What Was Churchill's Response To The Pre-Great War

The biggest reforms Churchill brought involved the education of naval officers, the progressive switch from coal to oil as the main source of fuel for ships, the “bigger is better” mentality when it came to ships and gunnery, and more accurate gunnery by means of adapting to technological advancement. Churchill was shocked that officers did not have to study or pass an exam on naval warfare and that no British officer had contributed anything to naval literature. Churchill was also outraged and baffled after witnessing a gunnery exercise in June of 1912 off the coast of Malta conducted by the Mediterranean fleet. After the fleet finished, he questioned the admiral in command about the number of hits the gunners made on the target and the admiral responded that none had hit. When Churchill showed obvious shock, the admiral told him, “Well, you see, First Lord, the shells seem to have either fallen just short of the target or else just a little beyond it.” Predictably, Churchill’s reaction to this statement was not enjoyable to behold. This incident, and the statement by the admiral, is a good example of the state of the British Royal Navy pre-Great War and shows the starting point for what Churchill had to work with. The same way Churchill approached any situation, his first instinct was to learn everything he possibly could after …show more content…
The only two important military figures who had actually seen war were Field Marshal Lord Kitchener and Winston Churchill. Churchill was not about to leave war to naïve generals and admirals and involved himself deeply in running the war effort. He made several visits to the front lines in Belgium, fought hard in the attempt to save Antwerp and never shied away from a chance to observe first hand anything that was going on, even if it put him in a dangerous