I thought this was a reasonably good book on how the British government (Churchill and his War Cabinet specifically) ran the war 1940 – 1945. Chapter 1 “Chairman or Chief Executive? Why Did Churchill Choose to become Minister of Defense as well as Prime Minister?” describes the mechanisms Churchill established to enable him to run the war as he desired. He was not merely the arbiter of competing ideas. He issued orders to the Services’ Chiefs of Staff, sacked generals and admirals (especially generals) whom he felt lacked the aggressiveness necessary to win battles and the war, and co-opted potential political rivals via the “National Unity” cabinet to handle the political sides of issues.
The remaining 9 chapters then discuss how Churchill arrived at the decisions he arrived at for a variety of crisis issues: the collapse of France in June if 1940, political relations with the US and the Soviet Union, Singapore, North Africa, and so forth.
I thought the book did a good job explaining how the decisions were arrived at, but offered only a superficial discussion of the thinking behind them. There are also, I felt, weak discussions of possible alternatives that might have been considered or how (even whether) any other long-term implications were considered. I have felt for many years now that Churchill was very much responsible for the really poor decision to stop the advance against the beaten Italian army in Libya in late 1940 / early 1941 and divert the British army to Greece and Crete. It is simply astounding that anyone would think that sending 50,000 troops to Greece in April of 1941 would prevent the German Army from seizing that country and Yugoslavia. Other debacles that have to be considered a direct result of his poor decision-making are Norway, North Africa until late 1942, Dakar, Greece, Crete, Malaya, Singapore, and Burma.
There are several other books on Churchill’s handling and command of WW II that I think are interesting or at least offer varying opinions on the subject:
• “Winston's War: Churchill, 1940-1945”by Hastings (2011);
• “Winston Churchill –The Flawed Genius of World War II” by Catherwood (2009);
• “Ministers at War – Winston Churchill and His War Cabinet” by Schneer (2014). The book discusses the personalities involved: Chamberlain, Churchill, Beaverbrook, Anderson, Atlee, Beveridge, Bevin, Cripps, Dalton, Eden, Greenwood, Halifax, Morrison, Wood, and several others. The broad strategy of waging the war is discussed, as are the clashes and differences among them (both personally and ideologically). There is very little discussion of wartime strategic decisions or specific military campaigns, which is the only negative issue I have with the book. I thought it would be interesting to know what was discussed at critical points such as the evacuation of Dunkirk, the disastrous campaigns in Greece and Crete, and the fall of Singapore. Rather, the book focuses on the political actions and relationships at the Cabinet and Parliamentary levels;
• “Raising Churchill’s Army – The British Army and the War Against Germany 1919 – 1945” by French (2000). I thought this was an overall excellent book describing how and why the British Army of World War II fought the way it did. There were a variety of reasons: political leadership decisions, industrial limitations, Army choices on leadership and command structures, training, combat doctrine, selection and education of officers, social changes in Britain and especially with regard to the view of the Army as a result of WW I, and responses to the defeats at the hands of the German Army in the first three years of the war. It’s a complex subject and this book does a very good job addressing it;
• “Anatomy of a Campaign – The British Fiasco in Norway, 1940” by Kiszely (2017). This is the best book I have ever read on the British strategic level decision-making processes and personalities regarding the Norwegian campaign of April – June of 1940. It isn’t merely a recital of all the poor decisions made and who made them. It goes into discussions and analyses of the inappropriate decision making committees and overall decision-making structure and explains why it was almost inevitable that poor decisions would result from the system in place.
• “Churchill and Seapower” by Bell (2013). In my opinion, this book is nothing but an apologia for Churchill’s many poor decisions during the war. The only reason I list it here is because it offers a very different viewpoint. It’s an interesting book in presenting the inside, high – level story of British political and military decisions from around 1900 through 1945. The chapters describing the almost self – imposed disarmament during the 1920s and 1930s were especially revealing. The timidity of the British government in the 1930s during Hitler’s rise to power and the increasing Japanese militarism was also thoroughly described. The problem with the book is that I’m not sure the author intended it to be taken that way. Throughout the book, the author attempts to offer what he evidently perceives to be reasonable explanations for British (and especially Churchill’s) actions. All told the author manages to obfuscate just who was responsible for the debacles in France, Norway, North Africa, Dakar, Greece, Crete, Malaya, Singapore, and Burma. The book is really 350 pages of excuses for British (and especially Churchill’s) political and military ineptitude.
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Sarah Selects is a book club hosted by Amazon Editorial Director Sarah Gelman. Whenever Sarah finds a book that sticks with her, she loves to recommend it to her friends and family. These books are the books she's sharing, so members can talk about them after they’re done reading. Join the club to view and reply to posts from Sarah and get email updates when the February book is chosen. Join the club.
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Top reviews from other countries
John Booklover
Excellent and readable historical overview of Churchill
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 17, 2019
Frederick (Madrid)
Top research, lively account.
Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on January 31, 2019
