Tai Lieu Chat Luong THE HINGE OF FATE WINSTON CHURCHILL The Hinge of Fate Copyright The Hinge Of Fate Copyright © 1950 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 Editor@RosettaBooks.com First electronic edition published 2002 by RosettaBooks LLC, New York ISBN 0-7953-0622-9 The Hinge of Fate Contents eForeword Preface Acknowledgments Book One The Onslaught of Japan 1: Australasian Anxieties 2: The Setback in the Desert 3: Penalties in Malaya 4: A Vote of Confidence 5: Cabinet Changes 6: The Fall of Singapore 7: The U-Boat Paradise 8: The Loss of the Dutch East Indies 9: The Invasion of Burma 10: Ceylon and the Bay of Bengal 11: The Shipping Stranglehold 12: India — The Cripps Mission 13: Madagascar The Hinge of Fate 14: American Naval VictoriesThe Coral Sea and Midway Island 15: The Arctic Convoys,1942 16: The Offensive in the Aether 17: Malta and the Desert 18: “Second Front Now!”April, 1942 19: The Molotov Visit 20: Strategic Natural Selection 21: Rommel Attacks 22: My Second Visit to Washington 23: The Vote of Censure Book Two Africa Redeemed 1: The Eighth Army at Bay 2: Decision for “Torch” 3: My Journey to Cairo:Changes in Command 4: Moscow: The First Meeting 5: Moscow:A Relationship Established 6: Return to Cairo 7: The Final Shaping of “Torch” 8: Suspense and Strain 9: Soviet “Thank You” 10: The Battle of Alamein 11: The Torch is Lit 12: The Darlan Episode The Hinge of Fate 13: Problems of Victory 14: Our Need to Meet 15: The Casablanca Conference 16: Adana and Tripoli 17: Home to Trouble 18: Russia and the Western Allies 19: Victory in Tunis 20: My Third Visit to Washington 21: Problems of War and Peace 22: Italy the Goal Appendices Notes About the Author About this Title The Hinge of Fate Maps and Diagrams Chart to Illustrate Mediterranean Campaigns, 1942 The Setback in the Desert, January, 1942 Malaya, Situation January 1, 1942 The Malayan Peninsula Singapore Island The U-Boats in American Waters December 7, 1941, to July 31, 1942 The Atlantic, General Area of North Atlantic Convoys Losses by U-Boat, January to July, 1942 The Crisis of Battle August 1, 1942, to May 21, 1943 The A.B.D.A Area of Operations Burma The Indian Ocean Madagascar Pacific Theatre Solomons — New Guinea Track of P.Q.17 Russian Winter Offensives, January to March, 1942 Diagram Enemy Plan for May 27–28 The Hinge of Fate Diagram The Battle for Tobruk The Western Desert Tobruk The Action at Minqa Qaim The Western Desert The German Campaign in Russia, 1942 The Battle of Alam el Halfa Russian Counter-attacks at Stalingrad The Opposing Forces, October 23, 1942 The Plan of Attack Battle of el Alamein Northern Sector “Supercharge”: The Break-through Algiers — Tunis The North Coast of Africa The Front in Russia, April, 1942, to March, 1943 Tunisia The Battle of Mareth Tunis — The Last Phase May 6–12, 1943 The Hinge of Fate eForeword One of the most fascinating works of history ever written, Winston Churchill’s monumental The Second World War is a six-volume account of the struggle of the Allied powers in Europe against Germany and the Axis Told through the eyes of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, The Second World War is also the story of one nation’s singular, heroic role in the fight against tyranny Pride and patriotism are evident everywhere in Churchill’s dramatic account and for good reason Having learned a lesson at Munich that they would never forget, the British refused to make peace with Hitler, defying him even after France had fallen and after it seemed as though the Nazis were unstoppable Churchill remained unbowed throughout, as did the people of Britain in whose determination and courage he placed his confidence Patriotic as Churchill was, he managed to maintain a balanced impartiality in his description of the war What is perhaps most interesting, and what lends the work its tension and emotion, is Churchill’s inclusion of a significant amount of primary material We hear his retrospective analysis of the war, to be sure, but we are also presented with memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams that give a day-by-day account of the reactions-both mistaken and justified-to the unfolding drama Strategies and counterstrategies develop to respond to Hitler’s ruthless conquest of Europe, his planned invasion of England, and The Hinge of Fate his treacherous assault on Russia It is a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions that have to be made with imperfect knowledge and an awareness that the fate of the world hangs in the balance The fourth volume in this work, The Hinge of Fate is, as its name might suggest, the dramatic account of the Allies’ changing fortunes By the end of the previous volume, The Grand Alliance, the