Intelligence Squared - Churchill was more a liability than an asset to the free world

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Churchill was more a liability than an asset to the free world

03 Sep 2009

Winston Churchill is often held up as a champion of freedom and a symbol of Britain’s determination to defend the world from the threat of Nazism, but do we see Churchill through rose-tinted glasses? Are we forgetting his authorisation of the RAF’s ‘terror-bombing’ of German cities in World War 2, or his starvation blockade of Germany during the Great War? And what about the military catastrophes he masterminded at Gallipoli (1915) and Norway (1940)? An esteemed panel debate Churchill’s true legacy.

Arguing in favour of the motion are Pat Buchanan, Nigel Knight, and Norman Stone. Pat Buchanan opens the case for the motion by acknowledging Churchill's role during Britain's 'Finest Hour' in 1940, but goes on to state that for the rest of his career, "no other career of a western statesman was more calamitous for his country and civilisation than that of Winston Spencer Churchill". Buchanan lists the gravest British military disasters of which Churchill was the architect (Gallipoli in WW1, Norway in WW2). He also cites Churchill's role in establishing the starvation blockade around Germany in WW1 and the RAF's 'terror-bombing' of German cities in WW2 as evidence that Churchill helped to precipitate the West's descent into barbarism. Nigel Knight criticises Churchill for his decision to put Britain on the gold standard - a decision which worsened the effects of the Great Depression when it eventually came. Knight also criticises Churchill's underestimation of the significance of aircraft carriers and the threat of U-boats in naval warfare, and his failure to recognise Japan as a major threat to Britain's naval superiority. Norman Stone decries the 'myth' of Churchill as a dangerous thing, and condemns Churchill's disastrous imperialist attitude, such as trying to salvage the Empire in the east whilst only just hanging on in a European war. He also questions the wisdom of the RAF's bombing of German cities in 1944-45 when Britain was shortly to become allies with Germany.

Arguing against the motion are Andrew Roberts, Anthony Beevor, and Professor Richard Overy. Andrew Roberts begins by praising Churchill for ensuring that the British fleet was ready for action at the start of the Great War. He also warned Britain in the 1930s - at great political cost to himself - of the threat that Adolf Hitler posed, and in his famous 'Iron curtain' speech in 1946, warned the world of the threat that the Soviet Union posed . Roberts concedes that Churchill made mistakes but, he says, Churchill's political career spanned nearly two-thirds of a century, and he was only flesh and blood - of course he made some mistakes. Anthony Beevor focuses his argument on World War 2, beginning by stating that Churchill was correct to delay D-Day, allowing the American Army to gain experience fighting in the Mediterranean. He also notes that Churchill championed the freedom of the central and eastern European states. Firstly, he wanted to push through the Mediterranean and out of Italy to save the central and eastern European states from the perils of the Soviet Union, and secondly, at the end of the war he asked his chiefs of staff to assess the possibility of pushing the Red Army back out of these states, a measure that they decided would be impossible. Beevor lays the blame for Stalin's carving up of central Europe squarely at Franklin Roosevelt's door. Richard Overy says that Churchill cannot be blamed for all of the things of which he is accused because all of the decisions he made were as part of a committee. He decided policy by committee and he waged war by committee. Also, unlike some other leaders, such as Hitler, Churchill was amenable to advice. But most of all, Overy says, Churchill was a man driven by a love of liberty and a deep-seated hatred of tyranny.

First Vote: 118 For, 1167 Against, 422 Don’t Know

Final Vote: 181 For, 1194 Against, 34 Don’t Know

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Dame Joan Bakewell

Journalist and broadcaster
Pat Buchanan

Senior advisor to three Presidents and two-time candidate for the Republican presidential nomination
Andrew Roberts

Historian
Nigel Knight

Political scientist and economist
Antony Beevor

Historian
Professor Norman Stone

British Historian
Richard Overy

Historian

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Churchill was more a liability than an asset to the free world

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