CHURCHILLS VIEW OF EVENTS 1930-1940

British situation in India between 1918-1930

• seen as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the British Empire

• its primary importance being economic as it provided enormous potential for trade

• Britains rule over India had always relied on the acceptance of rule by tens of thousands of British officials by hundreds of millions on Indians which had come under strain at this time

• momentum for Indian self rule grows during WW2 as war undermined superiority of rule and Indias ally ship to Britain

most British politicians views on India

• Britains relationship with India had to change

• nationalist pressure led by educated Indian elites, and pressure internationally enforced this

• like other countries such as Australia and Canada, India should be gradually given more rights to self government in order to prevent outright independence

• alienated those seeking compromise and independence due to Churchills firm opposite to independence in India and his extreme public statements

• Churchills support of eccentric and racist organisations opposing negotiations, isolated him away from the Conservatives

• Baldwin, the conservative leader, undermined Churchills position through his calm and moderate speeches mocking Churchill

Churchills views on India

• Britain should not accept any change in its relationship with India

1. it was an essential part of the empires greatness

2. British rule improved Indians lives

3. if Britain allowed self-rule, hindu-muslim violence would be unleashed

4. his racial prejudice that the British people were racially superior to Indians and had a destiny to rule over them

5. duty to launch a personal crusade to defend British interests

Rowletts Act

• Rowletts Act meets demands for self-rule with repression, allowing imprisonment without trial

• caused disorder in Amritsar leads to British troops to massively overreact and kill 400 and injure 1200 when they opened fire in a defenceless crowd

• caused Montagu-Chelmsford reforms allow tiny minority of Indian elites to elect local councils to have limited powers

Gandhi

• led a series of civil obedience campaigns, using non-violent methods such as wearing homespun clothes and protesting salt tax

• designed to put pressure on British rule from the increasing engagement of the huge Indian population

• this captured the attention of international reporting and winning support from British MPs due to non-violent resistance

Gandhi-Irwin Pact

• three rounds of table conferences held in London

• pact happened on the 5th march 1932

• Irwin, British viceroy in India, met with Gandhi and agreed to some concessions to set up round table conferences such as releasing Indian nationalist campaigners and removing tax on salt

• Gandhi attended these meetings in his homespun clothes

• these conferences aimed to set a path for India to be granted more rights to self rule as a dominion

• but failed to reach an agreement and Gandhi was arrested on his return to India

India defence league and India empire society

• India empire society (july 1930) formed by retired british colonial administrators - churchill joined shortly after its formation in october 

• Gave churchill validation to argue those who actually know india opposed independence 

• India defence league (june 1933) formed by churchill and his allies as an aggressive political pressure group 

• Mobilised parliamentary rebellion (over 50 conservative MPS)

Attitude towards Sir Samuel Hoare, the government’s India minister, 1934

• Accused him of of unconstitutionally pressuring the manchester chamber of commerce to alter the testimony they were going to present to the Joint Select Committee on indian reform 

• But Hoare was unanimously acquitted in june

• Humiliating defeat for churchill who appeared obsessive, vindictive, out of touch, damaging his credibility 

Government of India Act

• regional legislature would deal with local fairs and around 10% of the population were given the vote (35m)

• passed by the British in 1935 and came into force in 1937

• Churchill stopped agitating after the Act was passed and wished India well

why was Churchill out of power so long - economy

• Britains priority was to end of the depression - as chancellor in 1929, he made a significant economic miscalculation in joining the gold standard which armed the economy

• another priority was to reduce unemployment and the suffering of the working class - Churchills strong opposition to socialism made him an unlikely character to address these issues

• as a cabinet miner he had twice taken a tough line in breaking up strike in 1910 and 1926

why was Churchill out of power so long - empire and war

• priority was to manage imperial difficulties and the beginning of Britains weakening of imperial control - churchills die hard support for imperial rule and genuine belief in Britains mission to rule over others for their won good

• priority was to create peace in Europe after the trauma of the war and to begin re-establishing better relations with Germany - Churchill had strong military connections and was seen by many as a war-monger

why was Churchill without a party

• churchills views were mostly conservative but he had clashed over them over island and the House of Lords in the past

• had been a member of the liberals between 1905-1914 but the liberal party had lost most of its strength and would never form a government by themselves again

