Five Brothers and a War

May 10, 1940

Two momentous events occurred on May 10, 1940, and they were not entirely unrelated. Almost to the day, five years later, as war ended, it was very clear they were inexorably related, as it is almost certain that without the second, the first would not have been resolved in anything approaching a satisfactory manner. In the very early hours of the day, Hitler launched his invasion of Holland. A few hours later, Neville Chamberlain resigned as Prime Minister, and King George VI summoned Winston Churchill to request that he become the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Few could have provided the leadership necessary for the defeat of Hitler that Churchill did. In a modern world of feckless politicians, Churchill stands out as a beacon of leadership. On his feelings of May 10, 1940, Churchill later wrote, “I felt as if I was walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and this trial. I slept the sleep of the just.” Prior to Dutch capitulation on May 13, Churchill gave one of his most famous of his numerous famous speeches, during which he declared that “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.” He continued, “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory. victory at all costs—victory in spite of all terror—Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.” While Churchill slept the sleep of the just, the van Pelts slept the sleep of the worried. That morning had begun being awakened by the roar of aircraft overhead. The battle of Den Haag had begun, and it began with a vengeance as the Germans had intended to capture the Queen and the rest of the royal family. As the city was the seat of government, they also meant to take the government officials into custody.

the war

Five Brothers and a War

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