Russians and the Americans had both entered the war on the side of the British, but Germany, Italy and Japan continued pressing forward successfully with their terrible onslaught In the first half of The Hinge of Fate, Churchill describes the fearful period in which the Germans threaten to overwhelm the Red Army, Rommel dominates the war in the desert, and Singapore falls to the Japanese In the span of just a few months, however, the Allies begin to turn the tide, achieving decisive victories at Midway and Guadalcanal, and repulsing the Germans at Stalingrad As their confidence builds, and they begin to gain ground against the Axis powers, the Allies can begin to see the end of this terrible conflict in sight Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 due in no small part to this awe-inspiring work RosettaBooks is the leading publisher dedicated exclusively to electronic editions of great works of fiction and non-fiction that reflect our world RosettaBooks is a committed epublisher, maximizing the resources of the Web in opening a fresh dimension in the reading experience In this electronic reading environment, each RosettaBook will enhance the experience through The RosettaBooks Connection This gateway instantly delivers to the reader the opportunity to learn more about the title, the author, the content and the context of each work, using the full resources of the Web The Hinge of Fate 1192 Corrected figures, with post-war information of enemy casualties, are given in Volume III, Book Two, Chapter X Total British casualties were 17,704, enemy casualties about 33,000 The words ex officio were added in my letter to Sir Stafford Cripps dated February See Chapter Chapter Sir Frederick Maurice had been Director of Military Operations in 1918 during the First World War In a letter to the Times he attacked the Prime Minister, Mr Lloyd George, on the subject of the use of the available manpower in the Army He was dismissed from his post, and a formidable debate, followed by a division, took place in the House of Commons Whether Liberals voted for Mr Asquith or Mr Lloyd George on this occasion was afterwards made the test in the post-war election General Maurice became President of the British Legion in 1932 Chapter l See map The Atlantic Chapter General Sir Alan Hartley had been appointed Commanderin-Chief India when General Wavell left to take over the Command of A.B.D.A The Hinge of Fate 1193 Chapter A Chinese division was about one-third the strength of a British or Indian division Chapter 12 Proposals for an interim Government had been put forward by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru on behalf of a body called the Non-Party Conference The idea of two nations — Hindu and Moslem — was completely ignored by these spokesmen They were thus immediately repudiated by the Moslem League Actually, Rhode Island was not represented and the Constitution became effective upon the ratification of nine states Chapter 13 This was the original code-word for the operation against Madagascar It was later called “Ironclad.” See map, The Indian Ocean Chapter 14 See map of Pacific Theatre See map of the Solomons — New Guinea See map of Pacific Theatre The Hinge of Fate 1194 Chapter 15 Code-name for preparations for the main invasion of France, afterwards the foundation of “Overlord.” See map, “Track of P.Q.17.” Some of these losses occurred in the North Atlantic Chapter 16 This is the Dr Jones mentioned in Volume II, page 384 Chapter 19 See pages 320 ff Chapter 21 Diagram 1, “Enemy Plan for May 27–28”, shows the first enemy thrust and the position of our own troops 2Rommel, by Desmond Young, page 267 See Chapter 11, “The Shipping Stranglehold.” These figures include the 3d Indian Motor Brigade Group, which was present at the beginning of the battle See Diagram 2, “The Battle for Tobruk.” Chapter 22 The Hinge of Fate 1195 Admiral Harwood had succeeded Admiral Cunningham in the Mediteranean Command on May 31 Admiral Harwood made this decision because Alexandria could now be attacked by dive-bombers with fighter-cover Chapter 20 Chapter 23 This paper was available to me when I began my work on July 2 This of course showed complete ignorance of Rommel’s long and distinguished professional career in both wars Book Two Chapter 1 Tobruk Order of Battle: H.Q 2d South African Division 4th and 6th South African Infantry Brigades Two composite South African battalions from 1st South African Division 7th South African Reconnaissance battalion (armoured cars) 11th Indian Infantry Brigade 201st Guards Brigade The Hinge of Fate 1196 32d Army Tank Brigade (4th and 7th Battalions) 2d and 3d South African Field Artillery Regiments 25th Field Artillery Regiment 67th and 68th