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The Second World War #2
Their Finest Hour, 1949
The second volume in the WWII history “written with simplicity, lucidity, and gusto” by the legendary leader and Nobel Prize winner (The New York Times).
In Their Finest Hour, Winston Churchill describes the invasion of France and a growing sense of dismay in Britain. Should Britain meet France’s desperate pleas for reinforcements or conserve their resources in preparation for the inevitable German assault? In the book’s second half, entitled simply “Alone,” Churchill discusses Great Britain’s position as the last stronghold against German conquest: the battle for control of the skies over Britain, diplomatic efforts to draw the United States into the war, and the spreading global conflict.
Their Finest Hour is part of the epic six-volume account of World War II told from the viewpoint of a man who led in the fight against tyranny, and enriched with extensive primary sources including memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams, day-by-day accounts of reactions as the drama intensifies. Throughout these volumes, we listen as strategies and counterstrategies unfold in response to Hitler’s conquest of Europe, planned invasion of England, and assault on Russia, in a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions made as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
In Their Finest Hour, Winston Churchill describes the invasion of France and a growing sense of dismay in Britain. Should Britain meet France’s desperate pleas for reinforcements or conserve their resources in preparation for the inevitable German assault? In the book’s second half, entitled simply “Alone,” Churchill discusses Great Britain’s position as the last stronghold against German conquest: the battle for control of the skies over Britain, diplomatic efforts to draw the United States into the war, and the spreading global conflict.
Their Finest Hour is part of the epic six-volume account of World War II told from the viewpoint of a man who led in the fight against tyranny, and enriched with extensive primary sources including memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams, day-by-day accounts of reactions as the drama intensifies. Throughout these volumes, we listen as strategies and counterstrategies unfold in response to Hitler’s conquest of Europe, planned invasion of England, and assault on Russia, in a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions made as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
806 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1962
1047 people are currently reading
6814 people want to read
About the author
Winston S. Churchill
1,395 books2,487 followersSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, politician and writer, as prime minister from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955 led Great Britain, published several works, including
The Second World War
from 1948 to 1953, and then won the Nobel Prize for literature.
William Maxwell Aitken, first baron Beaverbrook, held many cabinet positions during the 1940s as a confidant of Churchill.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can), served the United Kingdom again. A noted statesman, orator and strategist, Churchill also served as an officer in the Army. This prolific author "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."
Out of respect for Winston_Churchill, the well-known American author, Winston S. Churchill offered to use his middle initial as an author.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston...
William Maxwell Aitken, first baron Beaverbrook, held many cabinet positions during the 1940s as a confidant of Churchill.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can), served the United Kingdom again. A noted statesman, orator and strategist, Churchill also served as an officer in the Army. This prolific author "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."
Out of respect for Winston_Churchill, the well-known American author, Winston S. Churchill offered to use his middle initial as an author.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews
December 21, 2009
The bit from the second volume that everyone quotes is "We will fight them on the beaches". Well, I love that too, but my very favourite phrase is a less well-known one: "Tanks for Africa!" I know, it doesn't sound particularly inspiring. But it is, when you know the background, and I've said it to myself many times when things have looked bad. Let me fill you in on the story.
Due to Britain's criminally inept preparation (see the first volume), World War II has gotten off to a catastrophic start. The rest of Europe has fallen to the Nazis, who are still uneasily allied with the Soviet Union. The United States dithers on the sidelines, while FDR tries to convince people that this is also their fight. Meanwhile, Hitler's next move will be to try and invade Britain. He starts with a crushing air offensive.
Under these circumstances, the obvious thing to do would have been to put all our resources into defence. After all, the Germans were so close to breaking through! But Churchill made a far-seeing strategic decision. Defence wasn't enough: if we managed to survive this bit, it was essential to be able to counter-attack later on. He gave orders to send tanks to Egypt, where there was a chance of halting the Axis advance in the North African desert.
I thought his judgement here was little short of miraculous. It worked out exactly as he had hoped: the brave fighter pilots of the RAF managed to win the Battle of Britain, and the German invasion was cancelled. The Allied foothold in Egypt also held, and it was possible to consolidate it before the Axis could pour in more troops and armour. Eventually, this allowed the Allies to march as far as Tunisia, and then invade Southern Europe through Sicily and Italy.
So, indeed, "We will fight them on the beaches" is very fine. It perfectly expresses the spirit of never surrendering, irrespective of the odds against you. But calmly assuming that we're going to get through this situation, no matter how desperate it is, and then planning for what we're going to do next - that's truly inspiring. "Tanks for Africa!"
Due to Britain's criminally inept preparation (see the first volume), World War II has gotten off to a catastrophic start. The rest of Europe has fallen to the Nazis, who are still uneasily allied with the Soviet Union. The United States dithers on the sidelines, while FDR tries to convince people that this is also their fight. Meanwhile, Hitler's next move will be to try and invade Britain. He starts with a crushing air offensive.
Under these circumstances, the obvious thing to do would have been to put all our resources into defence. After all, the Germans were so close to breaking through! But Churchill made a far-seeing strategic decision. Defence wasn't enough: if we managed to survive this bit, it was essential to be able to counter-attack later on. He gave orders to send tanks to Egypt, where there was a chance of halting the Axis advance in the North African desert.
I thought his judgement here was little short of miraculous. It worked out exactly as he had hoped: the brave fighter pilots of the RAF managed to win the Battle of Britain, and the German invasion was cancelled. The Allied foothold in Egypt also held, and it was possible to consolidate it before the Axis could pour in more troops and armour. Eventually, this allowed the Allies to march as far as Tunisia, and then invade Southern Europe through Sicily and Italy.
So, indeed, "We will fight them on the beaches" is very fine. It perfectly expresses the spirit of never surrendering, irrespective of the odds against you. But calmly assuming that we're going to get through this situation, no matter how desperate it is, and then planning for what we're going to do next - that's truly inspiring. "Tanks for Africa!"
August 10, 2018
It is an absolute delight to share the history as Churchill experienced it. The writing is clear and compelling, revealing the man as much as the times. So far, I have read through the 1940 events. Much more to follow.
November 26, 2024
Biški aukštosios literatūros va, paskaičiau. Winstono Churchillio memuarai, už kuriuos anas gavo Nobelio literatūros premiją. Premijos, aišku, vertas, bet, matyt, tiesiog nesugalvojo kokią kitą duot – kažkaip už memuarus fizikos srity apdovanot būtų ne kažką.
Bet ne literatūrinė vertė tuos memuarus daro tikrai svarbiais ir vertais dėmesio.
Antrasis tomas, „Vieni“, prasideda galutiniu Prancūzijos sutriuškinimu ir baigiasi Vokietijos pajudėjimu drang nach Osten, į svečius pas sovietus. Išsamūs atsiminimai, užkabinantys daugelį to laikotarpio niuansų. Aišku, labiausiai iš Britanijos perspektyvos, kas neturėtų stebinti.
O čia kodėl taip nei iš šio nei iš to ėmei ir perskaitei tik antrą tomą, paklausit? Tai va, prisireikė. Kaip perskaičius paaiškėjo, prisireikė viso labo dėl dviejų-trijų sakinių. Bet nesigailiu. Gal ir ne be reikalo tas Nobelis. Skaitosi sklandžiai, greitai.
Kaip savo nišai – penki iš penkių turbūt.
Bet ne literatūrinė vertė tuos memuarus daro tikrai svarbiais ir vertais dėmesio.
Antrasis tomas, „Vieni“, prasideda galutiniu Prancūzijos sutriuškinimu ir baigiasi Vokietijos pajudėjimu drang nach Osten, į svečius pas sovietus. Išsamūs atsiminimai, užkabinantys daugelį to laikotarpio niuansų. Aišku, labiausiai iš Britanijos perspektyvos, kas neturėtų stebinti.
O čia kodėl taip nei iš šio nei iš to ėmei ir perskaitei tik antrą tomą, paklausit? Tai va, prisireikė. Kaip perskaičius paaiškėjo, prisireikė viso labo dėl dviejų-trijų sakinių. Bet nesigailiu. Gal ir ne be reikalo tas Nobelis. Skaitosi sklandžiai, greitai.
Kaip savo nišai – penki iš penkių turbūt.
