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    Churchill And Wavell: A Study In Political/Military Relationships
    Churchill And Wavell: A Study In Political/Military Relationships
    Churchill And Wavell: A Study In Political/Military Relationships
    Ebook75 pages52 minutes

    Churchill And Wavell: A Study In Political/Military Relationships

    By Colonel John R. Quantrill

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    On 21 June 1941 Churchill relieved General Archibald Wavell from command in the Middle East. This action followed a series of set-backs in the theatre during which Churchill had direct dealings with Wavell. Given the significant internal conflict within the British High Command during World War I, this action by Churchill was seen as symptomatic of yet another poor political/military relationship.
    A close examination of the British national command structure shows that while there was certainly inter-personal conflict between Churchill and his Chiefs of Staff, they still maintained an effective relationship. Churchill's strong personality, and penchant for becoming involved in military matters, may have reduced the potential effectiveness of this relationship but it still remained effective none-the-less.
    The relationship between Wavell and the British High Command was similarly effective, despite personal conflict between him and Churchill. The High Command provided Wavell with broad strategic guidance, the resources to implement it, and allowed him a relatively free hand to do so. It was only when he strayed from strategic guidance that he came into conflict with the High Command.
    Following a brilliant opening series of campaigns in North and East Africa, Wavell lost his broad strategic vision. He allowed part of his limited forces to be dissipated to Greece at a critical time, while under-estimating the implications of German intervention in North Africa. He then failed to appreciate the strategic implications of Axis threats to both Iraq and to Syria, and finally he allowed himself to be pressured into a premature counter offensive in the Western Desert. It is argued that it was these errors which caused Wavell's dismissal, and not a failing in the political/military interface.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLucknow Books
    Release dateAug 15, 2014
    ISBN9781782898139
    Churchill And Wavell: A Study In Political/Military Relationships

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      Book preview

      Churchill And Wavell - Colonel John R. Quantrill

      This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

      To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com

      Or on Facebook

      Text originally published in 1990 under the same title.

      © Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

      Publisher’s Note

      Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

      We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

      Churchill and Wavell; A Study in Political/Military Relationships

      By

      John R. Quantrill, COL, Australian Army

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Contents

      TABLE OF CONTENTS 44

      ABSTRACT 45

      CHAPTER I — INTRODUCTION 46

      BACKGROUND 46

      GERMAN AND BRITISH POLITICAL CONTROL IN WORLD WAR II 46

      SCOPE OF PAPER 47

      CHAPTER II — BRITISH NATIONAL AND THEATRE COMMAND STRUCTURE 48

      NATIONAL COMMAND DEVELOPMENTS PRIOR TO WORLD WAR II 48

      NATIONAL COMMAND DEVELOPMENTS DURING 1940 49

      CHURCHILL'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS CHIEFS OF STAFF 50

      MIDDLE-EAST COMMAND - 1940 52

      CHAPTER III — WAVELL'S STRATEGIC CONCEPT AND OPENING CAMPAIGNS 55

      WAVELL'S THREAT ASSESSMENT 55

      WAVELL'S CAMPAIGN CONCEPT 56

      CHURCHILL'S RELATIONSHIP WITH WAVELL 56

      THE OPENING CAMPAIGNS - SEPTEMBER 1940 / MARCH 1941 57

      CHAPTER IV — POLICY AND STRATEGY MISMATCH 61

      THE GREEK CAMPAIGN 61

      THE IRAQ REBELLION 64

      OPERATION BATTLE-AXE AND THE SYRIAN CAMPAIGN 67

      WAVELL'S DISMISSAL 70

      CHAPTER V — CONCLUSIONS 72

      REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 76

      BIBLIOGRAPHY 77

      ABSTRACT

      On 21 June 1941 Churchill relieved General Archibald Wavell from command in the Middle East. This action followed a series of set-backs in the theatre during which Churchill had direct dealings with Wavell. Given the significant internal conflict within the British High Command during World War I, this action by Churchill was seen as symptomatic of yet another poor political/military relationship.

      A close examination of the British national command structure shows that while there was certainly inter-personal conflict between Churchill and his Chiefs of Staff, they still maintained an effective relationship. Churchill's strong personality, and penchant for becoming involved in military matters, may have reduced the potential effectiveness of this relationship but it still remained effective none-the-less.

      The relationship between Wavell and the British High Command was similarly effective, despite personal conflict between him and Churchill. The High Command provided Wavell with broad strategic guidance, the resources to implement it, and allowed him a relatively free hand to do so. It was only when he strayed from strategic guidance that he came into conflict with the High Command.

      Following a brilliant opening series of campaigns in North and East Africa, Wavell lost his broad strategic vision. He allowed part of his limited forces to be dissipated to Greece at a critical time, while under-estimating the implications of German intervention in North Africa. He then failed to appreciate the strategic implications of Axis threats to both Iraq and to Syria, and finally he allowed himself to be pressured into a premature counter offensive in the Western Desert. It is argued that it was these errors which caused Wavell's dismissal, and not a failing in the political/military interface.

      AUTHORS NOTE: Spelling throughout this paper is in accordance with the Concise Oxford Dictionary (Australian edition), in keeping with the author's national practice.

      CHAPTER I — INTRODUCTION

      BACKGROUND

      In war, a theatre level commander must produce a campaign plan which utilizes his available military assets in a timely and effective manner to secure his military objective. This requires that he be placed under minimal constraints and receive the full trust and confidence of his superiors, both political and military, otherwise he is unable to optimize his operational skills in fighting the battle. Recent history records many instances where such trust was not given, and where commanders in the field were consequently subjected to detailed daily political control to the detriment of their

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