Chapter 33, House of Commons, 29 May 1940
A hurried telephone conversation decided it. As Ribbentrop shouted and spat down the line his fury at the sudden renegotiation, Halifax, a waspish Attlee stood next to him, stood and fought. That completed both men walked into their respective chambers.
The House of Lords had been honoured with the first announcement. Halifax had addressed their Lordships for an hour, explaining the terms of the final treaty and adding his opinion into a steady, reasoned account worthy of a noble gentleman. Their Lordships had then had a gentle, stately discussion before adjourning for afternoon tea. The press, members of the commons and eventually the public were therefore briefed as to the terms and when, two hours later, the Commons assembled Butler knew that he and Halifax had erred. That, coupled with a beautifully timed resignation (or dismissal, for no-one really knew what had occurred) by Churchill all added to the sense of drama in the House. Butler, though not an outstanding orator, gave a better account of the negotiations and the resultant treaty than his master; after all, Butler had been the one doing the negotiating. He spoke confidently, and as
The Times put it “from a conviction that he had to see right be done”. Attlee offered suspiciously little in debate, whilst Sinclair raised the question of Commonwealth acceptance. The time-bomb was ticking. The Speaker, ever weary, suspected that whatever came next would become parliamentary legend.
“Mr Winston Churchill.” There were loud cheers which Churchill acknowledged from the backbenches.
“Mr Speaker, I speak to you all today as that most simple and noble of things, the British backbencher, to which I have been propelled by my obstinacy and stubbornness. Banished from the Cabinet, I address thee from the wilderness, free of any proximity to these august events.” He was showing the distance between the cabinet and himself.
“And from the desolate wastes in which I now reside, I say, shame! This treaty shackles us with the fear of annihilation for evermore. In exchange for a handful of petty gestures we offer away our independence, our security, our freedom! What else could we do, Lord Halifax asks? We have saved the Empire, he claims! No, we condemned it. We have given a powerful enemy worldwide reach to snatch whatever titbits of the world he wants to grab. Despite Lord Halifax and Mr Attlee’s deal to safeguard Malta and Gibraltar, we have thrown away the Mediterranean to a strutting despot who dreams of aping Caesar. We have betrayed our Navy, the Army, the RAF, who were asked to give their service to a cause that Lord Halifax did not believe in.” He paused to let the House absorb his words.
“You, ask, what else could we have done? We could have fought. We could have fought them on the beaches, we could have fought on the fields and in the streets, we should have fought in the hills, we never should have surrendered! And if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, could have carried on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, joined to the British cause, with all its power and might, could have stepped forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
Following this appeal to the Empire, and, intriguingly, the Americans, Churchill, cheered by many, returned to his seat. The House rose to vote. In the end, the Treaty of Milan was ratified by the House of Commons by a majority of 107. Many abstained, a few others would resign in the days that followed but the Prime Minister and Butler would be able to fly to Italy for the signing ceremony without a humiliating Commons defeat looming over them. Halifax, upon hearing the news, gave thanks to God and went to brief the King. Churchill and his followers met at Chartwell to decide their next action.
[Game Effect] – A last minute injection of fibre saves the British position in the Med. But, and here is the really contentious issue, the British give up any European influence (temporarily?). Initially, when I played the game back in September, I simulated a UK pull-out from Malta and Gib by simply not putting any units there. That I’ve changed my mind (as part of the attempt to spare Trekaddict a nervous breakdown) won’t (in gaming terms) impact too much upon things.
The territory lost – France’s position in Djibouti is looking dodgy, but that’s a matter for the French treaty (though the UK has agreed that Germany can have it). Cameroon, Congo and a small slice of East Africa go to Germany. South Africa gives up the old German South-west Africa to the Reich and Italy gets some bits of Somaliland. Mussolini is also looking greedily at French North Africa. Halifax is happy to agree to all this and this sort of deal was actually advocated as part of an agreement. Why is Ribbentrop, despite his bluster, so ready to renegotiate? Simple – the French, for all their troubles, aren’t defeated just yet. And Ribbentrop knows that if internal battles arise in the UK, the Empire's eyes will look inward. And there will be troubles ahead...
Nathan Madien: Indeed, Anglo-American cooperation was key to the early development of the bomb. Without that level of interraction progress would have been slower. Halifax and Attlee, presuming
D) that the peace holds, will have to think about domestic politics. Attlee, despite his excellent handling of this crisis, has a number of disadvantages over his 1945 position. No Beveridge Report, a public who haven't had wartime experience of (generally) competent largely-Labour led management of many domestic issues, disgruntlement with the Tories not as high (though the true reaction to the Peace may alter this). If an election is fought in 1940 it will be exceptionally close.
Trekaddict: Attlee, bizarrely, is indeed the only man (Winnie aside) with any backbone. But faced with this impossible situation even he has plumped for peace. Though less of a farcical treaty than that secured by Butler.
El Pip: Sadly very very very true.
Kurt_Steiner: :rofl: But who would be Han Solo? Churchill?
Trekaddict: :rofl: