Six Minutes in May
Page 49
57 terribly despondent … out, ibid., 999
58 entirely fictitious, Tree, 112
59 I had to manoeuvre, At the Admiralty, 999
60 It is said of Sam, A. J. Sylvester papers, PA LG/g/241/1
61 Aunt Tabitha, Nicolson, 56
62 He is indignant, At the Admiralty, 1006
63 I must apologise, ibid., 1013
64 obvious signs, SP Clement Davies to Lord Salisbury, 15/4/1940
65 His speech in the House, BI EH diary, 11/4/1940
66 He hesitates, Nicolson, 70
67 I had never seen, Maisky, 270
68 As I listened, BOD MSS Dawson 44 diary
69 The prevailing mood, Maisky 271
70 looking bent, Brooks, 265
71 his physique must, Ironside, 248
5 IN GREAT STRENGTH
1 Everyone said, Waugh, Put Out More Flags, 183
2 Norway was a disaster, Robert Blake and Wm. Roger Louis ed., Churchill, 261
3 You provoked action, The Keyes Papers, Vol. III: 1939–45, 26
4 running riot, Godfrey, vol. 5, 308
5 zest for taking charge, ibid., vol. 8, 19
6 stimulating martyrdom … technical, Arthur Bryant, The Turn of the Tide, 301
7 The tragedy of Churchill, Beesly, 297
8 tormenting telegraphic … Admiralty, Godfrey, vol. v, 302
9 All the careful, Beesly, 153
10 an exceptional measure, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 528
11 almost malicious, Roskill, 285
12 how firmly Churchill, Geoffrey Shakespeare, private archive
13 Winston entered, Roskill, 106
14 The exact opposite, Robert Boothby, Recollections of a Rebel, 55
15 every misstep, Bell, 6
16 all the daily, Roskill, 290
17 no power to take, At the Admiralty, 981
18 no decision over Norway, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 522
19 hard to believe, At the Admiralty, 978
20 undoubtedly making … engaged, At the Admiralty, 979
21 He sounded optimistic, BI EH diary, 8/4/1940
22 the clearest … silence, Roskill, 98–99
23 much to my … Commander-in-chief, Roskill, 99
24 Admiral Pound telephoned, Admiralty War Diary 199/388, Diary of 1st Cruiser Squadron
25 You seem to have, Waugh, Put Out More Flags, 180
26 Though I generally, Haarr interview with author, 15/2/2016
27 everything went wrong, Macmillan, 50
28 violated all the rules, Klaus Maier, ‘Germany Strategy’, Germany and the Second World War: vol. 2, 195
29 Rarely in history, Hansard, 7/5/1940
30 We hadn’t been, Tom Fowler interview with author, 4/11/2015
31 so that it stands, Amery, Diaries, vol. 2, 582
32 I was in, Frank Lodge memoir, private collection
33 Gentlemen, I have just, Fitzgerald, 13
34 Military assistance, Kersaudy, 92
35 the only base, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 30
36 It really is the devil, BI EH diary, 6/5/1940
37 threatened to resign, Hugh Dalton, The Fateful Years: 1931–1945, 304
38 for all practical, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 30
39 the only thing, Cadogan, 270
40 imperative from, Bell, 188
41 no serious operations, At the Admiralty, 1007
42 lead to a bloody, ibid., 1041
43 mar its integrity, ibid., 1043
44 Once Narvik is cleared, ibid., 1031
45 very important political, Kersaudy, 95
46 Most urgent that, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 30
47 Trondheim is now, ibid., 31
48 immediate military and aerial, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 183
49 we began this war, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 22
50 a very level … recover, ibid., 22
51 One plane in … breath, CA CH 4/142, Romilly diary
52 without a single, ibid.
