The Gathering Storm: The Second World War (115 page)
Read The Gathering Storm: The Second World War Online
Authors: Winston S. Churchill
Tags: #History, #Military, #World War II, #Europe, #Great Britain, #Western, #Fiction
5
Throughout the war a special section of the Trade Division dealt with the needs of fishing vessels working round our coasts.
6
See Chapter 7.
7
General Smuts replied that of course he would do as we wished.
8
This policy did not become possible until a later phase in the war.
9
See Chapter 7 and Appendix H dealing with the magnetic-mine problem.
10
Plans for this ship went forward. She became H.M.S.
Vanguard.
11
See Chapters 7 and 11.
12
This minute refers to the unrotated projectile (rocket propulsion), which was then being developed for use against low-flying aircraft. The device consisted of a battery of rockets which, on reaching a predetermined height, released long trailing wires, each carrying a small bomb at the end, and supported by a parachute. An aircraft fouling one of these wires would draw the bomb into its wing, where it would explode.
This device was a stop-gap necessitated by our grievous shortage of short-range weapons. Later on it was superseded by more effective weapons.
13
The development of concrete ships promised important relief to our vital war industries. It seemed that they could be built quickly and cheaply by types of labour not required in normal shipbuilding and would save large quantities of steel. These claims were found on examination to be based on false assumptions and many unforeseen technical difficulties arose. An experimental ship of two thousand tons was built, but was a failure, and although experimental work continued, the use of concrete hulls was only successful in barges up to about two hundred tons.
14
This plan was swept away by events. The Fleet Air Arm made its contribution to the R.A.F. during the Battle of Britain. Later the development of the U-boat war taxed to the utmost the resources of Coastal Command which itself drew heavily on Bomber Command to meet its ever-growing commitments.
Later again in 1941 the advent of the “Escort Carrier” type enabled the Fleet Air Arm to play a conspicuous part in the defeat of the U-boats operating beyond the range of normal shore-based aircraft.
15
This refers to the mining of the Norwegian Leads. Owing to many political complications referred to in Chapter 11, the operation did not take place until April 8.
16
In Chapter 8 my minutes are recorded dealing with the difficulties which arose over bringing the
Exeter
home after the River Plate action. She now remained under repair for many months.
17
The “fast escort vessels” became known as “Hunt” class destroyers, as their names were all selected from famous packs of hounds. Large numbers were built and they served with distinction both in the anti-U-boat war and in our amphibious operations. Later ancient names were revived.
The “whalers” became known as “corvettes” and later types were called “frigates.”
Escort vessels became “sloops.”
18
As a result of these deliberations the battleship
Warspite
was ordered to return to the Mediterranean, but with the opening of the Norwegian campaign she was recalled to Home waters and did not reach the Mediterranean until May.
Before the Italian declaration of war in June, the
Malaya, Ramillies,
and
Royal Sovereign
had also joined the Mediterranean Fleet from convoy duty in the Atlantic.
19
See also First Lord’s Minute of April 12 above.
20
Our ships were using Skjel Fiord in the Lofoten Islands as an advanced base. This covered the approach to Narvik through West Fiord.
21
Iceland was occupied by British forces on May 10.
| About the Author |
One of the most significant leaders of the twentieth century, Winston Churchill was born in 1874. He served as a war correspondent during the Boer War and after his capture and release became a national hero in England. He parlayed his celebrity into a political career, getting elected to the Conservative Party just ten months after his return. Churchill joined the Liberal Party in 1904. After serving as Home Secretary under David Lloyd George, he became Lord of the Admiralty, but a military setback suffered in World War I forced him to resign. Churchill’s political career suffered many ups and downs during the 1920’s and 30’s owing, in part, to his support of King Edward VIII during his abdication. But when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, Churchill was reappointed Lord of the Admiralty.
In 1940, Churchill succeeded Chamberlain as Prime Minister and remained in office until 1945. During that time, he successfully guided the nation through World War II, inspiring and mobilizing the British people and forging crucial ties with American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Despite his success in the war, Churchill’s government was voted out in 1945, owing in part to the nation’s lack of confidence in his domestic policies. He remained in Parliament and was reelected in 1951, ultimately resigning in 1955 at the age of 80.
After retirement from public life, Churchill spent his time writing, publishing The History of the English Speaking People. That work, along with his six-volume history of World War II and The World Crisis, his history of World War I, earned Churchill the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. In 1963 Churchill was made an honorary U.S. citizen. Winston Churchill died in 1965 at the age of 90.
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| Copyright |
The Gathering Storm
Copyright © 1948 by Winston Churchill
Cover art and eForeword to the electronic edition copyright © 2002 by RosettaBooks, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
For information address
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First electronic edition published 2002 by RosettaBooks LLC, New York.
ISBN 0-7953-0600-8
| Contents |
Book One
From War to War
1919–1939
1 The Follies of the Victors, 1919–1929
2 Peace at Its Zenith, 1922–1931
8 Challenge and Response, 1935
9 Problems of Air and Sea, 1935–1939
10 Sanctions Against Italy, 1935
14 Mr. Eden at the Foreign Office. His Resignation
15 The Rape of Austria, February, 1938
19 Prague, Albania, and the Polish Guarantee, January–April, 1939