Winston Churchill WW2 Facts: Details On His Role & Leadership

Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Nov 08, 2022 By Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Originally Published on Mar 30, 2022
Fact-checked by Pratiti Nath
Winston Churchill WW2 facts can be quite educational.

When it comes to looking at some of the most powerful world leaders, Winston Churchill would definitely make the list.

This iconic politician, military officer, journalist, Nobel Prize winner, and holder of many more titles was the Prime Minister of Britain for two terms. Churchill is well-known for being an important force behind winning World War II, as well as for administering the colonies under the British Empire.

During the time of World War II, he is regarded as being the voice that gave Britain the willpower to stand against Nazi Germany and the German forces.

He was also a part of the Yalta Conference and raised his voice in favor of the freedom of Eastern European countries from the interference of the Soviet Union. Churchill also supported England in its mission to create nuclear weapons.

In 1955, the Prime Minister had to step down from office due to poor health, but he is remembered as of the most prominent leaders of the country.

Do keep reading if you're curious to learn more Winston Churchill WW2 facts.

Churchill's Role In World War II

Churchill had a key role to play in World War II, as he was then the Prime Minister of Britain.

Churchill became the Prime Minister in 1940, so he had to face the war as soon as he took office. However, prior to that, as soon as the war began, Churchill was given a spot on the war cabinet and made the First Lord of the Admiralty of the Royal Navy.

He was able to connect with the citizens of the UK and lead them through the war.

He was strongly against Nazi Germany and played a large role in the 'Big Three' (consisting of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin), the alliance that was set up to put an end to the war. The public became familiar with Churchill through the speeches he delivered during the Second World War.

Even though these were deeply political and military-based speeches, he knew how to use humor and appeal to the people's emotions.

Many state that Churchill believed in being with and among the people. When Plymouth was bombed in 1941, he went to meet the workers there to boost their morale.

Even though Churchill and the Conservative Party lost the general election of 1945 to the Labour Party leader Clement Attlee, public opinion polls conducted between the years 1940-1945 painted a different picture. According to these polls, up to 78% of the population was happy to have Churchill as Prime Minister.

Winston Churchill is also said to have had very high expectations of his staff. During the war, he often worked for 18 hours a day and made sure to visit war-torn places.

Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union became an unlikely and difficult ally to Churchill.

Although he was criticized for siding with the Soviet Union, Churchill believed that it was one of the few ways that Germany could be defeated. At the same time, Churchill stood against Stalin's desire to occupy northern France and other places in Eastern Europe.

One of the lesser-known facts about Churchill is that he headed the war cabinet while battling health problems. In 1941, he suffered a heart attack while visiting the White House.

Then in 1943, he caught pneumonia soon after returning from the Tehran Conference. Nevertheless, between the years 1941-1945, Churchill continued to travel abroad to war fronts to keep the UK going strong.

Once he was certain that the German powers would be defeated, he celebrated the Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945 by calling the public to Whitehall. He later went on to write several memoirs based on his experiences during the war.

Churchill's Rise To Power

Most people are probably familiar with Winston Churchill due to his major role in World War II. However, he was known to be an enthusiastic man who had a long political career, and he spent quite a bit of time visiting the different British colonies.

Churchill first became a Member of Parliament in 1900. However, he only rose to prominence when he began to denounce Hitler, and he was one of the first to warn the country about what was to come, which gained him a large following.

Prior to entering the Parliament, he worked as a reporter in Cuba, and as a war correspondent and a military officer.

In 1899, Churchill was in South Africa during the Boer War when he was ambushed by the Boers, who were descendants of Dutch, German, and French settlers dating back to 1652. He officially became a Prisoner of War, but was able to return home after a narrow escape.

The then Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin wasn't keen on giving Churchill a role in office, but he did allow him to be a member of a secret committee working on air-defense research.

This gave Churchill the opportunity to work on many vital problems affecting the British government.

He even reached out to Baldwin regarding the threat of Germany, but the administration was not interested in dealing with it. Churchill put forward the notion of forming the United Nations when he was discussing the Atlantic Charter with Roosevelt after the Pearl Harbor attack.

Although he initially regarded the 1936 Spanish Civil War as a communist infiltration, he later stood for nonintervention.

In the '30s, Churchill became disheartened by the cold treatment he was receiving from the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, who did not listen to his warnings and allowed Hitler's German annexation strategy to go unchecked (a strategy which is popularly known as the appeasement policy in Britain).