• Churchills opposition to socialism meant he could never join the Labour Party

the abdication crisis background

• king Edward viii wanted to marry twice divorced American Wallis Simpson which was very controversial;

• raised constitutional issues about the kings role as the head of anti-divorce Church of England

• the leader of the church, Archbishop of Canterbury, opposed the marriage while Wallis ex-husbands were still alive

• it might cause arguments in parliament or crisis in the British empire if the colonies refuse to accept Edward’s actions and the commonwealth might break links with Britain rather than accept him as the head of state

• also wider concerns on the character of Edward viii as he was known to be a playboy, having affairs with older, sometimes married, women before he became king

• expectations of the monarchy were raised in the modern era of radio and newsreels

prime minister baldwins view on the abdication crisis

• faced a difficult task in telling the king he could not marry Wallis unless he abdicated from the throne

• baldwins government did not accept Edwards suggestion of a morganatic marriage

• most MPs supported this decision

• Baldwin wanted to resolve this uncomfortable problem quickly before it became too divisive

• informed the king if he insisted on marriage then he would have to abdicate or else baldwins government would all resign, causing a political crisis

• Baldwin did not want a vote in parliament on the issue because it might worsen the division

Churchills view on the abdication crisis

• king Edward viii should be allowed to marry Wallis Simpson and not abdicate from being king

• he had loyalty to the monarchy, emphasising its historic position of power and tradition in Britain

• he also had a personal friendship with the king, emphasising the personal connection that Churchill was an elite member of British society, having been a descendent of the Duke of Marlborough who moved in the same social circle as the king

churchills attitudes and actions during the abdication crisis

• was in personal contact with the king during the crisis, assuring him of his support

• he joined a small, loose group called ‘the kings friends’ who supported Edward viii

• Churchill outwardly spoke of his strong support during parliamentary debates

• this was a difficult decision for Baldwin, with some believing Churchill actions as being driven by an ambition to replace Baldwin, though it seemed unlikely and if it was his intention, he failed

• nevertheless, his opposition to the majority of the conservatives did not help him regain influence at all

• this was shown in his damaging speech on the 7th of December 1936 in support of the king was shouted down in parliament

churchills policy and aims of rearmament

• deter aggression from Germany by a show of force

• prepare Britain for war if German aggression continued

• churchills arguments ignored as the government carried out its own policies

• not until 1939 did churchills argument began to win him influence

Britains policy on rearmament

• collective security - encouraging countries to act together to stand up to aggressive nations

• pursued a policy of appeasement, particularly under chamberlain, meaning they were prepared to make reasonable concessions to avoid conflict

germany 1930-39

• 1935 - conscription and rearmament for Germany

• 1936 - invaded rhineland

• 1938 march - invaded Austria

• 1938 September - france and Britain appease hitler by giving him the Sudetenland

• 1939 march - invaded Czechoslovakia

• 1939 august - ussr/nazi pact

• 1939 September - invaded Poland

churchills argument for rearmament - germanys threat to Britain

• kellog-Briand Pact was an agreement in 1928 which all major countries agreed to avoid war but in the 1930s, Germany, Japan and Italy ignored it

• germanys public announcement of reintroducing conscription in 1935 gave new strength to arguments for rearmament and revealed the danger that Britains armed forces were likely to become inferior to Germany

• although hitlers aggressive foreign policy did not seem to directly threaten Britain as Hitler was targeting land mostly the east of Germany

churchills argument for rearmament - danger of air attacks

• as a colonial secretary in 1920-21, Churchill had approved air attacks on Iraqi rebels so he had personal experience of how effective bombing could be

• science fiction film Things To Come horrified audiences in 1936 withs scenes of civilians being obliterated by bombing and gas attacks from masses of aircraft

• German dive-bombers in the Spanish civil war destroyed the town of Guernica which was widely publicised, it shows what modern bombers could do to a town with no air defences

churchills argument for rearmament - upholding the treaty of versailles

• been a member of the government which had agreed to the treaty and some saw this as a reason of why he did not want to allow Germany to change the treaty terms

arguments against rearmament - public opinion

• conservative PM Baldwin openly admitted that rearmament would have meant the loss of the 1935 general election

