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Chargement... Churchill and Australiapar Graham Freudenberg
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Winston Churchill was a titan of the 20th century, universally acknowledged as one of the greatest leaders of his age. Yet his relationship with Australia was a troubled one, marred by conflict from the time Churchill was a junior minister in 1907 to bitter disputes over the use of Australian troops in the Second World War. The connection between the two would span the first 50 tumultuous years of the 20th century, from the Boer War through to opening salvos of the Cold War, and act as a fascinating backdrop to Australia's march from a collection of dependent colonies to full nationhood. Graham Freudenberg's Churchill and Australia is the grand story of this relationship. Written with extraordinary narrative verve, and relying on exhaustive research and a true insider's knowledge of the political world, this is history written at its compelling best. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)940.5322History and Geography Europe Europe 1918- World War IIClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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The first key point is Gallipoli, of which Churchill was the architect, and which was a famous disaster. It’s role in the psyche of Australia only really came much later, and many modern Aussies would be surprised to know that ANZACs comprised only about 20% of the allied casualties of the campaign. A mighty military failure, but to characterise it as an Antipodean tragedy devalues the sacrifices of the British, French and Indian troops who suffered equally.
The second key point is Churchill’s “Beat Hitler First” strategy in World War 2, and the consequent failure to hold Singapore or set up adequate defences for Australia against the Japanese. Churchill certainly deceived Australia’s leaders over the importance he placed on their security in the great scheme of things, but the Indians were treated far worse, and...well, he was proved right, wasn’t he?
These gripes suggest that Freudenberg is less admiring of Churchill than he actually is. Despite my issues with some of the views expressed here, I found it an interesting primer on all sorts of history which one ought to be aware of but I hadn’t known about hitherto. ( )