March 22, 2024
FDR is said to have taken Winston Churchill on a ride through the Maryland countryside on one of Churchill's visits to the States during WWII. Upon passing the home of Barbara Fritchie FDR thought he could impress Churchill by quoting John Greenleaf Whittier's poem about her with the line,
"Shoot if you must this old gray head.
But spare your country's flag, she said."
Churchill, whose mother was American, recited the entire poem to FDR who, I'm sure, was sorry he brought the damn thing up.
I bring this up because Churchill's "Their Finest Hour" shows Churchill in his finest hour taking the full reins of government at the possibly the lowest point in English history. Drawing on his years of experience, numerous contacts, his indefatigability, and his inexhaustible knowledge on virtually any topic, he singlehandedly led the resistance to Hitler's drive for European domination. Almost immediately upon taking office as Prime Minister he was faced with the debacle at Dunkirk but was able to save the bulk of the British army by organizing a rescue armada of mostly private boats. As the last democracy standing he was able to strengthen the British navy to make his island almost impenetrable by sea. By increasing airplane construction and by developing radar capabilities he was able to achieve air supremacy over Germany.
With his incredible knowledge of world geography he was able to identify the world's pressure points, such as the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the waters north of England, and the whole map of Europe. He was an integral part of war planning during the Great War and knew what worked once but might not work again. He worked tirelessly to streamline production on armaments and made sure that the best people were in charge. At the start of his tenure he knew exactly who to put in charge of every office.
But most of all he knew that England could not go it alone for the long haul and worked to keep FDR in the loop and to slowly bring the US into the war. Again this goes back to his "Rolodex" that went back over 40 years and his having made Roosevelt's acquaintance during the Great War. No one was more prepared to take over the office of Prime Minister during a crisis than Churchill. "Their Finest Hour" shows Churchill at his finest. It lays out all the crises he faced in his first year in office and how he responded to them. The backup Churchill provides for each decision he made is extraordinary (sometimes too extraordinary). But as the first hand account of Churchill's management of the office of Prime Minister during World War II there is no finer account.
"Shoot if you must this old gray head.
But spare your country's flag, she said."
Churchill, whose mother was American, recited the entire poem to FDR who, I'm sure, was sorry he brought the damn thing up.
I bring this up because Churchill's "Their Finest Hour" shows Churchill in his finest hour taking the full reins of government at the possibly the lowest point in English history. Drawing on his years of experience, numerous contacts, his indefatigability, and his inexhaustible knowledge on virtually any topic, he singlehandedly led the resistance to Hitler's drive for European domination. Almost immediately upon taking office as Prime Minister he was faced with the debacle at Dunkirk but was able to save the bulk of the British army by organizing a rescue armada of mostly private boats. As the last democracy standing he was able to strengthen the British navy to make his island almost impenetrable by sea. By increasing airplane construction and by developing radar capabilities he was able to achieve air supremacy over Germany.
With his incredible knowledge of world geography he was able to identify the world's pressure points, such as the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the waters north of England, and the whole map of Europe. He was an integral part of war planning during the Great War and knew what worked once but might not work again. He worked tirelessly to streamline production on armaments and made sure that the best people were in charge. At the start of his tenure he knew exactly who to put in charge of every office.
But most of all he knew that England could not go it alone for the long haul and worked to keep FDR in the loop and to slowly bring the US into the war. Again this goes back to his "Rolodex" that went back over 40 years and his having made Roosevelt's acquaintance during the Great War. No one was more prepared to take over the office of Prime Minister during a crisis than Churchill. "Their Finest Hour" shows Churchill at his finest. It lays out all the crises he faced in his first year in office and how he responded to them. The backup Churchill provides for each decision he made is extraordinary (sometimes too extraordinary). But as the first hand account of Churchill's management of the office of Prime Minister during World War II there is no finer account.
May 22, 2025
I enjoyed this less than the first volume. It’s still a good read—Churchill’s prose has punch—but there’s just too much technical detail and too many long quotations from letters, parliamentary documents, and internal memos. And that’s with nearly a hundred pages of appendices! It slows the pace and makes sections feel more like a filing cabinet than a memoir.
That said, there are highlights. The chapters covering the Battle of Britain are as stirring as you’d hope, and the analysis of the uneasy relationship between Germany and Russia is fascinating. You really get a sense of just how precarious things were. And thank goodness for Roosevelt. If Trump had been president in 1940, we’d all be speaking German today.
That said, there are highlights. The chapters covering the Battle of Britain are as stirring as you’d hope, and the analysis of the uneasy relationship between Germany and Russia is fascinating. You really get a sense of just how precarious things were. And thank goodness for Roosevelt. If Trump had been president in 1940, we’d all be speaking German today.
June 7, 2016
"We Shall Never Surrender" by Jean Cardot - at Le Petit Palais in Paris
This book covers the period from May 1940 to the end of that dire year – when Britain truly stood alone – for freedom and against Nazism.
Europe was under Nazi-Fascist rule – and all were antagonistic and many expected Britain to make a deal with the Nazis.
Churchill took the helm – after the British Parliament had had enough of Neville Chamberlain – at the very moment when Nazi tanks were entering Holland and Belgium en route to France. Seldom has a leader risen to such vast and solitary heights.
Churchill describes his five perilous trips to France to attempt to bolster and instill a fighting spirit. But France, beaten down politically and still suffering from the sacrifices it made during the First World War, capitulated. And it was all left to Churchill and Britain.
Page 191 – from a June 17,1940 broadcast (Page 191, my book)
The news from France is very bad, and I grieve for the gallant French people who have fallen into this terrible misfortune. Nothing will alter our feelings towards them or our faith that the genius of France will rise again. What has happened in France makes no difference to our actions and purpose. We have become the sole champions now in arms to defend the world cause. We shall do our best to be worthy of this high honour. We shall defend our Island home, and with the British Empire we shall fight on unconquerable until the curse of Hitler is lifted from the brows of mankind. We are sure that in the end all will come right.
Once more in this volume we have Churchill’s brilliant writing to guide us through these treacherous days. His use of language, his speeches, his letters resonate onto all aspects – from munitions, to broken glass from air-raids and even pork production. One particularly heart-rending passage concerns the delayed-action bombs dropped by the German planes that required special teams to defuse them. Some would not make it.
It is also at this time that Churchill starts to reach out to Roosevelt and the U.S. He knew the productive capacity of the United States. He also sent letters to Stalin, but to no avail.
Churchill felt that a German invasion of the United Kingdom would have been a disaster for Nazi Germany – and therefore somewhat unlikely to take place. The Germans never had the naval forces to support an invasion. Specifically they could land troops somewhere along the English coast, but would have been unable to sustain them. Britain’s navy and the RAF would have seen to that.
What Churchill feared more was the long term effects of the Battle of the Atlantic. Keeping significant portions of the British fleet to prevent invasion was taking needed protection away from convoys crossing the Atlantic that were bringing precious material and food to sustain the British Isles. Seaports on Britain’s east coast were being bombed by German planes – forcing disembarkation of valuable goods in crowded western ports. The merchant fleet was being decimated in the Atlantic crossing and Britain could be slowly starved of both valuable food and munitions – that would make it harder to thwart an invasion.
Churchill was never adverse to risk and had little tolerance for inertia. Woe to those in government and the military who wanted to constantly play it safe. He was invariably initiating plans and stressed movement. Churchill gambled by sending troops and tanks to Egypt in October of 1940 when England was threatened by invasion. When the Italian Army was routed in Egypt, and then Libya, it brought wonderful news to a besieged Britain.
Excerpt of letter from Churchill to Prime Minister Menzies of Australia, September 29, 1940 (page 646-47)
But I can make no promises at all of victory, nor can I make any promises that regrettable and lamentable incidents will not occur, or that there will not be disappointments and blunders. On the contrary, I think the only certainly is that we have very bad times indeed to go through before we emerge from the mortal perils by which we are surrounded.
March 26, 2017
This is the volume of the Second World War collection, in which Mr. Churchill really grabs the reader's attention. While the first volume had to present the background and all of the events leading up to WWII, this book focuses on the hard-pressed Brits and their resilience in the face of seeming victory for the enemy.
The Prime Minister's sardonic comments are sprinkled throughout, so you can laugh even when you want to cry. He is blisteringly honest in his evaluation of the constant losing and how the British population is close to just giving up altogether. Then comes the Battle of Britain and the beginning of the turnaround against the Germans. He keeps the reader glued with the detail, so that you feel you were there when it happened.
