Devil Doc
When Death smiles, Corpsmen smile back
It was on this day in 1940 that Winston Churchill took power as the prime minister of Great Britain,. He became a politician in 1900, but he had a bumpy political career. He switched parties not once but twice. He started out conservative, then became liberal, and then went conservative again. At the start of World War I, he was one of the few British politicians to predict how widespread the war would be. But when he advocated an invasion of Turkey, Germany's ally, the result was a disaster. There were hundreds of thousands of British casualties, and nothing to show for it. Churchill had to resign his office in disgrace.
But instead of going into the private sector, he joined the army again and went into battle himself, commanding a battalion in the trenches. He was the only politician of his stature to serve in the trenches during World War I. After the war he got back into politics, but he found himself alienated from both parties. Liberals and conservatives both thought he was an extremist reactionary. In 1932 he made a speech about the growing danger of a second world war with Germany. No one took him seriously.
Churchill kept warning of Hitler's rise to power throughout the 1930s. Most people saw Churchill as an arrogant, paranoid warmonger, and most people supported appeasement of Hitler. Things changed when Hitler took control of Czechoslovakia and Austria, then invaded Poland, Belgium and France. In a less than two years, almost all of Western Europe's mainland was either controlled by or allied with Nazi Germany.
And then, on this day in 1940, Churchill became the prime minister. In his acceptance speech, he famously said, "All I have to offer is blood, toil, tears and sweat."
By that summer, the situation for Great Britain was already so dire that Hitler assumed Churchill would surrender. The British army had already been decimated in a retreat from Dunkirk. Hitler was so confident that he delayed invasion because he thought it would be a waste of resources. Almost everyone thought it was a hopeless situation, but Churchill decided that he would persuade the people not to give up.
In a series of extraordinary speeches, he used his abilities as an orator to rally the British people. He said, "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. ... We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the landing-grounds; we shall fight in the fields and in the streets. ... We shall never surrender."
By sheer force of will and personality, he persuaded the British people to keep up their spirits even as their country was subject to a U-boat blockade, and food became scarce, and London was bombed by German planes. His leadership gave the British courage hold out long enough for the Royal Air Force to fight off the Nazi planes and for the United States to join the war and help win it.
Today, in Great Britain, Churchill is remembered as an important but imperfect statesman. In America, he's considered an almost flawless hero. American presidents have put portraits of him up on the walls of the White House, and in the last few decades, whenever an American president needs to use military force, he often mentions Churchill and even quotes his words.
Doc.
But instead of going into the private sector, he joined the army again and went into battle himself, commanding a battalion in the trenches. He was the only politician of his stature to serve in the trenches during World War I. After the war he got back into politics, but he found himself alienated from both parties. Liberals and conservatives both thought he was an extremist reactionary. In 1932 he made a speech about the growing danger of a second world war with Germany. No one took him seriously.
Churchill kept warning of Hitler's rise to power throughout the 1930s. Most people saw Churchill as an arrogant, paranoid warmonger, and most people supported appeasement of Hitler. Things changed when Hitler took control of Czechoslovakia and Austria, then invaded Poland, Belgium and France. In a less than two years, almost all of Western Europe's mainland was either controlled by or allied with Nazi Germany.
And then, on this day in 1940, Churchill became the prime minister. In his acceptance speech, he famously said, "All I have to offer is blood, toil, tears and sweat."
By that summer, the situation for Great Britain was already so dire that Hitler assumed Churchill would surrender. The British army had already been decimated in a retreat from Dunkirk. Hitler was so confident that he delayed invasion because he thought it would be a waste of resources. Almost everyone thought it was a hopeless situation, but Churchill decided that he would persuade the people not to give up.
In a series of extraordinary speeches, he used his abilities as an orator to rally the British people. He said, "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. ... We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the landing-grounds; we shall fight in the fields and in the streets. ... We shall never surrender."
By sheer force of will and personality, he persuaded the British people to keep up their spirits even as their country was subject to a U-boat blockade, and food became scarce, and London was bombed by German planes. His leadership gave the British courage hold out long enough for the Royal Air Force to fight off the Nazi planes and for the United States to join the war and help win it.
Today, in Great Britain, Churchill is remembered as an important but imperfect statesman. In America, he's considered an almost flawless hero. American presidents have put portraits of him up on the walls of the White House, and in the last few decades, whenever an American president needs to use military force, he often mentions Churchill and even quotes his words.
Doc.
