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Editor says, what if Churchill's finest hour had been a disaster? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the August 2011 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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1940, from Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, the Head of the British Government-in-Exile, Winston Spencer Churchill delivered his famous "never surrender" speech on the BBC World Service.
Watch the Speech 
The liquidation of the British Empire"I have not become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire". said Churchill, pugnaciously affirming his loyalty to the worldwide institution that he had served for most of his life. However that is precisely what happened.
Britain fought and sacrificed on a global scale to defeat Hitler and his allies - and lost. After the fall of both Singapore and Pearl Harbour to the Japanese, Churchill confessed his ignorance of the weakness of British Imperial defences, saying: "I did not know. I was not told. I should have asked".
"I have not become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire"It was a lesson he tried hard to learn from as he sought to plan the defence of Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, where he and the remnants of the British Royal Naval had fled to.
Churchill died in his Falklands stronghold, buried under a boulder inscribed, "Founding Father of the movement to uproot Nazidom from the world ". His mission is unfulfilled at the time of writing.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor Watch the Video
© The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire: Churchill, Roosevelt, and the Birth of the Pax Americana by Peter Clarke, Richard M. Langworth, If Chamberlain had not lost the Battle for Britain & Adrienne.Gormley, 'Children of Tears'.
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Alternate Nations Source: Wikipedia Labels: India, British Empire, British Raj, Forties, Winston Churchill. Editor says, In this cross-over post, we explore - and mix up - the ideas presented by Peter Clarke, Richard M. Langworth & Adrienne.Gormley, re-examining the worst case scenarios from Churchill's strategic blunders.
~ If this ain't the most depressing TL I"ve read in months, it certainly ranks in the top 10.
~ Never give up! Never surrender! (An obscure science fiction film reference.)
~ So how did this turn of events come about? How did the Japanese take Pearl Harbor?
~ I don't think even the Nazis would have chased him as far as the Falklands. Wouldn't Canada, or Newfoundland (which was not part of Canada at that time) make more sense?
~ I'm not saying that the British could never have been defeated, but I think Churchill feigning ignorance of British defenses is completely implausible, seeing as how he had been First Lord of the Admiralty, Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Air. The man was nothing if not prepared. If the fate of the British came down to how prepared Churchill was, they couldn't have lost. I could, however, see them losing if America didn't come into the war, or if Hitler had invaded Britain before he turned on Russia.
~ The Japanese could have targeted American fuel supplies at Pearl Harbor. I suppose if a couple of carriers had been in harbor which were out at sea in OTL, the injury would have been greater.
~ A thousand little bush wars destabilizing a quarter of the world, not to mention Japanese, Nazis, and Soviets picking up what pieces they could (also, everyone does need to see Galaxy Quest).
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