This is a big book, but once you get hooked, forget about putting it down. The human tragedy is mixed with human hope and that wonderful British upper-lip-ness. As London is being destroyed neighborhood by neighborhood by Hitler's flying bombs, a Home Guardsman is heard saying, "It's a grand life, if we don't weaken."
Book Season = Autumn (there is always hope)
The Prime Minister's sardonic comments are sprinkled throughout, so you can laugh even when you want to cry. He is blisteringly honest in his evaluation of the constant losing and how the British population is close to just giving up altogether. Then comes the Battle of Britain and the beginning of the turnaround against the Germans. He keeps the reader glued with the detail, so that you feel you were there when it happened.
This is a big book, but once you get hooked, forget about putting it down. The human tragedy is mixed with human hope and that wonderful British upper-lip-ness. As London is being destroyed neighborhood by neighborhood by Hitler's flying bombs, a Home Guardsman is heard saying, "It's a grand life, if we don't weaken."
Book Season = Autumn (there is always hope)
July 23, 2025
Covers 1939 - 1940
February 2, 2009
Reading this book I realized how American centered our teaching of history is. Not that it is unexpected or wrong really, we just leave stuff out because it doesn't directly relate to the US. For example, I knew WWII started in 1939, I just didn't know much about what happened before Pearl Harbor. In a lot of things I've read, and especially watched (I'm talking History Channel here) Germany invaded Poland, then nobody did anything else for almost two years until Pearl Harbor when suddenly every part of the world was involved.
This volume details how Germany took France and almost every other part of continental Europe and then what Britain did and how she fought on, basically alone, for more than a year, until the US entered the war. It helped explain to me what the heck was going on in Africa. I've seen all those cool shots of tanks racing around in the desert and heard about Montgomery beating Rommel (the Desert Fox) and never had any clue why they were there in the first place.
Italy, and then Germany, fought back and forth in North Africa for two years before the US got involved.
I knew about the Battle of Britain, but I didn't know that England got the snot bombed out of them for seven straight months. Or that they had nearly 100,000 civilian casualties because of it. Or the cool tricks they played with their radar beacons to mess up the German planes. And the fact the Yugoslavia got the tar beaten out of them because the government allied with Germany, then a popular revolution forced the pro-German government out and the new government repudiated the Germans. This made Hitler mad and he carpet-bombed Belgrade for 3 days. Iraq tried to go Pro-German, but British forces staged a coup and took over. The same thing almost happened in Iran. The naval battle for control of the Atlantic and Mediterranean was incredible. And I had only heard a few bare mentions of all of these things.
This was a seriously cool book to learn about all this new stuff from a time in history I thought I understood.
This volume details how Germany took France and almost every other part of continental Europe and then what Britain did and how she fought on, basically alone, for more than a year, until the US entered the war. It helped explain to me what the heck was going on in Africa. I've seen all those cool shots of tanks racing around in the desert and heard about Montgomery beating Rommel (the Desert Fox) and never had any clue why they were there in the first place.
Italy, and then Germany, fought back and forth in North Africa for two years before the US got involved.
I knew about the Battle of Britain, but I didn't know that England got the snot bombed out of them for seven straight months. Or that they had nearly 100,000 civilian casualties because of it. Or the cool tricks they played with their radar beacons to mess up the German planes. And the fact the Yugoslavia got the tar beaten out of them because the government allied with Germany, then a popular revolution forced the pro-German government out and the new government repudiated the Germans. This made Hitler mad and he carpet-bombed Belgrade for 3 days. Iraq tried to go Pro-German, but British forces staged a coup and took over. The same thing almost happened in Iran. The naval battle for control of the Atlantic and Mediterranean was incredible. And I had only heard a few bare mentions of all of these things.
This was a seriously cool book to learn about all this new stuff from a time in history I thought I understood.
November 16, 2022
All the winds that blew...
The second volume in Churchill’s massive, Nobel Prize-winning, six-volume history of the Second World War, this one covers two distinct stages – the fall of France and the Battle of Britain. Churchill gives each volume a theme, and this one seems particularly pointed towards our so-called allies who sat on their hands while Britain stood alone against the mighty German war machine:
Just as in the first volume, this is a wonderful mix of military detail, including many tables showing troop and equipment statistics, and political manoeuvring, as Churchill continued his patient and immensely frustrating attempts to get the US to stand by its supposed allies with something a bit more useful than warm words. Meantime, the rush was on in Britain to intensify munitions manufacture so that the armed forces and especially the air forces would be able to defend against the expected German invasion. We hear much about the many people who were encouraged to use their inventive technical skills to give us any possible military or intelligence edge, and about the support given by the Dominions and Colonies throughout the Empire..
But what makes Churchill such an outstanding Titan in history is that, despite us being forced to stand alone with France fallen and the US procrastinating, despite the massed armies of Hitler gathering on the French shore looking our way, despite the bombs falling devastatingly on our cities night after night, Churchill never considered that we might be defeated. He worked on the assumption that we would win the coming Battle of Britain despite all odds, and so simultaneously made plans for how, our defensive work still ongoing, Britain should move into the offensive stage that would drive Germany and its major ally Italy back, liberating the countries they had invaded and destroying their military might. While all eyes were on the skies above Britain, his gaze was also directed towards Egypt and N. Africa. While all efforts were made to increase production of planes and train pilots to fight the ongoing Battle of Britain, Churchill was also demanding tanks – “Tanks for Africa!”
It is as thrilling as any adventure story, but so much more than that – his foresight and that of the military men and politicians who worked with him in an attitude of mutual determination didn’t simply save Britain from invasion, but kept hope alive that the spirit of democracy and freedom from tyranny would one day rise again across Europe.
By the end of this volume the Battle of Britain has been won, the threat of invasion is over, the Axis advance in North Africa has been halted, and America has finally signed up to lend-lease which, if it will still not put American skin in the game, will at least provide (for a fee that Britain will still be paying back sixty years later) equipment and the necessities of life to those who are doing the fighting. And here, at the end of 1940, the writing is already on the wall for the eventual defeat of the Axis powers, though it would be many years and see many millions of deaths before that defeat was final.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
The second volume in Churchill’s massive, Nobel Prize-winning, six-volume history of the Second World War, this one covers two distinct stages – the fall of France and the Battle of Britain. Churchill gives each volume a theme, and this one seems particularly pointed towards our so-called allies who sat on their hands while Britain stood alone against the mighty German war machine:
HOW THE BRITISH PEOPLE
HELD THE FORT
ALONE
TILL THOSE WHO HITHERTO HAD
BEEN HALF BLIND WERE
HALF READY
Just as in the first volume, this is a wonderful mix of military detail, including many tables showing troop and equipment statistics, and political manoeuvring, as Churchill continued his patient and immensely frustrating attempts to get the US to stand by its supposed allies with something a bit more useful than warm words. Meantime, the rush was on in Britain to intensify munitions manufacture so that the armed forces and especially the air forces would be able to defend against the expected German invasion. We hear much about the many people who were encouraged to use their inventive technical skills to give us any possible military or intelligence edge, and about the support given by the Dominions and Colonies throughout the Empire..
But what makes Churchill such an outstanding Titan in history is that, despite us being forced to stand alone with France fallen and the US procrastinating, despite the massed armies of Hitler gathering on the French shore looking our way, despite the bombs falling devastatingly on our cities night after night, Churchill never considered that we might be defeated. He worked on the assumption that we would win the coming Battle of Britain despite all odds, and so simultaneously made plans for how, our defensive work still ongoing, Britain should move into the offensive stage that would drive Germany and its major ally Italy back, liberating the countries they had invaded and destroying their military might. While all eyes were on the skies above Britain, his gaze was also directed towards Egypt and N. Africa. While all efforts were made to increase production of planes and train pilots to fight the ongoing Battle of Britain, Churchill was also demanding tanks – “Tanks for Africa!”
The prize was worthy of the hazard. The arrival of our vanguard on the sea at Buq Buq or thereabouts would cut the communications of three-quarters of Marshal Graziani's army. Attacked by surprise from the rear, they might well be forced as a result of vigorous fighting into mass surrenders. In this case the Italian front would be irretrievably broken. With all their best troops captured or destroyed, no force would be left capable of withstanding a further onslaught, nor could any organised retreat be made to Tripoli along hundreds of miles of coastal road.
