Showing posts with label Churchill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Churchill. Show all posts
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Chamberlain War Ministry
Britain Stops Trying to Appease Hitler; Turns to Churchill > .
Churchill - tb >> .
"The fateful hour has struck, Britain and Germany are at war. Members gather at the House to hear the Premier's speech.
Crowd see Count Raczynski arrive at Downing Street for talks. Mr Greenwood, Sir John Simon, Hore-Belisha arrive. Dr Kordt goes into the embassy at 21, Bryanston Square. Big Ben stands at 11am when Sir John Anderson and his wife [sic - see comments] arrived followed by Sir John Simon, Kingsley Wood and Sir Samuel Hoare. Eden arrives by car. Crowds cheer the Prime Minister. Houses of Parliament. Posters announce War as the ministers leave the house carrying gas masks, they are Sir John Anderson and Sir Kingsley Wood. Mr Chamberlain arrives back at Downing Street. Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill also seen."
.....
On 3 September 1939, Neville Chamberlain announced his War Cabinet.
"The fateful hour has struck, Britain and Germany are at war. Members gather at the House to hear the Premier's speech.
Crowd see Count Raczynski arrive at Downing Street for talks. Mr Greenwood, Sir John Simon, Hore-Belisha arrive. Dr Kordt goes into the embassy at 21, Bryanston Square. Big Ben stands at 11am when Sir John Anderson and his wife [sic - see comments] arrived followed by Sir John Simon, Kingsley Wood and Sir Samuel Hoare. Eden arrives by car. Crowds cheer the Prime Minister. Houses of Parliament. Posters announce War as the ministers leave the house carrying gas masks, they are Sir John Anderson and Sir Kingsley Wood. Mr Chamberlain arrives back at Downing Street. Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill also seen."
.....
On 3 September 1939, Neville Chamberlain announced his War Cabinet.
- Prime Minister: Neville Chamberlain (Cons)
- Lord Privy Seal: Sir Samuel Hoare (Cons)
- Chancellor of the Exchequer: Sir John Simon (Nat. Liberal)
- Foreign Secretary: Viscount Halifax (Cons)
- Secretary of State for War: Leslie Hore-Belisha (Nat. Liberal)
- Secretary of State for Air: Sir Kingsley Wood (Cons)
- First Lord of the Admiralty: Winston Churchill (Cons)
- Minister for the Coordination of Defence: Lord Chatfield (Nat.)
- Minister without Portfolio: Lord Hankey (Nat. )
Dominated largely by Conservative ministers who served under Chamberlain's National Government between 1937 and 1939, the additions of Lord Hankey (a former Cabinet Secretary from the First World War) and Winston Churchill (strong anti-appeaser) seemed to give the Cabinet more balance. Unlike Lloyd George's War Cabinet, the members of this one were also heads of Government Departments.
In January 1940, after disagreements with the Chiefs of Staff, Hore-Belisha resigned from the National Government, refusing a move to the post of President of the Board of Trade. He was succeeded by Oliver Stanley.
It was originally the practice for the Chiefs of Staff to attend all military discussions of the Chamberlain War Cabinet. Churchill became uneasy with this, as he felt that when they attended they did not confine their comments to purely military issues. To overcome this, a Military Co-ordination Committee was set up, consisting of the three Service ministers normally chaired by Lord Chatfield. This together with the Service chiefs would co-ordinate the strategic ideas of 'top hats' and 'brass' and agree strategic proposals to put forward to the War Cabinet. Unfortunately, except when chaired by the Prime Minister, the Military Co-ordinating Committee lacked sufficient authority to override a Minister "fighting his corner". When Churchill took over from Chatfield, whilst continuing to represent the Admiralty, this introduced additional problems, and did little to improve the pre-existing ones. Chamberlain announced a further change in arrangements in the Norway debate, but this (and the Military Co-ordination Committee) was overtaken by events, the Churchill War Cabinet being run on rather different principles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_cabinet#Chamberlain_war_ministry .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamberlain_war_ministry .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Government_(1937%E2%80%931939) .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_cabinet#Chamberlain_war_ministry .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamberlain_war_ministry .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Government_(1937%E2%80%931939) .
Churchill War Ministry
Britain Stops Trying to Appease Hitler; Turns to Churchill > .
Winston Churchill's War - BBC doc > .
Churchill - tb >> .
War Rooms ..
The Churchill war ministry was a Conservative-led coalition government in the United Kingdom, which lasted for most of World War II. It was led by Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Formed in 1940, within a year of the war's outbreak, it lasted until 23 May 1945, shortly after the defeat of Nazi Germany, when Churchill resigned and an election was called.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_war_ministry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_war_ministry#War_Cabinet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_war_ministry#List_of_Ministers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_war_ministry#Changes
War Leaders versus Press ..
40-12-23 Halifax, Eden, Margeson > .
