The Splendid and the Vile - Book Summary

Discover Winston Churchill's first year as a leader during the darkest times of British history.

In the midst of England's darkest hour, a beacon of light emerged. Winston Churchill ascended to the mantle of Prime Minister at a time when Britain's future was hanging by a thread. Hitler’s Third Reich was on a rampage, spreading fear and conquering territories at an alarming pace. The Nazis had their clutches on Czechoslovakia, Poland, and even the Nordic regions, extending their grasp to Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. With Hitler's command to bend or break, nations lived under the constant dread of devastating aerial strikes.

Nonetheless, there was a silver lining for the British people. Despite the threatening onslaught, Germany was, geographically, still a distant enemy. German warfare technology of that era was not equipped to carry heavy bomb loads all the way to the British Isles. The protective buffer would crumble, though, if the Germans were to conquer France. But surely, with France's formidable military prowess, that was a far-fetched scenario.

However, within the first week of Churchill’s premiership, the unthinkable transpired: Germany launched an assault on France, turning a distant threat into an imminent crisis. This marked the beginning of a defining chapter in history, catapulting Churchill into becoming one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century.

In the following narrative, you will explore:

- The strategic maneuver Churchill had up his sleeve from the start to outwit the enemy,

- How a Nazi official went to great lengths in a bid for peace with Britain,

- And Churchill's unforgettable, whirlwind strategy meeting with President Roosevelt.

Churchill's initial strategy: Seek help from America.

May 1940 was a foreboding period for the British, as the unstoppable Nazi juggernaut moved into France — Britain's ally. The war clouds were gathering ominously over Britain, whether its citizens were ready or not.

When Parliament voiced no confidence in Neville Chamberlain — an erstwhile appeaser of Hitler’s encroaching desires — Churchill became the Prime Minister. A terrifying period unfolded for the UK, and to most observers, Britain looked vulnerable, dwarfed by the gigantic Nazi military machinery. However, Churchill, displaying a dash of audacity that set him apart from Chamberlain and the rest, exuded an infectious conviction that Britain could indeed win the impending war.

The mammoth task at hand, therefore, was to convince not only his nation, but crucially, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, of Britain's capabilities. Churchill held the firm belief that securing American aid was paramount for any victory.

Herein lies the central idea: From the very outset, Churchill’s focus was to garner American support.

But America was less than enthusiastic about once again sending their boys to the European war theatre. Besides, the US administration had its reservations about working with the whimsical Churchill, whom they deemed unreliable, particularly when under the influence of alcohol.

Churchill was indeed a man of idiosyncrasies. He loved working during his regular baths. If the telephone rang while he bathed, he wouldn’t hesitate to climb out, soaking wet and in the buff, to take the call from his private secretary. Striding around in colourful dressing gowns, a spent cigar pointed for emphasis, was his hallmark in official residences.

Yet, the British populace adored him. And he reciprocated by taking his role very seriously. His maiden speech to the House of Commons displayed the quintessential Churchill rhetoric: a sober analysis of facts, followed by measured optimism. He famously declared, "I have nothing to offer, but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."

Despite the bleak circumstances, Churchill’s government radiated vitality from the word go. Everyone, from secretaries to ministers, was aligned with the common objective — prevent a German invasion of England and win the war. It was a sight to behold when even unassuming civil servants ran through corridors to their meetings.

Churchill’s no-nonsense approach was timely, as the situation was about to worsen drastically.

The British morale gets a much-needed shot in the arm with a dramatic grassroots rescue.

As the Nazis faced the French on their home ground, the situation looked grim but not dire. The French boasted a formidable military strength, and they had the Maginot Line, a line of fortifications that was reputed to be impregnable.

However, the unthinkable happened. The Germans successfully breached the French defensive line. As Nazis flooded into France, Allied troops scattered in a hasty retreat. The French president informed Churchill, "We have been defeated," leaving Churchill shocked: "Surely it can’t have happened so soon?"

With the Nazis now firmly ensconced in France, a British invasion appeared to be imminent. But there was an even more urgent issue at hand: the fate of the hundreds of thousands of British soldiers still stationed in France.

The underlying idea here is: A remarkable grassroots rescue operation gave Britain the much-needed morale boost for the forthcoming battle.

The British Expeditionary Force retreated to the coastal town of Dunkirk in France. The time for combat had run out. An increasing number of weary, demoralized soldiers arrived every day, amassing on the beach, casting longing glances across the Channel towards a homeland they weren't sure they would ever see again. All the while, they were being pursued by relentless Nazi forces.