Here, then, was the deadly secret which the generals had talked over with their Secretary of State. This was what they had not wished to telegraph. We were all delighted. I purred like six cats. Here was something worth doing. It was decided there and then, subject to the agreement of the Chiefs of Staff and the War Cabinet, to give immediate sanction and all possible support to this splendid enterprise, and that it should take first place in all our thoughts and have, amid so many other competing needs, first claim upon our strained resources.
It is as thrilling as any adventure story, but so much more than that – his foresight and that of the military men and politicians who worked with him in an attitude of mutual determination didn’t simply save Britain from invasion, but kept hope alive that the spirit of democracy and freedom from tyranny would one day rise again across Europe.
By the end of this volume the Battle of Britain has been won, the threat of invasion is over, the Axis advance in North Africa has been halted, and America has finally signed up to lend-lease which, if it will still not put American skin in the game, will at least provide (for a fee that Britain will still be paying back sixty years later) equipment and the necessities of life to those who are doing the fighting. And here, at the end of 1940, the writing is already on the wall for the eventual defeat of the Axis powers, though it would be many years and see many millions of deaths before that defeat was final.
And now this Britain, and its far-spread association of states and dependencies, which had seemed on the verge of ruin, whose very heart was about to be pierced, had been for fifteen months concentrated upon the war problem, training its men and devoting all its infinitely-varied vitalities to the struggle. With a gasp of astonishment and relief the smaller neutrals and the subjugated states saw that the stars still shone in the sky. Hope, and within it passion, burned anew in the hearts of hundreds of millions of men. The good cause would triumph. Right would not be trampled down. The flag of Freedom, which in this fateful hour was the Union Jack, would still fly in all the winds that blew.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
December 21, 2023
‘How the British people held the fort alone till those who hitherto had been half blind were half ready’
January 10, 2021
Churchill's second volume of his massive World War II chronicles is just as good as the first! This volume covers from the end of the Phony War in the Spring of 1940 to the end of the year after the Battle of Britain was won and war was beginning to get fierce in the north African coast. Churchill's mastery of narrative and his constant addition of letters, memos and other correspondence ad depth of the historical narrative to help the readers get into his mind as well as the minds of the people around him. Undaunting perseverance can easily describe Churchill as well as the English people during this time period. After the fall of France in June of 1940, England was left alone to continue the war again Nazi Germany with a constant threat of invasion and the what seemed to be never ending bombardment of its cities and factories. Yet the nation fought on and survived into 1941 where the war would expand across the globe. A great read for all history buffs along with each volume. We all need to have a proper understanding of what took place during these world changing years and Churchill provides an in-depth study of the events as well as the characters that shaped these critical years.
May 4, 2021
A tale of overcoming staggering odds. Churchill's prose is spectacular. There's a slight move toward more battle scene descriptions in this volume, yet it's still worthwhile. It deservedly heightened my admiration for Britain in WW2.
October 22, 2017
We shall never surrender✌
November 1, 2008
The page numbers in the following review correspond to the hardbound copy of the book rather than the paperback pictured.
The second volume in Churchill's memoirs concerning his period as prime minister, like the first in the series, is not as much to be read as pondered. It is almost more of a database of charts, dates, memos, speeches, and telegrams interspersed with narrative than it is a traditional memoir. As such, it is valuable for reference, reflection, research, and careful reading. I find, however, that my limit is usually 30-40 pages per "sitting" and sometimes, less than that.
That disclaimer aside, if I were to rate this book on reference materials alone, it would be a 4-5 star grade. Indeed, I have often used the exhaustive indices of these books to look up particular operations or pieces of logistical information, so I know their value as a reference work. In terms of reading straight through, I would rate them 1-2 stars. Hence, my "average" rating for a very important book.
Churchill was brilliant in that he was willing to learn from the past without being slavishly bound to the factions, fashion, and grudges of the past. In opposing a government purge, he stated: "If the present tries to sit in judgment of the past, it will lose the future." (p. 10) In a speech on the death of Neville Chamberlain, he spoke of the misleading nature of the "flickering light of history." (p. 550)
Of course, history is still both an interesting and cautionary study. Did, for example, Churchill's advocacy of preventive internment of Communists and Fascists (p. 55) lead to Roosevelt's war crime against loyal Japanese citizens in the U.S. at a later point in the war? When Count Molotov wished Germany complete success in her "defensive measures" (the invasion of Norway), was that in any way similar to those nations who half-heartedly joined in or approved the modern "defensive measures" in the U.S.'s invasion of Iraq? Is this the diplomacy of jockeying for future position and favors when one doesn't care about the outcome? How much of our present Middle Eastern heartache might we have been spared if Churchill had not been opposed in his efforts to arm the Israelis in Tel Aviv (pre-State of Israel) to assist in their own defense (p. 422).
Most interesting to me in this volume were Churchill's efforts to use surplus vehicles, vessels, and artillery/armament in what he knew was a warfare transformed by technology. Yet, he asserted that "Any cannon is better than no cannon at all." (p. 272) He insisted on training horses for duty in Ireland to free up vehicles for service elsewhere (p. 462). He lobbied arduously for old destroyers from the U.S. and argued that the gift of 50 outdated destroyers might have kept Spain out of the Axis (p. 521).
He hated military siloing as illustrated (pointing out how the German military arms refused to work together on p. 303 and 309). The exciting account of redirecting German targeting beams was concluded with the observation that "...during these two months nobody had the courage to tell Goering that his beams were twisted or jammed. In his ignorance he pledged himself that this was impossible. Special lectures and warnings were delivered to the German Air Force, assuring them that the beam was infallible and that anyone who cast doubt on it would be at once thrown out." (p. 387)
I found myself horrified that, at a time when French command was desperately in need of British bombing support, French peasants dragged all kinds of carts and lorries onto the airfield so that the British bombers couldn't even take off to start on their mission (p. 156). And I was amazed at racist sentiments like "good enough to fight Italians" (p. 426).
The second volume in Churchill's memoirs concerning his period as prime minister, like the first in the series, is not as much to be read as pondered. It is almost more of a database of charts, dates, memos, speeches, and telegrams interspersed with narrative than it is a traditional memoir. As such, it is valuable for reference, reflection, research, and careful reading. I find, however, that my limit is usually 30-40 pages per "sitting" and sometimes, less than that.
That disclaimer aside, if I were to rate this book on reference materials alone, it would be a 4-5 star grade. Indeed, I have often used the exhaustive indices of these books to look up particular operations or pieces of logistical information, so I know their value as a reference work. In terms of reading straight through, I would rate them 1-2 stars. Hence, my "average" rating for a very important book.
Churchill was brilliant in that he was willing to learn from the past without being slavishly bound to the factions, fashion, and grudges of the past. In opposing a government purge, he stated: "If the present tries to sit in judgment of the past, it will lose the future." (p. 10) In a speech on the death of Neville Chamberlain, he spoke of the misleading nature of the "flickering light of history." (p. 550)
Of course, history is still both an interesting and cautionary study. Did, for example, Churchill's advocacy of preventive internment of Communists and Fascists (p. 55) lead to Roosevelt's war crime against loyal Japanese citizens in the U.S. at a later point in the war? When Count Molotov wished Germany complete success in her "defensive measures" (the invasion of Norway), was that in any way similar to those nations who half-heartedly joined in or approved the modern "defensive measures" in the U.S.'s invasion of Iraq? Is this the diplomacy of jockeying for future position and favors when one doesn't care about the outcome? How much of our present Middle Eastern heartache might we have been spared if Churchill had not been opposed in his efforts to arm the Israelis in Tel Aviv (pre-State of Israel) to assist in their own defense (p. 422).
Most interesting to me in this volume were Churchill's efforts to use surplus vehicles, vessels, and artillery/armament in what he knew was a warfare transformed by technology. Yet, he asserted that "Any cannon is better than no cannon at all." (p. 272) He insisted on training horses for duty in Ireland to free up vehicles for service elsewhere (p. 462). He lobbied arduously for old destroyers from the U.S. and argued that the gift of 50 outdated destroyers might have kept Spain out of the Axis (p. 521).
