The Grand Alliance (136 page)

This is a strange Christmas Eve. Almost the whole
world is locked in deadly struggle, and, with the most
terrible weapons which science can devise, the nations
advance upon each other. Ill would it be for us this
Christmastide if we were not sure that no greed for the
land or wealth of any other people, no vulgar ambition,
no morbid lust for material gain at the expense of
others, had led us to the field. Here, in the midst of war,
raging and roaring over all the lands and seas, creeping
nearer to our hearths and homes, here, amid all the
tumult, we have tonight the peace of the spirit in each
cottage home and in every generous heart. Therefore,
we may cast aside for this night at least the cares and
dangers which beset us, and make for the children an

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evening of happiness in a world of storm. Here, then,
for one night only, each home throughout the English-speaking world should be a brightly lighted island of
happiness and peace.

Let the children have their night of fun and laughter.

Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let
us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures before we turn again to the stern task and the
formidable years that lie before us, resolved that, by our
sacrifice and daring, these same children shall not be
robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in
a free and decent world.

And so, in God’s mercy, a happy Christmas to you
all.

The President and I went to church together on Christmas Day, and I found peace in the simple service and enjoyed singing the well-known hymns, and one, “O little town of Bethlehem,” I had never heard before. Certainly there was much to fortify the faith of all who believe in the moral governance of the universe.

It was with heart-stirrings that I fulfilled the invitation to address the Congress of the United States. The occasion was important for what I was sure was the all-conquering alliance of the English-speaking peoples. I had never addressed a foreign Parliament before. Yet to me, who could trace unbroken male descent on my mother’s side through five generations from a lieutenant who served in George Washington’s army, it was possible to feel a blood-right to speak to the representatives of the great Republic in our common cause. It certainly was odd that it should all work out this way; and once again I had the feeling, for mentioning which I may be pardoned, of being used, however unworthy, in some appointed plan.

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I spent a good part of Christmas Day preparing my speech.

The President wished me good luck when on December 26

I set out in the charge of the leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives from the White House to the Capitol. There seemed to be great crowds along the broad approaches, but the security precautions, which in the United States go far beyond British custom, kept them a long way off, and two or three motor-cars filled with armed plainclothes policemen clustered around as escort. On getting out I wished to walk up to the cheering masses in a strong mood of brotherhood, but this was not allowed.

Inside, the scene was impressive and formidable, and the great semicircular hall, visible to me through a grille of microphones, was thronged.

I must confess that I felt quite at home, and more sure of myself than I had sometimes been in the House of Commons. What I said was received with the utmost kindness and attention. I got my laughter and applause just where I expected them. The loudest response was when, speaking of the Japanese outrage, I asked, “What sort of people do they think we are?” The sense of the might and will-power of the American nation streamed up to me from the august assembly. Who could doubt that all would be well?

I ended thus:

Mr. Churchill’s Speech to Congress, December 6,
1941

Members of the Senate and Members of the House
of Representatives, I turn for one moment more from
the turmoil and convulsions of the present to the
broader basis of the future. Here we are together facing
a group of mighty foes who seek our ruin; here we are
together defending all that to free men is dear. Twice in
a single generation the catastrophe of world war has
fallen upon us; twice in our lifetime has the long arm of
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Fate reached across the ocean to bring the United
States into the forefront of the battle. If we had kept
together after the last war, if we had taken common
measures for our safety, this renewal of the curse need
never have fallen upon us.

Do we not owe it to ourselves, to our children, to
mankind tormented, to make sure that these catastrophes shall not engulf us for the third time? It has been
proved that pestilences may break out in the Old World
which carry their destructive ravages into the New
World, from which, once they are afoot, the New World
cannot by any means escape. Duty and prudence alike
command, first, that the germ-centres of hatred and
revenge should be constantly and vigilantly surveyed
and treated in good time, and, secondly, that an adequate organisation should be set up to make sure that
the pestilence can be controlled at its earliest beginnings before it spreads and rages throughout the entire
earth.

Five or six years ago it would have been easy,
without shedding a drop of blood, for the United States
and Great Britain to have insisted on fulfilment of the
disarmament clauses of the treaties which Germany
signed after the Great War; that also would have been
the opportunity for assuring to Germany those raw
materials which we declared in the Atlantic Charter
should not be denied to any nation, victor or vanquished. That chance has passed. It is gone.

Prodigious hammer-strokes have been needed to bring
us together again, or, if you will allow me to use other
language, I will say that he must indeed have a blind
soul who cannot see that some great purpose and
design is being worked out here below, of which we
have the honour to be the faithful servants. It is not
given to us to peer into the mysteries of the future. Still,
I avow my hope and faith, sure and inviolate, that in the
days to come the British and American peoples will for
their own safety and for the good of all walk together
side by side in majesty, in justice, and in peace.

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Afterwards the leaders came along with me close up to the crowds which surrounded the building, so that I could give them an intimate greeting; and then the Secret Service men and their cars closed round and took me back to the White House, where the President, who had listened in, told me I had done quite well.

At Washington intense activity reigned. During these days of continuous contact and discussion I gathered that the President with his staff and his advisers was preparing an important proposal for me. In the military as in the commercial or production spheres the American mind runs naturally to broad, sweeping, logical conclusions on the largest scale. It is on these that they build their practical thought and action. They feel that once the foundation has been planned on true and comprehensive lines all other stages will follow naturally and almost inevitably. The British mind does not work quite in this way. We do not think that logic and clear-cut principles are necessarily the sole keys to what ought to be done in swiftly changing and indefinable situations. In war particularly we assign a larger importance to opportunism and improvisation, seeking rather to live and conquer in accordance with the unfolding event than to aspire to dominate it often by fundamental decisions. There is room for much argument about both views. The difference is one of emphasis, but it is deep-seated.

Harry Hopkins said to me, “Don’t be in a hurry to turn down the proposal the President is going to make to you before you know who is the man we have in mind.” From this I saw that the question of forming a Supreme Allied Command in Southeast Asia and drawing boundary lines was approaching.

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The next day I was told that the Americans proposed that Wavell should be chosen. I was complimented by the choice of a British commander, but it seemed to me that the theatre in which he would act would soon be overrun and the forces which could be placed at his disposal would be destroyed by the Japanese onslaught. I found that the British Chiefs of Staff, when apprised, had the same reaction.

I am recorded as saying to them at a meeting on December 26 that I was not at all convinced that this arrangement was either workable or desirable. “The situation out there was that certain particular strategic points had to be held, and the commander in each locality was quite clear as to what he should do. The difficult question was the application of resources arriving in the area. This was a matter which could only be settled by the Governments concerned.”

Nevertheless, it was evident that we must meet the American view.

Mr. Attlee sent me his own and the Cabinet’s congratulations on my speech to Congress, and in reply I opened to him the question of the Southwest Pacific Command.

Prime

Minister

to

28 Dec. 41

Lord Privy Seal

Am so glad you were pleased. Welcome was
extraordinary. Work here is most strenuous. Today for
five hours President and I received representatives of
all other Allied or friendly Powers and British Dominions, and made heartening statements to them. My
talks with President increasingly intimate and friendly.

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Beaverbrook also had great success with him on the
supply side.

2. Question of unity of command in Southwest
Pacific has assumed urgent form. Last night President
urged upon me appointment of a single officer to
command Army, Navy, and Air Force of Britain, America, and Dutch, and this morning General Marshall
visited me at my request and pleaded case with great
conviction. American Navy authorities take opposite
view, but it is certain that a new far-reaching arrangement will have to be made. The man President has in
mind is General Wavell. Marshall has evidently gone far
into detailed scheme and has draft letter of instructions.