Finest Years (94 page)

Royal Navy: as defence against invasion threat, 24, 30; at Dunkirk, 38–9; apprehensions about future of French fleet, 45; aversion to publicity, 101–2; counters U-boat campaign, 113, 215, 368; losses, 113; lacks air cover in Mediterranean, 129; in action at Crete, 134; defensive role, 150; lacks carriers, 157; in defence of Malta, 162; qualities and professionalism, 206, 267, 595; escorts Russian convoys, 207, 323, 325, 330; cancels summer Arctic convoys, 323; in North African landings, 330; attacks Afrika Korps' Italian supply ships, 336; in Dodecanese operation, 408, 410, 412-l5, 417–18, 420

VESSELS:
Ajax
(light cruiser), 535, 538;
Aurora
(cruiser), 413;
Carlisle
(cruiser), 413;
Duke of York
(battleship), 217–19;
Eclipse
(destroyer), 413;
Hermes
(aircraft-carrier), 251;
Hood
(battlecruiser), 138, 192;
Indomitable
(aircraft-carrier), 206, 215;
King George V
(battleship), 439;
Panther
(destroyer), 413;
Penelope
(cruiser), 412–13;
Prince of Wales
(battleship), 191–2, 197–8, 206, 215, 246, 250;
Queen Elizabeth
(battleship), 220;
Renown
(battlecruiser), 392, 426;
Repulse
(battlecruiser), 206, 215, 246, 250;
Sirius
(cruiser), 412–13;
Southampton
(cruiser), 182;
Trooper
(submarine), 413;
Unruly
(submarine), 412;
Valiant
(battleship), 220

Rucker, Arthur, 26

Ruhr: bombing campaign against, 388, 424–5

Rundstedt, Gen. Gerd von, 40

Russia
see
Soviet Union

Sackville-West, Vita, 76

Saint-Nazaire, 38, 43, 245

Saint-Pierre (island), 228

Salerno: landings, 391–2

Salter, Sir Arthur (
later
Baron), 258

Sandys, Duncan (
later
Baron Duncan-Sandys), 144

Sardinia, 345, 352

Sawyers, Frank (WSC's valet), 204

Schumann, Maurice, 453

Schuster, Sir George, 241

Scobie, Lt.Gen. Ronald, 530–1

Seal, Eric, 26, 54, 109, 182

Sealion
, Operation, 94–7

Sebastian, Mikhail, 136

second front: Russians demand, 158, 290–3, 397; Eden and Moyne rule out, 162; Beaverbrook advocates, 165, 288; chiefs of staff oppose in 1943, 219; US enthusiasm to open, 283–6, 292, 312; popular demands for, 286–7, 295, 300, 305–6; Dill supports, 312; Soviet knowledge of Britain's view of, 322; delayed beyond 1943, 369, 375;
see also Overlord
, Operation

Secret Intelligence Service, 85

Selborne, William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of, 453

Service de Travail Obligatoire
(STO), 457

Sextant
conference, 428, 431

Seymour, Charles, 65

Sforza, Count Carlo, 507, 527

Sherwood, Robert, 65, 196

Shingle
, Operation, 438–9, 442

Shinwell, Emanuel (
later
Baron), 529

Shirer, William, 527

Sicily: as Allied target for invasion, 345, 352, 354, 356, 358; Allied landings, 368–9, 382–4; Eisenhower proposes delaying landings, 375; strategic importance, 376; Germans expelled, 389

Sikorski, Gen. Wladyslaw, 108, 124, 366, 373, 397, 592

Silsby, Eleanor, 76

Silvermaster, Nathan, 321

Simmons, Roscoe Conkling, 178

Sinclair, Sir Archibald (
later
1st Viscount Thurso), 10, 55, 254, 268, 561

Singapore: and Japanese advance, 217–18, 227, 234–5; strategic importance, 221; surrenders, 238–40, 244, 251

Skelton, John, 243

Skorzeny, Col. Otto, 407–8

Slessor, Air Marshal Sir John, 175

Slim, Gen. William (
later
Viscount), 376, 481, 504, 514, 579–80

Slovakia: uprising, 471

Smiley, David, 462

Smith, Lt.Gen. Walter Bedell, 383

Smuts, Field Marshal Jan Christian: WSC replies to, 44; relations with WSC, 193, 235, 544; depressed at stalemate, 206; and campaign in Italy, 383; on Roosevelt's proposal on Hong Kong, 429; takes son to Cairo conference, 433; in Cairo with WSC, 436; and WSC's confidence in Alexander, 443; and WSC's impatience with critics, 444; on WSC's physical decline, 449; praises WSC for delaying
Overlord
, 478; and Eden-Bevin discussion on maintaining coalition government, 486; and WSC's sense of weakness beside USA, 519; and WSC's handling of post-liberation Greek crisis, 533; on WSC at end of war, 591

