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Winston S. Churchill #3
Winston S.Churchill, Volume III: The Challenge of War 1914-1916
The third volume in the multi-volume biography of Winston S. Churchill begins with a study of Churchill's ebullient mood on the eve of war in 1914. It contrasts his initiatives and achievements as First Lord of the Admiralty with the recurring setbacks of the first four months of war, leading to increasing public criticism. The enthusiasm and forcefulness with which Churchill argued for an offensive naval policy, first against Germany, then against Turkey, impressed and influenced his colleagues. But as the war progressed the leading government ministers -- Asquith, Kitchener, Grey, and Lloyd George -- became skeptical of his arguments and were wearied by his fervor. By the end of 1915, Churchill's obsession with the Gallipoli campaign had seriously weakened his political credibility.
"What about the Dardanelles?" This was the cry Winston Churchill was to hear so often between the two world wars. it epitomized the distrust in which he was widely held as a result of the ill-fated Gallipoli expedition. The blood of the dead of Gallipoli was laid to his charge again and again. By examining in detail the complex evolution of British war policy, Martin Gilbert has discovered that the precise nature of Churchill's involvement and responsibility differed greatly from what his contemporaries believed and from what quickly became popularly accepted.
In this book, Mr. Gilbert also uncovers significant new facts about the political crisis of May 1915, by which Asquith was forced to form a coalition government, with Churchill relegated from the center of war policy-making to a position of increasing political isolation. Seven months later, while commanding a battalion on the western front, Churchill brooded upon his failure, and confided his aspirations and anger to his wife in daily letters of great emotional intensity. He returned from the trenches in May 1916 hoping to re-enter political life. But his repeated attempts to regain his lost influence were unsuccessful. For the final year of Asquith's premiership, Churchill held no political office, and was frustrated by his total lack of power.
In his study of Churchill's attempts to control and influence wartime policy, Martin Gilbert provides an indispensable introduction to the political controversies which divided and weakened the British government. He also demonstrates his conviction that the study of recent history can no longer be based upon accepted versions of events , but should be founded upon a scrutiny of the contemporary record -- much of it until recently secret. He has examined many thousand original documents, letters and diaries, and over seventy official and private archives, establishing in detail the factual narrative and describing the evolution, shifts, and conflicts of policy. His discoveries result in a perceptive and critical assessment of Churchill's character and contribute a new, lucid, and valuable chapter to our understanding of the history of British policy during World War I. His work on this volume, by exposing many of the myths surrounding Churchill's career between 1914 and 1916, establishes Martin Gilbert in the front rank of modern historians.
"What about the Dardanelles?" This was the cry Winston Churchill was to hear so often between the two world wars. it epitomized the distrust in which he was widely held as a result of the ill-fated Gallipoli expedition. The blood of the dead of Gallipoli was laid to his charge again and again. By examining in detail the complex evolution of British war policy, Martin Gilbert has discovered that the precise nature of Churchill's involvement and responsibility differed greatly from what his contemporaries believed and from what quickly became popularly accepted.
In this book, Mr. Gilbert also uncovers significant new facts about the political crisis of May 1915, by which Asquith was forced to form a coalition government, with Churchill relegated from the center of war policy-making to a position of increasing political isolation. Seven months later, while commanding a battalion on the western front, Churchill brooded upon his failure, and confided his aspirations and anger to his wife in daily letters of great emotional intensity. He returned from the trenches in May 1916 hoping to re-enter political life. But his repeated attempts to regain his lost influence were unsuccessful. For the final year of Asquith's premiership, Churchill held no political office, and was frustrated by his total lack of power.
In his study of Churchill's attempts to control and influence wartime policy, Martin Gilbert provides an indispensable introduction to the political controversies which divided and weakened the British government. He also demonstrates his conviction that the study of recent history can no longer be based upon accepted versions of events , but should be founded upon a scrutiny of the contemporary record -- much of it until recently secret. He has examined many thousand original documents, letters and diaries, and over seventy official and private archives, establishing in detail the factual narrative and describing the evolution, shifts, and conflicts of policy. His discoveries result in a perceptive and critical assessment of Churchill's character and contribute a new, lucid, and valuable chapter to our understanding of the history of British policy during World War I. His work on this volume, by exposing many of the myths surrounding Churchill's career between 1914 and 1916, establishes Martin Gilbert in the front rank of modern historians.
