Sir Winston Churchill and his Pivotal Role in World War II Essay Example

Sir Winston Churchill and his Pivotal Role in World War II Essay Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) was one of the greatest leaders this world has seen. He was the British Prime Minister at the time of the Second World War and lead to Britain’s victory over Nazi Germany. His contributions in the form of written books and recorded speeches serve as an insight into history and as a source of inspiration till today. His perseverance and courage were worthy of praise. He strongly believed in spending his life in serving the country. He is still regarded as one of the most significant Englishmen of the twentieth century. SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL EARLY AND JOURNALIST YEARS 1874-1903 Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock in 1874. His parents were too busy for him and he spent most of his time with his nanny who he became very attached to. He had a younger brother. As a child, Churchill was stubborn and annoying. He was educated at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. It is said that at school Sir Winston Churchill was a poor student and a disappointment to his father.[1] Churchill was chubby and not particularly tall. At the age of 21, Sir Winston Churchill joined the British army which he left four years later.[2] During his stay in the army, Churchill took part in the Battle of Omdurman. Writing was his passion. He used to love writing about his experiences and other prevailing issues. According to Churchill, Writing is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase it that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monst er and fling him to the public. It was during this time that he wrote some of his most famous books. We will write a custom essay sample on Sir Winston Churchill and his Pivotal Role in World War II specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Sir Winston Churchill and his Pivotal Role in World War II specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Sir Winston Churchill and his Pivotal Role in World War II specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In 1896 and 1897, Sir Winston Churchill stayed in India where he worked as a soldier and a reporter. Sir Winston Churchill left the British army in 1899 after which he started writing war related news for the Morning Post. In 1900, Sir Winston Churchill went back to England and became a member of the House of Commons. Thought a Conservative during this time, Sir Winston Churchill switched sides and joined the Liberal party in 1903.   [3] Achievements of Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Churchill’s accomplishments began in his 20s when he was an active journalist. His successes continued while he was an active politician and when he became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He is known as one of the greatest leaders in history. Sir Winston Churchill had a strong foothold of the English language. His works as a writer won him the Nobel Prize in Literature. Sir Winston Churchill always supported European and Atlantic alliance. Eventually this alliance resulted in the NATO. Sir Winston Churchill also introduced reforms for prisons which included not only entertainment activities but also the provision of basic health care facilities for the prisoners. [4] Sir Winston Churchill remained the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for almost the entire Second World War from the year 1940 all the way up to 1945. Hence all the war time decisions were made by him. Sir Winston Churchill was very well versed with the military and warfare. It was him who formed military bodies that eventually went on to destroy the German forces. His most significant role was his leadership during the Second World War against Nazi Germany.[5] For all his dedication and efforts for Britain on an international arena, Sir Winston Churchill received much praise and honor. He was given U.S. citizenship and the title for one of the greatest Englishmen in history. [6] Special Characteristics of Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Churchill was an outstanding orator and author. He was also a well reputed journalist and painter. During his lifetime, he wrote many books and delivered numerous speeches that inspired people. He took keen interest in history and was one of the most significant leaders in the history of Europe. Churchill was far-sighted, focused, determined to succeed, independent, persistent, passionate and brave. He did not believe in the concept of surrender. He was emotionally and physically tough. His trait of being courageous has been proven on several accounts. He was always a keen and dedicated warrior. Sir Winston Churchill was a strong leader. He believed in whole heartedly fighting for his country. The population of the United Kingdom could relate to him and visualize his dreams. He encouraged them to turn their dreams into reality. [7] Lessons we learn from the life, achievements and disappointments of Churchill One thing we note from Churchill’s life is that when children do not feel loved and protected at home, the insecurity and depression they experience then becomes a personality trait and appears on the surface later on. It creates in them the need to make their presence felt. Even Sir Winston Churchill said that if he could not get himself to be loved, he could at least get himself to be admired. The most important thing that we can gauge from the life of Sir Winston Churchill is that perseverance, passion and refusal to surrender leads to success. After the victory in World War II when Churchill participated in the elections again, he was sure he would win because of his recent popularity. To his surprise and disappointment, he lost the General Elections. This fact proves that one can never afford to be laid back. It was after this shock that Churchill revamped his party and went out of his way to regain the lost support. Continuous efforts are required for success. The minute a person starts taking success for granted, before he knows it, it is taken away by someone else. SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL STATESMAN YEARS 1904-1933 Sir Winston Churchill was pro social welfare and joined the Liberal Party in 1904. He won the General Elections in 1906 and formed the Liberal government. Two years later, Sir Winston Churchill got married to Clementine Ogilvy Spencer. He had one son and two daughters with her. His family brought him a lot of happiness. However, one of his daughters died at the age of three. This was one of the reasons for his depression in the years to follow. [8] How did he advance in politics? Sir Winston Churchill’s father was an active politician. This is where Churchill got his political background from. He was an average student. He dropped out of school and joined the army at a young age. Sir Winston Churchill was initially posted in Cuba where he got involved in the on-going civil war. After this he moved to India where he signed up to participate in the rebellion at Malakand.   There was no opening for him on that front so he signed up as a journalist and still went to Malakand to take part in the revolt. While in India, Sir Winston Churchill served as a war correspondent. [9] After his duration in India, Sir Winston Churchill went to Sudan where he took part in the uprisings that occurred in 1898.[10] The first time Sir Winston Churchill fought in the General Elections, he was unsuccessful. Later on, Churchill was taken prisoner for carrying a weapon but he escaped from prison and rejoined the army.[11] In 1906, Sir Winston Churchill participated in the General Elections and won. Thus he formed the Liberal government. After the elections of 1910, Sir Winston Churchill was made Home Secretary. One important contribution he made was the reforms he introduced for the prisons. He generated activities that included the basic essentials as well as entertainment for prisoners. The entertainment included educational sessions and concerts and the essential services included provision of medical and health care facilities. [12] One year later, in 1911, Sir Winston Churchill became Lord of Admiralty. It was during this time that he transformed the navy with advanced equipment. Sir Winston Churchill took special interest in the armed forces. A year later he formed the Royal Naval Air Service. The latter was made modern with the help of new equipment and aircraft. Sir Winston Churchill was so passionate about the navy that he even learnt how to fly an aircraft. It was in 1915 that Sir Winston Churchill rejoined the British Army. During this time Churchill looked after the manufacture of aircrafts, artillery, weapons and tanks. During 1919 and 1920, Sir Winston Churchill also worked under the leadership of Lloyd George as Minister of War and Air and later as Colonel Secretary. Some of Churchill’s actions in war were severely criticized. For instance, he suggested using chemical weapons just to test them on the Arabs. Later on, Sir Winston Churchill became Chancellor of the Exchequer. After 1925, Churchill took on the job of editing the very famous state magazine called the British Gazette. In 1929, the government was defeated and Churchill lost his rank. However, in 1933 when the Nazis emerged and Adolf Hitler gathered immense support in Germany, Sir Winston Churchill led the rearmament movement in the United Kingdom. nbsp; What did he write? Sir Winston Churchill’s career as an author started in 1985 when he began writing for the newspaper. He enjoyed writing about his adventures and experiences. The following year, he wrote his first book titled The Story of the Malakand Field Force. In 1898, Sir Winston Churchill wrote another book called The River War. The next year brought with it two more books by Churchill: London to Ladysmith via Pretoria and Ian Hamilton’s March. In 1900, Churchill’s original called Savrola was published. In 1903 Sir Winston Churchill wrote Mr. Brodrick’s Army and in 1906 he wrote Lord Randolph Churchill and For Free Trade. The former was about his late father. Two years later, Sir Winston Churchill narrated his adventures in Africa via the book title An African Journey. His other books regarding politics include Liberalism and the Social Problem, The People’s Rights and The World Crisis. The World Crisis was published between 1923 and 1931 in six volumes.[13] His other important books include India (1931), Thoughts and Adventures (1932), The War Speeches (1941-1946), The Second World War (1948-1953), A History of English-Speaking People (1956-1958) and If I Lived my Life Again (1974). [14] How did he get depressed? There were many reasons that led to Sir Winston Churchill’s depression. To begin with, his parents neglected him and he always felt the absence of a loving family. Although his marriage did bring him a lot of happiness, the early childhood depression remained. Moreover, one of his daughters passed away at the age of three.[15] In 1914, Churchill came up with the brilliant plan of campaigning in the Dardanelles but unfortunately the plan failed. Churchill was blamed of poor leadership and his allies turned hostile against him. A year later, a British ship sank due to an attack by a German submarine, taking the lives of just under 2000 people on board. Churchill was suspected of being involved in making the ship sink. It was due to all these accusations that Churchill was downgraded from the Admiralty. Following this, Sir Winston Churchill experienced bouts of depression.[16] These fits of depression were aggravated by Churchill’s exit from office in 1930 and his failure in the elections in 1945. He gave his depression the name of â€Å"Black Dog†. Churchill’s depression used to be intense and last for weeks at times. Judging from his mood swings, there have been rumors that Sir Winston Churchill suffered from Bi Polar Depression. nbsp; What did he do before World War II? Before the start of the Second World War, it was Sir Winston Churchill who sensed the danger coming and stressed that Britain become prepared to face the Nazi Germany and the emerging Hitler. By this time he had had adequate experience in the military and in participating in rebellions. This coupled with his political background prepared him for what was to come. [17] Why did he become great during World War II? International Role World War II started in 1939. At this time, the British Prime Minister Chamberlain appointed Churchill as the first Lord of the Admiralty. In 1940 he went on to become the Chair person of the Military Committee. The Chamberlain government failed in the same year and Sir Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. As prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill founded a federation government which included people from the Labor Party. He placed these people in top ranks in the government. It was during this time that Sir Winston Churchill communicated frequently with Franklin D. Roosevelt and developed strong ties with him. This was a relationship that was in favor of Great Britain for the rest of the war. Britain was able to engage in an exchange of weapons and other war equipment as a result of this friendship.