Snyder, J. Buell, 200

Somaliland: campaign in, 123

Somerset, Gen. Brehon, 301

Somerville, Admiral Sir James, 69, 260

South-East Asia: campaign in, 376;
see also
Burma; Malaya; Singapore

Southby, Commander Sir Archibald, 241

Soviet Union: knowledge of allies' secrets, xix, 163, 320–2; WSC embraces as ally, xix, 153–4; WSC foresees German attack on, 75; Germany invades, 103, 149–50, 152; Western aid to, 150, 158, 160, 163–7, 217, 226, 323–4, 330–1, 480; British
attitudes to, 151, 154–5, 159–60, 167–8, 304, 306, 332, 346, 370, 382, 445–6, 576; non-aggression pact with Germany (1939), 151; WSC's pre-war attitude to, 152; losses and casualties, 159, 169–70, 324, 326, 330, 346, 362, 445; secrecy and isolation, 159, 163; US attitude to, 160–1; British convoys to, 166, 251, 290, 323, 330, 352, 358, 372; German advance in, 169, 324; USA and Britain expect to be defeated, 196, 207, 228; on WSC-Roosevelt meeting at Placentia Bay, 201; agrees European frontiers with Germany, 216; and Japan's entry into war, 216; territorial claims in eastern Europe, 244, 256, 289, 444, 567; commitment and achievements, 282, 286, 303, 306, 369–70, 378; and US-British second front, 283, 286, 290, 305–6; treaty of alliance with Britain (1942), 291–3; hostility to western allies, 331–2; attritional nature of campaign, 346, 362; dominance in defeat of Germany, 362; demands for post-war settlement, 373, 445, 517–18; massacres Polish officers at Katyn, 373; WSC warns of as future threat, 386, 388; in governance of occupied territories in eastern Europe, 388, 518; mocks West's inadequate activities, 397; WSC's critical view of, 424; believes Britain opposed to invasion of France, 426; partisans, 466, 472; deteriorating relations with Britain, 480; army strength, 484; refuses help to Poles in Warsaw rising, 503, 509–10, 516; East European policy, 527, 554, 556–7, 566–7; restraint over Greece, 529; demands repatriation of all Soviet subjects detained in Europe, 552; paranoia over supposed Western separate peace with Germany, 565; WSC proposes Anglo-US drive to force back in Europe, 571–6, 584

Spain: and dispute over Gibraltar, 66; stays out of war, 70; fears of joining Axis, 137; generals bribed to remain neutral, 137

Spears, Maj.Gen. Sir Edward, 41, 45, 47, 49, 56, 319

Special Boat Squadron, 404–5, 415

Special Operations Executive (SOE): effects, xvii, 452, 461, 470–3, 475; strategic contribution, xxii; Dalton heads, 75, 275, 451; WSC orders formation, 75, 451; officers betrayed and captured, 455, 458–9; opposition to, 456–7; WSC indulges, 458; in Balkans, 461–3, 468–9; casualties, 470; strength, 470; Kirkpatrick attacks, 473; in Greece, 531

Spectator
(journal), 253, 304

Stalin, Josef V.: military successes, xvii, xix; as leader, 155; exasperation at British inaction, 162, 164; Beaverbrook meets, 164–5; calls for supplies and reinforcements from USA and Britain, 201; territorial ambitions in Europe, 216, 553; requests information on chemical weapons, 245; WSC informs about British bombing raids, 248; fantasises about British support for Japan, 289; demands second front, 291, 293; popularity in Britain, 304; WSC meets in Moscow (1942), 320, 322–9; and secret information from British agents, 321, 329; drinking, 327; meeting with Harriman, 329–30; denies information to Allied officers and diplomats, 331; WSC describes Cripps to, 344; WSC's commitment to, 345; and Allied commitment to invasion of France, 358; anger at inadequacy of Western support, 362; role in German defeat, 362; WSC congatulates on Stalingrad victory, 365; WSC reports to on bombing offensive, 370, 425; criticises slow progress in Mediterranean, 372; complaint to Roosevelt about D-Day postponements, 381; WSC rebukes for criticism, 381; demands voice in control of occupied territories, 388; at Tehran conference, 426, 431–5; rejects proposed Big Three meeting in London, 426; manner, 432; jests about shooting 50,000 German officers, 433; taunts WSC at Tehran, 433; trusts Roosevelt, 435; WSC cables about Anzio landing, 440; lies over non-interference in Polish internal politics, 444–5; WSC praises in broadcast, 446; dismisses Polish Resistance fighters, 456, 509; and Yugoslav communist partisans, 467; cynicism over D-Day landings, 486–7; messages from WSC on D-Day and Italian campaign, 488; proposals on accommodation of Poles, 503; WSC flies to Moscow for bilateral talks with, 514–18; expresses hatred of Switzerland, 518; post-war policy on liberated countries, 529; non-interference in Greece, 531, 545; proposes Yalta conference, 543, 547; at Yalta conference, 548–51, 553–5; satisfaction with Yalta outcome, 556; WSC protests to about Soviet oppression in Poland, 557; and supposed Western separate peace negotiations with Germany, 565; at Potsdam conference, 584, 587–8; and Allied possession of atom bomb, 585; indulges WSC at Potsdam, 588–9; WSC's limited influence on, 597;
see also
Soviet Union