• Labour won a shocking, massive victory in a safe conservative seat in the east Fulham by election (1933) by running an intense anti-war, pro-disarmament platform proving to baldwin that the public wanted a policy of appeasement, as the government feared that rearamment would lead to a loss in the general election 

• Oxford Union debate in 1933, showed that a majority of people (275 vs 153) said they would ‘under no circumstances fight for King and Country’ although this only represented a small group of elite youth

• the 'peace ballot; in 1934-5 accumulated over 11 million British adult votes showing overwhelming support for international disarmament and the League of Nations

arguments against rearmament - opposition to war

• WW1 was still recent in memory and a powerful factor in shaping foreign policy, particularly since many politicians had experienced personal tragedy

• widely known that WW1 was partly caused by an arms race been Britain and Germany so they wanted to avoid this

• chief of the armed forces told the government hat Britain did not have enough resources to fight Germany in Europe, Italy in Mediterranean and Japan in the far east

• churchill had warned against the nazis yet had viewed Mussolini positively, leading to churchills opponents say he was not consistent and thus his views less credible

• the ten year rule stated that the British empire would not be involved in any great wars for the next ten years (post ww1 plan)

arguments against rearmament - economic

• depression was the top priority for the government to deal with and economic thinking dictated this meant cutting government spending, including defence

• governments use of strict means test from 1934 to assess other individuals should qualify for unemployment benefits meant spending on rearmament more unpopular

arguments against rearmament - feeling that Germany had been treated unfairly

• restriction of Germany to an army of just 100,000 men, no airforce and a weak navy under the Treaty was looking increasingly unfair, especially as Germany was surrounded by the large forces of France and USSR

• as the treaty of versailles set out, in 1935 there was plebiscite in the Saarland, an area that had been taken away from Germany under the Treaty, with the large majority voting in favour of re-joining showing the lack of support for the Treaty

• in 1936, hitlers troops marched into the de-trooped Rhineland, braking the Treaty but the British government did not act, arguing it was unfair to deny Germany the right to have troops in its ow part of the country as it was like ‘Germany marching in to its own backyard’

arguments against rearmament - Germany could be dealt with by collective security

• high level of support for the League of Nations until 1935, which was an international organisation designed to maintain peace and when Germany joined in 1926 it proved further hope for lasting peace

• although in 1933, one of hitlers first actions was to withdraw Germany from the league

• in 1935, hitlers desire to annex Austria was stopped by effective collective security as Britain, France and Italy formed the Stresa Front in 1935

background - Germany and Sudetenland

• Hitler had reportedly broken the treaty of Versailles in the 1930s by building up its armed forces, annexing Austria etc

• In 1938, pit increasing pressure on Czechoslovakia to take over the border of the two countries known as Sudetenland

• Czechoslovakia strongly opposed Germany demands and was a successful democratic country

• France and the USSR (not Britain) made agreements to protect Czechoslovakia if it was attacked by Germany

munich conference - September 1938

• Britain and France agreed Germany could take over the Sudetenland in exchange for a guarantee from Hitler that general would not take any more land if Britain did not want it and that Hitler has no hostile intentions against Britain

• Fears that a way was about to break out

munich conference reaction

• Chamberlain greeted as hero and with great relief when it returned in which he guaranteed “peace for our time”

• Although parliament was split and Churchill spoke strongly against it

• Reasons for the agreement are unsure

• Though in March 1939, Hitler broke his promise and Germany took control of Czechoslovakia

• Afterwards, chamberlain abandoned appeasement and focused on faster rearmament

• Churchill’s position strengthened as his arguments became more convincing and after war was declared, he joined the government as first lord of the admiralty, ending his wilderness years

churchills Grand alliance

• Churchill called for a grand alliance of countries to deter Germany from aggression through international cooperation

• This would mean committing to send troops to Czechoslovakia to send it if Hitler was not deterred by diplomacy, making war likely

churchills criticisms of appeasement were valid - importance of Czechoslovakia

• had a large army of 35 divisions that might be able to give effective resistance to Germany in conflict

• Sudetenland included mountains that would naturally suit defence against a German attack and if germany took control of these areas, it would be hard to defend Czechoslovakia

