Churchill and the Phoney War A Study in Folly and Frustration Graham Thomas Clews A thesis in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities and Social Sciences UNSW Canberra 2016 The University of New South Wales Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Clews First names: Graham Thomas Degree: PhD Faculty: History School: School of Humanities and Social Science Title ofThesis: Churchill and the Phoney War: A Study in Folly and Frustration Abstract The Phoney War is a comparatively neglected period in studies of Churchill and war. Yet, this was a time of an extraordinary transformation in Churchill's fortunes: he returned from almost a decade in the political wilderness to take an active role in the strategic direction of the war and then became Prime Minister. This study reassesses the nature and significance of Churchill's contribution to Britain's war effort during the Phoney War. The issues and events considered are those Churchill believed important and upon which he spent much time and energy but, nevertheless, are matters that have been inadequately explored, are misunderstood, or remain controversial in the scholarship. There is little here of the 'public' Churchill of the evocative speeches and 'bull dog' persona. This is a study of the Churchill the public did not see, the man of the Admiralty war rooms, of staff meetings, of the War Cabinet and its committees; all places in which he developed his priorities for victory. The thesis is in two parts. The first deals with Churchill as First Lord and focuses on his supervision of the anti-U-boat war; his attempts to develop a naval offensive and his view of appropriate naval strategy; and his contribution to the building of the navy he considered necessary to fight his war. The second part addresses Churchill and the wider war: his attempt to animate Britain's war effort within the government; his pursuit of a more aggressive prosecution of the war; and his contribution the disastrous Norwegian Campaign. The principal conclusion of this thesis is that, for Churchill, the Phoney War was a period of folly and frustration, a time during which he failed in many areas to show himself either a warrior of superior qualities or a potential war leader. His folly was to be found in flawed assumptions, excessive self­ confidence, dubious strategy and a penchant for risk; his frustration was driven by the strictures of government, the limitations of the Allied military position and the unique circumstances of the times, but it was also very much a product of his own faults and short-comings. Disposition Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applica~e 1doctoral theses only). · Sigo.tocf~ a,,,. Wlto~~ Dot• /6 · J. / .{, The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: 4 Statements Originality I hereby declare that this submission is my work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that the assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation or linguistic expression is acknowledged. Date/{; .J,.f/:, . Copyright I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after know, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to Doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portion of copyright material or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted, I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation. Date/( 2./b Authenticity I certify that the library digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of conversion to digital format. Date /6 .3,/( 11 i I I,' 1: To Juliet, Marlene and Tom vi Acknowledgements It is impossible to complete any substantial piece of academic research without the assistance and support of many. The risk in acknowledging those who have contributed, supported, or suffered while I have completed this task is that I might over-look or omit. I, therefore, apologise in advance for any omission. First and foremost, I must express my thanks to my family, in particular my wife Juliet, my son Amery and my daughter Imogen. They have experienced too often my distraction, my frustration, my absence and occasional neglect but always remained positive and supportive. I would also like to thank my extended family for their interest and support. I consider myself especially blessed to have had as my primary supervisor, Debbie Lackerstein of the ADFA School of Humanities and Social Sciences. In every respect her contribution to the completion of this thesis has been above and beyond the call of duty. Her patience and wisdom has been appreciated enormously. There is no doubt this work is the better for her contribution. My thanks, too, to my secondary supervisor, Robin Prior, who was able to find time within a busy schedule to offer important feed-back and advice. I would also like to express more broadly my appreciation to the staff of the ADFA School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the staff of the ADFA Library for the support given me. In particular, I must thank Bernadette Mc Dermott, who came to my rescue on a number of occasions. Additionally, and in no particular order, I would like to thank Craig Stocking, David Lovell, Peter Dennis, Vera Bera and Marilyn Anderson-Smith and Jennifer Carmody. This study has benefitted greatly from access to primary resources retained at a number of archives in England. These include British National Archives; Churchill Archive Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge; National Maritime Museum Archives, Greenwich; Cadbury Research Library (CRL) University of Birmingham, Nuffield College Archives (NCA), University of Oxford. One of the great joys of historical research is, of course, the ‘treasure hunt’ in the archives. My experience in these archives was made all the more enjoyable by the wonderful staff who, without exception, offered their time generously to smooth the path of my investigations. vii Finally, I wish to acknowledge the assistance of the following at various stages during the completion of this work: Grace and Geoff Kempster, David Morgan- Owen, James Levy, Hans Houterman, (unithistories.com) and the staff at Deutsches U-Boot Museum. viii Table of Contents Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations and Code Words x Chapter Page Introduction 1 Part One: Churchill as First Lord 1 U-boats and the Protection of Trade 21 2 Catherine 54 3 New Construction and Churchill’s Inshore Squadron: A 79 New Perspective on Churchill and the Air/Sea Debate Part Two: Churchill and the Wider War 4 Fighting the War 103 The War Cabinet and its Committees 5 Air Bombing Policy, the French and Royal Marine 135 6 Lines of Least Resistance: Narvik and the Finnish 169 Option 7 Norway 192 Part 1: A Failure of Pre-emption 8 Norway 218 Part 2: Fighting the Campaign Conclusions 249 Bibliography 272 ix Abbreviations ACAS Assistant Chief, Air Staff ACIGS Assistant Chief, Imperial General Staff ACNS Assistant Chief, Naval Staff ADGB Air Defence of Great Britain ADM Admiralty ASB Admiralty Statistical Branch ASDIC Anti-Submarine Detection Committee Advanced Strike Force (British light and medium ASF bombers based in France during the Phoney War) A/SWD Anti-Submarine Warfare Division DA/SWD Director of Anti-Submarine Warfare Division BNA British National Archives, Kew ‘C’ Occasional abbreviation for Operation ‘Catherine’ CCC Churchill College Cambridge CAB Cabinet (British) CAS Chief of Air Staff CIGS Chief of Imperial General Staff CNS Chief of Naval Staff COS Chiefs of Staff (Committee) CRL Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham CV Companion Volume of Churchill documents DNI Director of Naval Intelligence DCNS Deputy Chief of Naval Staff D of P Directory of Plans Division (Admiralty, RAF) JPS Joint Planning Staff HMS His Majesty’s Ship KGV King George V class battleships LFC Land Forces Committee MEW Ministry for Economic Warfare MCC Military Co-Ordination Committee NCA Nuffield College Archives, University of Oxford NID Naval Intelligence Division NMM National Maritime Museum MSF Main Striking Force (Heavy Bomber squadrons in UK) SSA Secretary of State for Air SSW Secretary of State for War SWC Supreme war Council U.P.