But fate threw the British a lifeline on May 24, 1940. After suffering significant losses in the initial push of the invasion, Hitler ordered his tanks and crews to halt. This decision was later termed a fatal error by a Nazi general.

For the beleaguered British soldiers, Hitler's blunder was a godsend.

On May 26, Churchill authorized the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk. He estimated that about one in six or around 50,000 might survive the ordeal. The first day's rescue tally was a dismal 7,700, well below even these modest expectations. But then, private fishing boats and yachts manned by civilians began appearing from across the Channel. In total, 887 vessels participated in the rescue, with only a quarter of them being British navy boats. The miraculous result? Over 300,000 soldiers were saved.

Churchill seized this small victory to squash any talk of Britain seeking peace with Hitler. He declared defiantly, "If this long island story of ours is to end at last, let it end only when each of us lies choking in his own blood upon the ground."

No sooner had he spoken, than the Luftwaffe — the Nazi air force — launched a fresh assault. It was now clear: Hitler had set his sights on England.

As England steels itself for invasion, the ultimate outcome hinges on an aerial dogfight.

By May 1940, it was universally acknowledged that Germany possessed the capability to pulverize England into submission via air raids. Hermann Gӧring, Hitler's ambitious and relentless deputy, had singlehandedly transformed the Luftwaffe from non-existence into the world's most formidable air force.

The Luftwaffe boasted four times as many fighter aircraft as England. Furthermore, their planes and bombs were simply superior. The Stuka plane, which resembled a massive and terrifying airborne insect, was capable of carrying 4,000-pound bombs, menacingly referred to as Satan bombs, which could wipe out an entire city block.

Adding insult to injury, the Germans had developed a radio beam technology, enabling their pilots to hit targets even with limited visibility. England's air defenses were less effective under such conditions, leaving its towns and cities exposed to attacks during the night or in foggy or cloudy weather.

The crux here is: As England braces itself for an invasion, the fate of the nation hangs in the balance, to be determined by aerial warfare.

London, the hub of Britain's politics, economy, and culture, was presumed to be in the crosshairs. Following a cabinet meeting, Churchill led his ministers out into the street and told them to take a good look around. "I expect things will look a lot different in two or three weeks’ time," he warned.

Churchill recognized that the country's defense was dependent on its ability to manufacture its own fighter planes. On his first day in office, he established the Ministry of Aircraft Production. Lord Beaverbrook, an old friend of Churchill, was appointed as the minister. Churchill demanded nothing short of air supremacy.

Beaverbrook exceeded expectations. Working round the clock, he yielded remarkable results. British factories started rolling out aircraft at a rate that was unimaginable, not least to German intelligence.

However, the relentless German bombing campaign continued unabated, penetrating deep into the countryside. London had so far been spared, but intelligence reports indicated an imminent invasion. The capital was on tenterhooks.

But against all odds, the Royal Air Force fighter pilots seemed to be holding the line. Dogfights became a public spectacle, with commentators relaying the action live on the radio as if it were a football match.

Hitler was hesitant to unleash the full might of the Luftwaffe against England. He was still entertaining hopes of a peace accord that would circumvent a costly invasion. After all, it was clear to any rational observer that Britain was destined to lose this war.

However, Churchill was not behaving like a rational man.

Amid the relentless aerial warfare, Churchill persuades Roosevelt to lend his naval might until Britain's crisis is averted.

As France capitulated, Churchill conveyed one of the most consequential messages of his career — to Roosevelt. Churchill emphasized that the stakes were higher than just France or Britain. He cautioned that the possibility of a Nazi-dominated United States of Europe was now very real. He pleaded with Roosevelt for destroyer ships, describing it as a matter of life or death.

However, Churchill had to tread a delicate path with Roosevelt. He had to articulate the direness of the situation without giving the impression that Britain's struggle was a lost cause.

The fundamental point here is: In the midst of the unremitting aerial battle, Churchill managed to sway Roosevelt into providing naval reinforcements until Britain's immediate crisis was mitigated.

Initially, Roosevelt was sceptical of his British counterpart. Churchill was a wildcard, and Roosevelt distrusted him. Roosevelt responded to Churchill's initial call for help with a mere wish of good luck, followed by an insistence that Britain cede its fleet to the U.S. if it were to face defeat.

