Chapter 630： Churchill comes to power

The declaration of war by Italy is a major event in the world, and all countries feel that this war is more and more trending towards twenty years ago. Neutral countries have begun to arm themselves on a large scale, whether it is for profit in this war or to protect their neutral position, at least to make themselves look uncomfortable, it is a wise choice.

Compared with other countries, Britain and France are most directly related. With regard to Italy’s declaration of war, the French side has very strong opinions. For this reason, the French Prime Minister Darati’s diplomatic letter to London expressed dissatisfaction with the loss of the British fleet in the Mediterranean.

The telegram of the French Prime Minister has also become the last straw that crushes Chamberlain's government. The Labor Party, which was initially very dissatisfied, immediately demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister in Parliament.

What makes the situation worse is that some people in the Conservative Party express dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister. Since the declaration of war, in just two months, Britain has suffered heavy losses both militarily and diplomatically. Obviously someone needs to be responsible for this, and there is no more suitable candidate than Chamberlain to occupy the position of prime minister.

Neither the appeasement policy he directed nor the subsequent conflict between Dro and the Soviet Union failed. Not to mention that under his leadership, the British Imperial Navy suffered a shameful defeat in Alexandria, which directly led to the declaration of war in Italy. The prime minister, who has suffered countless failures like this, does not step down and keep it.

Although Chamberlain made great contributions to the recovery of the British economy, his previous mistakes have made it impossible for people to think that he is qualified for the post of prime minister, at least he is not qualified for the post of prime minister during the war.

In fact, Chamberlain knew that his prime minister had little time after he declared war in Italy, but he was still holding on for the sake of follow-up arrangements, but his approach was even more criticized. Some people even call him a treacherous figure who is greedy for power and will not leave.

Faced with such a turbulent wave of opposition, Chamberlain naturally couldn't ignore it, and now he gets boos as soon as he goes to parliament.

Fortunately, his arrangement was almost the same. On the third day after the declaration of war in Italy, Chamberlain announced his decision to step down.

It stands to reason that after Chamberlain stepped down, the opposition Labor Party should form a cabinet, but it is a pity that the Conservative Party still dominates the parliament. In the Conservative Party, few people have the courage to take over Chamberlain and leave the post of prime minister. They are all aware of Chamberlain's methods, even he has planted a big somersault on this, and other people are even less capable of doing this job.

At this time, Chamberlain recommended Churchill as the party's candidate for the post of prime minister.

For Churchill, everyone in the Conservative Party knows him. It's just that it has nothing to do with ability, but Churchill can be called an outlier among the Conservative Party.

Since entering politics in 1900, Churchill has been incompatible with the Conservative Party. Within a few years of joining the Party, he claimed to be an "independent Conservative" and was expelled from the Conservative Party.

Later, he fell to the Liberal Party, and after the Liberal Party came to power, Churchill was appointed as the undersecretary of the Colonial Affairs Department. Later, Churchill was appointed as the Secretary of Commerce and formally entered the cabinet. Since then, Churchill has been turning around in various ministerial positions, and it is a mixed blessing.

It was not until the outbreak of World War I and the failure of the Dardanelle plan led by him that he lost his power and became the lowest-ranking minister in the cabinet. Churchill, who was excluded from the political circle, decided to resign and rushed to the French front to participate in the war in person.

After a few months, Churchill was recalled and appointed as Minister of Military Supplies without being a battalion commander for a few months. (Well, the tank was invented by Churchill)

After the war, the Liberal Party lost successive elections, and Churchill found that the ship was unreliable, so he gradually alienated the Liberal Party and moved closer to the Conservative Party.

It's just that this period is a time when the power of the Labor Party has skyrocketed. Neither the Conservative Party nor the Liberal Party are opponents of the Labor Party.

After the First World War, Britain believed that there would be no danger of a war again and advocated disarmament, and Churchill was one of the very few people in Parliament who opposed disarmament.

In the United Kingdom, Churchill is also known for his tough attitude, so Churchill is also a minority in the Conservative Party, and his relationship with the Liberal Party is more prominent in the party.

It was just that Chamberlain proposed Churchill as the next prime minister. Although there were different opinions within the Conservative Party, there was no other suitable candidate. In the end, Chamberlain's proposal was accepted.

So on November 5, the king summoned Churchill and ordered him to form a cabinet. One hour later, Churchill met with Labour Party leader Attlee and invited the Labour Party to join the cabinet and gained support.

Then Churchill gave a famous speech: "I have nothing but blood, hard work, tears and sweat to give to everyone. You ask: What is our purpose? I can answer with one word: victory, fight at all costs Victory, no matter how horrible you are, you must fight for victory, no matter how far and difficult the road is, you must fight for victory, because you cannot survive without victory."

And then Churchill was also vigorous and resolute. He himself opened several aspects of the Admiralty as the temporary headquarters of the new cabinet. He himself also lived in the Admiralty.

It's just that even though he has searched the British family property, he has no good way to deal with the current disadvantages in the land. Because the United Kingdom lacks new battleships, the old Queen Elizabeth and Vengeance are currently unable to compete with the new-style battleships of Illo. The only one who can compete with it is the George V class, just to see whether the German navy can move lightly.

Moreover, the vast colonies of the United Kingdom also need warships. Therefore, despite the fact that the British Navy currently has 12 battleships, 2 battle cruisers, and 3 aircraft carriers, the only one that can compete with the Axis battleship is the two George V. The World Class and the Hood, the others are old warships.

In this regard, Churchill can only order the Navy to speed up the construction of two Glorious-class aircraft carriers for sea trials and speed up the construction of three George V-class aircraft. Yes, the British Navy currently lacks battleships the most. In the harsh climatic conditions of the North Sea and even the North Atlantic, the role of battleships is irreplaceable. At present, the British Navy does not lack battleships, but lacks new-style battleships with excellent performanceOf course, Churchill also knows that it is impossible to compete with the Axis Group by itself. Therefore, he attaches great importance to France. On the third day after becoming prime minister, he personally went to Paris to discuss with France. It's just that this conversation was not very pleasant, because France asked Britain to send naval forces to the Mediterranean to help relieve the pressure from Italy.

Moreover, it was pointed out that battleships such as battle lines and battle cruisers were needed, which made it impossible for Churchill, who was planning to fool the past with heavy cruisers. How could Churchill send out the capital ship at this time, and blockade the German navy would need more troops?

Now Germany has a fleet of 1 battleship, 2 battlecruisers and 3 pocket battleships. Although its strength is not worth mentioning with the United Kingdom, its speed is far from that of old warships. There are only two battlecruisers and 2 George V. Number to catch up with its footsteps. However, these four warships alone cannot complete the mission. The only way to stop these fast-running German warships is to deploy dispersedly.

Because if it can't stop it, it will threaten the maritime transport lines that are vital to Britain. If there were no sea transportation lines, Britain would not even have enough food.

It is precisely this point that makes the German side so interested in breaking the war. This is also the reason why the United Kingdom attaches so much importance to the blockade of the North Sea.

He failed to get the Churchill he wanted from France, and then went to Paris many times, but at this time he changed to France to urge the British to send an expeditionary force to facilitate joint operations between the two countries.

And Churchill therefore took the opportunity to use the army as a bargaining chip to dispel France's request for naval assistance. It was just that it was too difficult for the French navy to resist Italy and Romania in the Mediterranean. After looking around, Churchill set his sights on the American continent.

(Recommend a book of domestic history "The Disruptors of Chu and Han Dynasty", and those who are interested can check it out)