Lord Halifax → British Ambassador to US
Anthony Eden → Foreign Secretary
David Margeson → Secretary of State for War
BRITISH POLITICAL PERSONALITIES 1936-1945
The Churchill Coalition Government 11 May 1940 - 23 May 1945: Members of Churchill's Defence Committee in the garden of 10 Downing Street. Seen in the back row from left to right are: Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, Chief of the Air Staff; Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff; Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air; David Margesson, Secretary of State for War; General Sir John Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff; Major General Sir Hastings Ismay, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence and Deputy Secretary (Military) to the War Cabinet; Colonel Leslie Hollis, Senior Assistant Secretary (Military) to the War Cabinet and Secretary to the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Those in the front row, from right to left are: Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production; Clement Attlee, Lord Privy Seal; Winston Churchill, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence; Anthony Eden Foreign Secretary; and A V Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty.
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205022122
http://2ndww.blogspot.ca/2014/07/churchills-cabinet-war-rooms-london.html .
The Churchill war ministry was a Conservative-led coalition government in the United Kingdom, which lasted for most of World War II. It was led by Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Formed in 1940, within a year of the war's outbreak, it lasted until 23 May 1945, shortly after the defeat of Nazi Germany, when Churchill resigned and an election was called.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_war_ministry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_war_ministry#War_Cabinet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_war_ministry#List_of_Ministers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_war_ministry#Changes
War Leaders versus Press ..
40-12-23 Halifax, Eden, Margeson > .
Lord Halifax → British Ambassador to US
Anthony Eden → Foreign Secretary
David Margeson → Secretary of State for War
BRITISH POLITICAL PERSONALITIES 1936-1945
The Churchill Coalition Government 11 May 1940 - 23 May 1945: Members of Churchill's Defence Committee in the garden of 10 Downing Street. Seen in the back row from left to right are: Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, Chief of the Air Staff; Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff; Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air; David Margesson, Secretary of State for War; General Sir John Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff; Major General Sir Hastings Ismay, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence and Deputy Secretary (Military) to the War Cabinet; Colonel Leslie Hollis, Senior Assistant Secretary (Military) to the War Cabinet and Secretary to the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Those in the front row, from right to left are: Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production; Clement Attlee, Lord Privy Seal; Winston Churchill, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence; Anthony Eden Foreign Secretary; and A V Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty.
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205022122
http://2ndww.blogspot.ca/2014/07/churchills-cabinet-war-rooms-london.html .
Monday, July 13, 2020
Parliament at War
Winston Churchill's War - BBC doc > .
Bombing of Houses of Parliament - worst damage 41-5-10/11 -> Church House > .
Acts 1920-1939
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Acts_of_the_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom,_1920%E2%80%931939 .
Acts 1940-1959
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Acts_of_the_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom,_1940%E2%80%931959 .
Bombing of Houses of Parliament - worst damage 41-5-10/11 -> Church House > .
Acts 1920-1939
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Acts_of_the_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom,_1920%E2%80%931939 .
Acts 1940-1959
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Acts_of_the_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom,_1940%E2%80%931959 .
Parliament at War ..
Monday, July 6, 2020
War Rooms
Churchill and The Cabinet War Rooms - Sir Winston Churchill's secrets unveiled > .
Peter Mansbridge > .
CHURCHILL WAR ROOMS, London UK (HD1080p) > .
Peter Mansbridge > .
CHURCHILL WAR ROOMS, London UK (HD1080p) > .
Parliament, Government - WW2 - ViDo >> .
Churchill - tb >> .
Churchill - tb >> .
The Cabinet War Rooms (now an historic underground complex) housed a British government command centre throughout WW2, being abandoned in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan.
As above, in 1936 the Air Ministry, the British government department responsible for the Royal Air Force, believed that in the event of war enemy aerial bombing of London would cause up to 200,000 casualties per week. British government commissions under Warren Fisher and Sir James Rae in 1937 and 1938 considered that key government offices should be dispersed from central London to the suburbs, and non-essential offices to the Midlands or North West. Pending this dispersal, in May 1938 Sir Hastings Ismay, then Deputy Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence, ordered an Office of Works survey of Whitehall to identify a suitable site for a temporary emergency government centre. The Office concluded the most suitable site was the basement of the New Public Offices (NPO), a government building located on the corner of Horse Guards Road and Great George Street, near Parliament Square. The building now accommodates HM Treasury.
Work to convert the basement of the New Public Offices began, under the supervision of Ismay and Sir Leslie Hollis, in June 1938. The work included installing communications and broadcasting equipment, sound-proofing, ventilation and reinforcement. Meanwhile, by the summer of 1938 the War Office, Admiralty and Air Ministry had developed the concept of a Central War Room that would facilitate discussion and decision-making between the Chiefs of Staff of the armed forces.
Construction of the Cabinet War Rooms, located beneath the Treasury building in the Whitehall area of Westminster, began in 1938. They became fully operational on 27 August 1939, a week before Britain declared war on Germany. The War Rooms remained in operation throughout the Second World War, before being abandoned in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan.