He hated military siloing as illustrated (pointing out how the German military arms refused to work together on p. 303 and 309). The exciting account of redirecting German targeting beams was concluded with the observation that "...during these two months nobody had the courage to tell Goering that his beams were twisted or jammed. In his ignorance he pledged himself that this was impossible. Special lectures and warnings were delivered to the German Air Force, assuring them that the beam was infallible and that anyone who cast doubt on it would be at once thrown out." (p. 387)
I found myself horrified that, at a time when French command was desperately in need of British bombing support, French peasants dragged all kinds of carts and lorries onto the airfield so that the British bombers couldn't even take off to start on their mission (p. 156). And I was amazed at racist sentiments like "good enough to fight Italians" (p. 426).
July 25, 2011
Rating: 8/10. In the last half century, the reputation of Winston Churchill has suffered significantly. He has been accused of failing to realize the political agenda of Stalin at the end of the war and almost colluding to deliver eastern Europe to the Soviet Union. While these criticisms may or may not be true, there can be no doubting the brilliance of Churchill as a historical writer. In this, the second of his six-volume history of the war, we see Churchill as he comes to power in 1940.
In rapid succession, he has to deal with the collapse of France, the Dunkirk evacuation, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, and the start of the North African campaign. Now that he is Prime Minister, Churchill can document his decisions and his feelings at the time. The overall impression the reader receives is of a man who is constantly questioning his subordinates, urging speed and efficiency on a nation which is on the brink of invasion, demanding answers, offering suggestions and solutions, and never being satisfied with negative opinion. He documents all this in great detail. The energy of the man was unbelievable; you quickly begin to understand how he was able to inspire and mobilize the nation.
I am one who enjoys Churchill's clear and easy writing style. It appears old-fashioned now but the man certainly mastered the English language in a way few historians have been able to match. And the best part of all is that there are still four volumes to go.
In rapid succession, he has to deal with the collapse of France, the Dunkirk evacuation, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, and the start of the North African campaign. Now that he is Prime Minister, Churchill can document his decisions and his feelings at the time. The overall impression the reader receives is of a man who is constantly questioning his subordinates, urging speed and efficiency on a nation which is on the brink of invasion, demanding answers, offering suggestions and solutions, and never being satisfied with negative opinion. He documents all this in great detail. The energy of the man was unbelievable; you quickly begin to understand how he was able to inspire and mobilize the nation.
I am one who enjoys Churchill's clear and easy writing style. It appears old-fashioned now but the man certainly mastered the English language in a way few historians have been able to match. And the best part of all is that there are still four volumes to go.
August 14, 2011
Winston Churchill's second book in his World War II series covers the time period from May to December 1940. The early weeks of Spring, 1940 were very busy for Churchill, since he had to name all of the heads of the government agencies he presided over as the incoming Prime Minister of Great Britain. Besides structuring a coalition government to run the country, he had to become intimately involved in all of the complicated decision-making attendant on preparing his country for war. He would somehow find the energy needed for almost six years of war while becoming personally engaged in every aspect of British defensive and offensive operations. He held the positions of Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister of Defence, and Leader of the House of Commons simultaneously. On May 13, he asked the House of Commons for a vote of confidence in his Administration. During this session, he gave one of his most famous speeches, announcing "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat" (p. 24).
Churchill's six volumes of this series are must-reads for anyone who wants the full story of how the war was fought. The reason is because he was the only world leader during the war who produced an in-depth, intimate account of his activities during the war. He doesn't miss a single days' worth of the British government's involvement on a number of fronts. His clear narrative writing is supplemented by extensive reproductions of his most important correspondence. He had a great way of incorporating this material, which also helped him to organize his thoughts while fleshing out the outlines of his books. Having unlimited access to government war documents after he was out of office in the late 1940's, he used a team of advisers to collect pertinent letters, memoranda and speeches of himself and many other officials with whom he corresponded. The book publisher set the documents up in print while the advisers collated them chronologically. Churchill, meanwhile, dictated recollections of important events. Everything would be corrected; then Churchill would dictate his six volumes. The benefit to the reader of having the books laid out in this manner is that the numerous supporting documents were inserted into the flow of the narrative history, not only providing a wealth of authenticity but eliminating the need to refer to constant footnotes. Many other documents, not considered necessary by the author for understanding the books' flow of events, were reprinted as appendices.
Maps are skillfully used in the early section devoted to the Battle of France, after the Germans invaded France and Belgium starting May 10. It was shocking to the British, French and other European allies to find themselves witnessing the wholesale gobbling up of Belgian, French and Dutch territory in just a few weeks. The maps clearly show how, day by depressing day, the French and British army divisions were pushed back until the only territory left to defend in northern France by the end of the month was a beachhead at Dunkirk. Several hundred thousand British personnel, and some French units, were able to be evacuated under fire from the Germans, leaving all of their irreplaceable artillery and equipment behind. The reason was extremely poor French military planning and hesitant, confused battlefield leadership, combined with the relentless German advance, or "Blitskrieg". Many French leaders were predicting France's doom even while sizable French units were able to carry on the war in the south and the government was still operating in Paris. Churchill's detailed account of the French government's weakness, witnessed at first hand during several flights Churchill made to confer with his allies, is a testimony to all of the criticism the French received for the manner of their eventual surrender. When it was clear that the Germans were going to overrun the remainder of the country, the Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, was trying to move the government to France's possessions in North Africa, where the French flag would still fly and the hope of winning back their country could be kept alive; other countries now dominated by the Nazis had kept their national causes alive from overseas. However, defeatism was rampant in the French government. The nay-sayers, led by Marshall Petain, convinced themselves that Britain would soon be conquered after their country. One official summed up their attitude: "Better be a Nazi province. At least we know what means" (p. 187).
Thus began a state of affairs with the great ally, France, lost, not to total defeat, but to capitulation. A French government operated at Vichy under the heel of their German "guests." The British government had to be very careful on the diplomatic front. They didn't want to provoke Vichy into declaring war and joining their German puppet-masters as allies. This would require the British to treat their recent allies as enemies, making the possible eventual liberation of France very problematical. There would be situations that could not be avoided, based on the leading French admiral's decision to prevent his fleet from sailing to Britain or America before the German occupation was complete. On one occasion, the British navy had to fire on French vessels to keep them from falling into German hands, at the port of Toulon.
The most interesting figure in this situation was General Charles DeGaulle, who was evacuated to Britain along with several "Free French" army divisions. He became the leading Frenchman outside his country calling for liberation from the Germans. He had fought his government's earlier decision to capitulate. For this, he was sentenced to death in absentia by Vichy. The British did all they could to enhance his reputation and assist him in landing his forces in North Africa to carry on the fight under the French flag.
All of the above developments were only the beginning of Great Britain's challenges for the rest of 1940. Their army was saved, but they had hardly any arms, at a time when the possibility of a German invasion across the Channel was thought imminent. Indeed, Hitler had pushed his commanders to get started with "Operation Sea Lion". Internal military squabbling was the main reason the Germans couldn't enact this plan during 1940, giving the British precious time to rearm and rebuild. In preparation for a cross-channel invasion, the Germans unleashed air attacks on Britain during the summer and fall of 1940 which caused great destruction and loss of life, the "Blitz." Churchill is considered to be one of the great authorities of this series of attacks which terrorized and killed the citizenry while challenging the country's air defenses, especially the RAF, to the point of exhaustion.
Even if the German cross-channel didn't happen, the British were facing almost insurmountable obstacles caused by the lack of arms supplies and manufacturing capacity to provide all that was needed for defensive and offensive operations. The one great hope was the United States, whose Congress was dominated by isolationist thinking. Churchill early-on courted President Franklin Roosevelt in the hope of finding any kind of way to send American arms to Britain. Hundreds of thousands of small arms were shipped across the Atlantic within the first months after Dunkirk. Of far greater importance was a fleet of fifty obsolete, but serviceable American destroyers, which were needed to combat the growing German submarine threat to Britain's sea approaches. Churchill and Roosevelt cleverly and tirelessly worked to hammer out an agreement whereby the American government would relinquish the ships while the British government would grant long-term leases in British territory, ranging from Newfoundland to the Caribbean and British Guiana, for American naval bases. By late 1940, the British were running out of money to pay for all of the American military material they needed; the solution offered by Roosevelt was to find a way to let the British obtain the arms they needed from America the way that a homeowner whose house was on fire would borrow a water hose from his neighbor, with no discussion of monetary payment in a critical time of need. Thus, "Lend-Lease" became a device which helped the British Isles survive during a time of great uncertainty.
