Day 1 (DDRD 1,295*): May 19, 2021
And what have we here? 22 pages of introductory material, 584 pages of text proper, 95 pages of indices & 35 pages of Index for a grand total of 736 pages. @ 20 pages per day, this should take 37 days to complete, making End Day June 25th. And then...I'll have read (according to the material written on the back cover) 1.5 million words from Winston Churchill. That's a whole lot of words. According to Somebody Who Should Know that I found on the internet, that's about twice as many words as are contained in the complete works of William Shake-speare. Wow. And to think, Churchill wrote a shitload of other books as well.
Also interesting is that the price of this book was $9.95 when it was published in 1985, yet I bought the whole 6 volume set (in an attractive slipcase) for $9.99 from Half-Price Books. Which is good for me, of course, but kind of sad in the larger context. Also, that means that the whole set would have cost $59.70 when it came out...and no slipcase.
ANYway...onward.
Read to page xx today. Which didn't quite get me all the way through the introductory stuff, but tomorrow I'll be there...and the first chapter of the first book is "D Day."
* Also Day 31 for Volume V. I felt compelled to have a look at this final volume right away rather than wait for tomorrow, so it's a crossover day.
Day 2 (DDRD 1,296): May 20, 2021
Read to page 20. And D-Day has arrived. My question about why they didn't bomb the shit out of the coast has been answered: they did. But there was a 50 mile stretch to cover, the pillboxes were pretty resilient, and the Germans were quick to bring up more troops. Also, it seems that not all of the beach landings were as dire as the Omaha Beach one. In fact, according to History.com (https://www.history.com/news/d-day-casualties-deaths-allies)
"...the Allies suffered 10,000 total casualties on D-Day itself. The highest casualties occurred on Omaha beach, where 2,000 U.S. troops were killed, wounded or went missing; at Sword Beach and Gold Beach, where 2,000 British troops were killed, wounded or went missing; and at Juno beach, where 340 Canadian soldiers were killed."
I'd assume this means that the "other" casualties were spread out a bit more...and that not all of those were casualties were deaths. Which would make Omaha Beach by far the worst disaster of the invasion.
And of course the Omaha Beach landing is the one depicted in Saving Private Ryan. Which I felt the need to watch, and since God alone knows where my copy is, I checked it out of the library. It took me years (literally) to work up to watching it the first time...and several failed attempts...so I can't say I look forward to watching it again...but I think I'm going to do it.
News as it happens.
Day 3 (DDRD 1,297): May 21, 2021
Read to page 40.
Churchill tells this story about his visit to the front after the D-Day invasion: "One poor man was to have a serious operation, and was actually on the table about to take the anaesthetic. I was slipping away when he said he wanted me. He smiled wanly and kissed my hand. I was deeply moved, and very glad to learn later on that the operation had been entirely successful." (24)
There aren't a hell of a lot of politicians I can picture doing this these days. Joe Biden, I think. Actually nobody else.
Day 4 (DDRD 1,298): May 22, 2021
Read to page 62. First disagreement in strategy between Churchill and FDR. FDR wins the argument, of course. I don't understand it well enough or know history well enough to be able to say whether or not Churchill was right.
Day 5 (DDRD 1,299): May 23, 2021
Read to page 80.
Day 6 (DDRD 1,300): May 24, 2021
Read to page 100. So much has changed. Russia is kicking Germany's ass. France and Italy are fielding armies against the Germans. Victory seems imminent. No more than 484 pages away, I'll warrant.
Day 7 (DDRD 1,301): May 25, 2021
Read to page 120. Stalin is being pissy again. Big surprise.
Day 8 (DDRD 1,302): May 26, 2021
Read to page140.
In today's reading, Churchill is talking about civilians in Poland trying to fight back against the Nazis, and how they are seriously unequipped to do this. They do not have the proper weapons. There's a line in a letter he writes to Roosevelt which says, "Our sympathies are aroused for these 'almost unarmed people' whose special faith has led them to attack German tanks, guns, and planes...." (123) Churchill wants to help, but FDR is dragging his feet because Stalin doesn't want the Allies going in...and they need Russian airfields to drop supplies. Stalin wants to let the Nazis wipe out all of the non-Communist Poles, then he can move in and wipe out the Nazis and take control of the country. What a motherfucker.
This passage touched me for several reasons, most of them obvious. But not-obvious: I don't know if it's true or not, but I once heard that Polish jokes, which were big in my youth, actually owed their origin to this situation in World War II, because the Poles attacking tanks with bottles of gasoline and ranks was just so fuckin' funny. Wow. So much for respect for human dignity and courage, right?