As ultimate authority lay with the civilian government the Cabinet, or a smaller War Cabinet, would require close access to senior military figures. This implied accommodation close to the armed forces' Central War Room. In May 1939 it was decided that the Cabinet would be housed within the Central War Room. In August 1939, with war imminent and protected government facilities in the suburbs not yet ready, the War Rooms became operational on 27 August 1939, only days before the invasion of Poland on 1 September, and Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 3 September.
During its operational life two of the Cabinet War Rooms were of particular importance. Once operational, the facility's Map Room was in constant use and manned around the clock by officers of the Royal Navy, British army and Royal Air Force. These officers were responsible for producing a daily intelligence summary for the King, Prime Minister and the military Chiefs of Staff.
The other key room was the Cabinet Room. Until the opening of the Battle of France, which began on 10 May 1940, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's war cabinet met at the War Rooms only once, in October 1939. Following Winston Churchill's appointment as Prime Minister, Churchill visited the Cabinet Room in May 1940 and declared: 'This is the room from which I will direct the war'. In total 115 Cabinet meetings were held at the Cabinet War Rooms, the last on 28 March 1945, when the German V-weapon bombing campaign came to an end.
As above, in 1936 the Air Ministry, the British government department responsible for the Royal Air Force, believed that in the event of war enemy aerial bombing of London would cause up to 200,000 casualties per week. British government commissions under Warren Fisher and Sir James Rae in 1937 and 1938 considered that key government offices should be dispersed from central London to the suburbs, and non-essential offices to the Midlands or North West. Pending this dispersal, in May 1938 Sir Hastings Ismay, then Deputy Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence, ordered an Office of Works survey of Whitehall to identify a suitable site for a temporary emergency government centre. The Office concluded the most suitable site was the basement of the New Public Offices (NPO), a government building located on the corner of Horse Guards Road and Great George Street, near Parliament Square. The building now accommodates HM Treasury.
Work to convert the basement of the New Public Offices began, under the supervision of Ismay and Sir Leslie Hollis, in June 1938. The work included installing communications and broadcasting equipment, sound-proofing, ventilation and reinforcement. Meanwhile, by the summer of 1938 the War Office, Admiralty and Air Ministry had developed the concept of a Central War Room that would facilitate discussion and decision-making between the Chiefs of Staff of the armed forces.
Construction of the Cabinet War Rooms, located beneath the Treasury building in the Whitehall area of Westminster, began in 1938. They became fully operational on 27 August 1939, a week before Britain declared war on Germany. The War Rooms remained in operation throughout the Second World War, before being abandoned in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan.
As ultimate authority lay with the civilian government the Cabinet, or a smaller War Cabinet, would require close access to senior military figures. This implied accommodation close to the armed forces' Central War Room. In May 1939 it was decided that the Cabinet would be housed within the Central War Room. In August 1939, with war imminent and protected government facilities in the suburbs not yet ready, the War Rooms became operational on 27 August 1939, only days before the invasion of Poland on 1 September, and Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 3 September.
During its operational life two of the Cabinet War Rooms were of particular importance. Once operational, the facility's Map Room was in constant use and manned around the clock by officers of the Royal Navy, British army and Royal Air Force. These officers were responsible for producing a daily intelligence summary for the King, Prime Minister and the military Chiefs of Staff.
The other key room was the Cabinet Room. Until the opening of the Battle of France, which began on 10 May 1940, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's war cabinet met at the War Rooms only once, in October 1939. Following Winston Churchill's appointment as Prime Minister, Churchill visited the Cabinet Room in May 1940 and declared: 'This is the room from which I will direct the war'. In total 115 Cabinet meetings were held at the Cabinet War Rooms, the last on 28 March 1945, when the German V-weapon bombing campaign came to an end.
On 22 October 1940, during the Blitz bombing campaign against Britain, it was decided to increase the protection of the Cabinet War Rooms by the installation of a massive layer of concrete known as 'the Slab'. Up to 5 feet (1.5 metres) thick, the Slab was progressively extended and by spring 1941 the increased protection had enabled the Cabinet War Rooms to expand to three times their original size. While the usage of many of the War Rooms' individual rooms changed over the course of the war, the facility included dormitories for staff, private bedrooms for military officers and senior ministers, and rooms for typists or telephone switchboard operators.
Two other notable rooms include the Transatlantic Telephone Room and Churchill's office-bedroom. From 1943, a SIGSALY code-scrambling encrypted telephone was installed in the basement of Selfridges, Oxford Street connected to a similar terminal in the Pentagon building. This enabled Churchill to speak securely with American President Roosevelt in Washington, with the first conference taking place on 15 July 1943.
Later extensions were installed to both 10 Downing Street and the specially constructed Transatlantic Telephone Room within the Cabinet War Rooms. Churchill's office-bedroom included BBC broadcasting equipment; Churchill made four wartime broadcasts from the Cabinet War Rooms. Although the office room was also fitted out as a bedroom, Churchill rarely slept underground, preferring to sleep at 10 Downing Street or the No.10 Annexe, a flat in the New Public Offices directly above the Cabinet War Rooms. His daughter Mary Soames often slept in the bedroom allocated to Mrs Churchill.