Lend-lease would become one of the greatest mutual assistance programs between countries, ever. Roosevelt cleverly brought the American Congress, and public along, at a time when public opinion was softening to the plight of the British who were being bombed daily. Churchill's prediction that Germany would not react to this assistance with a declaration of war against the United States was correct. Churchill's reasoning was that Hitler preferred to knock off his victims one by one. Nevertheless, America progressed from neutral country to non-belligerent during there early World War II days. The constant ship convoys across the Atlantic could not be ignored, however, and 1941, up to Pearl Harbor in December, saw a state of increasingly deadly undeclared war exist, whereby the American Navy was sailing into hostile territory, trying to escort U.S. merchant shipping which was not always accorded neutral status by German submarines.
Regardless of American losses of life, Great Britain was in the position during the greater part of 1940-41 of fighting its deadly enemies with its recent allies defeated, and its World War I ally, America, standing on the sidelines. This predicament is the basis for the Theme of this book: "How the British people held the fort alone till those who hitherto had been half blind were half ready."
There were many other actions and developments occurring on the political, diplomatic and military fronts as chronicled by the great man in his second volume. The final chapters deal with one of the most alarming: the entry of Italy into the war on the side of Germany. Mussolini created almost as much trouble for his ally, Hitler as he did to his enemies, especially regarding his ill-fated decision to invade Greece. His military's biggest disaster, however, was inflicted on his sizable army in North Africa. The British, alarmed at the thought of an imminent invasion by Italian forces eastward to Egypt in late 1940, decided to take a gamble and unleash an invasion on the Italians. In six weeks, during December-January, the British advanced over 200 miles of desert westward to Tobruk, rolling up strongly-fortified Italian positions. The great Italian army in Africa practically vaporized, with 113,000 of their soldiers captured. The Germans would have to jump in and try to gain back the Italians' lost territory, but that issue would be the subject of a later book.
Churchill's six volumes of this series are must-reads for anyone who wants the full story of how the war was fought. The reason is because he was the only world leader during the war who produced an in-depth, intimate account of his activities during the war. He doesn't miss a single days' worth of the British government's involvement on a number of fronts. His clear narrative writing is supplemented by extensive reproductions of his most important correspondence. He had a great way of incorporating this material, which also helped him to organize his thoughts while fleshing out the outlines of his books. Having unlimited access to government war documents after he was out of office in the late 1940's, he used a team of advisers to collect pertinent letters, memoranda and speeches of himself and many other officials with whom he corresponded. The book publisher set the documents up in print while the advisers collated them chronologically. Churchill, meanwhile, dictated recollections of important events. Everything would be corrected; then Churchill would dictate his six volumes. The benefit to the reader of having the books laid out in this manner is that the numerous supporting documents were inserted into the flow of the narrative history, not only providing a wealth of authenticity but eliminating the need to refer to constant footnotes. Many other documents, not considered necessary by the author for understanding the books' flow of events, were reprinted as appendices.
Maps are skillfully used in the early section devoted to the Battle of France, after the Germans invaded France and Belgium starting May 10. It was shocking to the British, French and other European allies to find themselves witnessing the wholesale gobbling up of Belgian, French and Dutch territory in just a few weeks. The maps clearly show how, day by depressing day, the French and British army divisions were pushed back until the only territory left to defend in northern France by the end of the month was a beachhead at Dunkirk. Several hundred thousand British personnel, and some French units, were able to be evacuated under fire from the Germans, leaving all of their irreplaceable artillery and equipment behind. The reason was extremely poor French military planning and hesitant, confused battlefield leadership, combined with the relentless German advance, or "Blitskrieg". Many French leaders were predicting France's doom even while sizable French units were able to carry on the war in the south and the government was still operating in Paris. Churchill's detailed account of the French government's weakness, witnessed at first hand during several flights Churchill made to confer with his allies, is a testimony to all of the criticism the French received for the manner of their eventual surrender. When it was clear that the Germans were going to overrun the remainder of the country, the Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, was trying to move the government to France's possessions in North Africa, where the French flag would still fly and the hope of winning back their country could be kept alive; other countries now dominated by the Nazis had kept their national causes alive from overseas. However, defeatism was rampant in the French government. The nay-sayers, led by Marshall Petain, convinced themselves that Britain would soon be conquered after their country. One official summed up their attitude: "Better be a Nazi province. At least we know what means" (p. 187).
Thus began a state of affairs with the great ally, France, lost, not to total defeat, but to capitulation. A French government operated at Vichy under the heel of their German "guests." The British government had to be very careful on the diplomatic front. They didn't want to provoke Vichy into declaring war and joining their German puppet-masters as allies. This would require the British to treat their recent allies as enemies, making the possible eventual liberation of France very problematical. There would be situations that could not be avoided, based on the leading French admiral's decision to prevent his fleet from sailing to Britain or America before the German occupation was complete. On one occasion, the British navy had to fire on French vessels to keep them from falling into German hands, at the port of Toulon.
The most interesting figure in this situation was General Charles DeGaulle, who was evacuated to Britain along with several "Free French" army divisions. He became the leading Frenchman outside his country calling for liberation from the Germans. He had fought his government's earlier decision to capitulate. For this, he was sentenced to death in absentia by Vichy. The British did all they could to enhance his reputation and assist him in landing his forces in North Africa to carry on the fight under the French flag.
All of the above developments were only the beginning of Great Britain's challenges for the rest of 1940. Their army was saved, but they had hardly any arms, at a time when the possibility of a German invasion across the Channel was thought imminent. Indeed, Hitler had pushed his commanders to get started with "Operation Sea Lion". Internal military squabbling was the main reason the Germans couldn't enact this plan during 1940, giving the British precious time to rearm and rebuild. In preparation for a cross-channel invasion, the Germans unleashed air attacks on Britain during the summer and fall of 1940 which caused great destruction and loss of life, the "Blitz." Churchill is considered to be one of the great authorities of this series of attacks which terrorized and killed the citizenry while challenging the country's air defenses, especially the RAF, to the point of exhaustion.
Even if the German cross-channel didn't happen, the British were facing almost insurmountable obstacles caused by the lack of arms supplies and manufacturing capacity to provide all that was needed for defensive and offensive operations. The one great hope was the United States, whose Congress was dominated by isolationist thinking. Churchill early-on courted President Franklin Roosevelt in the hope of finding any kind of way to send American arms to Britain. Hundreds of thousands of small arms were shipped across the Atlantic within the first months after Dunkirk. Of far greater importance was a fleet of fifty obsolete, but serviceable American destroyers, which were needed to combat the growing German submarine threat to Britain's sea approaches. Churchill and Roosevelt cleverly and tirelessly worked to hammer out an agreement whereby the American government would relinquish the ships while the British government would grant long-term leases in British territory, ranging from Newfoundland to the Caribbean and British Guiana, for American naval bases. By late 1940, the British were running out of money to pay for all of the American military material they needed; the solution offered by Roosevelt was to find a way to let the British obtain the arms they needed from America the way that a homeowner whose house was on fire would borrow a water hose from his neighbor, with no discussion of monetary payment in a critical time of need. Thus, "Lend-Lease" became a device which helped the British Isles survive during a time of great uncertainty.
Lend-lease would become one of the greatest mutual assistance programs between countries, ever. Roosevelt cleverly brought the American Congress, and public along, at a time when public opinion was softening to the plight of the British who were being bombed daily. Churchill's prediction that Germany would not react to this assistance with a declaration of war against the United States was correct. Churchill's reasoning was that Hitler preferred to knock off his victims one by one. Nevertheless, America progressed from neutral country to non-belligerent during there early World War II days. The constant ship convoys across the Atlantic could not be ignored, however, and 1941, up to Pearl Harbor in December, saw a state of increasingly deadly undeclared war exist, whereby the American Navy was sailing into hostile territory, trying to escort U.S. merchant shipping which was not always accorded neutral status by German submarines.
Regardless of American losses of life, Great Britain was in the position during the greater part of 1940-41 of fighting its deadly enemies with its recent allies defeated, and its World War I ally, America, standing on the sidelines. This predicament is the basis for the Theme of this book: "How the British people held the fort alone till those who hitherto had been half blind were half ready."
