Before we can begin our in depth discussion and analysis of Five Days in May 1940, beginning with May 24, 1940, we must examine one remarkable day in May 1940, perhaps the most significant day in European history of the 20th century.
May 10, 1940.
Two remarkable things occurred on May 10, 1940. First, Winston Spencer Churchill was asked to form a government by King George VI. Second, as Churchill was assuming power in England, Hitler ordered German armies to begin the invasion of Belgium and France. Two men, who had circled each other warily for several years now entered direct conflict.
But this was not something that had been foreseen a mere two years before. In 1938 Churchill, who repeatedly and mostly by himself spoke out against Chamberlin's agreement with Hittler during their meeting in Munich, was shunned, ridiculed, and not trusted for his actions as First Lord of the Admiralty, which many considered rash, in what is known as the Dardanelles Campaign, which in fact was a brilliant move and came within a breadth of succeeding in 1915-16 before becoming a humiliating British loss. As Churchill continually and loudly railed against Hitler and the German threat, he was isolated by both his own party and the opposition. No one in England had the stomach for another war with Germany.
Both Hitler and Churchill shared several habits/traits. Both preferred to work late and sleep late. Both believed and personally prospered in the power of the spoken word. Both of them were semi-talented painters. Hitler was a vegetarian and did not drink or smoke and started most days in a simple military uniform. Churchill ate three hearty meals a day, spent most of the morning in silk pajamas, a multi-colored dressing grown, and slippers. He smoked several cigars a day and drank many bottles of champagne along with many (weak) scotch and sodas. For the next 80 days these two men would engage in a titanic struggle of wills with nothing less than the fate of the world at stake.
In the early morning hours of May 10, 1940, Hitler traveled by train to an outpost at small German town near the Belgium border. Hitler and his entourage would remain there for 23 days while Western Europe fell. "Gentleman, the offensive against the Western powers has begun" Hitler told his staff in the early morning hours. In less than 40 days he would be the master of Europe. He and his staff had come up with a unique plan- Sichelschnitt"- sickle cut. Germany would invade Belgium and lure the French and English armies north. Then German Panzers would strike moving from the west to the east- a sickle encircling movement, pushing the French and the British to the coast. By the time he went to bed on May 10 word had reached Hitler that Churchill had been named Prime Minister. His immediate reaction was neither witnessed nor recorded.
Across the Channell as the German invasion roared through Europe, the phone rang in Churchill's bedroom at the Admiralty House in the early morning hours with the news that the Germans were invading Belgium and Holland and bombing airfields in France. Churchill quickly arose and dressed for the day that would change his life and history.
By May 10 Parliament had had enough of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin. A large contingent of members of Chamberlin's own Conservative party had abandoned him and the minority Liberal Party refused to back Chamberlin. That he had lost Parliament was apparent to him at least a few days before, and he began to plan for his successor. The first choice of King Goerge VI and Chamberlin was Lord Halifax. But Halifax repeatedly declined the invitation. First, as a member of the House of Lords, Halifax could not appear in Parliament, hampering his ability to lead, especially in a time of war. Second, Halifax saw himself as the power behind the throne. Churchill would become Prime Minister, but Halifax would engineer the peace with Germany. Or so Halifax had thought.
There was a hitch on May 10. Chamberlin had indicated the day before that he would resign, meeting privately with Churchill and Halifax. Churchill believed this was his moment. But when Hitler struck, Chamberlin changed his mind and told his war cabinet that he felt he should stay until the German threat was resolved. Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty was in Chamberlin's war cabinet. He remained silent as Chamberlin sought support to remain in power. But it was not to be; his party would not support him, and the Liberals were demanding a national government with Churchill at the head.
With nowhere else to turn, The Conservative party reluctantly formed behind Churchill, and he was invited to the Palace to meet the King, where he was asked to form a government.
And so on May 10, 1940, as Hitler struck boldly and quickly across Europe. a British Bulldog assumed power across the channel and began to steel his country for a long and bitter struggle. "Nations who went down fighting rose again, but those that surrendered tamely were gone forever" Churchill began to repeatedly say. In the coming fourteen days Churchill would struggle to remain in power, fending off Halifax's maneuvering and machinations behind the scenes to first force Churchill to negotiate a peace with Hitler, and then to have Churchill removed when he refused to seek peace.
And who was the politician that would step up and support Churchill during his darkest hours, realizing that Churchill had been right about Hitler all along and that the only way to deal with him was to fight him and defeat him and that there could be no negotiations for peace?
None other than Neville Chamberlin. Chamberlin had brought Churchill into his war cabinet. Churchill, while criticizing Chamberlin's actions at Munich, was personally very kind to Chamberlin. When he became PM, Churchill allowed Chamberlin to remain at 10 Downing Street for several weeks. He brought Chamberlin into his war cabinet as Chamberlin had done with him and sought out his advice often. And as Halifax tried to wrest the government away from Churchill, Chamberlin remained non-committal before whole heartedly backing Churchill and giving him the political security to focus all of his attention on Germany and saving the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from annihilation as it was surrounded on three sides in France and being beaten into the sea.
Understanding that on May 10, 1940 Churchill finally assumed power on the day Hitler launched his successful invasion of Europe- a day unlike any other in European history- we can now begin our in-depth examination of the five days in May that saved Western Civilization from Nazism and Hitler.
