Allied Leaders of World War Two-Churchill, Part 2

"Churchill and World War Two"

Once Hitler's foreign policy took a much more aggressive turn, and Mussolini became more entangled with Hitler, Churchill dropped any favorable references to either dictator and stepped up his calls for British rearmament. As Hitler scored bloodless victories, even with British complicity in the ceding of the German-populated area of Czechoslovakia,* Churchill heavily criticized the Conservative Party government of Neville Chamberlain for its attempts to appease the German leader. When Hitler pushed matters further by invading Poland on September 1, 1939, Britain (and France) declared war on Germany just a couple of days later. Churchill was returned to his old position as First Lord of the Admiralty, but public dissatisfaction with the government led to Chamberlain's resignation and his replacement with Churchill as Prime Minister in May 1940. Just as Churchill was being elevated to Prime Minister, the largely inactive war on the continent suddenly changed, as all hell broke loose in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, with a German offensive that broke through French lines and trapped the British army, and many Belgian and French troops, along the Channel coast at Dunkirk. While the British successfully evacuated their troops to England, virtually all of their heavy equipment was left on the beaches at Dunkirk. France surrendered a few weeks later and Hitler stood as the master of much of Europe. England, now lacking heavy armaments, faced a possible successful invasion for the first time since 1066, when William, thereafter known as William the Conqueror, successfully defeated the English and King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. While some thought it best to negotiate an end to the war, Churchill was defiant and he rallied the British people with memorable words until their arms could be replenished: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat;" "This was their finest hour;" "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be... we shall never surrender." While highly sympathetic to the British efforts, the United States remained "officially" neutral, although it increasingly supplied Britain with various necessities and even war materials, bringing it into many diplomatic confrontations with Germany, and eventually, into military actions over German submarine warfare. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in late 1941, Hitler and Mussolini disregarded any common sense they had, and declared war on the United States, bringing Britain a very formidable ally.

Whether Hitler really ever intended to invade England, or if he really had the capability to do so,** has been the subject of historical debate, but his failure to secure air superiority over England during the "Battle of Britain" effectively eliminated the "immediate" threat of invasion. By the summer of 1941 Hitler had turned eastwards and invaded the Soviet Union, and in spite of his anti-communism, Churchill allied Britain with the Soviet Union. Meanwhile in North Africa, the British and Commonwealth forces did battle with a mixed German and Italian force in the sandy and rough terrain of Libya and Egypt. By late October/early November 1942, Allied forces under Bernhard Montgomery inflicted a decisive defeat on the Axis forces under the command of famous German commander, Erwin Rommel. The Allies, including substantial American forces for the first time, then landed behind Rommel's retreating forces in French colonial areas of North Africa. All of this culminated in Axis defeat in North Africa by May 1943.

Next, Churchill and the end of the war.

* The region, known as the "Sudetenland," was given to Hitler by Britain and France at a special conference held in Munich in 1938, without the participation of Czechoslovakia, whose representatives were not even permitted to be in the room.

** An invasion would have required a large number of various landing craft capable of transporting men, artillery, tanks, trucks, supplies, etc. The Germans had a number of river barges available, but they were essentially untested in waters like the English Channel. Further, an invasion force needed naval protection, and the German navy was not all that large. My own opinion is, Hitler neither wanted to invade England, nor did he truly have the capability to do so at that time (summer/fall 1940). Besides, it didn't take him long to shift gears and begin planning what he really desired, the invasion of the Soviet Union.

WORD HISTORY:
Earl-The ancient origins of this word are uncertain, but Old Germanic had "erloz/erlaz," which meant "warrior," and later "chief, leader in war." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "eorl," with the same meaning, but later, probably under influence from its Old Norse relative "jarl," its meaning advanced to "nobleman," and later still it was used in England as the equivalent to a "count" in the nobility. The spelling next became "erl," before the modern version, and of course, it also became a fairly common male name. A number of its other Germanic relatives died out long ago, like for instance, Old High German "erl," but Icelandic, Danish and Norwegian still have "jarl," but how much it is used by any or all is unclear to me. Norway produces the popular "Jarlsberg" cheese, named after a district in Norway where it was first made.