And this just in from the Churchill Is Kind Of Weird, And I Like That In A Man Department:
Day 9 (DDRD 1,303): May 27, 2021
Read to page 160.
Here's a thing which caught my eye: "In the autumn of 1942, at the peak of the struggle for Guadalcanal, only three aircraft-carriers where float; a year later there were fifty; by the end of the war there were more than a hundred." (154)
Which made me wonder...how many aircraft carriers does the USofA have now? And according to our friends at Wikipedia, the answer is 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁11. In fact, the Wikans say that there are only 44 aircraft carriers in the world now...divvied up between 14 navies. (HERE) What's up with that? I don't know, but I do know that as Churchill's attention shifts to the Pacific Theater (they're already talking about how to divide up Germany "after the war" in the European Theater), I find myself (1) wanting to visit an aircraft carrier and (2) wanting to read Ian Toll's Pacific War Trilogy. But I think I'm still going to read László Krasznahorkai's Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming for my next Daily Devotional Reading project...which should be about a month from now.
Day 10 (DDRD 1,304): May 28, 2021
Read to page 180.
Churchill made reference to the fact that during a battle at the island of Leyte, the Japanese made their first suicide bomber attack. Since that battle was late in 1944, I was dubious...but sure as shit, the Wikans (and National Geographic) backed him up. Hmph. I thought that was how the Japanese started the war with America.
Speaking of the Japanese...in a reference to the Japanese Admiral Kurita turning back after a successful naval battle against the Americans, Churchill says, "Those who have endured a similar ordeal May judge him." (162) I love the way Churchill is magnanimous even to his enemies when he could just as easily have used this incident to illustrate the cowardice of the Japanese commander.
Day 11 (DDRD 1,305): May 29, 2021
Read to page 200.
Day 12 (DDRD 1,306): May 30, 2021
Read to page 220.
Day 13 (DDRD 1,307): ☖May 31, 2021☖
Memorial Day. That's ⤴ as close as I could get to a tombstone emoji.
Read to page 240.
Day 14 (DDRD 1,308): June 1, 2021
Read to page 260.
Here's something which sounded kind of familiar:
As Greece tries to re-establish its own government after the ousting of the Germans, the Communists attempt to take power. Churchill notes that, "The mob violence by which the Communists sought to conquer the city and present themselves to the world as the Government demanded by the Greek people could only be met by firearms." Immediately prior to this statement he had noted, "It is no use doing things like this by halves." (251)
Hmmm.
Day 15 (DDRD 1,309): June 2, 2021
Read to page 281.
Churchill brokers a peaceful solution to The Greek Problem. Got the impression that Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou (who became regent) was kind of a badass...but in a good way. Sounds like an interesting fellow. (Amongst other things, he was a former wrestler!) Interesting how initially Churchill thought he was a Communist and a disaster for Greece (due to the influence of the exiled Grecian King George II), but shortly after meeting him, Churchill did a 180. Yep.
P.S. Found some pictures online of Churchill and Archbishop Damaskinos (none of which were Public Domain, so you're on your own there), and they were kind of hilarious. Churchill looks like a Hobbit next to the Archbishop. That guy must have been seven feet tall!
Day 16 (DDRD 1,309): June 3, 2021
Read to page 301, which took me into the final "book" of the entire series, The Iron Curtain. We're now into December of 1944, which means that FDR has only a little more than 3 months to live. Churchill alluded to him not looking well when they met (with "Uncle Joe") at Yalta. Hmm. Just looked up Yalta Conference and it happened February 4th through 11th of 1945, so some portion of my information is obviously wrong. And...yep. The last missive reproduced in this part was dated January 29th, so FDR only has a little more than 2 months to live. Churchill and FDR have been pretty close, so I would think that this will have a huge effect on Churchill.
Day 17 (DDRD 1,310): June 4, 2021
Read to page 320.
Day 18 (DDRD 1,311): June 5, 2021
Read to page 340.
Day 19 (DDRD 1,312): June 6, 2021
Read to page 360.
Churchill to Saudi king, upon learning that alcohol and tobacco were forbidden on the premises: "My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them."
Day 20 (DDRD 1,313): June 7, 2021
Read to page 380.
Day 21 (DDRD 1,314): June 8, 2021
Read to page 400.