Stalingrad, battle of (1942–3), 306, 324, 344, 353, 362, 365

Stark, Admiral Harold, 194

Starr, George, 55–6

Stauffenberg, Claus, Count von, 500

Stebbing, Edward, 112, 114, 150, 168, 263, 378

Stettinius, Edward, 527

Stimson, Henry: serves under Roosevelt, 184; favours aid to Britain, 185; on British exploitation of Roosevelt's shortcomings, 232; proposes advancing D-Day date, 385; favours Marshall to command
Overlord
, 394; demands inquiry into Dresden bombing, 562

Stokes, Richard, 105, 562

Stokes, Thomas, 529

Strakosch, Sir Henry, 590

Strangeways, Capt. David, 5

Student, Gen. Kurt, 133–4

Stumme, Gen. Georg, 338

Suez Canal, 117

Sullivan, Mark, 593

Sulzberger, C.L., 548

Sumatra: WSC urges landing on, 387, 412, 448, 477

Sunday Express
, 265

Supercharge
, Operation, 339

Supreme War Council (Franco-British), 42, 45, 47, 50

Sweden, 11

Sweet-Escott, Bickham, 457

Swing, Raymond Gram, 176

Switzerland: Stalin professes hatred of, 518

Syria: campaign in, 137–8; French forced from, 580

tanks: US supplies to British in North Africa, 317

Taranto: Italian fleet attacked at, 121; seized by 1st British Airborne Division, 391

Taylor, Richard E., 65

Tedder, Air Marshal Sir Arthur: scorn for commanders in Middle East, 128; WSC proposes dismissing, 208; reluctance to express view on course of war, 308; criticises army to WSC in Egypt, 317; in Moscow, 325; criticises Aegean operation, 413; message from WSC on Leros operation, 416; WSC meets in Tunisia, 436; as Eisenhower's deputy for
Overlord
, 437–8; liked by Americans, 482; WSC proposes Alexander replace as Deputy Supreme Commander, 558

Tehran conference (1943), 355, 416, 426, 431–6

Temple, Richmond, 56

Tennant, Capt. Bill, 62

Terrasson, France: Resistance reprisals, 455

Thompson, Commander Charles Ralfe (‘Tommy'), 187

Thompson, Malvina, 224

Thorne, Will, 62

Tiger
(Mediterranean convoy), 131

Tilney, Brig. Robert, 414, 416–17

Time
magazine: on British weakness in 1940, 64; on WSC's resolution, 103–4; on morale of US Army draftees, 186; on Roosevelt's interest in authorship of WSC's speeches, 229; on Britain's defensive-mindedness, 295

Times, The
: reports trivia, 7; on German advance in West, 8; Beveridge writes in, 238; on fall of Singapore, 240; on post-war concerns, 252; criticises WSC's dual role as prime minister and Minister of Defence, 310; on inadequacy of arms and equipment, 310–11; on change of commanders in Middle East, 334; on WSC's Mansion House speech after North African successes, 340–1; on WSC at Casablanca conference, 359; on miners' strike, 399; on Dodecanese operations, 406; on fall of Kos, 411; on fall of Leros, 419

Tito, Josip Broz, 363–4, 432, 466–70, 506, 524, 580–2

Tizard, Sir Henry, 84–5

Tobruk: O'Connor attacks, 122, 124; evacuation, 138; WSC insists on holding, 148–9; Australian garrison, 149, 162; surrenders (June 1942), 297, 302–3

Togliatti, Palmiro, 506

Tojo, Hideki, 594

Tooze, Adam, 424

Torch
, Operation, 296, 312–14, 324, 326, 337, 339–40

Toulon: French fleet at, 70

Tours: WSC visits Reynaud at, 48–9

Tovey, Admiral Sir John, 192, 250, 260

Tribune
(journal), 287, 528

Trident
conference, 355, 376

Trieste, 580–2

Tripoli: WSC in, 365–6

Trollope, Anthony, 107–8

Trott, Adam von, 499

Troy, Melville, 185

Trukhanovsky, Victor, 331

Truman, Harry S.: Roosevelt keeps uninformed, 519; WSC's relations with, 568, 580; cable from WSC on Russia and position of Poland, 571; accepts Yalta agreements on occupation zones, 576; WSC meets at Potsdam conference, 584–5

Tulle, France, 460

Tunis: falls to British, 376

Tunisia: campaign in, 351–2, 370

Turkey: WSC hopes for entry into war, 121, 126, 424; maintains neutrality, 128; WSC visits, 363–5, 380; and WSC's Dodecanese operation, 401–2, 420

Twain, Mark, 177

U-boats
see
German navy

Ulster
see
Northern Ireland

Ultra: intercepts enemy signals, 84–5; on Hitler's strategy in Balkans, 129; and Hitler's attack on Russia, 150; in Battle of Atlantic, 158; information on eastern front, 159; on escape of
Scharnhorst
and
Gneisenau
, 237; on Afrika Korps supply and logistical difficulties, 336–7; operational value, 337; and Rommel's defeat at Alamein, 339; U-boat signals interrupted, 372; on German pessimism, 403; on Leros operation, 414, 416; on persecution of Jews, 501; on effects of strategic bombing, 560