[18] The government of the United Kingdom further benefited from an agreement with the United States of America called the Lend Lease agreement by which it could acquire weapons from the United States on credit. The benefits of this relationship extended till the end of the war when the two allies jointly asked Germany to surrender in 1943.[19] Under the leadership of Sir Winston Churchill, Britain remained strong and the Germans failed to invade it. Eventually they gave up trying. Sir Winston Churchill was accused of poor leadership and wrong decisions. Eventually his party and the Parliament lost faith in him. On the brighter side, Sir Winston Churchill was a very impactful writer and orator. His speeches that were transmitted using the radio used to move people and inspire them to fight for their country. Even during the war, he kept communicating with his people via speeches that kept their Morales high and their determination going. Due to his dedication and enthusiasm during the war, Sir Winston Churchill surfaced as a hero. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Sir Winston Churchill collaborated with Franklin D. Roosevelt in order to win against Germany and Japan. Sir Winston Churchill was also friendly with the leaders of the Soviet Union. Sir Winston Churchill – Domestic Role Despite his success in the international arena, Sir Winston Churchill was less successful back at home. Many people, such as the working class, despised him for his guts.   At times, Sir Winston Churchill was blamed for regularly changing parties. Britain did win the war, but many people were of the view that Sir Winston Churchill did nothing to improve the United Kingdom as a country. THE FINAL YEARS 1946-1965 What happened after World War II? In 1946 Sir Winston Churchill went to the United States. He was also made the leader of the opposition party. While in the United States, he gave his Iron Curtain Speech which is talked of till today. In fact, former President George W. Bush used an adaptation of Churchill’s speech when he addressed the nation following the attacks on the twin towers in 2001. In 1951, the General Elections were held again and Sir Winston Churchill won yet another time. All the while he kept writing books that became really famous pieces of work. It was after this that he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Why was he voted out of office? Churchill took part in the elections following the Second World War but to his disappointment, he was defeated. This defeat surprised him because he had just emerged victorious from the war and was confident about his support. The apparent reason for his failure in the elections was that people wanted a change in the reforms. Moreover some people were still suspicious of Churchill’s intentions and actions. What did he do in his last years? After the defeat in elections, Sir Winston Churchill worked to regain the lost support. He made efforts to revamp his party and carried out campaigns involving influential speeches. Through his speeches he cautioned his people about the growing socialist threat. At the age of 75, Sir Winston Churchill started writing his famous book titled The Second World War. In 1949, at the old age of 77, Sir Winston Churchill became Prime Minister again. Two years later in 1953, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and came to be known as Sir Winston Churchill. It was during the same time that he received his Nobel Prize for his significant contribution to Literature. In 1954, Sir Winston Churchill retired with dignity from the House of Commons. A year later he resigned from his beloved post of Prime Minister. Around that time he completed writing his famous book A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. He spent his last years painting and reflecting on thoughts. He became subdued and even stopped reading.    After suffering from Pneumonia three times and numerous strokes, Sir Winston Churchill died at the age of 90 in 1965 of poor health.[20] CONCLUSION Sir Winston Churchill lived from 1874 to 1965. He was an excellent orator and writer. During his life time he wrote numerous books and delivered several speeches, many of which are still a source of inspiration for leaders today. Sir Winston Churchill served as a reporter in his early life to the Morning Post. He fought in a few battles in Sudan, India and Malakand. Coming from a political background, he was into politics and the armed forces since his childhood. Sir Winston Churchill switched from being Conservative to becoming a member of the Liberal Party. He was often criticized for this. Nonetheless he had adequate experience in the army and warfare. He was even in charge of warfare equipment and artillery. He set up military bodies and supported the development of tanks. All these factors prepared him for the Second World War that he was destined to lead. Sir Winston Churchill’s role in the Second World War was very significant. He became the British Prime Minister at the start of World War II and remained so throughout the war. Under his leadership, Britain was able to fight back the strong Nazi force of Germany under the ruthless Adolf Hitler. It was all because of Sir Winston Churchill that Britain was able to defeat Germany. Besides the experience in warfare and the military, Sir Winston Churchill also built strong ties with Franklin D. Roosevelt. This alliance helped Britain during the war in terms of equipment supplies and so on. Moreover, it was with Roosevelt that Churchill asked Hitler to unconditionally surrender the war in 1945. nbsp;