Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter discuss a decision which Winston Churchill called"the most hateful, the most painful and unnatural in which I have ever been involved." Namely the order to attack French warships at Mers-el-Kebir in Algeria, following the armistice between France and Nazi Germany.

They explore the background to the attack - and how Churchill explained and justified the move, one which bolstered his political position in Britain and improved Britain's standing in the US.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The extraordinary story of how Churchill threw his weight behind a last-ditch attempt to keep France in the war against the Nazis - by joining the British and French nations together to form the "Franco-British Union".

And the story of how this daring plan crashed and burned...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's early June 1940. Though the Nazi invasion of France continues to progress at speed, Winston Churchill remains determined to keep France in the war.

Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter discuss whether, when Churchill said "We shall never surrender", he was actually referring to Britain and France.

And they explore Churchill's frantic efforts to sustain morale within the French government, making two dramatic flights o France in 48 hours.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explore the context and the impact of what's become one of most famous speeches in modern history. When despite weeks of military setbacks, Winston Churchill pledged that Britain would never give in to Hitler.

But when Churchill said "We shall never surrender", did "We" actually mean Britain and France?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second episode of this new podcast on the dramatic life of WInston Churchill, Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explore the military and political crises which propelled Winston Churchill into office as Britain's Prime Minister.

How was it that a disastrous operation against the Nazis in Norway came to benefit Churchill, when as the minister in charge of the Royal Navy, he bore primary responsibility for the fiasco? We'll reveal that Churchill himself couldn't quite understand...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this new podcast, international experts Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explore the career of a giant of 20th century history - British Prime Minister and statesman Sir Winston Churchill.

The podcast dives straight into the most momentous years in Churchill's long and dramatic life, beginning with the outbreak of war with Nazi Germany in September 1939, an event which saw Churchill recalled from the political wilderness to take charge of the Royal Navy.

Within months, Churchill would be leading his country in the gravest crisis of our times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing a new podcast exploring the life of one of the most extraordinary men of modern history, Winston Spencer Churchill.

Britain's Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter from the US provide an appropriately transatlantic perspective on the life of the man voted the Greatest Briton - but who was actually half-American.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.