Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
How effective was Churchill as a wartime PM - Coggle Diagram
How effective was Churchill as a wartime PM
Military strategy
Weaknesses
Churchill did not commit too many fighter planes to France, which was understandable, but after she fell this made relations tense
Sicily 1943- tied down German forces slowly but was costly esp in battles around Anzio and Gustav line- failed to achieve quick breakthrough Churchill hoped for, could have been as effective to go directly through France
Arctic convoy PQ17- July1942. Gov insisted it should sail to carry copilots to Soviet Union despite German forces- they scattered the combine, but 2/3 was lost- cost a lot to maintain suply routes and was not carried out to well
Deploying HMS Princeton of Wales and HMS Repulse- Dec 1941. Sent to Malaya to deter Japan expanding- without aircraft crarrier to provide air cover and were sunk by Japanese aircraft on the 10th- undermined them and underestimated land based aircraft
Loss of Crete 1941- Churchill supported sending British forces to assist Greeks against It and G- ended in evacuation when Germans landed in April 1941. They captured it in May despite British intelligence giving warning of airborne invasion - lost men and equipment
Strengths
NA 1940-41. Churchill sent 150 tanks to General Wavell in Egypt despite fear of home invasion. This along with oconner’s troops directed under Wavell helped capture 130,000 prisoners by Feb 1941 with less than 500 dead after a 2 month campaign
Soviet assistance. ON June 22nd Churchill immediately offered assistance to the USSR despite being anti Bolshevik- needed them to win the war- they applied east pressure and were a valuable ally over Nazism
Churchill heavily valued and utilised the breaking of the German enigma code, ultra intelligence was vital ( allowed to warn Stalin of. German invasion)
El Alamein Oc 1942 replaced Wavell with auchinleck, then Monty in Aug 1942 as commander of 8th army- replenished suplylines and rebuilt the army/ Made Rommels forces retreat after the offensive- Church bells rung ‘Up to Alamein,we survived. After Alamein, we conquered’l
Battle of Britain 10th July- 31st Oct 1940- Relied heavily on Dowding and Robert Watson- Watt’s radar to detect German aircraft. Britain did not allow Germany to gain air superioricy despite being on the brink of collapse if Germany kept pushing for a couple more weeks. Germany also had 2800 Luftwaffe vs 650 hurricanes and spitfires
Churchill supported Arthur harriss’ bombing campaign of industrial cities to weaken Nazi war effort- controversial though
Dunkirk evacuation - May/June 1940- over 340,000 troops saved, not many thought it was going to work
Showed Churchill as a strong capable leader of doing something nearly impossible and allowed for a continued fiight
Tehran conference 1943 Nov- agreed on operation overlord In 1944, making it coordinated and helping with its success
The soft underbelly approach to Europe avoided direct confrontation with German land, lack of trench warfare ( at the start) and kept morale much higher.
Risk taking
Strengths
Stayed in Britain in the Blitz- 1940-41- showed ordinary people that government faced the same dangers as ordinary people- took risks to strengthen morale
Actively defended Soviet Union by supplying them despite britains shortages and hate of communism- risk to help the overall grand alliancd
Mers-El-Kebir- 3 July 1940- Fearing Hitler would get control of the french fleet after their surrender, he demanded they sail to neutral ports, disarm or surrender to Britain. They refused and the Royal Navy attacked them in Algeria. - 1300 sailors killed.- most ruthless decision, weakened hunch relations but saved Germany getting stronger
Wanted to be in the D Day landings. George VI Sara both of them shall go then, equal risk. Military leaders concerned he could be captured or killed= political criisis- his willingness was genuine but irresponsible to risk the governmental stability
Dunkirk May-June 1940. Churchill authorised evacuating hundreds of thousands of troops, despite relying massively on weather, and risking many ciivilians and equipment- rescued 340,000
weaknesses
2 Malayan battle ships- Dec 1941- sending these with no backup aircover was presumptively and losing 2 major warships reflects British power in the far east
Connor PQ17- July 1942- losses showed dangers of operqations when enemy threat was real and severe.
Intervention in Greece 1941- commutes troops even though German intervention threatens the operation- had to evacuate and lost Crete showing strains on British forces without strategic gains
Diplomacy with other leaders
strengths
weaknesses
relationships with generals
Strengths
Weaknesses
Work ethic
strengths
Weaknesses
Emotional involvment
strengths
Weaknesses