World Leaders in Wartime: Winston Churchill

Winston S. Churchill served as a wartime leader in the twentieth century’s two global wars. His posts during the Great War included service as First Lord of the Admiralty, akin to our Secretary of the Navy and, as such, set British naval policy until his removal following the failure at Gallipoli in mid-1915. During the Second World War, Churchill served as the unwavering leader of the United Kingdom shepherding the country from near certain defeat in 1940 through the Allied victory over the Third Reich in Europe. Despite his failures during the First World War, Churchill’s stubbornly optimistic leadership was uniquely suited for the crises presented by the second global war.

COL (Ret) Dave Cotter is the Dean of Academics, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Chief Academic Officer of Army University, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was formerly the Director of the Department of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School. Dr. Cotter is a retired military officer of 32 years’ experience including combat deployments in command of a battalion and, subsequently, a brigade.

The Ft. Leavenworth Series is an annual roster of lectures focusing on significant historical events, usually with an emphasis on military history. Each lecture is presented by faculty from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Established by General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1881, the CGSC is the graduate college for U.S. Army and sister service officers. The esteemed faculty and guests of the CGSC provide unique and captivating insights into the history of military conflict from the ancient to the modern ages at the Dole Institute of Politics.