Churchill the Young Warrior, page 1
Copyright © 2017 by John Harte
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
Cover design by Rain Saukas
Cover photo: Public domain
Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-1702-2
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-1703-9
Permission from The Orion Publishing Group, London UK, to quote passages from Sir Basil Liddell Hart’s HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, published first in 1930 as The Real War 1914-1918 by Cassell & Company Ltd, London UK. Copyright 1930, 1934 © 1970 Lady Liddell Hart.
Permission also from Penguin Random House UK, London UK, to quote extracts from CHURCHILL: A LIFE by Sir Martin Gilbert, first published by Heinemann, London in 1991.
Printed in the United States of America
“History is the result of unintended consequences.”
—Attribution unknown
CONTENTS
Author’s Preface
1. Jennie
2. The Shots that Echoed Around the World
3. Prelude to War
4. The Young Winston
5. The Cavalry Charge
6. The Victorians
7. The Lady with the Lamp
8. The Flawed Human Condition
9. Winston Under Fire
10. A Prisoner of War
11. Below the Poverty Line
12. Winston’s Rebellion
13. Public and Private Lives
14. The Coming War
15. “Kaiser Bill”
16. The First World War
17. Winston in Disgrace
18. Winston in the Front Line
19. Anguish and Torment
20. Mutiny
21. “The Yanks are Coming”
22. The Killing Fields
23. Spies of “Room 40”
24. The Beginning of the End
The Cost of War
About the Author
Notes & End Notes
Index
Photos
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY TWO WORLD Wars until now. But many people believe that a Third World War is inevitable—partly because the Digital Age has placed our worst neighbors on our doorsteps, and partly because of the flaws in the human condition. And history demonstrates the problems they have already caused us for centuries. So it should pay us to explore why the First World War erupted and what could have been done to prevent it from happening, or halt it before it was too late.
Since one man played a pivotal role in both World Wars, this book describes what he learned about war and the flaws in human nature while fighting in several wars as a young soldier, as a war correspondent at the frontline, as an aspiring young politician, and also as First Lord of the Admiralty who contributed to the Allied victory in the First World War. (My previous book, How Churchill Saved Civilization, shows how he led the free world to victory as an older man of fifty-nine in the Second World War).
Seventy years after Winston Churchill led the Allied Forces of the free and democratic world to victory against fascism, a false mythology has grown about him, so that new generations are given a misleading image of a portly middle-aged and somewhat conservative statesman with old-fashioned sentiments. In fact, he was a thoroughly modern, imaginative, and adventurous young man, who fought coolly on several battlefronts as a professional army officer, where he learned that enemies have to be crushed instantly with even greater force and determination than before, until they can do no more harm. He never gave in, and argued that war is preferable to slavery. He possessed a killer instinct, which he sought from his generals in the Second World War. He was a Liberal in politics, a champion of the marginalized, the poor and needy, the old and infirm, and the underdog.
The First World War still contains mysteries which have not been satisfactorily explained. They are described here for readers to understand the complexities that face historians. They reveal so many poor judgments, and so much irrational and self-destructive behavior on the part of leaders who influenced events, that it is hard for most historians to credit so many mistakes, so much incompetence, folly, and muddling through that led to one disaster after another and resulted in the gruesome deaths of millions.
In 2013, historian Margaret MacMillan—the great-granddaughter of David Lloyd George, Britain’s Prime Minister during much of the First World War—wrote a new book on World War I in an attempt to discover why it began, because it is still so much of a mystery. Many historians agree, however, that the cause was the network of treaties and alliances that were set in motion when the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated and Austria mobilized its troops for war against Serbia. But not everyone agrees. One of the most esteemed military historians, the late Captain Sir Basil Liddell Hart, who served in the First World War, attributed it to Pride, Fear and Hunger.1
Margaret Macmillan writes:
We also remember the Great War because it is such a puzzle. How could Europe have done this to itself and to the world? There are many possible explanations; indeed, so many that it is difficult to choose among them. For a start the arms race, rigid military plans, economic rivalry, trade wars, imperialism with its scramble for colonies, or the alliance systems dividing Europe into unfriendly camps …2
And there are other factors that could have triggered the eruption of the First World War. I have set out many of them for readers to examine like clues in a murder mystery: Who had the motive to start the war? And what did they expect to gain?
All histories and biographies are selective. This one is written for general readers in the digital age, instead of in the traditional formula for specialists, academics, or historians, in which every possible detail is meticulously recorded. Intelligent and busy readers today demand facts that are easy to read and about one-third of the traditional length of biographies or histories. Sir Winston Churchill’s official biography, for example, is eight volumes long, or 25,000 pages. Its abridged version by the same biographer runs to a thousand pages.3 This book is deliberately around only 300 pages, without excluding anything significant that might prevent readers from understanding the events and their consequences, and arriving at reasonable conclusions.
