Comments on: O’Reilly, Churchill and “Poison Gas” http://richardlangworth.com/oreilly-churchill-and-poison-gas Churchill historian, automotive and travel writer Sun, 13 May 2012 02:15:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Richard M. Langworthhttp://richardlangworth.com/oreilly-churchill-and-poison-gas#comment-501 Richard M. Langworth Sun, 05 Jun 2011 14:34:30 +0000 http://richardlangworth.com/?p=518#comment-501 I have no doubt that Churchill would have hurled everything he had at the Wehrmacht had they succeeded in landing. See Martin Gilbert, <em>Winston S. Churchill,</em> vol. vi, <em>Finest Hour 1939-41</em> (London: Heinemann, 1983, pp 617-18 (text available on request).Much misinformation has been published to the effect that Churchill resisted and even openly opposed the D-Day landings in Normandy. It is true that he considered and offered other invasion routes but it is not true that he had to be dragged protesting into Overlord. See Gilbert, “Churchill and D-Day,” <em>Finest Hour </em>122, Spring 2004, pp 24-27, which shows that it was Roosevelt not Churchill who postponed D-Day, on sound military advice. A readable .pdf can be downloaded at: http://bit.ly/mPat3H.Further comment and debate on this subject, by Professors Warren Kimball, Norman Rose, Sir Martin Gilbert and this writer, appeared in <em>Finest Hour</em> 124, Autumn 2004, pp 31-37, the .pdf for which is at: http://bit.ly/lPbawt. (In this exchange it was noted that in February 1944, "Churchill again proposed planning an invasion of Norway lest the Normandy attack fail—a proposal that would have drained resources from the campaign in France." If the Normandy attack had failed, <em>what</em> campaign in France?) I have no doubt that Churchill would have hurled everything he had at the Wehrmacht had they succeeded in landing. See Martin Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol. vi, Finest Hour 1939-41 (London: Heinemann, 1983, pp 617-18 (text available on request).

Much misinformation has been published to the effect that Churchill resisted and even openly opposed the D-Day landings in Normandy. It is true that he considered and offered other invasion routes but it is not true that he had to be dragged protesting into Overlord. See Gilbert, “Churchill and D-Day,” Finest Hour 122, Spring 2004, pp 24-27, which shows that it was Roosevelt not Churchill who postponed D-Day, on sound military advice. A readable .pdf can be downloaded at: http://bit.ly/mPat3H.

Further comment and debate on this subject, by Professors Warren Kimball, Norman Rose, Sir Martin Gilbert and this writer, appeared in Finest Hour 124, Autumn 2004, pp 31-37, the .pdf for which is at: http://bit.ly/lPbawt. (In this exchange it was noted that in February 1944, “Churchill again proposed planning an invasion of Norway lest the Normandy attack fail—a proposal that would have drained resources from the campaign in France.” If the Normandy attack had failed, what campaign in France?)

]]> By: Winthrop Drake Thies, JD, LLMhttp://richardlangworth.com/oreilly-churchill-and-poison-gas#comment-500 Winthrop Drake Thies, JD, LLM Sat, 04 Jun 2011 14:28:42 +0000 http://richardlangworth.com/?p=518#comment-500 Could you cite me to sources on Churchill's disposition to use mustard gas on Wehrmacht troops on the landing beaches if the UK should be invaded? I'm now structuring a course for Institute for Retired Professionals entitled: "Madness and Glory: Hitler, Churchill and Stalin and WW II in Europe and No. Africa". Best - WDT PS-- Also, even as Overlord approached, was not Churchill much concerned and advocating instead his old Jupiter on Norway? --WDT Could you cite me to sources on Churchill’s disposition to use mustard gas on Wehrmacht troops on the landing beaches if the UK should be invaded? I’m now structuring a course for Institute for Retired Professionals entitled: “Madness and Glory: Hitler, Churchill and Stalin and WW II in Europe and No. Africa”. Best – WDT
PS– Also, even as Overlord approached, was not Churchill much concerned and advocating instead his old Jupiter on Norway? –WDT

]]>