War Ministries WW2
Air Ministry - Adastral House: After the formation of the Air Ministry in 1918, its headquarters was on Kingsway; one of two identical buildings opposite Bush House became Adastral House, the name being derived from the RAF motto. This remained the home of the Air Ministry through WW2.
British Government Changes WW2 ..
British re-armament - 1934 to 1939 ..
Chamberlain War Ministry ..
Churchill ..
Churchill Chiefs of Staff ..
Churchill War Ministry ..
Defence - Ministries .. British re-armament - 1934 to 1939 ..
Chamberlain War Ministry ..
Churchill ..
Churchill Chiefs of Staff ..
Churchill War Ministry ..
Defence Regulations ..
Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 ..
General Register Office ..
Economic Information Unit ..
UK Ministries established in 1939
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Monday, December 23, 2019
Franco-British Union Concept
20-5-3 Proposed Franco-British Union - History Matters > .
A Franco-British Union is a concept for a union between the two independent sovereign states of the United Kingdom and France. Such a union was proposed during certain crises of the 20th century; it has some historical precedents.
In December 1939, Jean Monnet of the French Economic Mission in London became the head of the Anglo-French Coordinating Committee, which coordinated joint planning of the two countries' wartime economies. The Frenchman hoped for a postwar United States of Europe and saw an Anglo-French political union as a step toward his goal. He discussed the idea with Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill's assistant Desmond Morton, and other British officials.
In June 1940, French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud's government faced imminent defeat in the Battle of France. In March, they and the British had agreed that neither country would seek a separate peace with Nazi Germany. The French cabinet on 15 June 1940 voted to ask Germany for the terms of an armistice. Reynaud, who wished to continue the war from North Africa, was forced to submit the proposal to Churchill's War Cabinet. He claimed that he would have to resign if the British were to reject the proposal.
The British opposed a French surrender, and in particular the possible loss of the French Navy to the Germans, and so sought to keep Reynaud in office. On 14 June British diplomat Robert Vansittart and Morton wrote with Monnet and his deputy René Pleven a draft "Franco-British Union" proposal. They hoped that such a union would help Reynaud persuade his cabinet to continue the war from North Africa, but Churchill was skeptical when on 15 June the British War Cabinet discussed the proposal and a similar one from Secretary of State for India Leo Amery. On the morning of 16 June, the War Cabinet agreed to the French armistice request on the condition that the French fleet sail to British harbours. This disappointed Reynaud, who had hoped to use a British rejection to persuade his cabinet to continue to fight.
Reynaud supporter Charles de Gaulle had arrived in London earlier that day, however, and Monnet told him about the proposed union. De Gaulle convinced Churchill that "some dramatic move was essential to give Reynaud the support which he needed to keep his Government in the war". The Frenchman then called Reynaud and told him that the British prime minister proposed a union between their countries, an idea which Reynaud immediately supported. De Gaulle, Monnet, Vansittart, and Pleven quickly agreed to a document proclaiming a joint citizenship, foreign trade, currency, war cabinet, and military command. Churchill withdrew the armistice approval, and at 3 p.m. the War Cabinet met again to consider the union document. Despite the radical nature of the proposal, Churchill and the ministers recognized the need for a dramatic act to encourage the French and reinforce Reynaud's support within his cabinet before it met again at 5pm.
The final "Declaration of union" approved by the British War Cabinet stated that:
Other French leaders were less enthusiastic, however. At the 5 p.m. cabinet meeting, many called it a British "last minute plan" to steal its colonies, and said that "be[ing] a Nazi province" was preferable to becoming a British dominion. Philippe Pétain, a leader of the pro-armistice group, called union "fusion with a corpse". While President Albert Lebrun and some others were supportive, the cabinet's opposition stunned Reynaud. He resigned that evening without taking a formal vote on the union or an armistice, and later called the failure of the union the "greatest disappointment of my political career".
Reynaud had erred, however, by conflating opposition to the union—which a majority of the cabinet almost certainly opposed—with support for an armistice, which it almost certainly did not. If the proposal had been made a few days earlier, instead of the 16th when the French only had hours to decide between armistice and North Africa, Reynaud's cabinet might have considered it more carefully.
Pétain formed a new government that evening, which immediately decided to ask Germany for armistice terms. The British cancelled their plans to travel to Concarneau.
Historical unions
1.1England and France .
1.2Scotland and France .
2Modern concepts .
2.1Entente cordiale (1904) .
2.2World War II (1940) .
France–United Kingdom relations .
English claims to the French throne .
Gallic Empire .
Carausian Revolt .
A Franco-British Union is a concept for a union between the two independent sovereign states of the United Kingdom and France. Such a union was proposed during certain crises of the 20th century; it has some historical precedents.