A reasonable prediction for the eruption of a possible Third World War was used as a title for a 1987 book by Robert McNamara (former US Secretary of Defense under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson). He called it Blundering into Disaster. When literary critic Martin Amis reviewed it, he wrote, “Our experience of World Wars is confined to just two models—Sarajevo and Munich, critical accident and unappeasable psychosis.” World War III, he implied, “will more likely be some kind of mixture. The only thing that could precipitate general nuclear attack would be the fear of general nuclear attack. You would never go first unless the enemy looked like going first; and, in a crisis, he would look like going first, and so would you.” In the meantime, as he observed, we continue living in a “dangerous dream,” in which our political and military leaders continue to make much the same mistakes as before.
Perhaps the most powerful influence on Winston Churchill’s worldview was what he learned as a young professional soldier, and what he drew from his studies of history and Social Darwinism. It was that, whatever the political or military, or cultural or social situation today, it had all happened many times before in one way or another. The key to the future could be found in what happened in the past. Powerful nations rose and fell, and crumbled into dust that was swept away by the winds of time, as we all are. There was nothing new in trivial human affairs. It was no use making a fuss about it - you had to stare reality in the face without blinking and outwit the challenges that life created.
—John Harte, Ottawa, Canada, April 2017
1
JENNIE
WHEN BABY JENNIE CRIED OUT WITH surprise and not a little dismay at her change of venue as she emerged into the world of 1854, she drew in her first breath of the exhilarating air of New York City and decided she loved it. She was named after the much beloved opera singer Jenny Lind, who was reputed to be one of her father’s mistresses. Leonard Jerome had been well off financially, but invested a great deal of money in railroad stock, which fell sharply in value, leaving him penniless. He had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.
But the New York Stock Exchange was a handy bank to draw on for risk-takers of his flamboyant and fun-loving personality. So his investments soon did well again by buying short on the upward swing of the market before laying out any money, and becoming a new-rich millionaire. There were plenty of them about in America at the time, and Jennie was spoilt by easy money from the beginning. So were her
Who could fail to spoil Jennie at fifteen? She was appealingly beautiful. Her eyes were warm as amber-colored honey, her hair dark brown. Her figure was alluring and graceful, with its tiny fashionable waistline and full bosom and hips—all calculated to initiate and maintain a full social life with society’s trendsetters. She was always a spendthrift and wore the most fashionably seductive Paris gowns. Men turned their heads to watch her, and were drawn to her, not only for her beauty but also for her lust for life. They found her irresistible. Wherever she went, she attracted new lovers. Jennie was always the talk of the town.
All three sisters naturally learned the skills required of young ladies, like piano-playing, riding, and ice-skating, while their parents entertained extravagantly, and Leonard bought a large yacht. Their neighbors were billionaires, and included the Vanderbilts. Leonard Jerome even built a private theater in his mansion in order to parade his opera-singing mistresses. He also owned shares in an influential newspaper and supported President Abraham Lincoln in his efforts to free the slaves. So that with all the social and political activity, Jennie—who was his favorite daughter—became aware of current events and foreign affairs by the time she was sixteen.
With her father’s interest in thoroughbreds and horse-racing, Jennie had been riding horseback since she was a child. The Jockey Club of America first met in her father’s house, called Jerome Park. It was the social event of the year. So Jennie was accustomed to socializing with the smart and wealthy set. Leonard Jerome leased his home to the Jockey Club thereafter as a speculation. That was the point at which her mother tired of her bon viveur husband’s lifestyle with his mistresses and took Jennie and her sisters away to Paris.
The women were excited to leave for Paris, which was the fashion center of the world. Although the move was partly to escape from her husband’s garish lifestyle with his mistresses, it was also partly to find wealthy husbands for Clara’s three marriageable daughters. Clara was evidently a self-confident and independent woman, and Leonard had no qualms at leaving them on their own there—the girls at a fashionable finishing school, to continue with their piano lessons and learn court etiquette and ceremony. Now Jennie rode on the Bois de Boulogne and mixed with French royalty and the aristocracy, and listened with fascination when her older sisters regaled her with their own glamorous experiences.
When German troops crossed the frontier into Alsace and also annexed Lorraine in August 1870, as part of the German Empire, France was diminished and dismayed. German Chancellor Bismarck intended to keep the French that way, to avoid another experience like the Napoleonic Wars which had torn their destructive way through Europe. A French attempt to save Bazaine resulted in their defeat at Sedan. The French Emperor was deposed and the Prussian Army marched through Paris to demonstrate who was in charge of Europe. It was time for the Jerome women to leave France.
