Winston Churchill

By: Benjamin Lang

Who was Winston Churchill?

Born in 1874 died in 1965, son of Lord Randolph Churchill and an American mother.

Churchill was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst, and served briefly in the army.

In 1900 he became a Conservative Member of Parliament. When WWII broke out he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty.

What did Churchill do?

In 1865 soon after college Churchill, joined the Fourth Hussers and fought in Sudan. Where he took part in the Battle of Omdurman

After he was honorably discharged from his infantry, he went on to work at several news companies one of which was called the “Morning Post”.

In the 1900 General Election Churchill was ran for Conservative MP for Oldham and was elected.

Churchill held his position in the Conservative government until 1929 when the Conservative government collapsed and Churchill lost office.

Churchill then spent the next few years writing “History of the English Speaking Peoples”

When did Churchill become involved?

In 1933 the Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party gained control of Germany. Soon after the Nazi’s took control of Germany, Churchill became the leading

advocate for rearmament. Churchill also strongly opposed Neville Chamberlain and the Conservative

governments appeasement policy. He also controversially argued that France and Britain should form a military alliance

with the Soviet Union.

A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality.

Winston Churchill

Outbreak of WWII

Following the outbreak of the second world war Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty

Then on April 4, 1940 Churchill became the chairman of of the Military Coordinating Committee.

In late April the German Army invaded Norway. The invasion of Norway had caused considerable setbacks for Neville

Chamberlain and his policies for dealing with Nazi Germany.

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.

Winston Churchill

Churchill re-appointed

The Labour Party demanded debate on Norwegian campaign, which became vote of criticism.

In the conclusion of the debate 30 conservatives voted against Chamberlain and 60 chose not to vote.

Chamberlain resigned on May 10, 1940. George VI then appointed Churchill prime minister, Later that day the

German Army began Western Offensive. Germany invaded Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and two days later

France. Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.

Winston Churchill

Churchill’s coalition government

Once in the position of Prime Minister Churchill appointed Labour Party members such as Clement Attlee, Ernest Bevin, Herbert Morrison, Stafford Cripps, and Hugh Dalton into prominent positions.

Churchill also appointed a longtime opponent of Chamberlain, Anthony Eden, as the secretary of state for war.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

Winston Churchill

Churchill and Roosevelt

During his time as Prime Minister Churchill also developed a close personal relationship with Franklin D. Roosevelt.

This friendship led to the sharing and trading of war supplies and the Lend Lease agreement of March 1941 which allowed Britain to order war goods from the U.S. on credit.

Even though Churchill provided exceptional leadership the war continued to go badly for Britain.

However Parliament had little confidence in Churchill, he still maintained the support of most members of the House of Commons and won by 475 votes to 25.

Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others.

Winston Churchill

Churchill’s contribution

One of Churchill’s major contributions was his ability to inspire the British people, to put forth greater effort by making public broadcasts on significant occasions.

He was also to manage relationships with Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin and together they developed a successful united strategy against the Axis powers.

Even though Stalin was pressuring to open a second-front by landing Allied troops in France in 1943, Churchill convinced him this could not happen until the defeat of Nazi Germany was guaranteed.

Since the D-Day invasions did not take place until until June, 1944 this enabled the Red Army to capture territory from Germany in Eastern Europe.

I always avoid prophesying beforehand, because it is a much better policy to prophesy after the event has already taken place.

Winston Churchill

Switching Sides

After the war Churchill came up with ideas for reform, but was unsuccessful in the 1945 General Election and lost by a landslide.

This inspired Churchill to take up leading the opposition or the Conservative Party.

I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.

Winston Churchill

In Conclusion

Churchill returned to power after the 1951 General Election. After he published his six volume, The Second World War, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Churchill’s health began to take a turn for the worse and in 1955 he reluctantly retired from politics.

Winston Churchill died on January 24, 1965.

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.

Winston Churchill

Citations AllPosters.com - The World's Largest Poster and Print Store! 06 May 2009

<http://imagecache.allposters.com/images/pic/QUOMAG/M93~Never-Give-Up-Winston-Churchill-Posters.jpg>.

"Winston Churchill - Biography." Nobelprize.org. 06 May 2009 <http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1953/churchill-bio.html>.

"Winston Churchill Quotes." Famous Quotes and Quotations at BrainyQuote. 06 May 2009 <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/winston_churchill.html>.

"Winston Churchill." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. 06 May 2009 <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRchurchill.htm>.

Picture Sources http://www.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/churchill-winston.jpg

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