53 thoroughly frightened … delay, At the Admiralty, 1054
54 for which long, ibid., 1000
55 deed of fame, ibid., 1084
56 staking out, Ironside, 253
57 half-cocked … show, At the Admiralty, 1030
58 Maddening … another, Ironside, 258
59 brilliant operation, At the Admiralty, 1057
60 a direct attack, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 525
61 Tiny, we are … some heat, Ironside, 257
62 on his own … in 1915, Godfrey, vol. 8, 14
63 bright ideas … the whole, John Kennedy, 168
64 Left to myself, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 562
65 WE ARE COMING, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 22
6 FLEA AND LOUSE
1 We disembarked, Martin Lindsay, ‘Reconnaissance’, Spectator, 17/5/1940
2 No single action of mine, Peter Fleming, ‘Return to Namsos’, Spectator, 16/5/1970
3 While the Germans, Reynaud, 277
4 wounding the still, Duff Hart-Davis, Peter Fleming, 224
5 A better pair … paper, Adrian Carton de Wiart, Happy Odyssey, 166–7
6 He was taciturn, Duff Hart-Davis interview with author
7 a preoccupation … imperturbably, Anthony Powell, To Keep the Ball Rolling, 76
8 He was a four-square, Joan Bright Astley, The Inner Circle, 76
9 Should have been, Hart-Davis, 215
10 my dear Peter, CA CHUR/2/149A-B
11 terribly slowly … picture, Robert Bernays, Diaries, 88
12 for whom I had, CA CHUR/2/ 149A-B
13 As the war, Times, 25/5/1917
14 a blend of … Front, W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, Journey to a War, 214
15 to proceed by air, Peter Fleming, Report on measures taken at Namsos in connection with the landing of an Allied Expeditionary Force, private collection
16 Come to Norway … doing, Hart-Davis, 222
17 to communicate with, Lindsay ‘Reconnaissance’
18 Nobody, even in, Hart-Davis, 222
19 ascertain whether … SECRECY, PF Report
20 Suddenly, swinging round, PF diary, 13/4/1940, private collection
21 We had no more idea, PF ‘Return to Namsos’
22 like an old woman, Waugh, Put Out More Flags, 206
23 a susurrus which, PF Report
24 I was there, Storm Evensen interview with author, 17/10/2015
25 It is perhaps, PF Report
26 and once more, Lindsay ‘Reconaissance’
27 buying up all, ibid.
28 In the middle, Carton de Wiart, 165
29 cocoon of self-sufficiency … motives, RU MS 1391 B/13–17; MS1391B44
30 with the dripping head, Waugh, Men at Arms, 74
31 a damn nice, PF diary, 19/4/1940
32 swatting the muzzles, RU MS 1391 B/13
33 My godfather, draft for BBC broadcast January 1964, RU MS 1391 B/44
34 between 20 and 30 … children, RU MS 1391 B/14
35 a rather cool, RU MS 1391 B/27
36 a campaign for, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 115
37 that no operation, At the Admiralty, 1118
38 We did not seem, Carton de Wiart, 166
39 which would be, PF Report
40 the difficulties presented, David Brown, Naval Operations of the Campaign in Norway, 73
41 The cards were, Action this Day, 40
42 a special attachment, Fleming, Invasion 1940, 232
43 naval lads tossing, Frank Lodge memoir
44 Our skipper guided, Fowler interview with author
45 The names on, Lodge memoir
46 in a flurry of frothing, Donald Macintyre, Narvik
47 Have brought, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 112
48 not dissimilar … firing, ML ‘Reconnaissance’
49 cumbered with … yesterday, PF ‘Return to Namsos’
50 German Intelligence did, PF Report
51 probably the best troops, At the Admiralty, 106
6
52 Chattering, overloaded, PF diary, 19/4/1940
53 Took Carton de W, ibid.
54 elfin-like, PF ‘Return to Namsos’
55 She thought it, Wenche Fahsing interview with author, 17/10/2015
56 My orders were, Carton de Wiart, 168
57 pincer movement, Ironside, Diaries, 257
58 a new conception, At the Admiralty, 1055
59 to confuse and distract, ibid., 1084
60 this important project, ibid., 1064
61 to destroy places, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 106
62 There was a roaring, Evensen interview with author
63 “Dispersons!” cried … dead, PF diary
64 making even thinking, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 119
65 Huge fires … of death, ML ‘Death of a Town’
66 it is a most unnerving, Carton de Wiart, 172
67 They went for, PF diary, 20/4/1940
68 blew the town … fire, ibid.
