History is written by winners, and winners are glorified (often deified) by the history. Yet, when you take away the layers of glory and awe surrounding the historical figures we have idolized, we find that the men under it all are, after all... human.
The historical fiction Never Surrender by Michael Dobbs does just that to the great orator, writer and the greatest Briton of all times, Sir Winston Churchill. The novel covers the first three weeks of WW-II, when the biggest empire of the times was almost brought to knees by "a few panzers". With peace efforts failing, Winston Churchill (later Sir) became the His Majesty's First Minister.
But the odds were stacked completely against him, with Guderion and his panzer divisions routing the British Expeditionary Force, along with other European armies. U.S. President (advised by ambassador Joseph Kennedy) is loath to put any armament in the British hands for the fear they will definitely fall in German (and eventually Russian) hands when Britain surrenders. Not surprisingly, at home many people are thinking (and some are hoping) that Churchill will fail in his duty.
Interspersed among this story is the story of Donald Chichester, Nursing Orderly and non-combatant Conscientious Objector in the BEF. With his unit routed and in the retreat, he has to get himself and an injured French pilot back to friendly territory, which is shrinking day by day. Donald is also plagued by his fights with his father who served in WWI, and who disapproves of Donald's choice of being non-combatant.
Donald's story provides us with the on the ground picture of the historical defeat turned deliverance, when the expected evacuation figures of 30000 were exceeded ten times over, helped by luck, weather, courage and some unexpected manoeuvres of German troops. It also brings to light little known stories like that of Calais, where the garrison was ordered to fight until last man and last bullet, to give their comrades at Dunkirk a chance of evacuation.
Winston Churchill is also not the steadfast leader we have seen in the histories. Plagued by self-doubt and facing the ghost of his father, he is trying to get his hands around the disaster that is war. Within days, it seems the people calling for peace are right, as the BEF is completely cut off from their supply lines, the Royal Air Force is suffering heavy losses and Britain is in the danger of completely losing their Army.
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