• morally unacceptable for Britain to intervene and agree with Hitler to give away part of the country without allowing the Czechs to block this

churchills criticisms of appeasement were valid - situation after Munich

• public and political opinion changed and chruchill’s views seemed less unrealistic

• war was now not unthinkable and Britain began rearmament such as conscription, air raid planning, enlarged air and expeditionary forces

• USSR/Nazi non-aggression pact showed Hitler was sure he could defeat Poland without having to deal with Russian intervention

• after the invasion of Poland, chamberlain asked Churchill to become a member of the inner war cabinet, ceasing his role as an outsider having re-entered the government

• Germany was given an ultimatum, which when expired, Britain declared war

churchills criticisms of appeasement were not valid as they wrecked not realistic or credible at that time - Britain was not ready for war

• there had been no discussions on who Britains allies would be if war broke out

• did not have the expeditionary force ready for war as troops were tied down to peace-keeping activities in the empire such as in Palestine

• had to take into account Italy and Japan who could threaten britians vital interest such as south east Asia, Suez and India

churchills criticisms of appeasement were not valid as they wrecked not realistic or credible at that time - churchills understanding and opinions

• churchill had little understanding of britians vulnerability in the far east and japans expansionist war against china

• relentlessly hostile to the communist Soviet Union and so was unlikely to have an alliance with Stalin

• expressed enthusiasm for the League of Nations which had proved consistently ineffective in preventing aggression since 1931

• Churchill could propose no real alternatives to appeasement

• churchills tendency to exaggerate figures: Churchill relied heavily on private intelligence networks to bypass official government channels such as claiming that germany's air power was growing faster than the official estimates

churchills criticisms of appeasement were not valid as they wrecked not realistic or credible at that time - impact of other countries

• france looked consistently to Britain to provide excuses for not enacting on war as it did not want to repeat its losses of WW1

• smaller nations of Eastern Europe would not have been militarily effective if they joined the Grand Alliance and were more concerned with the threats of the Soviet union

• majority of public opinion in the usa were in favour of isolationism with the Neutrality acts preventing the supplying other countries engaged in war, let alone joining them

• USA were more focused on the pacific and threat of Japan

chamberlains leadership - Poland

• British forces unable to do anything to save Poland, whose name Britain had gone to war for

• small British expeditionary force sent to france, unable to take initiate and france ddi not launch anything like they had down previously in WW1

• germany took the west while the soviet union took the east

Norway campaign

• Soviet Union waged war against Finland

• clear failure and disaster for Britain

• Britain was unable and unwilling to open a western front and looked to Norway to send up to Finland

• Britains army landing unsuccessful causing disputes about methods and objectives

• campaign poorly managed and its purpose questioned

• hitler succeeded in taking Denmark and Norway

chamberlain’s leadership - general record of management of the war

• obvious the war effort was not being well coordinated

• britains achievements limited

• ‘phony war’

• ineffective minister for coordination of defence, economic planning and military coordination committee

• apart form Churchill, the government did not have any dynamic ministers with much war experience

chamberlains opposition in parliament

• Conservative Mp and former ally, Leo Amery quoted Oliver Cromwell ‘you have stayed too long for any good you have been doing’

• a vote on the governments handling of the campaign in Norway resulted in 281 to 200, although not defeated was a surpassing result to the governments usual 200 majority

• exposed a lot of hostility among his own MPs

• over 40 conservatives MPs voted against the government and another 40 abstained

• Churchill took responsibility for the failure of Norway, staying loyal to Chamberlain, increasing his own standing

labours party stance on chamberlain

• took advantage of the unexpected criticism by conservative MPS to force a vote over Norway

• Labour would not serve under chamberlain if he carried on

• backed Churchill although he was not a popular figure in the Labour Party, this ensured churchills promotion

• felt Churchill would bring a new determination to the war

germanys invasion of Holland and Belgium

• 10th May 1940

• Churchill viewed this as a major crisis

• the war cabinet not in favour of chamberlains staying as PM, especially influential Kingsley wood

• substantial show of no confidence among backbench conservatives

• obvious need for a leader who was decisive

Lord Halifax

• thought King George VI wanted Lord Halifax to be the next prime minister

• reluctant to take on the job he knew he was not fit for and did not step up

• he was a peer

• would have to denounce his title in the House of Lords to lead the country from the House of Commons