Churchill and Australia – Graham Freudenberg

Political and military history is not my usual bag, but this was a gift so I gave it a go. It told me more than I ever knew, and possibly wanted to know, about this important relationship. Freudenberg knows his onions and is obviously a fine writer, but I kept finding myself reacting against his distinctly Australian viewpoint.

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.