69 and the glare, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 120
70 Enemy aircraft, ibid., 120
7 THE FIRST LAND BATTLE
1 so I had to, Information from Elaine Lodge
2 That’s where, Fowler interview with author
3 Fix bayonets!, John Benson, Saturday Night Soldiers, 28
4 Torlaug Werstad interview with author, 17/10/2016
5 We were in, Fowler interview
6 Beside those German, Stowe, 110
7 ancient and modern, Churchill, My Early Life, 186
8 The British have planned, Colville, Fringes of Power, 116
9 so ill-informed … darkness, George Orwell, Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters, vol. 2, 341
10 of any force … one, Hansard, 7/5/1940
11 The Jerries could, Stowe, 111
12 there was no, Joe Kynoch, Norway 1940, 57
13 Even more important, Martin Lindsay, World at War, Thames TV 1973
14 There seemed to be, Broch, 162
15 We could hear, Stowe, 111
16 … men shouting, Kynoch, 100
17 I felt in my bones, Carton de Wiart, 167
18 catastrophic British defeat, Stowe, 92
19 It’s the planes … awful, ibid., 111
20 What we need, ibid., 112
21 I’m glad you’re, ibid., 144
22 For God’s sake, ibid., 145
23 Damned unfair!, RU MS 1391 B/13
24 Still I waited, Carton de Wiart, 171
25 paramount need for speed, Rhys-Jones, 86
26 A peculiar fatality, Ironside, 269
27 The only clue … Norway, Julian Paget, The Crusading General, 29
28 My instructions, H.R.S. Massy, Despatch on ‘Operation in Central Norway, 1940’, London Gazette No. 37584, 29/5/1946
29 We had to tear, Paget, 29
30 The scene below, Dudley Clarke, Seven Assignments, 92
31 a vast pyramid, J. L. Moulton, The Norwegian Campaign of 1940, 174
32 several fishing rods, Kersaudy, 141
33 great strength, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 22
34 in full association, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 184
35 little more than children, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 67
36 the Luftwaffe’s almost, Fleming, Invasion 1940, 20
37 with no aerodromes, BI EH diary, 2/5/1940
38 information necessarily, Portal to Newall, 8/5/1940; Denis Richards, Portal of Hungerford, 147
39 just as they liked, Clarke, 152
40 constantly flew without, Evelyn Waugh, Diaries, 470
41 adequate air support, Massy, London Gazette
42 We saw ourselves … along, Victor Macclure, ‘Gladiators in Norway’, Blackwood’s Magazine, February/March 1941, vol. 249
43 a scenario that, Paget, 35
44 the various & changing, At the Admiralty, 1076
45 Winston changed his, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 527
46 gave no idea Godfrey, vol. 7 pt 2, 228
47 We are aiming at, At the Admiralty, 1070
48 prejudice the effectiveness, ibid., 1074
49 the opportunity for, ibid., 1084
50 not … very keen on, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 492
51 unless you are, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 35
52 The Crazy Gang … volatile, Henry Pownall, Chief of Staff, 297
53 unpredictable and, Jacob, Action this Day, 162
54 They may not be, PA LG/g/241/1
55 talking a lot, At the Admiralty, 1086
56 Everyone is very, ibid., 1032
57 a company commander, Ironside, 260
58 great as are, Pownall, 304
59 his judgement is, BOD MSS Simon 11, 8/5/1940
60 A farce … bottom, At the Admiralty, 1063
61 meddling … wobbles, Cross, 314
62 conservative, Clive Ponting, Churchill, 426
63 disagreed entirely … hole, At the Admiralty, 1071-2
64 The result was magical, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 520
65 Oh dear! … your Winston, CRL NC 18/2/1161–1198, 2/5/1940
66 You do manage, CRL NC 18/2/1161–1198, 23/2/1940
67 Had I been, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 580
68 You can’t buy meat, Claire Simpson, Neville’s Island
69 just the price, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 517
70 getting into a sad, ibid., 519
71 with the least possible delay, At the Admiralty, 1073
72 in the best, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 520
73 a vehement and decisive, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 625
74 complete alteration, At the Admiralty, 1093
75 a blithe disregard, Fleming, Invasion 1940, 20
76 considerable advance, At the Admiralty, 1092
77 unexpected success, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 625
