THE GATHERING STORM WINSTON CHURCHILL Copyright The Gathering Storm Copyright © 1948 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 0-7953-0600-8 Contents eForeword Preface Acknowledgments Book One From War to War 1919–1939 The Follies of the Victors, 1919–1929 Peace at Its Zenith, 1922–1931 Lurking Dangers Adolf Hitler The Locust Years, 1931–1935 The Darkening Scene, 1934 Air Parity Lost, 1934–1935 Challenge and Response, 1935 Problems of Air and Sea, 1935–1939 10 Sanctions Against Italy, 1935 11 Hitler Strikes 12 The Loaded Pause—Spain 13 Germany Armed, 1936–1938 14 Mr Eden at the Foreign Office His Resignation 15 The Rape of Austria, February, 1938 16 Czechoslovakia 17 The Tragedy of Munich 18 Munich Winter 19 Prague, Albania, and the Guarantee, January–April, 1939 20 The Soviet Enigma 21 On the Verge Polish Book Two The Twilight War September 3, 1939—May 10, 1940 War The Admiralty Task The Ruin of Poland War Cabinet Problems The Front in France The Combat Deepens The Magnetic Mine The Action off the River Plate Scandinavia, Finland 10 A Dark New Year 11 Before the Storm 12 The Clash at Sea 13 Narvik 14 Trondheim 15 Frustration in Norway 16 Norway: The Final Phase 17 The Fall of the Government Appendices Notes About the Author About this Title Maps and Diagrams Europe, 1921 The Hitlerite Aggressions, 1936–1939 The Polish Campaign German and Polish Concentrations, September 1, 1939 The Inner Pincers Close, September 13, 1939 The Outer Pincers Close: The Russians Advance, September 17, 1939 Diagram of Scheldt Line and Meuse-Antwerp Line Scapa Flow, October 14, 1939: Sinking of H.M.S “Royal Oak” Plan of Scapa Flow Hunting Groups in South Atlantic Search for “Admiral Graf Spee.” October–December, 1939 The Action with “Admiral Graf Spee” Diagram Diagram Diagram Diagram Diagram Russian Attack on Finland, December, 1939 The Mannerheim Line, February–March, 1940 Narvik Operations Norway Operations, 1940 Ibid., pages 43–44 Chapter 19 Ciano, Diary, 1939–43 (edited by Malcolm Muggeridge), pages 9–10 Feiling, op cit., page 603 Nuremberg Documents, op cit., Part 2, page 106 Ibid., page 107 Feiling, op cit., page 406 Chapter 20 1Hitler’s Speeches, op cit., volume 2, page 1626 2Quoted by Reynaud, op cit., volume 1, page 585 3Ciano, Diary, op cit., page 90 Hitler was evidently quite ignorant of the facts of Jutland, which was from beginning to end an unsuccessful effort by the British Fleet to bring the Germans to a general action in which the overwhelming gun-fire of the British line of battle would have soon been decisive 5Nuremberg Documents, op cit., Part 1, pages 167–68 6Nazi-Soviet Relations, page 15 Chapter 21 1This difficulty was, of course, overcome later, but only by very elaborate methods after several years of research 2Ciano, op cit., page 123 3Quoted in Reynaud, op cit., volume 1, page 587 4Nazi-Soviet 5Reynaud, Relations, page 41 op cit, volume 1, page 588 6Nuremberg Documents, Part 1, page 210 ff 7Nuremberg Documents, Part 1, page 173 8Ibid., Part 2, pages 157-58 9Ibid., page 158 10Ibid., page 166 11Hitler-Mussolini 12Ibid., 13 Letters and Documents, page page 10 Ciano, op cit., page 136 14Nuremberg Documents, Part 2, page 172 Book Two Chapter 1Feiling, op cit., page 420 Chapter 1Feiling, 2See op cit., page 424 also Nuremberg Documents, op cit., Part 4, page 267 3German Submarines This submarine was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Bickford, who was specially promoted for his numerous exploits, but was soon afterwards lost with his vessel 5This referred to a criminal act unconnected with the war 6The following are the corrected figures: British Merchant Shipping Losses by Enemy Action September, 1939 In addition there were losses in neutral and Allied shipping amounting to 15 ships of 33,527 tons 7We now know that only two U-boats were sunk in September, 1939 Chapter 1Feiling, op cit., page 425 Chapter 1See Appendix B, Book II Chapter 1Advanced parties of the British Expeditionary Force began to land in France on September The First Corps were ashore by September 19, and the Second Corps by