J.F.C. Fuller's assessment of Winston Churchill as grand strategist, 1939-1945

Searle, DA

Abstract

It is generally well known that Major-General J.F.C. Fuller was a strong critic of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's grand strategy and strategic decision-making during the Second World War. Historian's of Fuller's life, military theories and historical writing have offered, however, few explanations as to the nature of this critique, when it first emerged and what the motivations were which underpinned it. There has been little attempt to investigate just how well Fuller knew Churchill, either, or the extent to which this knowledge informed his historical writing. This article seeks to correct one or two of the general explanations which have been given, arguing that Fuller's questioning of Churchill's wartime leadership was based on a number of interlocking points of criticism, his personal knowledge of the Prime Minister and that it represented the first sustained literary attack on his performance as a strategist during six years of total war.

Citation

Searle, D. (2015). J.F.C. Fuller's assessment of Winston Churchill as grand strategist, 1939-1945. Global war studies (Online), 12(3), 46-81. https://doi.org/10.5893/19498489.120302

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 5, 2014
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jun 10, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 18, 2021
• Journal: Global War Studies
• Print ISSN: 1949-8489
• Electronic ISSN: 1949-8497
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 46-81
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5893/19498489.120302
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5893/19498489.120302
• Related Public URLs: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/gws/gws