There were many other actions and developments occurring on the political, diplomatic and military fronts as chronicled by the great man in his second volume. The final chapters deal with one of the most alarming: the entry of Italy into the war on the side of Germany. Mussolini created almost as much trouble for his ally, Hitler as he did to his enemies, especially regarding his ill-fated decision to invade Greece. His military's biggest disaster, however, was inflicted on his sizable army in North Africa. The British, alarmed at the thought of an imminent invasion by Italian forces eastward to Egypt in late 1940, decided to take a gamble and unleash an invasion on the Italians. In six weeks, during December-January, the British advanced over 200 miles of desert westward to Tobruk, rolling up strongly-fortified Italian positions. The great Italian army in Africa practically vaporized, with 113,000 of their soldiers captured. The Germans would have to jump in and try to gain back the Italians' lost territory, but that issue would be the subject of a later book.
April 12, 2021
For all of Churchill's world-famous lyrical prose, I found this book (the second of his acclaimed 6 part series on WWII, covering events from the Battle of France in May 1940 through the end of the year) to be a surprisingly turgid read for large sections, mostly due to Churchill's annoying tendency to reprint verbatim countless transcripts of telegrams, memos, and other documents relating to tedious diplomatic and military minutiae. He also baldly distorts history in certain instances, for example falsely claiming that his Cabinet never considered the possibility of making peace with Germany after France's defeat, something that the modern reader could debunk with a cursory Wikipedia search of the heated May Cabinet debates between Churchill and his Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, a proponent of peace negotiations.
Still, the book is truly a gripping read at times: you can practically feel the sense of dread creeping in, as Churchill narrates the fall of France in summer 1940, that Britain would have to fight the Nazi war machine alone. He evocatively and successfully recreates the crisis atmosphere for the Allies during those dark days, particularly with his recollection of his meeting with the French high command after the German break-though in the Ardennes, when he elicited the astonishing admission from the French commander-in-chief that France had no strategic reserves left ("this was one of the greatest surprises I have had in my life," Churchill writes.) He provides a wealth of fascinating anecdotes that only a major war leader could, such as witnessing the hive of activity in an RAF operations room during the Battle of Britain. Finally, I was surprised by Churchill's frank admission that he never took the prospect of a German invasion of Britain all that seriously - "Certainly those who knew most were the least scared", he writes about the German invasion threat. So much for "we will fight them on the beaches."
If you're reading this book as a definitive history of WWII from a detached historian, you're doing it wrong. But, as a first-hand account from one of the war's central protagonists during some of the war's critical moments, it's an invaluable read and worthy of addition to any military history buff's bookshelf.
Still, the book is truly a gripping read at times: you can practically feel the sense of dread creeping in, as Churchill narrates the fall of France in summer 1940, that Britain would have to fight the Nazi war machine alone. He evocatively and successfully recreates the crisis atmosphere for the Allies during those dark days, particularly with his recollection of his meeting with the French high command after the German break-though in the Ardennes, when he elicited the astonishing admission from the French commander-in-chief that France had no strategic reserves left ("this was one of the greatest surprises I have had in my life," Churchill writes.) He provides a wealth of fascinating anecdotes that only a major war leader could, such as witnessing the hive of activity in an RAF operations room during the Battle of Britain. Finally, I was surprised by Churchill's frank admission that he never took the prospect of a German invasion of Britain all that seriously - "Certainly those who knew most were the least scared", he writes about the German invasion threat. So much for "we will fight them on the beaches."
If you're reading this book as a definitive history of WWII from a detached historian, you're doing it wrong. But, as a first-hand account from one of the war's central protagonists during some of the war's critical moments, it's an invaluable read and worthy of addition to any military history buff's bookshelf.
April 19, 2023
Churchill’s “Their Finest Hour” compellingly tells the story of the fall of France, Dunkirk, Operation Sea Lion, the Battle of Britain, the war in the Middle East, and the Battle of the Atlantic in 1940. Churchill immerses readers in his country’s strategic decisions, as they navigated Germany’s blitzkrieg through France, faced down invasion, and grasped for a way to defeat Germany even as they stood alone. As able a writer as a speaker, the book contains amusing anecdotes, deep insights into the strategic picture, and lofty rhetoric (even if some of the memos he quotes make for less interesting reading). One of my favorite observations, and a good example of Churchill’s astuteness and understated humor, is this on De Gaulle: “He had to be rife to the British to prove to French eyes that he was not a British puppet. He certainly carried out this policy with perseverance.”
The book especially soars when Churchill and his War Cabinet grapple with France’s collapse—torn between offering as much aid as they can and conserving resources to defend the island if France surrendered. For any student of history and leadership, “Their Finest Hour” is a must-read—as insightful as it is spellbinding.
The book especially soars when Churchill and his War Cabinet grapple with France’s collapse—torn between offering as much aid as they can and conserving resources to defend the island if France surrendered. For any student of history and leadership, “Their Finest Hour” is a must-read—as insightful as it is spellbinding.
December 30, 2022
Reading Churchill, circa 1949, on the events of 1940-1 is an amazing experience. Here is a guy basking in the real sensation that he and his countrymen have just done something as close to Actually Saving the World as has ever occurred, and he gets to sift through the astonishing amount of papers that he produced during the time period, bringing his enormous gifts of military historical analogy and literary sensitivity to explain it all to the uninitiate. (As an aside, that Churchill demanded that everything official be done in writing so that no one misunderstood and everyone could be on the same page on various problems makes a really bad look for 'leaders' who refuse basic documentation of their words and decisions.)
You will be better educated in the sense of existential morality as well as history if you will read this. And as a bonus, you will come in contact with the type of mind who can say of himself, while explaining the bold plan his generals had come up with to attack the Italians in North Africa, which turned out to be monumentally successful (and which I had never heard anything about), that he "purred like six cats."
Magnificent.
You will be better educated in the sense of existential morality as well as history if you will read this. And as a bonus, you will come in contact with the type of mind who can say of himself, while explaining the bold plan his generals had come up with to attack the Italians in North Africa, which turned out to be monumentally successful (and which I had never heard anything about), that he "purred like six cats."
Magnificent.
January 26, 2024
The prettiest part of the book to me was Churchill’s eulogy for Neville Chamberlain. “A man’s only guide is his conscience; the only shield to his memory is his sincerity” — something like that, anyway. Wouldn’t that be such a nice thing to believe?
In history class we get the impression that during the Battle of Britain, England was on the verge of being toast, but no, really they weren’t ever that close to subjugation, much less surrender.
It’s sweet that Churchill is so proud of his country. He sums this volume up himself: “How the British people held the fort ALONE till those who were hitherto half-blind were half-ready.” As for the other countries? Germany falls for Science and forgets about human nature and the human heart; France gets overrun and sues for peace; the Soviet Union calculates; Spain self-preserves; Italy tries to stick its head up and immediately gets smacked back down; and America the sleeping giant starts to wake up.
It was also funny how Franco of Spain trolled Hitler so hard — not all Fascists get along!
In history class we get the impression that during the Battle of Britain, England was on the verge of being toast, but no, really they weren’t ever that close to subjugation, much less surrender.
It’s sweet that Churchill is so proud of his country. He sums this volume up himself: “How the British people held the fort ALONE till those who were hitherto half-blind were half-ready.” As for the other countries? Germany falls for Science and forgets about human nature and the human heart; France gets overrun and sues for peace; the Soviet Union calculates; Spain self-preserves; Italy tries to stick its head up and immediately gets smacked back down; and America the sleeping giant starts to wake up.
It was also funny how Franco of Spain trolled Hitler so hard — not all Fascists get along!
August 7, 2017
This series of volumes detailing WW II is strictly for those who love Churchill and love great detail.
This 2nd volume in the series covers the period from the start of the war through Churchill's appointment as prime minister in May 1940 to the end of 1940.
Much of the book is reprints of Churchill's directives to his ministers on giving directions and asking for answers on progress. As I say, this is very detailed material. The book is about half history and half autobiography.
This 2nd volume in the series covers the period from the start of the war through Churchill's appointment as prime minister in May 1940 to the end of 1940.
Much of the book is reprints of Churchill's directives to his ministers on giving directions and asking for answers on progress. As I say, this is very detailed material. The book is about half history and half autobiography.
May 1, 2019
Britų politiko asmeninės, emocinės įžvalgos apie Britanijos gynymą nuo nacistinės Vokietijos bombordavimo, naikintuvų ir paprastų žmonių gyvenimą. Įdėmus žvilgsnis į asmeniškumus, žmogiškumą politikoje bei Tėvynės gynimo svarbą.
October 21, 2023
Re-read a paperback that I've had for at least 50 years. I remembered it and the other books of the series as excellent but once again marveled at just how good a wordsmith Churchill was, and just how involved he was in seemingly every detail of the British war effort.
July 9, 2008
This book, the second in Churchill's WW2 series, details the fall of France to the Germans and the subsequent ordeal which England went through in the next year. The book is called "Their Finest Hour" because its main purpose is to describe a period of time in which basically the entire world, but especially all of Europe, thought that the Nazis were invincible, and that to resist them was not only futile, but foolish.
For example, the French generals all said that England would be whimpering like a puppy in 6 weeks. It was against this backdrop that England not only refused to capitulate to Germany, but began to make plans for their own offensive maneuvers. Germany, meanwhile, began a campaign of bombing unforseen in the past. Military targets were only secondary. The main idea was to cower the masses of England...to convince them to fear Germany, and to go to any lengths to get the war to stop.
If you stop to consider what this must have been like, it makes the decision of England to defiantly fight against Germany, even when it looked like they were outnumbered and alone, as surely one of the greatest acts of mass bravery in all history. It is for this reason that Churchill titled this book, and not one of the later ones, when England started doing so much better, "Their Finest Hour." Indeed, the crux of the final victory is here in this book. The successes came later, but the defiance was there at the outset, and that made all the difference.
I gave this book five stars despite its being very long and detail oriented because, in the reading, I found myself enveloped in kind of trance where the various small details began to fade away and I saw defiance in the face of defeat built up step by step, like bricks in a wall. It was a most inspiring example of hope in the face of worldwide opinion which, in the end, was only opinion after all.
In our modern age, so many things are taken for fact which are only opinion...and sometimes very poor opinions at that. To me personally, it means so much to read the story of one group of people, and one man in particular, who refused to accept for truth what everyone else regarded as obvious fact. As an added benefit, it shows for all to see the benefits of the now outmoded virtues of bravery and courage, virtues to which we seem to give short shrift in modern times.
For example, the French generals all said that England would be whimpering like a puppy in 6 weeks. It was against this backdrop that England not only refused to capitulate to Germany, but began to make plans for their own offensive maneuvers. Germany, meanwhile, began a campaign of bombing unforseen in the past. Military targets were only secondary. The main idea was to cower the masses of England...to convince them to fear Germany, and to go to any lengths to get the war to stop.
If you stop to consider what this must have been like, it makes the decision of England to defiantly fight against Germany, even when it looked like they were outnumbered and alone, as surely one of the greatest acts of mass bravery in all history. It is for this reason that Churchill titled this book, and not one of the later ones, when England started doing so much better, "Their Finest Hour." Indeed, the crux of the final victory is here in this book. The successes came later, but the defiance was there at the outset, and that made all the difference.
I gave this book five stars despite its being very long and detail oriented because, in the reading, I found myself enveloped in kind of trance where the various small details began to fade away and I saw defiance in the face of defeat built up step by step, like bricks in a wall. It was a most inspiring example of hope in the face of worldwide opinion which, in the end, was only opinion after all.
In our modern age, so many things are taken for fact which are only opinion...and sometimes very poor opinions at that. To me personally, it means so much to read the story of one group of people, and one man in particular, who refused to accept for truth what everyone else regarded as obvious fact. As an added benefit, it shows for all to see the benefits of the now outmoded virtues of bravery and courage, virtues to which we seem to give short shrift in modern times.
July 16, 2012
I bought Churchill's 6-volume history of the Second World War many years ago, but did not find the strength to begin reading it until some time later. The effect was immediate. Although it took me over a year to read all of it, that was only because I have long had the habit of reading a number of books concurrently. I simply couldn't put Churchill down. To say that the story of World War II is a gripping one, is to put it mildly. How much more gripping do you think it might be in the hands of that one unique individual who was both one of the central players and the recorder of the events themselves. At times, I found myself actually wanting certain historical events to go in favour of the Allies although, naturally, I already knew the outcome! Such is the effect of Churchill's writing.
In the second volume "Their Finest Hour," Britain was holding the fort against Hitler alone. After Dunkirk, spirits were low all over the place and the value of Dr Goebells's secret weapon was able to come into play with great effect. One can imagine the feeling of the citizenry of Britain at that time, trapped as they felt themselves to be in that little island, with an unbeaten army just across the channel snarling at them. The whys and wherefores of the actions of both Hitler and the German General Staff at that time, can be discussed until you are blue in the face. The fact is that, although most people on both sides of the Atlantic thought they were about to hop across and finish the job, the Germans hesitated, mainly for lack of a plan, and lost the chance. I don't know for sure if Churchill also thought the British might have been defeated in July, August or September of 1940, but from the end of that odd period of stalemate, he never looked back.
This is fine writing by a, dare I say, highly experienced writer who was right in the thick of things almost from the word go. What a stroke of luck it was that Churchill, like Caesar but unlike Napoleon, both lived it and wrote it.
Comment
In the second volume "Their Finest Hour," Britain was holding the fort against Hitler alone. After Dunkirk, spirits were low all over the place and the value of Dr Goebells's secret weapon was able to come into play with great effect. One can imagine the feeling of the citizenry of Britain at that time, trapped as they felt themselves to be in that little island, with an unbeaten army just across the channel snarling at them. The whys and wherefores of the actions of both Hitler and the German General Staff at that time, can be discussed until you are blue in the face. The fact is that, although most people on both sides of the Atlantic thought they were about to hop across and finish the job, the Germans hesitated, mainly for lack of a plan, and lost the chance. I don't know for sure if Churchill also thought the British might have been defeated in July, August or September of 1940, but from the end of that odd period of stalemate, he never looked back.
This is fine writing by a, dare I say, highly experienced writer who was right in the thick of things almost from the word go. What a stroke of luck it was that Churchill, like Caesar but unlike Napoleon, both lived it and wrote it.
Comment
June 7, 2015
This second volume of Churchill's history of the Second World War is written in his wonderful style, and quite detailed. Unfortunately the maps in the ebook are, as often happens, too small to see well. Churchill does a good job of describing what they knew at the time and what they found out later from captured Nazi records. Much of the book seems to consist of long quotations of his own memoranda to others at the time, showing that he suggested successful strategies, argued against unsuccessful ones, and generally was in charge. But whose insights are better? His need to justify his actions at the time seems totally unnecessary to the admiring twenty-first century reader, but one must remember that he was writing after giving his professional life to the government of Britain and steering his country well and wisely through the incredibly difficult and dangerous years of the war, and then being kicked out of the government when victory had been achieved. One of those books that every student of World War II should probably read--although he has been a source in many others. The right man for the time, indeed.
April 5, 2015
Volume two of Churchill's history of WWII. What an extraordinary work. We are lucky to have such a mammoth document from one so close to all that happened during this period. Now I haven't read many of these types of works (U. S. Grant's autobiography is on my list), but I am fascinated by these books (only four more to go). And I know one has to take what is said with a little salt, but like I said, it is still fascinating. This one covers from about May of 1940 to January 1941. And that is 630 pages, to give you an idea of the detail he goes into. And since it covers the period of the Battle of Britain, it is quite exciting even when you know what's going to happen. I strongly recommend this series for anyone who has a history bent.
August 14, 2011
I wanted to read a history of the war from a major player. Mr Churchill goes into exhausting detail as to the administration of the war. It was boring to read. There are 6 volumes in this series. I could only choke down two. However, If you wish to know how many planes and boats the british had in 1940, or want to know the output of certain munition factories during the bombing of Britain. Or perhaps what color dress Mrs. Chamberlain was wearing during tea with Churchill....this is your book.
January 3, 2018
The first volume was better than the second. Churchill bogs down the reader with tons of official communications in this volume. But, he does a fantastic job of showing the heroism of the British people in their most difficult moment. The student of politics will likely appreciate all the nuances of diplomacy and politics described by Churchill. At any rate, Churchill writes with beautiful and clear prose and I look forward to the third volume, which will describe the Battle of the Atlantic and the year 1941.
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