896 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
97 people are currently reading
609 people want to read
About the author
Martin Gilbert
249 books418 followersThe official biographer of Winston Churchill and a leading historian on the Twentieth Century, Sir Martin Gilbert was a scholar and an historian who, though his 88 books, has shown there is such a thing as “true history”
Born in London in 1936, Martin Gilbert was educated at Highgate School, and Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating with First Class Honours. He was a Research Scholar at St Anthony's College, and became a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford in 1962, and an Honorary Fellow in 1994. After working as a researcher for Randolph Churchill, Gilbert was chosen to take over the writing of the Churchill biography upon Randolph's death in 1968, writing six of the eight volumes of biography and editing twelve volumes of documents. In addition, Gilbert has written pioneering and classic works on the First and Second World Wars, the Twentieth Century, the Holocaust, and Jewish history.
Gilbert drove every aspect of his books, from finding archives to corresponding with eyewitnesses and participants that gave his work veracity and meaning, to finding and choosing illustrations, drawing maps that mention each place in the text, and compiling the indexes. He travelled widely lecturing and researching, advised political figures and filmmakers, and gave a voice and a name “to those who fought and those who fell.”
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Born in London in 1936, Martin Gilbert was educated at Highgate School, and Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating with First Class Honours. He was a Research Scholar at St Anthony's College, and became a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford in 1962, and an Honorary Fellow in 1994. After working as a researcher for Randolph Churchill, Gilbert was chosen to take over the writing of the Churchill biography upon Randolph's death in 1968, writing six of the eight volumes of biography and editing twelve volumes of documents. In addition, Gilbert has written pioneering and classic works on the First and Second World Wars, the Twentieth Century, the Holocaust, and Jewish history.
Gilbert drove every aspect of his books, from finding archives to corresponding with eyewitnesses and participants that gave his work veracity and meaning, to finding and choosing illustrations, drawing maps that mention each place in the text, and compiling the indexes. He travelled widely lecturing and researching, advised political figures and filmmakers, and gave a voice and a name “to those who fought and those who fell.”
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 22, 2015
Volume Three of Churchill's mammoth eight volume biography is a detailed history of a tight time period - two and a half years. The only other volume providing such an in-depth account is Winston S. Churchill: Finest Hour, 1939-1941 (Volume VI), looking at the beginning of the next World War. In this case the story is almost in reverse. The book begins with Churchill at the heart of power, in charge of one of the two military services (and the greatest navy in the world) at the onset of the Great War. Yet he only spent just over six months in this central position before being dropped from his role as First Lord of the Admiralty in a cabinet reshuffle. This book charts the journey from being an energetic 39 year old discharging power at the very heart of Britain's war strategy to humiliation and isolation from all political power.
The late Martin Gilbert was a masterful historian, and in this book (first published in 1971) he combines the evidence of extensive research in Churchill's own archive as well as examining extensive letters, newspapers, archives and interviews with surviving protagonists in the story. Gilbert has been accused of being biased in favour of Churchill but the book offers a balanced view. Criticisms of Churchill are freely quoted and although being a biography the events are viewed from his perspective the evidence is presented neutrally enabling the reader to form their own opinions.
There is no doubt that Churchill was excited by war. His own sense of history led him to relish his position in making and executing momentous decisions. When his fall occurred he was obsessed with rehabilitating his tarnished record and gaining political power to provide an outlet for what he saw as his drive and talent. The book provides some balance to critical accounts such as that of The Grand Deception: Churchill and the Dardanelles. This book very much reflects the contemporary view that his actions in the origins of the Dardanelles campaign were evidence that "he was a man of blood, lacking sound judgement, and unfit for high office".
This well written book is a detailed account of a man's fall, his lust for power and frustration. It also provides an interesting perspective "on the ground" of the war during Churchill's period in command of an infantry Battalion in Belgium. The Kindle edition is brilliantly priced, well formatted and presented with good clear maps.