In June 1940, French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud's government faced imminent defeat in the Battle of France. In March, they and the British had agreed that neither country would seek a separate peace with Nazi Germany. The French cabinet on 15 June 1940 voted to ask Germany for the terms of an armistice. Reynaud, who wished to continue the war from North Africa, was forced to submit the proposal to Churchill's War Cabinet. He claimed that he would have to resign if the British were to reject the proposal.
The British opposed a French surrender, and in particular the possible loss of the French Navy to the Germans, and so sought to keep Reynaud in office. On 14 June British diplomat Robert Vansittart and Morton wrote with Monnet and his deputy René Pleven a draft "Franco-British Union" proposal. They hoped that such a union would help Reynaud persuade his cabinet to continue the war from North Africa, but Churchill was skeptical when on 15 June the British War Cabinet discussed the proposal and a similar one from Secretary of State for India Leo Amery. On the morning of 16 June, the War Cabinet agreed to the French armistice request on the condition that the French fleet sail to British harbours. This disappointed Reynaud, who had hoped to use a British rejection to persuade his cabinet to continue to fight.
Reynaud supporter Charles de Gaulle had arrived in London earlier that day, however, and Monnet told him about the proposed union. De Gaulle convinced Churchill that "some dramatic move was essential to give Reynaud the support which he needed to keep his Government in the war". The Frenchman then called Reynaud and told him that the British prime minister proposed a union between their countries, an idea which Reynaud immediately supported. De Gaulle, Monnet, Vansittart, and Pleven quickly agreed to a document proclaiming a joint citizenship, foreign trade, currency, war cabinet, and military command. Churchill withdrew the armistice approval, and at 3 p.m. the War Cabinet met again to consider the union document. Despite the radical nature of the proposal, Churchill and the ministers recognized the need for a dramatic act to encourage the French and reinforce Reynaud's support within his cabinet before it met again at 5pm.
The final "Declaration of union" approved by the British War Cabinet stated that:
France and Great Britain shall no longer be two nations, but one Franco-British Union. The constitution of the Union will provide for joint organs of defence, foreign, financial and economic policies. Every citizen of France will enjoy immediately citizenship of Great Britain, every British subject will become a citizen of France.Churchill and De Gaulle called Reynaud to tell him about the document, and they arranged for a joint meeting of the two governments in Concarneau the next day. The declaration immediately succeeded in its goal of encouraging Reynaud, who saw the union as the only alternative to surrender and who could now cite the British rejection of the armistice.
Other French leaders were less enthusiastic, however. At the 5 p.m. cabinet meeting, many called it a British "last minute plan" to steal its colonies, and said that "be[ing] a Nazi province" was preferable to becoming a British dominion. Philippe Pétain, a leader of the pro-armistice group, called union "fusion with a corpse". While President Albert Lebrun and some others were supportive, the cabinet's opposition stunned Reynaud. He resigned that evening without taking a formal vote on the union or an armistice, and later called the failure of the union the "greatest disappointment of my political career".
Reynaud had erred, however, by conflating opposition to the union—which a majority of the cabinet almost certainly opposed—with support for an armistice, which it almost certainly did not. If the proposal had been made a few days earlier, instead of the 16th when the French only had hours to decide between armistice and North Africa, Reynaud's cabinet might have considered it more carefully.
Pétain formed a new government that evening, which immediately decided to ask Germany for armistice terms. The British cancelled their plans to travel to Concarneau.
1.1England and France .
1.2Scotland and France .
2Modern concepts .
2.1Entente cordiale (1904) .
2.2World War II (1940) .
France–United Kingdom relations .
English claims to the French throne .
Gallic Empire .
Carausian Revolt .
Friday, November 1, 2019
40-7-10 Battle of Britain Begins
How RAF Prepared For Luftwaffe's Offensive | Battle Of Britain | Timeline > .
Radar developments > .
Bizarre Origins of Radar Technology - Time > .
Battle of Britain and Artie Holmes' Hurricane - HiGu > .
Radar developments > .
Bizarre Origins of Radar Technology - Time > .
Battle of Britain and Artie Holmes' Hurricane - HiGu > .
13 Hours That Saved Britain > .
Battle of Britain 3 | Their Finest Hour (WW2 Doc) - Time > .
The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It has been described as the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise the battle's duration as being from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks known as The Blitz, that lasted from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. German historians do not accept this subdivision and regard the Luftschlacht um England (Air Battle for England) as a single campaign lasting from July 1940 to June 1941, including the Blitz.Battle of Britain 3 | Their Finest Hour (WW2 Doc) - Time > .
The Kanalkampf (Channel fight) was the German term for air operations by the Luftwaffe against the British Royal Air Force (RAF) over the English Channel in July 1940. The air operations over the channel began the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. By 25 June, the Allies had been defeated in Western Europe and Scandinavia. Britain rejected peace overtures and on 16 July, Adolf Hitler issued Directive 16 to the Wehrmacht (German armed forces), ordering preparations for the invasion of Britain, under the codename Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion).