October General Headquarters (G.H.Q.) was set up initially at Le Mans on September 15 The principal movement of troops was made through Cherbourg, with vehicles and stores through Brest and Nantes, and assembly-points at Le Mans and Laval 2See map 3Actually the German bomber strength at that date was 1546 Chapter 1See Appendix E, Book II 2Alas, these hopeful reports are not confirmed by the post-war analysis 3See Appendix I, Book II Chapter 10 See Appendix J, Book II See Chapter Chapter 11 September 29, 1939 First Lord calls attention of the Cabinet to the value of Swedish iron ore to the German economy November 27, 1939 First Lord addresses a minute to the First Sea Lord asking for examination of proposal to mine the Leads December 15, 1939 First Lord raises in Cabinet the question of iron-ore shipments to Germany December 16, 1939 Circulation of detailed memorandum on the subject to the Cabinet December 22, 1939 Memorandum considered by the Cabinet February 5, 1940 Detailed discussion of issue in connection with aid to Fin land at Supreme War Council in Paris (W.S.C present) February 19, 1940 Renewed discussion of mining of Leads in British Cabinet Admiralty authorised to make preparations February 29, 1940 Authorisation cancelled March 28, 1940 Resolution of Supreme War Council that minefields should be laid April 3, 1940 Final decision taken by British Cabinet April 8, 1940 The minefields laid See Appendix J, Book II Chapter 15 The landing at Tanga, near Zanzibar, in 1917 Chapter 16 Temporary Surgeon-Lieutenant H J Stammers, R.N.V.R Appendix M, Book II The Fiji class mounted 6-inch guns None the less, the 6-inch cruisers Ajax and Achilles later fought a successful and glorious action with the Graf Spee mounting 11-inch guns The Argus was commissioned and performed valuable service training pilots for the Fleet Air Arm in the Mediterranean Many practical difficulties were encountered in the development of these nets The early trials were unsuccessful, and it was not until 1942 that the equipment was perfected Thereafter it was fitted in over 750 ships with varying success Ten ships are known to have been saved by this device This refers to an incident on September 26 when the Home Fleet was attacked by aircraft in the North Sea, without suffering damage It was on this occasion that the Ark Royal was singled out for special attention The Germans claimed that she had been sunk and the pilot who made the claim was decorated For weeks afterwards the German wireless reiterated daily the question, “Where is the Ark Royal?” Throughout the war a special section of the Trade Division dealt with the needs of fishing vessels working round our coasts See Chapter 7 General Smuts replied that of course he would as we wished This policy did not become possible until a later phase in the war See Chapter and Appendix H dealing with the magnetic-mine problem 10 Plans for this ship went forward She became H.M.S Vanguard 11 See Chapters and 11 12 This minute refers to the unrotated projectile (rocket propulsion), which was then being developed for use against low-flying aircraft The device consisted of a battery of rockets which, on reaching a predetermined height, released long trailing wires, each carrying a small bomb at the end, and supported by a parachute An aircraft fouling one of these wires would draw the bomb into its wing, where it would explode This device was a stop-gap necessitated by our grievous shortage of short-range weapons Later on it was superseded by more effective weapons 13 The development of concrete ships promised important relief to our vital war industries It seemed that they could be built quickly and cheaply by types of labour not required in normal shipbuilding and would save large quantities of steel These claims were found on examination to be based on false assumptions and many unforeseen technical difficulties arose An experimental ship of two thousand tons was built, but was a failure, and although experimental work continued, the use of concrete hulls was only successful in barges up to about two