The late Martin Gilbert was a masterful historian, and in this book (first published in 1971) he combines the evidence of extensive research in Churchill's own archive as well as examining extensive letters, newspapers, archives and interviews with surviving protagonists in the story. Gilbert has been accused of being biased in favour of Churchill but the book offers a balanced view. Criticisms of Churchill are freely quoted and although being a biography the events are viewed from his perspective the evidence is presented neutrally enabling the reader to form their own opinions.
There is no doubt that Churchill was excited by war. His own sense of history led him to relish his position in making and executing momentous decisions. When his fall occurred he was obsessed with rehabilitating his tarnished record and gaining political power to provide an outlet for what he saw as his drive and talent. The book provides some balance to critical accounts such as that of The Grand Deception: Churchill and the Dardanelles. This book very much reflects the contemporary view that his actions in the origins of the Dardanelles campaign were evidence that "he was a man of blood, lacking sound judgement, and unfit for high office".
This well written book is a detailed account of a man's fall, his lust for power and frustration. It also provides an interesting perspective "on the ground" of the war during Churchill's period in command of an infantry Battalion in Belgium. The Kindle edition is brilliantly priced, well formatted and presented with good clear maps.
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September 30, 2021Martin Gilbert writes better than Randolph Churchill. This volume chronicles the first half of WSC's First World War experience, leaving him in utter frustration as he took the blame for the Dardanelles and out of political power. I think his instincts were right, strategically, but his cohorts in Cabinet and especially Lord Kitchener, the War Minister, failed to support his initiative. The Dardanelles were lost by too little support arriving too late and the faltering of will on the part of commanders and Cabinet. If Cabinet had a more aggressive view, the War might have ended sooner.
No doubt these experiences shaped Churchill for struggles yet to come. On to the next volume.
No doubt these experiences shaped Churchill for struggles yet to come. On to the next volume.
August 18, 2015
When the First World War began in August 1914 Winston Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty and a rising star in the governing Liberal Party. Less than two years later, he was a colonel on the Western Front, with his political career in tatters. How this talented politician and energetic administrator came to suffer such a grievous fall is the subject of Martin Gilbert’s book. In it, he uses both Churchill’s personal papers and a trove of documents that had only been recently declassified at that time to provide the fullest explanation of Churchill’s fall and gradual recovery.
At the center of this book was the Dardanelles, the failed British effort to open the water passageway between Europe and Asia in March 1915. The operation was a product of the frustration with the emerging stalemate in France and the desire to exploit Britain’s naval preponderance. Forcing the Straits, Churchill and others believed, would force the Ottoman Empire out of the war and provide Britain with better access to their Russian ally. Gilbert makes a compelling case that responsibility for the operation was a collective one, with other ministers and military commanders bearing a share of the blame. Yet Gilbert doesn’t ignore Churchill’s role in advocating for the operation, one that left him vulnerable to dismissal in the aftermath of the “shells scandal,” which forced Prime Minister Herbert Asquith to dismiss Churchill at the bequest of his new coalition partners in the Unionist Party.
Gilbert’s book provides a detailed examination of Churchill’s life during these years, as well as the times in which he lived them. At times the level of detail can seem overwhelming, yet for the most part Gilbert does a good job of covering one of the most dramatic and important periods of Churchill’s long life. Given it’s importance, it’s one that no reader interested in learning about Churchill’s career during the First World War can afford to ignore, though they should gird themselves for the amount of information they will absorb from it.
At the center of this book was the Dardanelles, the failed British effort to open the water passageway between Europe and Asia in March 1915. The operation was a product of the frustration with the emerging stalemate in France and the desire to exploit Britain’s naval preponderance. Forcing the Straits, Churchill and others believed, would force the Ottoman Empire out of the war and provide Britain with better access to their Russian ally. Gilbert makes a compelling case that responsibility for the operation was a collective one, with other ministers and military commanders bearing a share of the blame. Yet Gilbert doesn’t ignore Churchill’s role in advocating for the operation, one that left him vulnerable to dismissal in the aftermath of the “shells scandal,” which forced Prime Minister Herbert Asquith to dismiss Churchill at the bequest of his new coalition partners in the Unionist Party.
Gilbert’s book provides a detailed examination of Churchill’s life during these years, as well as the times in which he lived them. At times the level of detail can seem overwhelming, yet for the most part Gilbert does a good job of covering one of the most dramatic and important periods of Churchill’s long life. Given it’s importance, it’s one that no reader interested in learning about Churchill’s career during the First World War can afford to ignore, though they should gird themselves for the amount of information they will absorb from it.
