2020 hindsight is a wonderful thing – but it does Churchill a great disservice
I wish to respond to Alastair Stewart’s remarks about Winston Churchill in his article “Written by both winners and losers, history is a fickle judge” (Scotsman, 25 February).
Yes, Churchill was “far from alone” in “saving the nation”. But who else had the credibility to lead Britain after the failure in Norway (not only his fault), through Dunkirk and the fall of France, the audacity to sink the French fleet to prevent it falling to Germany, the inspirational qualities evidenced through the Battle of Britain, the ability to reverse two decades of antagonism and welcome the USSR (Hitler’s recent ally) as our ally, or the contacts to obtain US support until their full engagement in December 1941?
Many historians of Gallipoli blame others as well as Churchill, whose idea it was, but if successful it could have shortened the First World War by years, maybe avoiding the Ottoman Empire’s demise (which led to the continuing
Middleeastshambles),thebolshevik coup (which led to Stalin’s,mao’s,andkim’scountless millions of deaths), and even World War II. The 1919 George Square riots were regrettable, but the minimal military support was requested by the Sheriff of Lanarkshire, was agreed not only by Churchill, and caused no deaths (though many were injured).
Professorandrewrobertsin his recent extensive biography shows that Churchill, in the midst of directing the overall war effort, including keeping Japan out of India, did all he could to alleviate the 1943 Bengal famine. Roberts emphasised that prime responsibility lay with local authorities, then in Indian hands.
Finallyandinevitablystewart refers to the bombing of Dresden, an important military/ industrial centre, transport/ communications hub, and a military base for Germany’s takeoverofczechoslovakia.he benefits from 2020 hindsight in knowing when the war ended, unlike those making such decisions in early 1945 who did not know how advanced Germany’s nuclear weapons programme was. V1 and V2 rockets were attacking London, the Holocaust’s ongoing horrors were seeping out, and one study forecast the war continuing to November if Germany stalled the Soviet advance.
Despite D-day’s success, Allied progress and the failed attempt to kill Hitler, Germany’s “honourable” military overwhelmingly still supported his war. It was vital to end it as soon as possible, by facilitating the Soviet advance as some strategists hoped Dresden’s bombing would do, or before Stalin’s troops advanced too far west.
To condemn these nearimpossible decisions as lying at “the feet of Churchill” is facile; over Dresden, he was in fact ambivalent, though area bombing was cabinet policy from 1942.
JOHN BIRKETT Horseleys Park, St Andrews