In the skies over England, the hostilities between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force, or the RAF, persisted, with Churchill firing off daily telegrams to Roosevelt. Although the RAF had ramped up its aircraft production, the Luftwaffe still boasted superior equipment. The Germans' main advantage, however, was their seasoned pilots, many of whom had honed their skills flying for Franco's Nationalist party during the Spanish Civil War.

Nevertheless, the RAF pilots, against all odds, managed to outmanoeuvre the Luftwaffe. Besides having the home field advantage and access to radar technology, they were driven by the instinct for survival. Each battle lost pushed them a step closer to an invasion and a complete upheaval of life as they knew it.

Incensed by the Luftwaffe's heavier losses compared to the RAF, Hitler instructed for a full-scale sea invasion: Operation Sea Lion. The operation was slated to commence in August 1940. However, Hitler mandated that, prior to its initiation, the RAF had to be subdued both "morally and physically".

Despite the continuing turmoil, Churchill persisted in his appeals for Roosevelt's assistance. His efforts eventually bore fruit when Roosevelt charged his cabinet with devising a way to transfer some obsolete destroyers to Britain without violating the laws of neutrality. The Secretary of the Navy proposed a solution: America would loan the destroyers to Churchill in return for access to British naval bases in the Atlantic.

The hurdle now lay in securing approval for the plan, named Lend-Lease, from the U.S. Congress. Senator Claude Pepper, a key Roosevelt ally, informed the president that the plan stood no chance.

A misdirected bombing of London ushers in a new chapter in the aerial combat.

Hermann Gӧring, the commander of the Luftwaffe, was being misinformed. The head of intelligence, Beppo Schmid, had misled him into believing that the RAF was in dire straits. This contradicted the firsthand accounts of the German pilots who were witnessing a completely different scenario in the battlefield. Nevertheless, these misleading reports prompted Hitler to command the Luftwaffe to mount a major assault against the RAF, an operation they named Adlertag — Eagle Day.

However, the operation was disastrous for the Nazis. The weather on the day of the attack was so terrible that Gӧring was compelled to halt the operation almost immediately. The aircraft that managed to infiltrate British air space were confronted by a vehement RAF defense — a situation they hadn't anticipated. The RAF had figured out that the German Stuka planes were most vulnerable during their dives, a weakness they successfully exploited. Consistently, the RAF was shooting down twice as many planes as it was losing.

The crucial point here is: A navigation error which led to the bombing of London precipitated the next phase in the aerial warfare.

Churchill was buoyant in the face of the German debacle, but he was also confused. What was the purpose of such an extensive raid that achieved so little? Why weren't the bombers targeting London, the throbbing heart of Britain?

After a series of aerial skirmishes, Churchill deduced that the RAF was the actual target. If the RAF was crippled, the Nazis would have an unhindered route for a full-scale invasion without the threat of bombing raids.

Meanwhile, anxiety was mounting in the UK. Citizens watched the aerial duels from the safety of the grass, basking in the unexpectedly pleasant summer weather, even as shrapnel littered the countryside. Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels seized this opportunity to incite panic, disseminating propaganda that amplified the prevailing fear. The Brits sensed the imminence of a significant event; they began to dread moonlit nights, which provided the German bombers with greater visibility.

Despite the catastrophic failure of Adlertag, Operation Sea Lion was still on the cards, albeit postponed by a month — to September 1940.

However, on August 24, a navigational blunder altered the trajectory of the war. A squadron of German bombers, having lost their way, ended up over London. They discharged their bombs on the city — the first bombs to hit London.

The fallout could have been catastrophic. Nonetheless, casualties were minimal, and Churchill finally had the justification he had long sought for — an opportunity to go on the offensive against Germany. He ordered the first RAF fighters to strike Berlin the very next night.

Life in London becomes a horrifying ordeal amidst German bombardments.

In retaliation to the strikes on Berlin, Hitler ordered the first deliberate assault on London. Gӧring was thrilled at the chance to avenge the Luftwaffe's humiliation and came up with a scheme titled "the Obliteration of London." Goebbels proclaimed it would be the most cataclysmic disaster in human history.

However, not all Nazi officials were enthusiastic about the confrontation between Britain and Germany. Rudolf Hess, Hitler's former deputy, viewed the Brits and Germans as ethnically allied. Consequently, he endeavored to broker a peace agreement with Britain, employing secretive channels.