September 4, 2011
An indepth book into the insightfulness of an deep, self absorbed man of genius. Sad childhood, but what a character portrayed by Mr. Gilbert. Who bathes and dictates his correspondences to his secretary at the same time. I loved this book, some of the war details were a bit boring, but non the less, it gives the reader an indepth perpective of what Churhill went through himself during some of Britans most trying times!. Was a rather long read, at times I was so captivated I couldnt put it down, during some the war scenes I trudged through. Overall a great book
September 2, 2018
Very well done and excellently documented. Biographies are hard to read, and this one is so well documented with letters, and other correspondence that it takes a long time to get through. This time period is one of utmost frustration for WSC and he's got plenty of critics in the Cabinet and elsewhere. You always here about the Dardanelles and Gallipoli being Churchill's fault and black eye, but the evidence doesn't exactly hold up. Ego and politics and human beings never change. WSC had to deal with Asquith, Lloyd George, Kitchener and others who failed to act and used WSC as a scapegoat.
I found the letters to and from Venetia Stanley from the PM rather interesting. Not sure how that would go over in today's climate though. One can only imagine. I enjoyed reading about WSC's time in the trenches in France. This was a tough time for him, being in danger, and being cast aside and out of a government war time role. Clemmie was a huge support, and I learned much from her letters to and from her husband.
The info about the caterpillars and innovative combat ideas that WSC pushed were fantastic. He certainly didn't get the credit he deserves on this front. Kudos! Ego aside, WSC fought for what he believed and he kept at it. I am looking forward to the next volume in the biography.
I found the letters to and from Venetia Stanley from the PM rather interesting. Not sure how that would go over in today's climate though. One can only imagine. I enjoyed reading about WSC's time in the trenches in France. This was a tough time for him, being in danger, and being cast aside and out of a government war time role. Clemmie was a huge support, and I learned much from her letters to and from her husband.
The info about the caterpillars and innovative combat ideas that WSC pushed were fantastic. He certainly didn't get the credit he deserves on this front. Kudos! Ego aside, WSC fought for what he believed and he kept at it. I am looking forward to the next volume in the biography.
February 26, 2020
I can't believe I read the whole thing! Another long book; 826 pages. Another good book; well written about a very special person. This is the third of eight big, fat, expensive volumes. Why am I willing to spend not a little time and money reading a biography? Among many reasons, is one suggested by Martin Gilbert's successor, Larry Arne; would you learn how to deal with adversity on every side? Churchill does a pretty good job of doing just that. Read this, and learn. Thanks Winston. Thanks Martin. Thanks Larry.
March 13, 2023
Churchill's biography 1914 - 1916 covering the period when he was removed from the Admiralty, served as a Lieutenant Colonel with the Royal Scots Fusiliers for six months and then returned to the House of Commons without any position in the Government. The failed Dardenelles campaign continued to haunt him.
August 18, 2017
This was volume 3. It is an amazing biography, but the level of detail is staggering. You just about live the period with him. Several more volumes to go. If you like history, and want to really get to know this man, this is the series for you.
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March 2, 2025Best and most precise description of Churchill's triumph in securing the world's biggest navy before WWI, and best and most precise description of the Dardanelles fiasco and how it came that Churchill was declared to be the scapegoat for all of this.
May 20, 2020
A lot of people will walk away from reading this history of Winston's earlier history in government with a new and surprisingly outlook on him. A good read from start to finish, well written.
August 9, 2015
An occasionally painful read but a good one. This third volume of the definitive Churchill biography marks the transition from Randolph Churchill's writing to Martin Gilbert's, as RSC died while this volume was in process, but the reader will find it to be a seamless change. Chronicles Winston's fall from office as the spineless Asquith stood by and did nothing, his move to the trenches as an officer in the British Army, and his return to Parliament when seemingly every man's hand was against him.
July 11, 2011
Very comprehensive biography of a very complicated man. The reader is left with a feeling of gratitude and concern of Churchhill's instabilities. Seems we were all hanging by a frayed thread.
December 12, 2012
Çok başarılı.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews