British Bulldog

As a student of history, my particular interest has focused on those leaders of the free world -- both political and military -- who battled the fascists during the Second World War: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Douglas McArthur, George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill, among others.

By coincidence, I was reading the recent bestseller, “Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, A Daring Escape and The Making of Winston Churchill” by Candice Millard when “Darkest Hour” with Gary Oldman as Churchill premiered at The Bijou over the holidays. In both cases, the man and the myth came into clearer focus.

Indisputably the most revered Brit of all time (despite the fact that he was half-American), Churchill was both widely loved and loathed. In the book, the author describes the young Churchill, an ambitious aristocrat with almost foolhardy faith in his destiny who believed he would one day govern as Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Seeking fame and fortune, and with complete faith in his “star,” Churchill fought for the realm in India and Pakistan, the Sudan and finally in South Africa during the Boer War. Captured by the Boers and imprisoned, Churchill engineered a daring escape, eventually returning to England and taking his place in government.

As with many other notable figures in history, his path to greatness was fraught with drawbacks and failures. As first lord of the admiralty, his “victory at all costs” approach had been blamed for the military disaster in Gallipoli during World War I near the Dardanelles Straits in an effort to gain an edge against Turkey.

Churchill had sent British, French, New Zealander and Australian troops, mostly half-trained volunteers, to besiege the Gallipoli Peninsula, resulting in a military disaster of epic proportions. The debacle resulted in a demotion for Churchill, so he left the government and joined the Army.

A quarter-century later, however, when Hitler’s aggression forced the British to reconsider their approach to Nazi Germany, Churchill was promoted once again to Lord Admiral. When the war effort resulted in impending crises, the British proceeded with the formation of a new coalition government led by Churchill.

That story is the subject of “Darkest Hour,” which examines the days preceding and immediately after Churchill’s ascension to Prime Minister, when he faced the decision to negotiate peace with the Nazis, or stand firm to fight for the liberty and freedom of a nation, and ultimately, the free world.

Critics will characterize him as a violent racist with a penchant for for imperialism -- and scotch. But the fact remains that, for Churchill, when it came to stopping Hitler, the buck stopped squarely on his desk. Responding to the Nazis with the stubborn tenacity of a bulldog, he rallied his nation to vanquish the fascist oppressors.