This resulted in the 1938 Munich Agreement signed between Germany, France, and Britain that allowed for the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, which Churchill termed 'a total and unmitigated defeat.'

Churchill's patriotism for Britain soon turned him into the nation’s spokesman. On the day when Germany attacked Britain in 1939, Chamberlain had to reappoint him to his old post at the Admiralty.

Churchill had an interesting journey to the post of Prime Minister. The position had already been refused by Lord Halifax, the then Foreign Secretary, after Chamberlain stepped down.

When threats of a German invasion began to loom over Britain, Churchill was made the Prime Minister on May 10, 1940. He created the Churchill war ministry and the Churchill caretaker ministry, as well as the special five-member war cabinet to get Britain through the war.

This was a turning point for Churchill in his political career, and later, he would once again become the Prime Minister of the UK between the years 1951-1955 as a representative of the Conservative Party.

However, he and his party did lose the 1945 general election, as the people wanted a change in government and instead voted for the Labour Party.

Important Decisions Taken By Churchill

There were a number of important decisions taken by Winston Churchill, which were often seen as controversial, when it came to the British colonies.

He decided to form an alliance with the USA, which he believed would be a major step toward defeating Germany in the war. Also, even though Churchill was against socialism, he decided to create an alliance with the Soviet Union. As well as being courageous, Churchill is seen by many as a great risk-taker and a bold leader.

Soon after becoming the Prime Minister, Churchill had to take a decision regarding the German occupation of France. The Germans had let France set up an independent government in the town of Vichy, but Churchill knew that they didn't have the best of intentions.

He was concerned about the Germans misusing the French Navy, and so he tried to suggest that the Vichy leaders move their ships into a neutral zone.

However, the leaders did not do this.

Thus, Churchill asked British Admiral James Somerville to sail to Mers-el-Kebir, an Algerian port, where a chunk of the French fleet was stationed. Churchill told the Admiral to give the French six hours to either move or capitulate their fleet, or the British Navy would destroy the fleet.

As the French did not accede to Churchill's demands, the British Navy did attack the French fleet, and over 1,500 sailors died. Churchill received a great deal of criticism for this move, but many see it as a sign of his dedication to ending the war.

This move may also have convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt to join forces with Britain.

FAQs

Was Winston Churchill a good leader during WW2?

Even though Winston Churchill remains a controversial figure in history due to his decisions regarding the colonies, many regard him as a great leader who was able to keep Britain afloat during World War II.

Why were Churchill's speeches so powerful?

Winston Churchill was known to be a Prime Minister who used emotive language and powerful imagery to address the public. His speeches were able to evoke a strong sense of patriotism in people, and convinced them that they would be victorious.

What did Churchill want after WW2?

In the Yalta Conference, Churchill demanded free elections in the Eastern and Central European countries (especially in Poland) to establish democratic governments.

How did Winston Churchill change the world?

Winston Churchill is often seen as a heavy-handed Prime Minister, and he was adept at rationing troops to the Asian colonies, especially India. Moreover, in his second term as a Prime Minister, Churchill spent time cementing the bonds between Britain and the USA to counter the rise of the Soviet Union.

What wars did Churchill fight in?

Even though Churchill is specifically known for his role in World War II, he was active in other wars like World War I, as well as in the North-West Frontier Mahdist War, and the Second Boer War (where he became a Prisoner Of War).

Why did Churchill wear an RAF uniform?

Churchill was made an honorary Air Commodore of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force in 1939. Thus, he wore a Royal Air Force uniform.

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Written by Rajnandini Roychoudhury

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

Rajnandini Roychoudhury picture

Rajnandini RoychoudhuryBachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

With a Master of Arts in English, Rajnandini has pursued her passion for the arts and has become an experienced content writer. She has worked with companies such as Writer's Zone and has had her writing skills recognized by publications such as The Telegraph. Rajnandini is also trilingual and enjoys various hobbies such as music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading classic British literature. 

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Fact-checked by Pratiti Nath

Bachelor of Science specializing in Microbiology, Masters of Science specializing in Biotechnology

Pratiti Nath picture

Pratiti NathBachelor of Science specializing in Microbiology, Masters of Science specializing in Biotechnology

A Master's in Biotechnology from Presidency University and a Bachelor's in Microbiology from Calcutta University. Pratiti holds expertise in writing science and healthcare articles, and their inputs and feedback help writers create insightful content. They have interests in heritage, history, and climate change issues and have written articles for various websites across multiple subjects. Their experience also includes working with eco-friendly startups and climate-related NGOs.

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