The late roy Jenkins assessment of Churchill by the late renowned historian roy Jenkins is now confirmed and has taken on new significance, as a recently discovered memorandum suggests that Churchill's favorite Cold War strategy favored nuclear and bomb attacks against Russia and China to force the latter to submit.
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Recently, the British newspaper The Times disclosed a memorandum of dialogue between Major General Julius Ochs Adler, former editor-in-chief of the New York Times. The memo outlines an alarming strategy of threatening 20 to 30 cities with a nuclear strike, a conversation that took place at Churchill's home in Kent.
The memo describes that at lunch, the then 76-year-old Churchill was drinking champagne in a glass of unusual shape and size, and he drank at least twice as much as the others, and Churchill, who was the opposition to the ruling party at the time, lamented that the anglo-American joint policy toward the Soviet Union was too weak and intrusive.
Adler wrote: "Then Churchill keenly asked me to say the number of atomic bombs we (the United States) had and to assess the Arsenal of the Russians. I replied that, fortunately, I was not at the top of the government, and therefore knew nothing about this frightening secret. The former U.S. Army officer went on to tell the story in the memo: "Churchill shocked us for the second time, saying that if he became British prime minister and managed to get the consent of our government, he would put many conditions on the Russians in the form of an ultimatum." The Russians will refuse, and then the Kremlin will be told that if we don't change our minds, we will throw atomic bombs at 20 or 30 cities. At the same time, we will warn them of the need for an urgent evacuation of civilians from all designated cities. Churchill believed that the Russians would again refuse to consider our conditions. Then we will have to strike one of the targets and, if necessary, the others. Undoubtedly, after the third blow, panic will be caused not only among the civilian population, but also in the Kremlin, and then our conditions will be met. "
Soviet satirical cartoons
Adler told Churchill that the American people would never accept such a pre-emptive form of war and that they would only use nuclear weapons in retaliation. He also reminded Churchill that "Britain and the United States should consider the opinions of many allies who may reject such a countermeasure."
Professor Richard Toyet, chair of the Department of History at the University of Exeter, found this note (memo) in a New York Times document stating that Churchill had proposed such a nuclear threat before August 1949, when the Soviet Union did not have nuclear weapons. As it turned out, he did not give up on this adventure until 1951. Toyer said: "People may question his ability to judge on this point. "
Although Adler said that some of Churchill's remarks shocked him, the words showed that he liked the man. Adler told Churchill that he had noticed two women with children at the gate of the manor. Adler wrote: "He abruptly ended the conversation and waved happily. All seriousness disappeared from his face and was replaced by a smile. "
Mushroom cloud of nuclear explosions
Professor Toy believes that, on the one hand, the threat of a nuclear strike against humanity is alarming. But on the other hand, those who subscribe to Churchill's ideas can argue that if this ultimatum threat is deterrent enough, it can be defeated without a fight. Churchill, on the other hand, did want to end the Cold War and believed that together with other influential people it would be possible to work out a solution that included an unwavering attitude and the nuclear threat that has hitherto been feared.
Toy said: "I suspect there is a hint of playfulness and provocation in this. In my opinion, when he says he should do this, there are several interesting questions that arise. When did he say that? In his opinion, who should do this? Does that mean he will do it himself when he returns to the prime ministership? Or did he want President Truman to do it now? Express your ideas to people he considers influential so that they can influence the decisions of the U.S. government? Is this possible? But of course he said a lot, which seemed unexpected to Adler, and even shocked him. You can judge him by comparing their conversations. I don't think the ultimatum is a 'wise' idea, Churchill's behavior during his tenure as prime minister was not so dangerous, and the real strategy he implemented was much better than anything he talked about at that memorable banquet. "
Churchill and Truman
Toy went on to say: "Churchill was well aware that governing the country is very different from being an opposition party. I think some of those crazy remarks are inextricably linked to his desire to attack the Labour government and crush it. This shows that Churchill had a solution to the problem. "
The memorandum also mentioned that churchill advocated confrontational tactics as far as dealing with China, such as bombing Chinese military bases, even nuclear strikes on Chinese cities, and blocking mainland exchanges with Hong Kong if necessary.
(September 10, 2020, by The Fat Swan of Petersburg)