The May 1940 War Cabinet Crisis: Churchill's Darkest Hour?

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The May 1940 War Cabinet Crisis: Churchill's Darkest Hour?
By Rachel Dinning/ BBC History Magazine/ historyextra.com

"In May 1940, as the evacuations at Dunkirk were taking place and the outlook of Operation Dynamo looked grim, wartime prime minister Winston Churchill met with his War Cabinet to discuss a possible peace deal with Adolf Hitler.

Writing for History Extra, Anthony McCarten explores how Churchill brought Britain back from the brink of negotiated peace between London and Berlin in the Second World War…"

A boat of soldiers rescued from Dunkirk. The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. (The Print Collector/Getty Images)


Richard

 

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The Secret of Churchill's Darkest Hour: An American General in London
By Clive Irving/ Special Relationship/ The Daily Beast/ thedailybeast.com

"Right under the nose of an ambassador who thought the Brits were finished Raymond E. Lee told the White House it was otherwise—and he was right.

LONDON—In the 19 months between Winston Churchill becoming prime minister and Pearl Harbor, fascism came as close as it ever would to world domination.

We are being newly awakened—in a timely way—to those months of peril not by historians but by two films, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and Joe Wright’s forthcoming Darkest Hour.

The first is prelude: the rout of Britain’s army in France turns into heroic evacuation. The second is a penetrating glimpse of Churchill as he summons and projects the indomitable spirit of his island people while not being sure that it will actually appear and prevail...."

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast


Richard

 

[MOXJO7282]

One of the highlights of our London trip was visiting Winston Churchill's bunker headquarters museum. We spent almost 4 hours there and could've spent all day it had so much great historical material.

 

[vacationhopeful]

Interesting post. If Great Britain had fallen, we would be speaking German now instead of learning Spanish.

 

[x3 skier]

One of the highlights of our London trip was visiting Winston Churchill's bunker headquarters museum. We spent almost 4 hours there and could've spent all day it had so much great historical material.

One thing about that bunker that really intrigued me was the "hot line" to Roosevelt located in a Broom Closet.

Cheers

 

[dgf15215]

I agree. Visiting Churchill's War Room was an entirely fascinating experience and how we missed in on previous trips to London I don't know. To see his famous quote "We are all worms. But I believe that I am a glow-worm" in person and the sparse headquarters of the most fabled war effort of modern history is a not-to-miss event.

 

[WalnutBaron]

There are, of course, so many Churchill anecdotes, but I particularly love those that illustrate Churchill's quick wit and wry sense of humor. In the dark days of Germany's occupation of France, Churchill made a trip to visit the troops outside London. While he was there, a large shipment of field rifles was delivered in wooden boxes, the rifles wrapped in plastic sheaths to protect them from the elements during shipping. As the rifles were being un-crated and the sheaths removed, the troops began stacking all of the shipping materials in a trash pile to be burned.

"Oh no", Churchill instructed the troops. "Don't burn it. Put those sheaths back into the boxes and mark the boxes addressed to the Fuhrer in Berlin with this note attached: 'We have an overflow of condoms for the British troops and thought you might be interested.' "

(This story was shared by one of Churchill's great admirers and author of several books on Churchill, Jamie Humes.)

 

[x3 skier]

Bessie Braddock MP: “Winston, you are drunk, and what’s more you are disgustingly drunk.”

WSC: “Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow
I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly.”

Cheers

 

[WalnutBaron]

Lady Astor: "Winston, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink!"

Churchill: "Nancy, if I were your husband, I would drink it."

 

[Jimster]

Yes, I agree the war room was interesting. So is his home/estate located outside of London. As a side note, when Pearl Harbor was bombed Churchill flashed the victory sign and said: “We have won.”

 

[x3 skier]

As a side note, when Pearl Harbor was bombed Churchill flashed the victory sign and said: “We have won.”

He knew what it meant.

Cheers

 

[WalnutBaron]

Yes, I agree the war room was interesting. So is his home/estate located outside of London. As a side note, when Pearl Harbor was bombed Churchill flashed the victory sign and said: “We have won.”

Even so, it would take 3 1/2 long years to defeat the truly awesome Nazi war machine, despite the fact that we had the Nazis' playbook all along. By breaking the Nazi coding system, which was so sophisticated that it was only declassified in 1974, the Americans and the British knew every move the enemy was planning, executing, or even thinking about (with the exception of the Battle of the Bulge). It was far from an automatic thing, though it's true that Churchill knew there was no way that Europe could survive without the direct intervention of the Americans into the War.