On the other hand, several Nazis were thrilled. Gӧring and his commanders arranged a picnic on a cliff in France overlooking the Channel. When the first aircraft appeared in the sky, Gӧring was overjoyed. Before long, the sky was teeming with the relentless hum of fighter jets hurtling towards London.

The central theme here is: German bombings turned life in London into a terrifying ordeal.

The German bombers attacked in three waves. The first wave comprised nearly a thousand aircraft, armed with a lethal mixture of high-explosive conventional bombs, incendiary oil bombs, and time-delayed bombs designed to keep the firefighting crews at a distance.

The first sirens blared a little before 5:00 p.m., continuing throughout the night. Four hundred people were killed, and 1,600 were injured. The next day, Churchill was seen surveying the devastation in the East End. Amid the rubble, people had planted paper Union Jacks. Touched, Churchill broke down; the people adored him for it. "We can take it!" someone yelled. "Give it back to 'em."

The planes returned the following night, and the night after that. Everyone concurred that the dread, the bombs, and the sirens causing sleep deprivation were the worst aspects of the initial days. Churchill observed the raids from the rooftop of 10 Downing Street, puffing on his ever-present cigar.

Even the king and queen had a close call. A bomber appeared to have targeted Buckingham Palace intentionally. The queen, in particular, was relieved. Now she felt more equipped to face the severely impacted Londoners.

Despite the chaos, the RAF relentlessly counterattacked. A key confrontation took place on September 24, just a month after the initial bombings of London. The RAF downed 183 German fighters while losing fewer than 40. This day came to be known as the Battle of Britain Day.

The Luftwaffe had wounded Britain, but Hitler recognized that it hadn't managed to devastate it. Nonetheless, Gӧring and Hitler remained undeterred. They doubled down.

Fear of impending invasion wanes, but the intensity of the bombardment amplifies.

As autumn set in and the weather grew colder, the probability of a German invasion seemed to diminish. Churchill penned about Hitler, "The gent has donned his swimwear, but the water's turning frigid and there's an autumn chill in the breeze."

As predicted, Hitler further postponed Operation Sea Lion as the RAF posed too formidable a threat. Instead, Hitler shifted his focus eastwards — a project he was confident of winning. He had long harbored dreams of subduing Russian Bolshevism. He was of the impression it would be a straightforward task compared to an amphibious assault on Britain. Disregarding his earlier reservations about a two-front war, Hitler introduced his new strategy — Operation Barbarossa.

The central theme here is: While the fear of impending invasion subsided, the intensity of the bombardment amplified.

Gӧring's aerial attacks persisted. In November, he unleashed a horrifying barrage on the industrial hub of Coventry, in the Midlands. The Luftwaffe dropped 500 tons of high explosives and 20,000 incendiary devices, killing over 500 people and decimating more than 2,200 structures.

As Coventry was still reeling from the disaster, Britain found itself on the brink of a severe financial crisis. Churchill found it necessary to appeal to Roosevelt once again. He underlined that the survival of England had implications for America's future as well. Britain required food and military supplies. Churchill argued that this was the least the United States could do to fulfill their common objective.

In Coventry, London, and numerous other cities, Brits who had lost their homes to the German bombings were crammed into dreadful shelters. Churchill's wife, Clementine, visited a few of them and confirmed the appalling conditions. Lice infestations were rampant, space was virtually non-existent, and the sanitation facilities were gruesomely Dickensian. To top it all, there was no provision to prepare tea.

Following the blitz on Coventry, the Germans were astounded by Churchill's indomitable spirit. Goebbels termed Churchill's refusal to surrender as a war crime. Meanwhile, Hitler was fervently working on Operation Barbarossa, aiming to initiate it before Russia could strengthen its defenses.

As Coventry lay in ruins, Rudolf Hess grew anxious due to the lack of response to his covert peace negotiations. He resolved to take direct action. A competent pilot himself, he decided to fly to Scotland and deliver the message personally.

Churchill's pleas to Roosevelt gain traction just in the nick of time.

In the meantime, Churchill kept striving to win the Americans over. Roosevelt received Churchill's latest communication while vacationing in the Caribbean. He took a few days to mull over it, finally deciding to take decisive action.

During his Christmastime "Fireside Chat" with the American people, Roosevelt affirmed his support for the British cause. For the first time, he used the term "Nazi". He warned that if Britain were to fall, America would have a gun pointed to its head.

The following day, in what seemed like an attempt to undermine Roosevelt's speech, the Luftwaffe unleashed havoc on London's financial district. The ensuing firestorm earned the name "Second Great Fire of London", the first being in 1666. By the end of 1940, the German air raids over London had claimed over 13,000 lives.