The Germans needed air superiority over southern England before the invasion and the Luftwaffe was to destroy the RAF, assume command of the skies and protect the cross-channel invasion from the Royal Navy. To engage RAF Fighter Command, the Luftwaffe attacked convoys in the English Channel. ... British and German writers and historians acknowledge that air battles were fought over the Channel between the Battle of France and Battle of Britain; deliberate German attacks against British coastal targets and convoys began on 4 July. During the Kanalkampf, the Luftwaffe received modest support from shore artillery and the E-Boats of the Kriegsmarine (German navy).
Fighter Command could not protect adequately the convoys; the Germans sank several British and neutral ships and shot down a considerable number of British fighters. The Royal Navy was forced to suspend the sailing of large convoys in Channel waters and close it to ocean-going vessels until more protection could be arranged, which took several weeks. On 1 August, Hitler issued Directive 17, extending Luftwaffe operations to the British mainland and RAF-related targets and on Adlertag (Eagle Day, 13 August) the main air offensive against the RAF began. The Kanalkampf had drawn out Fighter Command as intended and convoy attacks continued for several more days. Both sides had suffered losses but the Luftwaffe failed to inflict a decisive defeat on Fighter Command and the RAF; the Luftwaffe had yet to gain air superiority for Operation Sea Lion.
Directive 17, August 1, 1940, Battle of Britain, Full text .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Adolf_Hitler%27s_directives .
ASV AI RDF ..
Battle of Britain & RDF ..
Blitz ..
Bomb Sight Site ..
40-6-1 Dunkirk - June 1 1940
Dunkirk, Dynamo, Little Ships - anth >> .
40-6-8 Dunkirk evacuation completed - never surrender > .
40-6-15 Italy declares war, Paris falls, Ariel begins > .
40-6-22 Soviets invade Baltic, RMS Lancastria sunk, Petain surrenders > .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lancastria .
40-6-25 Operation Ariel ends > .
40-6-29 Canada takes refugees, threat to Britain imminent > .
40-6-8 Dunkirk evacuation completed - never surrender > .
40-6-15 Italy declares war, Paris falls, Ariel begins > .
40-6-22 Soviets invade Baltic, RMS Lancastria sunk, Petain surrenders > .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lancastria .
40-6-25 Operation Ariel ends > .
40-6-29 Canada takes refugees, threat to Britain imminent > .
Monday, August 26, 2019
Sunday, July 28, 2019
41-8-14 Atlantic Charter
President To Prime Minister - Historic Meeting (1941) > .
22-7-21 Why Every NATO Member Joined (Why Others Haven't) - Spaniel > .
The Atlantic Charter was a statement issued on 14 August 1941 that set out American and British goals for the period following the end of WW2.
The joint statement, later dubbed the Atlantic Charter, outlined US and UK aims for the world as follows: no territorial aggrandizement; no territorial changes made against the wishes of the people (self-determination); restoration of self-government to those deprived of it; reduction of trade restrictions; global cooperation to secure better economic and social conditions for all; freedom from fear and want; freedom of the seas; and abandonment of the use of force, as well as disarmament of aggressor nations. Adherents to the Atlantic Charter signed the Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, which was the basis for the modern United Nations.
The Atlantic Charter inspired several other international agreements and events that followed the end of the war: the dismantling of the British Empire, the formation of NATO, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) all derive from the Atlantic Charter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Charter .
https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-112/sixty-years-on-the-atlantic-charter-1941-2001-1/ .
● Acts, Charters, Treaties - post WW1 ..
The Atlantic Charter was a statement issued on 14 August 1941 that set out American and British goals for the period following the end of WW2.
The joint statement, later dubbed the Atlantic Charter, outlined US and UK aims for the world as follows: no territorial aggrandizement; no territorial changes made against the wishes of the people (self-determination); restoration of self-government to those deprived of it; reduction of trade restrictions; global cooperation to secure better economic and social conditions for all; freedom from fear and want; freedom of the seas; and abandonment of the use of force, as well as disarmament of aggressor nations. Adherents to the Atlantic Charter signed the Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, which was the basis for the modern United Nations.
The Atlantic Charter inspired several other international agreements and events that followed the end of the war: the dismantling of the British Empire, the formation of NATO, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) all derive from the Atlantic Charter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Charter .
https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-112/sixty-years-on-the-atlantic-charter-1941-2001-1/ .
● Acts, Charters, Treaties - post WW1 ..
Saturday, July 27, 2019
British Government Changes
40-10-3 Chamberlain resigns, 40-10-4 Morrison replaces Anderson > .
40-10-9 Churchill becomes Conservative leader > .
40-10-9 Churchill becomes Conservative leader > .
Friday, July 26, 2019
Churchill Chiefs of Staff
Winston Churchill with his chiefs of staff in the garden of No. 10 Downing Street on the day Germany surrendered to the Allies, 7 May 1945.
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Lend-Lease Act 41-3-11
The United States of America aims to remain neutral during World War Two. But they see it in their best interest to aid the British in their fight against Nazism. The Lend-Lease Act is designed to do exactly that.
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Worst Prime Minister?
