3.

     Volume Three of this book series is titled The Grand Alliance and details Germany’s eastward expansion in an attempt to conquer the Mediterranean region and even threaten Russia. Eventually, England allied with Russia to halt Germany’s advancement eastward. Russia and the West became unlikely allies in their effort to stop Hitler’s march into the East. In many ways, the central “character” of this war was the harsh winter that engulfed Europe in 1940, bringing the conflict to a standstill for several months. On December 7, 1941, Japan entered the war, executing a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States to declare war on Japan and its Axis ally, Germany. Churchill acted quickly, traveling to the United States to officially secure what Churchill called the Grand Alliance between the United States, England, and what remained of Western Europe against the Axis of Germany and Japan.  Consequently, the “First World” fought against both Germany and Japan simultaneously, ultimately uniting the major Western powers against both adversaries. The situation became increasingly complex as Russia, which initially aligned with the West, later turned against it after the war, seeking to establish its global hegemony. 

4.

     The fourth volume,  The Hinge of Fate, chronicles the development of the Allies’ strong and expanding stance against Germany and its former allies, including Italy and Spain. This period constituted the “hinge”  upon which the fate of the war swung against the Axis forces, which included Japan, gradually encircling and squeezing them at every turn for more than two years. Much of the outcome ultimately depended on the partnership between the West and Russia’s Stalin. The complex relationship lasted until the end of the war, when Russia once again divided Europe by creating a barrier between Eastern and Western nations, thus establishing the “Cold War” between the East and West.

     The final months of the European front against Germany’s allies ultimately led to the gradual strangulation of Axis forces around the globe. North Africa, particularly Egypt, played a significant role in these battles, as did Northern Europe, especially Scandinavia. Interestingly, Finland, due to its history of fighting Russia, briefly sided with Germany in its efforts to conquer Western Europe. When Russia joined Churchill’s Grand Alliance, Finland switched sides against Germany. This caused considerable confusion regarding how the West, now including Russia, should engage with Finland. Ultimately, the acceptance of Western countries prevailed until Russia eventually split from the anti-Hitler alliance, allowing Finland to realign with the West.

     Another disagreement arose concerning how the Allies should address the “Two Frances” problem. When Germany attacked the French Western forces led by General De Gaulle, they refused to surrender and moved their government headquarters to Vichy while establishing a presence in North Africa.  Meanwhile, the “official” French Government succumbed to the German onslaught succumbing to Nazi occupation. As the war’s end drew near, it became difficult for many to determine which French government represented France. The separate French governments refused any reconciliation efforts. Ultimately, the victory of the Western Allies rendered the dispute moot. De Gaulle’s government eventually prevailed.

     Meanwhile, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor opened the Pacific theater of World War II. Later, the Pacific theater continued as the European war front entered its endgame. Initially staggered by Japan’s surprise attack, the United States began a catch-up game with Japanese encroachment throughout the Pacific region. Suddenly, the West, primarily Britain and the United States, along with other British allies, were fighting two war fronts. Initially, the outlook looked bleak, with the United States just emerging from the Great Depression. 

5.

     Volume five, Closing the Ring, recounts the months – indeed, years – that the Western powers spent fighting both the Germans and the Japanese while preparing for the final push to gain the upper hand in the global conflict. “Closing the Ring” seems like a grandiose way to speak of what most of us would call “Mopping Up.” The book tells the story of the fall of Mussolini and the conquest of Southern Italy, and the resolution of conflicts in the Middle East and Egypt. On the path to the final conquest of Italy in Rome, Churchill discusses several other “mopping up”  episodes in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, particularly in Greece. 

     As the final encirclement and conquest of the Japanese forces in the Pacific begins, Churchill discusses the fates of various satellite countries, including Greece, Yugoslavia, and Burma. Among these accounts are references to developments in several other smaller countries around the world that were drawn into the Great War. The ultimate fate of France remains an open question, as does that of Greece, Italy, and various smaller nations in the Middle East, such as Turkey and Egypt. The war with the Italians concludes with the fall of Rome after a long and brutal battle on the Italian peninsula. Throughout, Churchill provides numerous details about various strategic battles. 

     I would like to include a brief account of my own life throughout this time. I was born in 1933. I was born in 1933, so I grew up during the war. We regularly listened to FDR and heard Churchill, at least once, on the old-fashioned radio. I clearly remember the day the European war ended in 1945. After the war, we kids shifted our focus from war movies to collecting surplus items from the stores that sold them. I recall getting a pair of air pilot’s fur-lined boots and a sailor’s cap. It was also challenging to understand how we were now supposed to feel about and behave toward people of German and Japanese descent in our town.

