The Churchill Series – Jan 11, 2007

(One of a series of weekday posts on the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

Yesterday I promised some comments about Churchill’s WW I experiences in the trenches. Here are a few thoghts from "the top of my head."

As many of you know he went to the battlefield after the collapse of the Dardanelles Expedition which he’d strongly backed. Had the expedition succeeded in capturing the Ottoman capital of Constantinople, the Allies would have been able to strengthen the Russians and keep them in the fight. They would also have outflanked the Germans.

Churchill received heavy, disproportionate and, according to many historians today, unfair blame for the expedition’s failure. Most people, including it seems Churchill for a time, thought his political career was over.

Churchill decided to join the active fighting for a complex of reasons. He felt he had a duty to contribute to the war effort. He recognized he had no influence at the time on decisions affecting the war. So by going into the trenches he was making his contribution. And being Winston Churchill, he could no more imagine himself standing by when his country was at war than we can.

Churchill, of course, was a graduate of the Royal Military College, had served as an officer under three sovereign, fought in the Empire’s was on three continents, had often been shot at, twice had horses shot out form underneath him, and been taking prisoner of war and escaped.

So Churchill by temperament in 1915 wanted to serve his country; and if it could do that nowhere else but at the front, he was on his way to France.

When he got there he was received as a politician. But he was a most unusual politician for he was also a trained, smart, experienced, battle-hardened and brave warrior.

Time is pressing. I’ll continue this tomorrow with a look at another reason Churchill want to the front: he thought service there might help him recover politically and once more be a force in government.

I look forward to seeing you