CHURCHILL WARRIOR:

When Churchill became the British wartime Prime Minister in May 1940, he said, "I felt I was walking with destiny - and I was sure I should not fail." Churchill had had numerous failures in the past, notably his notorious conduct of the Dardanelles campaign in World War I with its staggering loss of life. This well-written history is an account of the military experiences which made Churchill the right choice of war leader in 1940. At Eton he struggled academically, failing to pass the exams in Maths and Latin that would have led to higher education, and he even initially struggled to get in to Sandhurst. Service in India and in Afghanistan made him aware of a wide range of moral issues in warfare, for instance the use of expanding dum-dum bullets which were finally outlawed by the British military. At the same time he became a war correspondent, sending back reports to the Telegraph and other journals. Egypt followed with the 21st Lancers and, ever controversial, he fell out with Kitchener over the conduct of the taking of Khartoum, returning to India and then South Africa, where he began to realise the days of the cavalry were numbered. Returning to England, he entered parliament as Conservative MP for Oldham but was drawn to the Liberals' commitment to free trade and changed allegiance. Joining Asquith's government he was involved in the commissioning of Dreadnought battleships and preparations for war, and was thrilled to become First Lord of the Admiralty. A key moment in his conduct of the war was when he unilaterally approved expenditure on a new type of machine with caterpillars called landships, later tanks. Churchill resigned the post after Gallipoli to resume active service for two years, but returned to Lloyd George's government as Secretary for War and Air, overseeing the development of naval aircraft such as the Sopwith Snipe and Sopwith Cuckoo. In the years between the war he returned to the Conservative party and made a study of German militarisation. When Chamberlain appointed him to the Admiralty in 1939, the fleet was sent a memo "Winston is back". 569pp, photos incl colour.