Churchill Key Idea 4

4.1: Views on Britain's world/imperial role

Believed Britain should be a world leader, however it was becoming a "junior partner".

Roosevelt got Churchill to agree to democracy for British colonies in the 1941 Atlantic Charter.

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Met 9 times during the war and exchanged 1700 letters and telegrams.
Churchill had an American mother and toured the US during his wilderness years.
First met in 1918 but Churchill forgot.
"Special relationship" with the USA - Churchill was the first PM to address Congress and stay at the White House, they were both "English speaking peoples".
Pre-1941 Lend Lease of supplies and swapping of 50 destroyers for 99 year leases on naval bases in the Caribbean much to the advantage of the US.
1941 Atlantic Charter between USA and UK established free trade, democracy and no deals with the USSR regarding land in East Europe, which Churchill broke during the 4th Moscow conference.
Hitler's declaration of war on USA and attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941 saw USA joining the war.
Churchill persuaded Roosevelt of the Mediterranean Strategy in 1943 which failed.
Churchill was sidelined by Roosevelt at Tehran.
Churchill gave Roosevelt his only WW2 painting during Casablanca 1943.

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Met 5 times during the war.
Churchill: "I like that man", "we get on like a house on fire".
Initial dislike over communism (Churchill viewed it as a "cancer"), Churchill had criticised Stalin's use of slave labour camps (Gulags).
Churchill described the 1940 Katyn Massacre as "very cruel".
Conflict over Stalin's demands for a second front.
Churchill appeased Stalin over control of East Europe because of focus on "soft underbelly", which became the Mediterranean Strategy failure.
Decided spheres of influence at 4th Moscow (1944) with the naughty document/percentages agreement - Greece was to be British-controlled, Poland was to be Soviet-controlled.
Got along well when they were drinking despite a history of disagreements.

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Churchill could converse fluently in French.
Free French was based in London.
Churchill admired his patriotism but said "you are not France".
Churchill destroyed the French fleet at Oran in the Mediterranean in 1940.
Churchill found De Gaulle's insistence on being treated equally a difficulty.
De Gaulle sided with Roosevelt over an American leading the invasion of Normandy.
Churchill had to keep relations open with Vichy France, which De Gaulle hated.
Walked arm in arm through a liberated Paris in 1944.

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Travelled over 110,000 miles despite being in his late 60s, having a mild heart attack and pneumonia.

1942 2nd Moscow - conflict over second front, Churchill persuades Stalin after sharing drinks.

Late 1943 Tehran - first Big 3 conference - Churchill sidelined, Eisenhower to lead Overlord.

1944 4th Moscow - Stalin and Churchill agree on percentages agreement/naughty document.

Feb 1945 Yalta - Decision to bomb Dresden (to scare/please Russia, as revenge for Blitz, to speed up end of war), zones decided.

July 1945 Potsdam - Attlee and Truman replaced Churchill and Roosevelt, decided on unconditional surrender of Japan.

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