Closing the Ring
CLOSING THE RING
WINSTON CHURCHILL
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Copyright
Closing the Ring
Copyright © 1951 by Winston Churchill Cover art and eForeword to the electronic edition copyright
© 2002 by RosettaBooks, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
For information address [email protected] First electronic edition published 2002 by RosettaBooks LLC, New York.
ISBN 0-7953-0542-7
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Contents
eForeword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Book One:
ITALY WON
1: The Command of the Seas Guadalcanal and New Guinea 2: The Conquest of Sicily July and August 1943
3: The Fall of Mussolini
4: Westward Ho! Synthetic Harbours 5: The Quebec Conference “Quadrant”
6: Italy: The Armistice
7: At the White House Again The Invasion of Italy 8: The Battle of Salerno A Homeward Voyage 9: A Spell at Home
10: Tensions with General de Gaulle 11: The Broken Axis Autumn 1943
12: Island Prizes Lost Rhodes and Leros 13: Hitler’s Secret Weapon
14: Deadlock on the Third Front
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15: Arctic Convoys Again
16: Foreign Secretaries’ Conference in Moscow 17: Advent of the Triple Meeting The High Commands Book Two:
TEHERANTO ROME
1: Cairo
2: Teheran: The Opening
3: Conversations and Conferences
4: Teheran: The Crux
5: Teheran: Conclusions
6: Cairo Again: The High Command
7: In Carthage Ruins Anzio
8: At Marrakesh Convalescence
9: Marshal Tito and Yugoslavia
10: The Anzio Stroke
11: Italy: Cassino
12: The Mounting Air Offensive
13: The Greek Torment
14: Burma and Beyond
15: Strategy Against Japan
16: Preparations for “Overlord”
17: Rome May 11—June 9
18: On the Eve
Appendices
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Notes
About the Author
About this Title
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Fascimile, Maps, and Diagrams
The Rise and Decline of the U-Boat Fleet Cumulative Gains and Losses of Merchant Ships Outside of Enemy Control
The Battle of the Atlantic:
The Third Attack on the Convoy Routes Phase IV — The Crisis of the Battle Phase V — The Great Air-Sea Offensive The Conquest of Sicily
Facsimile of Minute of Prime Minister, May 1942 Piers for Use on Beaches
The Salerno Landing
The South Aegean Sea
Leros
Operations in Russia July — December 1943
Southern Italy Operations September — December 1943
Anzio
Cassino
New Guinea
The Southwest Pacific
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The Pacific Theatre
Burma
The Coast of Northwest Europe
Normandy
Cassino May 11–25
The Roads to Rome
The Front in Russia January — June 1944
Central Italy
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eForeword
One of the most fascinating works of history ever written, Winston Churchill’s monumental The Second World War is a six-volume account of the struggle of the Allied powers in Europe against Germany and the Axis. Told through the eyes of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, The Second World War is also the story of one nation’s singular, heroic role in the fight against tyranny. Pride and patriotism are evident everywhere in Churchill’s dramatic account and for good reason. Having learned a lesson at Munich that they would never forget, the British refused to make peace with Hitler, defying him even after France had fallen and after it seemed as though the Nazis were unstoppable.
Churchill remained unbowed throughout, as did the people of Britain in whose determination and courage he placed his confidence.
Patriotic as Churchill was, he managed to maintain a balanced impartiality in his description of the war. What is perhaps most interesting, and what lends the work its tension and emotion, is Churchill’s inclusion of a significant amount of primary material. We hear his retrospective analysis of the war, to be sure, but we are also presented with memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams that give a day-by-day account of the reactions-both mistaken and justified-to the unfolding drama. Strategies and counterstrategies develop to respond to Hitler’s ruthless conquest of Europe, his planned invasion of England, and Closing the Ring
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his treacherous assault on Russia. It is a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions that have to be made with imperfect knowledge and an awareness that the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
In Volume Four of this work, The Hinge of Fate, Churchill describes the changing fortunes of the Allies as their combined efforts gradually begin to turn the tide against Germany, Italy and Japan. Volume Five, Closing the Ring, shows the Allied forces going on the offensive. Mussolini falls, Hitler is besieged on three sides, and the Japanese find themselves hard-pressed to maintain a grip on the territories they had recently overtaken. The work ends in triumph and anticipation as the Allies take Rome and prepare for the invasion of Normandy. As victory comes into sight, coordination and agreement between the three powers becomes crucial, both in terms of the endgame strategy for the war and the plans for peace. Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt work towards keeping their uneasy partnership working in concert, and much of this volume is dedicated to describing their intricate and fascinating negotiations.
Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 due in no small part to this awe-inspiring work.
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Preface
IN THE Hinge of Fate I described the decisive change for the better in our fortunes, which lighted the winter of 1942
and the spring of 1943. Closing the Ring sets forth the year of conflict from June 1943 to June 1944. Aided by the command of the oceans, the mastery of the U-boats, and our ever-growing superiority in the air, the Western Allies were able to conquer Sicily and invade Italy, with the result that Mussolini was overthrown and the Italian nation came over to our side. Hitler with the circle of countries he had occupied was isolated, and with the immense onslaught of Russia from the East was completely surrounded. At the same time Japan had been forced onto the defensive and was vainly trying to hold the vast territories she had overrun.
The danger which faced the United Nations was no longer Defeat but Stalemate.
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