The declaration of war by Italy was a major event in the world, and all countries felt that the war was becoming more and more like twenty years ago. Neutral countries have begun to arm themselves on a large scale, whether to profit from this war or to ensure their neutrality, at least to make themselves look unprovoked, which is a wise choice.

Compared with other countries, the most directly related is Britain and France. The French side had a great deal of opinion about Italy's declaration of war, and for this reason, French Prime Minister Daladier expressed his dissatisfaction with the loss of the British Fleet in the Mediterranean in a diplomatic letter to London.

And the French Prime Minister's telegram also became the last straw that crushed the Chamberlain government. The Labour Party, which was already very dissatisfied, immediately demanded the resignation of the prime minister in Parliament.

To add insult to injury, there are also people in the Conservative Party who have expressed dissatisfaction with the prime minister. In just two months since the declaration of war, Britain has suffered heavy losses, both militarily and diplomatically. It is clear that someone needs to be held accountable for this, and there is no better person than Chamberlain Chamberlain, who is in the prime minister's position.

Neither the appeasement policy directed by him, nor the later counting on Droz to clash with the Soviet Union, were unsuccessful. Not to mention the humiliating defeat of the British Imperial Navy at Alexandria under his leadership, which led directly to the declaration of war by Italy. The prime minister, who has suffered countless failures, why should he stay if he doesn't step down.

Although Chamberlain was instrumental in the recovery of the British economy, he had made mistakes that no longer made him feel that he was up to the post of prime minister, at least not during the war.

In fact, Chamberlain knew that his prime minister's time was running out after the declaration of war in Italy, but he was still temporarily stiffening his head for the follow-up arrangements, but his approach attracted more criticism. Some people even called him a treacherous figure who coveted power and refused to leave.

And in the face of such a surging wave of opposition, Chamberlain naturally could not ignore it, and now he received a lot of boos as soon as he went to the parliament.

Fortunately, he arranged it almost as well, and on the third day after the declaration of war in Italy, Chamberlain announced his decision to step down.

It stands to reason that after Chamberlain's resignation, the opposition Labour Party should form a government, but unfortunately the Conservatives still dominate Parliament. And in the Conservative Party, not many people have the courage to take over Chamberlain's post as prime minister. Because they all know Chamberlain's methods, even he has planted a big heel in this, and others do not have the ability to do this job well.

At this time, Chamberlain recommended Churchill as a candidate for the post of prime minister.

As for Churchill as a person, he was known to the whole Conservative Party. It's just that it has nothing to do with ability, but Churchill can be called an outlier in the Conservative Party, too capable of tossing.

From the beginning of his political career in 1900, Churchill was at odds with the Conservative Party. Within a few years of joining the party, he called himself an "independent Conservative" and was expelled from the Conservative Party.

He later switched to the Liberal Party, and after the Liberal Party came to power, Churchill was appointed Under-Secretary for Colonial Affairs. Later, Churchill was appointed Secretary of State for Commerce and officially entered the Cabinet. Since then, Churchill has been moving around in various ministerial positions, and he has been a mixed bag.

It was only after the outbreak of World War I and the failure of the Dardanelle Plan that he lost ground and became the lowest-ranking minister in the cabinet. Excluded from political circles, Churchill decided to resign and rush to the French front to fight in the war himself.

Later, after Churchill had not been a battalion commander for a few months, he was recalled and appointed Quartermaster. (Well, the tank was invented by Churchill)

After the war, the Liberal Party lost elections one after another, so Churchill found that the ship could not be trusted, so he gradually distanced himself from the Liberal Party and moved closer to the Conservative Party.

It's just that this is a time when Labour's power is soaring, and neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals are Labor's opponents.

After the First World War, Britain believed that there would never be a danger of a major war again and advocated disarmament, and Churchill was one of the very few people in parliament who opposed disarmament.

Churchill is also known for his hardline attitude in Britain, so Churchill is also a minority in the Conservative Party, and his relationship with the Liberal Party is more prominent within the party.

However, in the face of Chamberlain's proposal of Churchill as the next prime minister, although there were different views within the Conservative Party, there was no other suitable candidate, and Chamberlain's proposal was finally accepted.

So on 5 November, the king summoned Churchill and ordered him to form a cabinet. An hour later, Churchill met with Labour leader Attlee and invited Labour to join the cabinet and gain support.

Then Churchill famously said: "I have nothing but blood, toil, tears and sweat for you." You ask: What is our purpose? I can reply in one word: victory, to fight for victory at all costs, no matter how terrible, no matter how far and difficult the road, to strive for victory, because without victory there can be no survival. ”

Then Churchill was also resolute, and he himself opened up several aspects of the Admiralty as temporary headquarters for the new cabinet. He himself lived in the Admiralty.

It's just that even if he has searched through the British family, he has no good way to deal with the current disadvantages in the land. Because Britain lacked new battleships, the current old Queen Elizabeth class and revenge class could not compete with the new battleships of Yiluo. The only one who can compete with it is the George V class, but in order to see if the German navy can not be moved lightly.

And Britain's vast colonies also need warships, so don't look at the current British Navy still has a huge force of 12 battleships, 2 battle cruisers, and 3 aircraft carriers, but only 2 George V-class and HMS Hood can compete with the Axis capital ships, and the others are old-fashioned warships.

In this regard, Churchill could only order the Navy to speed up the sea trials of the two Glorious-class aircraft carriers and speed up the construction of the three George V-class aircraft carriers. True, at the moment the British Navy is the most lacking in battleships. In the North Sea, where the climatic conditions are harsh, and even in the North Atlantic, the role of battleships is irreplaceable. At present, the British Navy does not lack battleships, but lacks new battleships with excellent performance.

Of course, Churchill also knew that Britain alone could not compete with the Axis bloc. Therefore, he attached great importance to France, and on the third day after becoming prime minister, he personally went to Paris to consult with France. However, the conversation was not pleasant, because France asked Britain to send naval forces to the Mediterranean to help relieve itself of the pressure from Italy.

Moreover, it is specified that there is a need for battleships such as battleships and battle cruisers, which makes Churchill, who intends to fool the past with heavy cruisers and the like, unable to fool him. How could Churchill send out the capital ships at this time, and the blockade of the German Navy would have required more troops.

Now Germany has a fleet of 1 battleship, 2 cruisers and 3 pocket battleships, although its strength is not worth mentioning with the British, but its speed is far from being comparable to that of the old warships, and only two battlecruisers and 2 George V can catch up with it. But these 4 warships alone can't complete the task, and they can only be dispersed and deployed to stop these fast German warships.

Failure to stop it would threaten the vital sea lines of transport for the UK. Without sea lines, Britain would not even have enough food to eat.

It was precisely because of this that the German side was so interested in breaking the war, which is why Britain attached so much importance to the blockade of the North Sea.

Unable to get the Churchill he wanted from France, he went to Paris several times, only to be replaced by France urging Britain to send an expeditionary force so that the two countries could fight together.

Churchill thus took the opportunity to use the army as a bargaining chip to dispel France's request for naval assistance. It's just that it is too difficult for the French navy to resist Italy and Romania in the Mediterranean, and Churchill looked around and set his sights on the American continent.

(I recommend a domestic history "Chu Han Subversive", interested book friends can take a look)