbert, Winston…

A common verdict on Churchill’s First World War is that he was the perpetrator of costly disasters, but that he learned from his mistakes. Consider this, from the Imperial War Museum’s website: At the outbreak of war in 1914, Churchill was serving as First Lord of the Admiralty. In 1915 he helped orchestrate the disastrous Dardanelles naval campaign and was also involved in the planning of the military landings on Gallipoli, both of which saw large losses. Following the failure of these campaigns, Churchill was demoted and resigned from government. He became an officer in the Army and served on the Western Front until early 1916. In 1917, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s coalition government, Churchill was appointed Minister of Munitions, a position he held until January 1919. Churchill’s First World…

Churchill’s contribution to naval affairs in the First World War is a polarizing topic. It divided people at the time and it remains a matter of sharply delineated opinions even now. The reasons for this are not difficult to spot. Although no decisive sea engagement was fought while Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty, the opening ten months of the war were nevertheless eventful, and the operations that took place at that time appeared to highlight the worst aspects of Churchill’s character as a civilian naval leader. The reality is—inevitably—more complex, but a quick check of what went visibly wrong and what appeared to go right will illustrate the point. The First World War began at a fortuitous moment for the Royal Navy: a test mobilization had been carried out…