hundred tons 14 This plan was swept away by events The Fleet Air Arm made its contribution to the R.A.F during the Battle of Britain Later the development of the U-boat war taxed to the utmost the resources of Coastal Command which itself drew heavily on Bomber Command to meet its ever-growing commitments Later again in 1941 the advent of the “Escort Carrier” type enabled the Fleet Air Arm to play a conspicuous part in the defeat of the U-boats operating beyond the range of normal shore-based aircraft 15 This refers to the mining of the Norwegian Leads Owing to many political complications referred to in Chapter 11, the operation did not take place until April 16 In Chapter my minutes are recorded dealing with the difficulties which arose over bringing the Exeter home after the River Plate action She now remained under repair for many months 17 The “fast escort vessels” became known as “Hunt” class destroyers, as their names were all selected from famous packs of hounds Large numbers were built and they served with distinction both in the anti-U-boat war and in our amphibious operations Later ancient names were revived The “whalers” became known as “corvettes” and later types were called “frigates.” Escort vessels became “sloops.” 18 As a result of these deliberations the battleship Warspite was ordered to return to the Mediterranean, but with the opening of the Norwegian campaign she was recalled to Home waters and did not reach the Mediterranean until May Before the Italian declaration of war in June, the Malaya, Ramillies, and Royal Sovereign had also joined the Mediterranean Fleet from convoy duty in the Atlantic 19 20 See also First Lord’s Minute of April 12 above Our ships were using Skjel Fiord in the Lofoten Islands as an advanced base This covered the approach to Narvik through West Fiord 21 Iceland was occupied by British forces on May 10 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 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 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 improve the quality of its electronic books We welcome your comments and suggestions Please write to Editor@RosettaBooks.com We hope you enjoyed The Gathering Storm If you are interested in learning more about the book and Winston Churchill, we suggest you visit the RosettaBooks Connection at: www.RosettaBooks.com/TheGatheringStorm Copyright The Gathering Storm Copyright © 1948 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 0-7953-0600-8 Contents eForeword Preface Acknowledgments Book One From War to War 1919–1939 The Follies of the Victors, 1919–1929 Peace at Its Zenith, 1922–1931 Lurking Dangers Adolf Hitler The Locust Years, 1931–1935 The Darkening Scene, 1934 Air Parity Lost, 1934–1935 Challenge and Response, 1935 Problems of Air and Sea, 1935–1939 10 Sanctions Against Italy, 1935 11 Hitler Strikes 12 The Loaded Pause—Spain 13 Germany Armed, 1936–1938 14 Mr Eden at the Foreign Office His Resignation 15 The Rape of Austria, February, 1938 16 Czechoslovakia 17 The Tragedy of Munich 18 Munich Winter 19 Prague, Albania, and the Guarantee, January–April, 1939 20 The Soviet Enigma 21 On the Verge Polish Book Two The Twilight War September 3, 1939—May 10, 1940 War The Admiralty Task The Ruin of Poland War Cabinet Problems The Front in France The Combat Deepens The Magnetic Mine The Action off the River Plate Scandinavia, Finland 10 A Dark New Year 11 Before the Storm 12 The Clash at Sea 13 Narvik 14 Trondheim 15 Frustration in Norway 16 Norway: The Final Phase 17 The Fall of the Government Appendices Notes About the Author About this Title .. .THE GATHERING STORM WINSTON CHURCHILL Copyright The Gathering Storm Copyright © 1948 by Winston Churchill Cover art and eForeword to the electronic edition copyright... RosettaBooks Connection for The Gathering Storm: www.RosettaBooks.com/TheGatheringStorm Preface I MUST REGARD THESE VOLUMES of The Second World War as a continuation of the story of the First World War... 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 Gathering Storm is the first volume of The Second