   The only person I ever knew who fought in the war was Les Habegger, who became my friend when we both worked at Seattle  Pacific College in the early 1960s.  I taught philosophy while Les coached the basketball team. Later, Les became the Assistant Coach for the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team. Les and I developed a strong friendship that lasted many years after our time at the college. Surprisingly, although he was raised in the Amish tradition, Les felt a responsibility to fight in the war against the Nazis. He enlisted and returned from his service with a few stories about his troop’s sojourn up through the Italian Peninsula to Rome, but mainly, Les chose not to talk about his experiences in the war. 

     The final pages of Churchill’s account of the days leading up to the great effort called “Overlord” describe the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops, ships, and planes to the coast of France across the English Channel on the same day. Beyond its remarkable success as the war’s turning point, two facts stand out about this tremendous event. The sheer scale of the operation, surely the largest attack in that war and perhaps all wars, was almost incalculable. The Allied Forces overran the French coast in June of 1944 and then marched nearly undeterred toward Germany, ultimately leading to the end of World War II in 1945. 

     The second fact that stands out about this tremendous event is that it caught the German armies and leadership almost entirely by surprise. Even though the Allies worked diligently to keep the attack secret, it is surprising that the German High Command and armed forces failed to anticipate the attack’s strategy. This event irrevocably turned the tide of the war and sealed the fate of the Fascist forces.  Secrecy, weather, and landing details remained favorable until the last minute. In a sense, the entire operation was an astounding military success. D-Day soon became V-E Day. 

     One of the most interesting aspects of this volume is the psychological and strategic detail provided by Churchill.  His feelings and insights regarding the details in real time are fascinating from both personal and political perspectives. During this time, Churchill had been frequently ill, even suffering from pneumonia. Additionally, the significant international conferences in preparation for the final days and the challenges of managing certain high-ranking officials’ egos made these days and weeks extremely difficult for Churchill. 

     Here are his final words at the conclusion of these five volumes: “The Hitler tyranny was doomed. Here, then, we might pause in thankfulness and take hope, not only for victory on all fronts and in all three elements, but also for a safe and happy future for tormented mankind.”  Volume six, Triumph and Tragedy,” carries the story forward to the dropping of the “Iron Curtain” in Europe by Russia and the ongoing “Cold War,” to Churchill’s retirement. One huge global challenge is no sooner met than it must now face another. There is much to be learned from Churchill’s account of the former as we now face yet another one of our own. 

6. 

     The sixth and final volume of Churchill’s account of the war is “Triumph and Tragedy.” It recounts both the Allies’ victory in the war and the Russians’ establishment of the “Iron Curtain” between themselves, as the “New East,”  and the rest of the Western world. They accomplished this by isolating the Communist  Poles from the rest of the Polish people and declaring Eastern Europe under Communist and Russian rule. President Roosevelt died, and Germany was subdivided among the Allied countries for their respective governance. Meanwhile, America defeated Japan, and the Second World War concluded. Yet it soon took a different form, that of the Western democratic countries in opposition to Russia and a few satellite nations. The United Nations organization was formed to address the arising conflicts among the world’s nations, with the Security Council, including Russia, struggling with the aftermath of the war and the ensuing disputes among the countries of the world, many of whom were coming into their own after the chaos of the war. 

2.  

     In his effort to conquer all of Europe Hitler next advanced toward Eastern Europe. In his opening chapters of this volume, THE GATHERING STORM Churchill describes how things stood at the close of World War One in 1919 before Adolf Hitler came to full power in 1933. Shortly thereafter Hitler’s armies conquered Spain and Austria. Then Germany attacked and conquered Poland and the Scandinavia countries, especially Finland because of its proximity to Russia. In 1940 Germany attacked Norway. Both of these Scandinavian countries fought valiantly but finally succumbed to the Nazi attacks. Finland was in a particular difficult position because she had to deal with both the German attacks from the South and her century-long conflicts with Russia in the East. She had to play the two against each other in developing her strategy. In the long run Finland gambled to go along with Germany in the short run, fighting against Russia in the long run. Even so, she ended up on the side of the Western powers in the end achieving a temporary stand-off with Russia which was not resolved until the end of the World War Two with the beginning of the so-called “cold war” and the dividing up of Europe into East and West.     

            But before all that Germany had to be defeated and Britain saved. In the end it was the United States’ partnership with England and then the other Western powers that put a stop to Hitler’s effort to conquer the World. More specifically, it was the friendship and on-going co-operation between Churchill and the US President Franklin Roosevelt that swung the tide against Hitler’s Germany. It took the United States several years to allow itself to enter the war, partly or perhaps largely because of the rising threat of Japan as a power in the Pacific arena.