For Labour supporters, MacDonald was synonymous with the word “betrayal”. They felt he had sold out to financial interests, and the blandishments of King George V, and introduced a programme of austerity that deepened the recession of the 1930s. He seemed unable to grapple with the scope and depth of the problems he faced.
Neville Chamberlain (1937-40) has his defenders. Like many men of his generation, he was understandably scarred by the experience of World War I and genuinely wanted peace. His advocates argue that by giving in to Hitler’s demands and postponing war as long as possible, he gave the country more time to prepare and rearm.
The counter argument is that each capitulation simply encouraged Hitler to ask for more. It was remarked that Chamberlain had never met anyone like Hitler in Birmingham, where he came from. His experience was in municipal and domestic politics and his grasp of the imperatives of foreign policy in the late 1930s was limited, although that didn’t stop him intervening. When he came back from the Munich talks with Hitler, he was a national hero, in tune with the pacifist mood of the country. However, opinion quickly changed and he was castigated as one of the “guilty men” of appeasement."
In “Appeasement,” Tim Bouverie notes that Rumbold’s April 1933 dispatch caused a momentary stir in the Foreign Office. But the ambassador’s warning, like later admonitions from Winston Churchill and others, made no dent in the British government’s unflagging commitment to come to terms with Hitler, no matter the consequences.
.....
Throughout his minutely detailed survey, Bouverie rightly rejects the arguments of revisionist historians who claim that Britain’s lack of military preparedness, as well as the strength of pacifist public opinion, justified its determination to offer repeated concessions to Hitler. In fact, from the early 1930s, British leaders, fearful of further damaging their Depression-afflicted economy, fought to keep military spending to a minimum. They then used the country’s military deficiencies as an excuse to turn a blind eye to Germany’s increasing aggression and explosive rearmament, a flagrant violation of the 1919 Versailles Treaty. ......
In April 1940, however, Germany invaded Norway and Denmark, and Chamberlain’s campaign of secrecy and misinformation finally rebounded on him. Caught off guard by the surprise attacks, the British government scrambled to dispatch troops to aid the Norwegians. Barely two weeks later, Chamberlain made a stunning admission to Parliament and the nation: The badly armed and equipped British forces had been routed by the enemy and were being evacuated from Norway.
For more than a year, the British public had shown increasing signs of hostility toward Germany and disaffection with the prime minister’s inertia. When news broke of Britain’s humiliating defeat in Norway, that simmering discontent boiled over into fear and fury.
Capitalizing on the public mood, the Tory anti-appeasement rebels began an all-out effort to get rid of Chamberlain. On May 7 and 8, 1940, the House of Commons, in perhaps the most consequential debate in parliamentary history, engaged in a passionate examination of the prime minister’s conduct of the war. Before the debate, almost no one believed that Chamberlain could be ousted. Yet in the vote of confidence that followed, more than 80 M.P.s deserted him. Even though Chamberlain actually won the vote, such a large Tory defection was widely considered a resounding defeat.
On May 10, Chamberlain resigned and Winston Churchill became prime minister. That same day, Hitler launched his blitzkrieg of Western Europe. In the nick of time, the House of Commons had reasserted itself as a guardian of democracy and taken the first critical step toward victory in the war.
With their action, the M.P.s underscored the truth of a comment made earlier by one of them: “No government can change men’s souls. The souls of men change governments.”
Thursday, June 27, 2019
British Prime Ministers 1902-1951
Arthur Balfour . 1902-1905
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman . 1905-1908
Peers versus the People: The British general elections of 1910 - HiRo > .
David Lloyd George . 1916-1922
Bonar Law . 1922-1923
Stanley Baldwin . 1923-1924
Ramsay MacDonald . 1924-1924
Stanley Baldwin . 1924-1929
Ramsay MacDonald . 1929-1935
Stanley Baldwin . 1935-1937
Neville Chamberlain . 1937-1940
Bonar Law . 1922-1923
Stanley Baldwin . 1923-1924
Ramsay MacDonald . 1924-1924
Stanley Baldwin . 1924-1929
Ramsay MacDonald . 1929-1935
Stanley Baldwin . 1935-1937
Neville Chamberlain . 1937-1940
Winston Churchill . 1940-1945
Churchill - tb >> .
How did Churchill lose the 1945 general election? > .
Churchill - tb >> .
How did Churchill lose the 1945 general election? > .
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Churchill
Was Chamberlain wrong to appease Hitler? - IWM > .
Britain Stops Trying to Appease Hitler; Turns to Churchill > .
Tony >> B .Britain Stops Trying to Appease Hitler; Turns to Churchill > .
British History - thr >> .
Second World War - thr >> .
Churchill Chiefs of Staff ..
Churchill War Ministry ..
War Leaders versus Press ..
War Rooms ..
Churchill #ĠС .
Brendan Bracken > .
40-5-13 Churchill Victory House of Commons Speech > .
Winston Churchill . 1940-1945
41-12-22 Mr Churchill goes to Washington > .