Medium Artillery Regiments 2Heer in Fesseln, by Westphal, page 180 Quoted in Comando Supremo, by Cavallero, page 277 See map, “The Action at Minqa Qaim.” 5Rommel, by Desmond Young, page 269 See map The Western Desert 7To Mr Curtin only:“I am very glad that the 9th Australian Division is now in action in the Western Desert, and am very thankful to you for making it available for this vital key point of the war.” Chapter 1The following shortly explain the code-names occurring in this chapter: ACROBAT: The advance into Tripolitania BOLERO: Preparations for the main invasion of France, afterwards the foundation of “Overlord.” GYMNAST: The landing in Northwest Africa, later called “Torch.” JUPITER: Operations in Northern Norway The Hinge of Fate 1197 ROUND-UP: The invasion of German-dominated Europe, afterwards called “Overlord.” SLEDGEHAMMER: The attack on Brest or Cherhourg in 1942 Chapter My italics — Author The Russian Chief of Staff Chapter 1The Canadian Army (1939–1945), by Colonel C P Stacey Chapter lPresident Roosevelt to Former Naval Person Sept 42 [Admiral] King reports maximum number of American naval vessels that canbe made available for “Torch” operation: one modern battleship, two oldbattleships, one aircraftcarrier, two small converted aircraft-carriers (tentative planes carried total seventy-eight lighters, thirty divebombers), two eight-inch cruisers, three large six-inch cruisers, forty destroyers, six fast mine-sweepers; total, fiftyseven vessels Admiral Ramsay, who had commanded at Dover with conspicuous ability since the beginning of the war, had been selected to undertake the naval planning of “Torch.” The Hinge of Fate 1198 3Three Years with Eisenhower, by Harry C Butcher (English edition), page 82 Chapter Book I, Chapter 15 See Book 1, Chapter 20 Thirteen merchant ships sailed independently to Russia at this time Five arrived Chapter 10 In a telegram dated November 9, sent to me after the battle 2Rommel, 3Ibid., by Desmond Young, page 258 page 279 Chapter 11 See The Gathering Storm, Book II, Chapter Hopkins, pages 644–45 Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, page 95 Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, pages 99 ff Cavallero, Commando Supremo, page 371 The Hinge of Fate 1199 Chapter 12 Abridged Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, page 84 Chapter 13 l Taken prisoner at Alamein Chapter 15 lRoosevelt and Hopkins, by Robert E Sherwood, page 696 2“Winston-Joe.” Chapter 17 See facsimile The Hinge of Fate See Map, “Setback in the Desert, 1942,” Chapter 18 1200 The Hinge of Fate l 1201 See Vol III, pages 474-75 Chapter 19 See map, “The Malayan Peninsula,” A name for British sailors in vogue in the United States Navy, arising from the use of lime juice on British ships to prevent scurvy in bygone days See map, “Malaya,” Situation Jan I, 1942, Chapter 20 Called Operation “Cannibal.” Appendix C, Book One About dismantling lorries in order to save shipping space Royal Army Service Corps and Royal Army Ordnance Corps A Photographic Reconnaissance Unit of the R.A.F Aerial anti-tank bombs invented by Colonel Jefferis By a French lighter aircraft on a Catalina on antisubmarine patrol from Gibraltar Appendix D, Book One See Table A The Hinge of Fate 1202 This docs not include local volunteer troops and Indian State forces, sixteen battalions in all These were outside the calculations here summarised and kept apart from the argument They were used almost entirely for static guards, internal security, etc., and did not form part of battle formations Appendix A, Book Two This convoy of four merchant ships with strong naval and air escorts was heavily attacked by the R.A.F on September and again on September Three ships and a destroyer were sunk or damaged For “Bolero” and “Round-up.” See minute of September 4 See minute of September 13 See minute of September 20 A special wireless transmitter for radiating messages to enemy-occupied countries The proposal to use artificial icebergs as staging-points for aircraft in the Atlantic See minute of December 14 Special Operations Executive 10 See minute of January 12 The Hinge of Fate 11 See minute of March 12 Showing effect before and after lighting the anti-fog device 13 14 See minute of January See Book I, Chapter 22, “My Second Visit to Washington.” 1203 The Hinge of Fate 1204 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 The Hinge of Fate 1205 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 The Hinge of Fate 1206 About this Title RosettaBooks is the leading publisher dedicated exclusively to electronic editions of great works of fiction and non-fiction that reflect our world RosettaBooks strives to 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