Churchill at War.

Max Hastings is an experienced and well-known military historian with a specialization in the Second World War, and in this he gives us an unflattering analysis of Winston Churchill. Hastings reveals Churchill to have been moody, petulant, self-serving, irrational at times, racist, disconnected from reality, stubborn, flattering as necessary, near-sighted or tightly focused, and willing to report the situation as it suited his purposes, namely the survival and continuation of the British Empire, regardless of the interests of its inhabitants.

We learn that the “special relationship” between the United States and England was mostly in Churchill’s imagination, as Roosevelt would eventually ignore him and pay more attention to Stalin. Perhaps this was to the detriment of long-term U.S. interests as Churchill truly understood Stalin’s intents, which Roosevelt only belatedly began to understand.

Churchill as military strategist continued to be deficient as he encouraged the U.S. invasion of Italy, the misunderstood “soft-underbelly,” a thankless, drawn-out, and bloody enterprise. He ordered British attacks upon islands in the Aegean Sea which consumed military resources without any benefit. The U.S. ignored his requests for assistance. Perhaps Churchill’s do-it-yourself approach was necessary as British generalship, as in W.W. I, was sorely lacking, although initially the US was deficient as well.

Overall, Winston’s War is a good read for a serious reorientation about Allied relationships in WW2.

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Note: Winston’s War is also available in hardcover, audio, and e-editions.

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