78 That he used to doze (footnote), Godfrey, vol. 5, 39
79 But at the mention, Arthur Bryant, The Turn of the Tide, 209
80 there was no … yellow, Bruce Lockhart, 52
81 Churchill never for, BOD MSS Simon 11
82 Great efforts are, BI EH diary, 3/5/1940
83 which he … at once, NC Diary Letters, vol. 4, 527
84 There are few, Percy Groves, Behind the Smoke Screen, 262
85 All Trondheim plans, Cadogan, 272
86 a dud plan, Pownall, 305
87 Enemy aircraft again, Brown, 77
88 He is so like, Ironside, 278
8 WORST OF ALL EXPERIENCES
1 Ah, it is all, L. E. H. Maund, Assault from the Sea, 40
2 Chamberlain was destroyed, Simon Ball, The Guardsmen, 212
3 I am convinced, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 483
4 primary strategic, Rhys-Jones, 122
5 Once this is, At the Admiralty, 1100
6 Gilbertian, Derry, 244
7 a mystery which, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 200
8 plans by … effort, ibid., 271
9 Narvik was really, ibid., 221
10 a typical advance, ibid., 220
11 we take every, ibid., 200
12 disliked the suggestion, ibid., 201
13 very strongly held, Brown, 22
14 ridiculous appointment … Fleet, Godfrey, vol. 5, 308
15 and he did … commanders, Piers Mackesy, ‘Churchill on Narvik’, Journal of the Royal United Services Institution, December 1970, 28–33
16 to turn the enemy, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 199
17 The crowd lining … interested, William Boyle, My Naval Life, 192
18 with diametrically … landing, ‘The Norway Campaign of 1940’, London Gazette, Supplement, 8/7/1947
19 fire in retaliation, Haarr, German Invasion of Norway, 40
20 If there was one thing, Macclure, ‘Gladiators in Norway’
21 missing a low-flying, Fitzgerald, 32
22 Narvik in Allied … we are?, ibid., 37
23 all the battles … experiences, ibid., 16
24 For submarines, please, ibid., 25
25 quite inadequate, London Gazette, Supplement, 3/7/1947, 297
26 I must point … ruled out, At the Admiralty, 1096
27 seldom greater than, London Gazette, 8/7/1947
28 Until snow melts, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 223
29 most urgent, At the Admiralty, 1083
30 an assault … success, ibid.
31 to sit down, ibid., 1084
32 failure to take Narvik … reasons, ibid., 1105
33 why we are … wrong, Amery, Diaries, vol. 2, 587
34 There was no apparent, Spectator, 9/5/1940
35 He always imagined, Maisky, 353
36 The question of who, Godfrey, vol. 7, 127
37 pondered a good, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 490
38 iron of the Dardanelles, ibid., 496
39 Of all the harebrained, Pownall, 282
40 might … prove a Gallipoli, Oliver Harvey, Diplomatic Diaries, 339
41 a little worried, Colville, Fringes of Power, 104
42 bruised … offensive operations, Maisky, 455
43 I thought he, Soames, Winston and Clementine, 107
44 there were political, Mackesy, ‘Churchill on Narvik’
45 that Winston is worried, PA LG/g/241/1
46 determined that he, Beesly, 124
47 the damaging deadlock, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 225
48 to start monkeying, Ironside, 262
49 at once unexpected, At the Admiralty, 1078
50 How can one, Mackesy, ‘Churchill on Narvik’
51 sheer bloody murder, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 224
52 So far as I am, ibid., 224
53 in a thoroughly disgruntled, Ironside, 269
54 non-existent … neutralisation, Derry, 153
55 so evidently contemplated, Churchill, Gathering Storm, 487
56 taken aback, At the Admiralty, 1084
57 Where is the oil? Geoffrey Shakespeare, 229
58 Should you consider, At the Admiralty, 1086
59 If this Officer, ibid., 1118
60 the apparent lack … operation, ibid., 1113
61 test the snow … exhausting, Kersaudy, 127
62 What is really, At the Admiralty, 1110
63 It is a curious … available, Fitzgerald, 26
64 There is not … proposed, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 226
65 3.30 Romilly taken, CA CHU 4/142, Romilly diary
66 Negative embarkation … the shore, Fitzgerald, 28
67 We want a bit, Haarr, Battle for Norway, 29
68 he is unlucky, Pownall, 304
69 an unlucky star … mistake, Harvey, 339
70 Attack at dawn, Anthony Dix, The Norway Campaign and the Rise of Churchill, 60
71 It was suicidal, Trond Kristiansen interview with author, 15/10/2015