How Churchill Waged War: The Most Challenging Decisions of the Second World War

by Allen Packwood

When Winston Churchill accepted the position of Prime Minister in May 1940, he insisted in also becoming Minister of Defence. He was not going to play the chairman’s role, adjudicating between the competing claims of the ministers below him. He was going to get his hands dirty and take direct personal control of the day-to-day running of military policy. This, though, meant that he alone would be responsible for the success or failure of Britain’s war effort. It also meant that he would be faced with many monumental challenges and utterly crucial decisions upon which the fate of Britain and the free world rested.

One of his first agonising decisions was how to respond to the collapse of France, and the danger posed to Britain’s survival should the powerful French fleet fall into German hands. When he ordered Admiral Sommerville to sink the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, he knew that France might be turned against Britain, but that act demonstrated to the world that he was determined to wage war ‘whatever the cost may be’.

With the limited resources available to the UK, Churchill had to decide where his country’s priorities lay. Should he concentrate on the defence of the realm or take the war to the enemy – and where should any offensive action be focused? Should Egypt and the war in North Africa take precedence over Singapore and the UK’s empire in the East? How much support should be offered to the Soviet Union? How much of the direction of the war could he allow to be dictated by the United States?

In this insightful investigation into Churchill’s conduct during the Second World War, Allen Packwood, BA, MPhil (Cantab), FRHistS, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, enables the reader to share the agonies and uncertainties faced by Churchill at each crucial stage of the war. How Churchill responded to each challenge is analysed in great detail and the conclusions Mr Packwood draws are as uncompromising as those made by Britain’s wartime leader as he negotiated his country through its darkest days.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military History

271 pages, Hardcover

Published October 5, 2018

Reviews

[Pam Baddeley]

Quite an interesting look at Churchill's leadership style from when he became Prime Minister in 1940 until losing the general election in 1945. It considers his strengths and weaknesses as shown by key moments in the war and the decisions made including the Fall of France, the Middle East strategy and the fall of Singapore. As a young man he had fought in various conflicts, in Cuba, the Indian North-West Frontier, the Sudan and South Africa. As the concluding chapter says, "He was motivated by a sense of destiny and self-belief, a hatred of tyranny, and a desire to achieve victory and preserve the status quo."

One of his first acts as Prime Minister was to take on the office of Minister of Defence and to streamline the previous bureaucracy, aware of the need to be actively involved in management of the war and not be reduced to the role of a rubber stamper of other people's decisions. His health suffered as the war went on, with the huge workload and the complications that arose as more theatres of war opened up with their ramifications.

Another area in which he excelled was in his encouragement and sponsorship of 'boffins' and their inventions. Through him various advances in radar as well as the unusual devices used for D Day were made possible, when higher echelons in the military would have turned them down.

As it says in the conclusion, “He was at his best in the moment, in the heat of a crisis, and at his worst during periods of inactivity and waiting … Complicated war aims, or utopian ideals, or dreams of territorial conquest were not for him… His approach to the future was driven by more practical considerations: the need for an understanding with Stalin; and the importance of the continuation of the special relationship with the United States to help preserve the peace and constrain the Soviet Union should that understanding with Moscow fail… He is considered an architect of the United Nations, but he was prepared to leave the detail to others. It was the same story on the British Home Front. His focus remained firmly on the war effort, on managing strategy, politics and international relations. It was a practical approach, fixed on achieving immediate results."

He was able to work well with politicians whose views he normally opposed, such as members of the Labour Party, welcoming them into his coalition government. It was only with victory in Europe that these others reverted to party politics and adversarial attitudes, something he responded badly to. Although he remained personally popular this did not translate into votes in 1945: people were hankering for an improvement In conditions for working people, and he had shown himself adamantly opposed to socialism as an evil creed, identifying it with Communism. Overall, a 3 star read.

[Brian Page]

Just when you think that everything about Winston Churchill that could be written may have already been written, along comes Allen Packwood and his splendid volume, How Churchill Waged War: The Most Challenging Decisions of the Second World War. Each of the ten chapters is devoted to a critical decision, beginning with Churchill’s decision to occupy the roles of PM plus Minister of Defense and ending with Churchill’s decision to run the 1945 campaign with such partisan aggressiveness. Packwood is Director of the Churchill Archives Centre and, to no surprise, his text is well steeped in primary source material, providing great insight into the thinking & activities of the principals. Packwood isn’t a Churchill fanboy. His account is nuanced and measured. Some of my favorite chapters were those on Churchill’s handling of Auchinleck & Wavell, and Singapore. Incidents that usually rate a few paragraphs in most Churchill & WWII accounts here are dissected in detail. Speaking of which, I believe a reader ought to have a significant understanding of Churchill, WWII, and traditional treatment of these decisions to truly benefit from this book. How Churchill Waged War is a welcome addition to the Churchill canon.

[Edward C. Schmidt]

Beyond The Images

Very well written and a fascinating exposition of what led to various decisions by Prime Minister Churchill. This helps get behind simplistic images of the genius and leadership of Churchill.

[Campbell]

Interesting, but not written in a very engaging style.

[Tam Le Blanc]

Thematic and can be slightly difficult to follow.