While England Slept

“We should lay aside every hindrance and endeavor by uniting the whole force and spirit of our people to raise again a great British nation standing up before all the world; for such a nation, rising in its ancient vigor, can even at this hour save civilization." – Winston S. Churchill

In 1938, British statesman The Rt. Hon. Winston S. Churchill, a former military officer and member of the House of Commons, penned his Arms and the Covenant, published in the United States as While England Slept; a Survey of World Affairs, 1932–1938. The book is a powerful collection of his speeches warning that England was not at all prepared for the inevitability of war with Germany.

While England Slept is published here in its original classic form with the preface and notes by Churchill’s son, Randolph S. Churchill.

Churchill emphasized the United Kingdom's lack of military preparation to face the threat of Nazi Germany's Anschluss and expansion, and argued against the appeasement policies of the British government, led by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who said “Peace for our time.” The book spurred many English citizens to oppose the dovish philosophy of the Munich Agreement, and in doing so, Churchill singlehandedly changed the course of history.

Still reeling from the aftermath of the upheaval of World War I, during the 1930s, although England was moving stealthily closer to another war, the majority of the country was still not prepared militarily, economically, or emotionally; and an anti-war sentiment dominated British society. Most English citizens believed that England could not rely on its great imperial powers to protect it anymore. Moreover, no army had successfully crossed the English Channel, Britain's main natural barrier protection, since William the Conqueror in 1066.

Churchill was right and England did declare war on Germany. In 1940, Chamberlain resigned, replaced by Churchill as Prime Minister. His speeches and radio broadcasts helped cement British morale, leading to England and the Allied forces ultimate victory over Nazi Germany.

“There is no greater mistake than to suppose that platitudes, smooth words, timid policies, offer today a path to safety. Only by a firm adherence to righteous principles sustained by all the necessary “instrumentalities,” to use a famous American expression, can the dangers which close in so steadily upon us and upon the peace of Europe be warded off and overcome. That they can be overcome must be our hope and our faith.”– Winston S. Churchill