Into the Storm

"Then out spoke brave Horatius,

the captain of the gate:

'To every man upon this earth

death cometh soon or late.

And how can man die better

than facing fearful odds,

for the ashes of his fathers,

and the temples of his Gods?'"

This is the BBC home service.

The German army invaded Holland and Belgium early this morning

by land and by landings from parachute.

The armies of the low countries are resisting.

An appeal for aid has been made to the allied Governments

and allied troops are moving to their support.

His Majesty's Government and the French Government

are taking immediate steps to come to the assistance

of Holland and Belgium.

The Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain,

whose conduct of the war has been roundly criticized,

has summoned leaders of his party

to an emergency meeting at 10 Downing Street.

Now I had hoped to remain

as Prime Minister through the current crisis,

but I've just been told

that the Labour Party will not serve under me.

Therefore I shall resign immediately.

One of you will lead the new Government.

Winston, would it be possible for you

to discharge the duties of Minister of Defence

under the direction of Edward Halifax

as Prime Minister?

What is your opinion?

I think Winston would be the better choice.

Yes, I think so too.

Huh.

Mr. Churchill has arrived, Sir.

Thank you.

I feel very uneasy about this.

People say he's unreliable. Is that true?

Impulsive, Sir, might be a kinder word.

If only it could've been Lord Halifax.

He would've made the most...

Perfect Prime Minister.

- Perfect. - At 4:35 this morning,

Hitler's troops invaded Holland and Belgium

and the Luftwaffe has been bombing airfields

all across Holland and northern France.

Panzer divisions are moving through Luxembourg

towards the Belgium frontier.

Our troops and the French are marching north

to block the German advance.

- How many of our men? - All of them.

The entire army.

It's an extraordinary coincidence...

Hitler attacking the west

and you becoming Prime Minister all on the same day.

could be coincidence, Sir.

Could be destiny.

And what happens if we fail

to stop Hitler in Belgium?

One must assume he'll go for France.

Just 21 miles.

Is that enough to save us?

...With the Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

At 10:00, telephone call to the French Prime Minister.

Mr. Attlee at 10:30.

Cabinet photograph at 11:00.

- Sawyers. - Sir.

a further meeting of the war cabinet at 5:00.

Drinks with Lord Beaverbrook at 6:30,

then dinner with Mr. Bracken, Sir John Anderson

- and the duff coopers. - And what about my sleep?

Sleep, Sir?

I need at least one hour's unbroken sleep in the afternoon,

otherwise I can't function... Sleep and a bath.

You'd better call the second meeting

of the war cabinet for 11:00 tonight.

- Yes, Sir. - Colville... is that right?

- Yes, Sir. - Related to Lord Crewe?

- My grandfather. - Mmm, give him my greetings.

I met my wife at his house on Curzon Street.

It is my intention to form a national Government,

a grand coalition of all parties

united for the duration of the war.

Conservatives and Labour are equal partners.

And as leader of the Labour Party,

you shall be my deputy.

I shall be both Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence.

We have a heavy burden to carry, my dear Attlee.

People trust us.

We must tell them the truth.

We must never let them down.

If you could go to the middle, Sir, with the conservative ministers on the right

- and the labour ministers on the left. - No no, that's all wrong.

This is a National Government. The photograph must reflect that.

Attlee, sit here next to me.

Come along, everyone.

Halifax, sit next to Attlee.

Hurry up.

Gentlemen.

the latest reports indicate

that the Germans are advancing rapidly towards Calais.

The main thrust was through here... The Ardennes.

We were trying to stem the invasion of Belgium to the north.

We've been outmaneuvered, gentlemen.

So that means our troops are cut off?

- yes, Sir. - And we can't link up

to the main French force to the south?

Yes, Sir. I'm afraid that's correct.

If the German advance cannot be stopped,

we might have to order our troops back to England.

The question is,

365,000 men...

The entire British army...

How many can we get back?

Perhaps 50,000...

...If we're lucky.

- Admiral Pound. - Yes, Sir?

As a precautionary measure, the admiralty should assemble

as many small vessels as it can

in readiness for a large-scale evacuation.

That's already in hand, Sir.

Tugboats, yachts, fishing craft,

lighters, barges, pleasure boats...

Everything must be called into service.

Well, if we are forced to evacuate,

we must assume the Germans will attempt to invade us

very shortly thereafter

beginning, one assumes, with air attacks.

Unrestricted air attacks

aimed at breaking public morale.

They'd also try to starve us

by attacking shipping and ports.

- true. - Invasion would follow.

What about tanks? How many have we got with the army?

- How many are being made? - The plan is to evacuate

women and children from Southern coastal towns.

- Sounds a bit extreme. - The P.M. wants to know how much mustard gas we have.

I had a chat with the Italian ambassador.

He made it clear

that if we were to approach his Government,

with a view to discussing a General European settlement,

- we would not be rebuffed. - What exactly does he mean by that?

That Mussolini is prepared to act as an intermediary

between us, the French and Hitler.

Any hint of negotiation would destroy the morale of our people.

I think perhaps not in the present circumstances.

The ambassador was most conciliatory...

Not all all extreme, very well-mannered.

Of course, they would expect something in exchange.

- Oh, of course. - Such as what?

Malta, perhaps.

Gibraltar.

Perhaps Uganda.

Winston?

My dear Edward,

if I thought we could get out of our present difficulties

by giving up Malta, Gibraltar or a few of the African colonies,

I'd jump at it,

but Hitler cannot be trusted.

No point in talking with the eyeties.

The French are very keen we should give it a try.

To hell with the French.

If they're not prepared to fight, let them give up.

I will not allow this country to be dragged down a slippery slope.

What is the point of becoming a slave state?

Winston, for the love of God, will you face facts?

We could lose a quarter of a million men at Dunkirk.

Nations that go down fighting rise up again.

Those that surrender tamely are finished.

We cannot win this war

without a devastating loss of life and resources.

Don't destroy everything you most want to preserve.

This is the BBC home service.

Belgium has surrendered.

In preparation for invasion, 15 towns on the...

What's the matter?

I've been on the telephone with General Gamelin.

Bloody French... they're worse than useless.

"Where is your strategic reserve?" I asked him.

"There is none," he said. Can you believe it?

I despair.

Sometimes I despair.

Of course you do. If you didn't, you wouldn't be human.

I was thinking about the afternoon I delivered

my statement to the house. Do you remember?

We came back here for tea.

There were some people on the pavement outside...

- Not many, five or six. - I remember.

One of them was a middle-aged man...

A shopkeeper perhaps, or a bus driver.

He was full of hope and trust.

"Good luck, Winnie," he said.

"God bless you."

- I mustn't let him down. - You won't.

I might.

Halifax is no fool.

What he says is full of wisdom and good sense.

I hear his voice,

but the face I see