The crux here is: Roosevelt started to respond positively to Churchill's pleas, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Despite being shaken by the death and destruction, Churchill maintained a philosophical outlook. The bombings had happened at an opportune time to garner American empathy. Moreover, encouraging news was on the horizon. Roosevelt was dispatching his close friend, Harry Hopkins, to London to assess the situation firsthand.

Despite his scruffy appearance and frailty due to a recent bout of stomach cancer, Hopkins was charismatic, compassionate, and quick-witted. He and Churchill hit it off instantly.

Keen on making a favorable impression, Churchill practically stuck to Hopkins like glue. He took a visibly weary Hopkins on a whirlwind tour of volunteer centers. Hopkins tried to blend into the crowds, but Churchill would always pull him back to his side. He utilized Hopkins to assure his British audience that the Americans were paying attention and empathizing with their plight. To Hopkins, he assured that he wasn't imploring the US to join the war - even though, in reality, that was his deepest desire.

Hopkins was deeply moved by the bravery of the British populace and the resolute Churchill. When asked by Churchill about what he would relay back to Roosevelt, Hopkins cited the Bible, "Whither thou goest I will go." Churchill was brought to tears. Finally, Hopkins conveyed to Roosevelt that Britain was in dire need of America's aid, and that the urgency was critical.

Meanwhile, Hitler was growing increasingly frustrated with the tenacious British resistance. In his eagerness to proceed with Operation Barbarossa, he instructed Gӧring to annihilate the RAF once and for all. The objective was not only to debilitate English forces but also to create a semblance of an impending invasion, hoping to pressure Churchill into surrendering.

Increased American involvement was met with an onslaught of dreadful news from across the Channel.

Churchill received a call from Hopkins on March 11, 1941, at his countryside residence. The Lend-Lease Plan proposed by Roosevelt had received approval from the US Congress. This allowed Britain access to American destroyers, marking a substantial symbolic endorsement.

Buoyed by this, Churchill slipped into a festive mood. He got into his favorite attire, a baby-blue one-piece ensemble of his own creation, and played military marches on the gramophone. Carrying a big-game rifle, he displayed an array of rifle drills and bayonet tactics. He appeared as an aggressive, pale-blue Easter egg geared for battle. Observers could only wonder what Hitler's reaction would be to this demonstration of martial prowess.

However, his elated spirit was short-lived. With each passing day, air raids continued to plague them. Churchill invited another American emissary, William Averell Harriman, to witness a raid from the rooftop. As they observed the grim scene, he recited a verse from the British poet Tennyson: "Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rain’d a ghastly dew."

The underlying theme here is: Despite growing American involvement, distressing news continued to pour in from across the Channel.

Churchill realized that the air warfare was far from over. Moreover, it posed a political threat. For how much longer could the Londoners bear this?

Unsettling news from foreign fronts was rapidly pouring in. Nazi General Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel was battering British troops in North Africa and the Middle East. Conditions were worsening in the Balkans, where Bulgaria had allied with the Axis. Churchill was dejected. His reliance on Harriman and the American support he represented increased considerably.

As April unfolded, London was bombarded with hundreds of explosives. Amid the foreign and domestic turmoil, Parliament proposed a discussion on the war conditions. Churchill, reacting strongly, demanded a referendum on his government as a whole. The debate commenced on a low note, but his rousing speech once again proved his mettle, and he succeeded in passing the vote with impressive results.

Yet, more disheartening news was imminent — in the form of German Stukas. Hitler's aides had convinced him to launch an assault on London, utilizing every possible aircraft.

The attack commenced shortly before 11:00 pm on May 10, with a clear intent to demolish London and assassinate Churchill. Over the next six hours, the London skies were swarming with more than 500 bombers, releasing thousands of explosives. Westminster Hall and the British Museum were engulfed in flames. A bomb blew through the tower housing the Big Ben. It seemed as if all of London was aflame.

The raid marked the worst in the war. A record-breaking number of over 1,400 people were killed in a single night, rendering an additional 12,000 Londoners homeless.

The most catastrophic Blitz bombing occurred simultaneously with one of its most bizarre episodes.

As hundreds of planes converged over the channel, Rudolf Hess, the third most powerful Nazi official, clung to his belief that he could orchestrate a peace treaty with the UK. His journey to Scotland required four attempts. After committing maps to memory, referring to his horoscope, and meticulously packing his extensive collection of medical equipment, he embarked on his mission in a German aircraft. He handed over letters for his wife and Hitler to his deputy.

Five hours later, Hess found himself running out of fuel and disoriented over Scotland. He abandoned his aircraft and parachuted into a farmer's field, where he calmly waited to be apprehended by the police. Despite declining the farmer's offer of tea, he did accept a glass of water.

The primary theme here is: The most damaging Blitz bombing unfolded in parallel with one of its most peculiar incidents.

Major Donald, an officer stationed in Glasgow, was dispatched to meet the captured prisoner. Hess claimed to possess a crucial secret message for the Duke of Hamilton, a Scottish lord whom he believed might be open to a peace settlement.

Donald was taken aback. Sitting before him in a rural Scottish prison was the third most influential Nazi official, who had flown single-handedly from Germany bearing a secret dispatch. It took some persuasion on Donald's part to convince his senior officers, but eventually, the message made its way to the duke. Hess was granted his meeting the next morning.

Unsurprisingly, Britain had no interest in Hess's proposed peace negotiations. Churchill had Hess incarcerated in the Tower of London, the city's notorious eleventh-century dungeon.

When Hitler read the letter from Hess explaining his actions, it triggered one of his infamous Wutausbrüche, or violent outbursts. He had Hess's assistants, even his astrologer, deported to a concentration camp.

The incident piqued public curiosity on both sides of the Atlantic, even captivating President Roosevelt. The American leader speculated that the incident's intrigue could potentially bolster the war effort. Churchill was more than happy to allow the newspapers to continue unraveling the enigma. Questions—and, in true British fashion, puns—abounded. One newspaper cleverly headlined the event, "Your Hess is as good as mine."

In a particular gentleman's club in London, the word "Hess" was repeated so often that the 's' sound seemed to echo oddly—"like a basketful of snakes," as one American observer aptly described.

The launch of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa marked the end of the invasion threat and a pivotal moment in the war.

London was profoundly affected by the bombardment, but the city held strong. From September 7, 1940, to May 11, 1941, approximately 29,000 Londoners lost their lives, and over 28,000 suffered serious injuries. Across the UK, the death toll exceeded 44,000, which tragically included 5,000 children.

Strangely, the night following May 11, saw no bombers, nor the following night. The attacks gradually began to recede. In May, across the UK, German raids claimed over 5,600 lives. By December, the monthly casualty figures dwindled to 37. Churchill, along with the British people, had shown Hitler their resolve to resist, no matter what.

The essential point here is: The initiation of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa marked the cessation of the invasion threat and became a defining juncture in the war.

In June 1941, Operation Barbarossa instigated a second front in the war, disregarding the advice Hitler himself had proffered in his memoir, Mein Kampf.

Hitler had optimistically predicted that Barbarossa would conclude within three weeks. However, the Soviet forces proved more formidable than anyone had anticipated. During the Nuremberg trials in 1945, which included trials of Nazi officials like Gӧring, it became evident that it was Operation Barbarossa that distracted the Germans from invading England.

Just a few weeks shy of Christmas, Churchill, in a sour mood, found himself at the Prime Ministerial country house, tuning in to the BBC with his family. The announcement that Japan had assaulted America's primary Pacific naval base, Pearl Harbor, instantly lightened Churchill's spirits. He sprinted out of the room, exclaiming, "We shall declare war on Japan!" He promptly did so the next day, following in the footsteps of Roosevelt.

From then on, Churchill never truly brooded – the war was no longer about desperate survival. With the US's involvement, an Allies' victory was inevitable; the question was when. Churchill's physician claimed the Prime Minister almost seemed to be enjoying himself. After all, leading Britain through a great war as its Prime Minister was beyond his wildest dreams.

This joviality was palpable during his state visit to the White House in December. On one occasion, Roosevelt found Churchill completely nude, balancing a drink in one hand and a cigar in the other. "You see, Mr. President," Churchill declared, "I have nothing to hide." With a towel casually draped over his shoulder, he strutted around the room in the buff for the following hour. All the while, he engaged Roosevelt in conversation, intermittently refilling the President's glass.

In conclusion

The primary takeaway here:

During the initial year of Churchill's command, he invigorated his nation, instilling courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable circumstances. Furthermore, he meticulously wooed President Roosevelt with his potent blend of charisma and flattery, a strategic move that secured the essential support of America, subsequently paving the way to victory.