They fled to London, where Leonard Jerome booked a suite for them in Brown’s Hotel, that well-run and discreet establishment off of Piccadilly for the well-bred who dislike glitter and show and the new-rich. Leonard employed a governess to chaperone the girls in London’s central parks. Since Jennie had always been surrounded by money and attention it was natural for her to assume she always would be. And, since she was a remarkable beauty at eighteen, her good fortune continued.
Cowes on the Isle of Wight, where Leonard Jerome settled them, was a small, exclusive world of its own, known mostly for the Royal Yacht Squadron and yacht racing with its attendant social life. Queen Victoria lived on her country estate on the island for the summer months at Osborne House. Visitors to Cowes included other royalty and the aristocracy. There was the fun-loving Prince of Wales—the future King Edward the Seventh—who enjoyed horse-racing, yachting, and a flutter at cards, as well as his favorite mistresses. Cowes was at the center of the social calendar each and every August.
It took no time for the three Jerome women to become a feature of the social scene. They were presented to the Prince and Princess of Wales. And the alluring Jennie was invited to meet the twenty-three-year-old Lord Randolph Churchill, who was one of the Duke of Marlborough’s sons. His family was as dazzling socially as the Jerome family in America. They engendered a similar atmosphere of glamour and charm. With it came the usual attraction of arrogant power. The two young people fell in love instantly when she was eighteen and he twenty-three. Nevertheless, it took a settlement of a quarter of a million dollars for her father to win over the Marlboroughs to the marriage.*
Her wedding to Lord Randolph took place at the British Embassy in Paris, where they had already indulged in an amorous affair. So that, when their first child was born two months early, and far too soon for Victorian propriety, the event was brushed off as the result of a fall during a pheasant shooting party and then riding on horseback afterwards. Her son, whom they named Winston, showed none of the typical signs of a premature birth.
The family name of the Dukes of Marlborough was Churchill. They lived at the huge Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, which was in a typical state of disrepair. Typical, because land, which had once been a good investment if used wisely, had fallen in value, and so had the finances of the English aristocracy. The Industrial Revolution had changed the economy and society, as new technologies always do, often with unfortunate consequences. So it had become an acceptable custom and a sign of the times for the aristocracy’s young sons to marry wealthy American heiresses and restore their estates. Money changed hands, and a title was bestowed on the heiress, so that Jennie Jerome was transformed into Lady Randolph Churchill. Her son was Winston Churchill.
Randolph
Randolph was the third son of the seventh Duke of Marlborough and Lady Frances Vane. His full name was Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill. He had been born in one of the best streets in London and educated at Eton where, it was alleged, the future leaders of England were taught how to lead. He was described there as vivacious and unruly, but perhaps simply lively or high-spirited would have been a better description for the Churchillian form of energetic enthusiasm. Randolph went on to Merton College in Oxford. He possessed a reputation as a keen reader and took a degree in modern history and jurisprudence. He was also initiated in membership of the Freemasons, and would naturally have expected his son Winston to follow suit.
Lord Randolph was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in 1874, the year he married Jennie, on April 15, and in which his son Winston was born on November 30. Lord Randolph was complimented on his maiden speech in the House by Benjamin Disraeli, who became Conservative Prime Minister for the second time in that same year.
A year later, Lord Randolph visited his doctor several times for what was later alleged to be the most common venereal disease of the times, syphilis.1 It was later claimed to have been nothing of the sort, and that neither his wife nor his sons were infected with it. It was far more likely to have been a brain tumor in the left side of the left lobe. Either would be consistent with the symptoms which would gradually become noticeable, particularly when he rose to speak in Parliament and showed a deficit of attention, sometimes forgetting by mid-sentence what he had begun to say. It has been attributed to the secondary or tertiary stages of syphilis, because the Harley Street doctor he visited was a leading specialist in treating that particular disease.
Either way, the symptoms of whatever he was suffering from were not observable for some time. Meanwhile, it took four years for his speeches in the House to be taken seriously, despite his fluency and audacity and the sting in his attacks on members of the Administration. By the time he was noticed as a serious politician, he had developed what became known as “Tory Democracy,” or what later became Progressive Conservatism. After ten years of public service in Parliament, the Tories had become progressive and Randolph was now a leading figure in the Party.
The word democracy is significant in that it reflected a horde of people who made up Victorian Britain, particularly London and the industrial cities of the north. But, although London was the biggest metropolis in the world, it had not yet been subjected to an official census of all its inhabitants, who suddenly became entities when Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli referred to the English as “Two Nations.” There were those who were recognized by society, and a huge number of inhabitants who had so far been ignored as invisible or beneath society’s notice. In short, there were the haves and the have-nots. The only individual who had taken the time and care to interview them had been Henry Mayhew in 1861. He had called the other half “London Labor and the London Poor.”