43-1-14 Casablanca Conference > .
43-11-16 WWII: Tehran Conference - 1943, 28 Nov 16 > .
43-11-16 Big Three in Tehran > .
45-5-7 Winston Churchill with his chiefs of staff in the garden of No. 10 Downing Street on the day Germany surrendered to the Allies, 7 May 1945.
45-5-8 VE Day - Churchill's speech ..
45-5-8 VE Day - Churchill speech > .
45-5-8 VE Day ..
Fruits of Victory > .
45-7-5 UK general election ..How did Churchill lose the 1945 general election? > .
The General Election of 1945 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor > .
Churchill - tb >> .
46-3-5 Churchill Iron Curtain Speech > .
Churchill - tb >> .
46-3-5 Churchill Iron Curtain Speech > .
55-4-7 Churchill Resigns > .
Winston Churchill Got a Lot of Things Wrong, But One Big Thing Right: He contemplated using poison gas on German civilians. He wanted to keep England white. And more. But he had the quality Britain needed most at exactly the moment it was needed.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/winston-churchill-got-a-lot-of-things-wrong-but-one-big-thing-right
Winston Churchill - First Lord Of The Admiralty - WW1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMz3dO4EqiM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibst6OYUY88
"History Detectives - Red Herrings: Famous Words Churchill Never Said"
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-141/history-detectives-red-herrings-famous-words-churchill-never-said .
Tom Hiddleston "The Gathering Storm" >
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC1TjAQ9GCo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7I1X0Com_U
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years > .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTzyAuFR60o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlO_0b5WHug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCLiZxvQAYI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ymaigVpXgg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn2_U6MAn2g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9-U0hPIoo8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmsaki9Yr_w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvjIxxkBNfk
Winston & Brendan Bracken > .
War Leaders versus Press ..
Throughout the war, Churchill took little interest in government propaganda from a strategic point of view, since he believed that Hitler could be beaten only by armed force, not by words. However, he took an intense interest in how the press was depicting the government and him personally, amounting to an obsession.
Churchill would often phone the Ministry Of Information at midnight and demand that copies of the next day’s newspapers be sent over to Downing Street or Chequers for him to read in bed. He would scour each page for reporting that he considered disloyal and complain bitterly to Minister of Information Brendan Bracken – his former Parliamentary Private Secretary – who would then have to smooth things over with editors.
Churchill shared this dislike of the press with other members of his coalition War Cabinet, including Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Home Secretary Herbert Morrison. On several occasions Churchill and Morrison threatened full blown government regulation and censorship and on one occasion threatened to close down the Daily Mirror completely.
---
Would one like to verbally spar with Churchill? None dared.
Not all his insults were as thought provoking. Some were barbed curmudgeonly execrable retorts such as those directed at Neville Chamberlain. His decency and unwillingness to subject Britain to another world war, led him on the vain path of appeasement. In this approach, Hitler perceived weakness which he exploited.
Instead Churchill through inspired foresight recognised the rise of Nazism as a dire threat. To counter Chamberlain’s endeavours, he maligned Chamberlain mercilessly.
Here is a sample of those barbed sardonic comments: “He looked at foreign affairs through the wrong end of a municipal drainpipe.” On another occasion he noted, of Neville Chamberlain, “At the depths of that dusty soul there is nothing but abject surrender”. Finally Churchill quipped, “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.”
War Leaders versus Press ..
Throughout the war, Churchill took little interest in government propaganda from a strategic point of view, since he believed that Hitler could be beaten only by armed force, not by words. However, he took an intense interest in how the press was depicting the government and him personally, amounting to an obsession.
Churchill would often phone the Ministry Of Information at midnight and demand that copies of the next day’s newspapers be sent over to Downing Street or Chequers for him to read in bed. He would scour each page for reporting that he considered disloyal and complain bitterly to Minister of Information Brendan Bracken – his former Parliamentary Private Secretary – who would then have to smooth things over with editors.
Churchill shared this dislike of the press with other members of his coalition War Cabinet, including Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Home Secretary Herbert Morrison. On several occasions Churchill and Morrison threatened full blown government regulation and censorship and on one occasion threatened to close down the Daily Mirror completely.
---
Would one like to verbally spar with Churchill? None dared.
Not all his insults were as thought provoking. Some were barbed curmudgeonly execrable retorts such as those directed at Neville Chamberlain. His decency and unwillingness to subject Britain to another world war, led him on the vain path of appeasement. In this approach, Hitler perceived weakness which he exploited.
Instead Churchill through inspired foresight recognised the rise of Nazism as a dire threat. To counter Chamberlain’s endeavours, he maligned Chamberlain mercilessly.
Here is a sample of those barbed sardonic comments: “He looked at foreign affairs through the wrong end of a municipal drainpipe.” On another occasion he noted, of Neville Chamberlain, “At the depths of that dusty soul there is nothing but abject surrender”. Finally Churchill quipped, “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.”
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
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sī vīs pācem, parā bellum
igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...
