Churchill S Generals

John Keegan has assembled a cast of seventeen generals whose reputations were made (and some of them broken) by Churchill and the Second World War. Churchill's reputation as prime minister during the Second World War fluctuated according to the successes and failures of his generals. Most of them were household names, and often heroes, during the war years. All of them were prey to the intolerance, interference, irascibility - and the inspiration - of the man who wanted to be both the general in the field and the presiding strategic genius. He sacked his warlords ruthlessly, yet in the end he came to be served by perhaps the greatest generals this country has ever produced. Includes chapters on Wavell, Ironside, Ritchie, Auchinleck, Montgomery, Alexander, Percival, Wingate, Slim and Carton de Wiart. Note: The Publisher regrets that the biographical note for Gary Sheffield is incorrect in the book. Please refer to the Orion website (www.orionbooks.co.uk) for the correct version.

On the eve of World War II, the British army was more an international police force than a combat ready fighting force. This book examines its transformation in a look at Great Britain's top commanders in the field.

This book vividly brings alive the dramatic situation facing Europe and the Allies after the loss of Dunkirk. Churchill and his generals—Alexander, Brooke, Wavell and Montgomery—were faced with many disasters that required courageous decisions in order to pursue their aim of victory. This is the inside story of the situations they faced, the decisions they made and the outcome of those choices. An incredible portrayal of the courage, the nerve and the commitment of those brave men who affected the course of history.

A limited edition hardcover book exploring Churchill's relationships with his generalsThis is the incredible story of the darkest days of World War II when Winston Churchill and his generals—Montgomery, Alexander, Wavell, and Brooke—were facing catastrophe on every front. They suffered defeat at Dunkirk and survived the Battle of Britain. With enormous amounts of courage and skill they fought off the Luftwaffe and managed to hold on until the Allied invasion of Europe. On May 10th, 1940 Churchill became Prime Minister and took control of Britain's War Effort. He appointed key men to command the forces upon which the free world's survival depended. Men like Montgomery, Slim, Auchinleck, Alanbrooke, and Alexander were given the highest command to wage war “against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark lamentable catalogue of human crime.” This is the story of his relationships with these remarkable men and the American generals who followed them including Dwight Eisenhower and George Marshall.

Certainly one of the most important reference works on the Second World War ever published. Full narrative histories of 125 generals, with detailed information on their units and the theatres in which they served. Chronological details in tabular form of the wartime appointments of a further 125 generals. Foreword by Lt General Sir Alistair Irwin, K.C.B., C.B.E.

An analytical investigation into Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s decision-making process during every stage of World War II. When Winston Churchill accepted the position of Prime Minister in May 1940, he insisted in also becoming Minister of Defence. This, though, meant that he alone would be responsible for the success or failure of Britain’s war effort. It also meant that he would be faced with many monumental challenges and utterly crucial decisions upon which the fate of Britain and the free world rested. With the limited resources available to the UK, Churchill had to pinpoint where his country’s priorities lay. He had to respond to the collapse of France, decide if Britain should adopt a defensive or offensive strategy, choose if Egypt and the war in North Africa should take precedence over Singapore and the UK’s empire in the East, determine how much support to give the Soviet Union, and how much power to give the United States in controlling the direction of the war. In this insightful investigation into Churchill’s conduct during the Second World War, Allen Packwood, BA, MPhil (Cantab), FRHistS, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, enables the reader to share the agonies and uncertainties faced by Churchill at each crucial stage of the war. How Churchill responded to each challenge is analyzed in great detail and the conclusions Packwood draws are as uncompromising as those made by Britain’s wartime leader as he negotiated his country through its darkest days.