Looks like FDR actually wrote to Churchill on the day of his death-- April 12, 1945.
Day 22 (DDRD 1,315): June 9, 2021
Read to page 420.
Day 23 (DDRD 1,316): June 10, 2021
Read to page 440.
Today's Twenty included Churchill's first message to Truman. It began with "Prime Minister to President Truman" (15 April 45) Churchill sometimes began his messages to FDR the same way, but it was more common for him to refer to himself as Former Naval Person--a self-reference which implied humor, humility, and wit. I realize that it wouldn't be appropriate to start that way with President Truman, but I still felt the lack of it rather poignantly.
In other news...260 pages to go...13 days.... Hard to believe that this massive Daily Devotional Reading project will be over in less than two weeks. I am looking forward to spending some time with László Krasznahorkai's Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming, but I'm going to miss Mr. Churchill. I think I shall be coming back to him some day in the not so distant future.
Day 24 (DDRD 1,317): June 11, 2021
Read to page 462, which was the last page of Chapter XXXI, "Alexander's Victory in Italy." This leaves only nine chapters / 121 pages of the book proper. It occurred to me that I would rather go ahead and read the appendices now, and then come back to finish the text of the book. Since this is the last I will be reading of Churchill at least for a while, I would rather end with the actual last chapter of this book.
Day 25 (DDRD 1,318): June 12, 2021
Read pages 587 to 607. Which kind of killed the momentum, but I think it was the right way to finish this book...and this series. After 205 days of reading, who wants to end on the anticlimax of a series of Appendices? Not me.
Day 26 (DDRD 1,319): June 13, 2021
Read pages 608 to 630. (I like even numbers.) I think that means I can finish the appendices in two more days. And as there are only six more days needed for the rest of the text, that means in just a little over a week I will be moving on to a new book. Very exciting!
Day 27 (DDRD 1,320): June 14, 2021
Read pages 631 to 652. Goal: to 679 tomorrow! There are several pages of charts, lists, and at least one map, so this should be possible...and it will bring me to the end of the appendices.
And btw, today's "20" had one of my favorite ever Churchill comments:
"...Constantinople should never be abandoned, though for stupid people Istanbul may be written in brackets after it. As for Angora, long familiar with us through the Angora cats, I will resist to the utmost of my power its degradation to Ankara." (643)
The man sure is detail-oriented!
Day 28 (DDRD 1,321): June 15, 2021
Read pages 653 to 716...the last 36 pages of which were Index, but I still want credit for them. My eyes DID feed on every page, after all. Now it's back to the text proper at page 463! I'm pretty excited about that, actually. In fact, I kind of want to read a bit more today. Don't know that I have time for that, but we'll see! News as it happens.
Day 29 (DDRD 1,322): June 16, 2021
Read pages 463 to 484. 100 pages to go now! (Which is why I read an "extra" page today...I wanted to make it an even 100 pages to go.)
Day 30 (DDRD 1,323): June 17, 2021
And with a mere ten days to go before completing this rather daunting reading challenge, I find myself thinking more and more about Ian Toll's Pacific War Trilogy. For one thing, I'll have been in the world of World War II for 272 days / 6,241 pages by the time I finish off this Churchill set. For another thing, Grossman and Churchill both focused primarily on the European theater of the war, with just enough information about the Pacific Theater to make me want to know more. And for another thing, I started reading the first volume of Toll's series awhile back, and I thought he was a very good writer. So while I'm still looking forward to reading Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming...and have come to realize that if I don't do it as a Daily Devotional Reading, it probably won't get done for years...I'm also starting to think that I have it in me to read the 2,240 pages of The Pacific War Trilogy sooner rather than later. I'm poking around in the used bookstores right now to see what kind of prices I can find. On the way through that, I found that the first two volumes have already come out in paperback, and that they apparently have some extra pages. (And the third volume is due out in paperback in just a few weeks.) Of course, I could get all three volumes from the library for nothing, and I would kind of like to have a freebee there, but there is still that in me which wants to own my DDR books.
Decisions, decisions. News as it happens...but I think it's going to be Pacific Crucible : War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 as soon as I knock back Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming...which should only take 29 days or less.
As for today...
Read to page 510. Didn't really mean to go over the usual 20, but I got a bit caught up in Stalin's shenanigans. He was one wily son of a bitch, for sure...using the final movements of World War II to consolidate his power in Western Europe. Looks like the diversion of Allied forces to the Pacific Theater also worked in his favor, as he was able to exploit the attenuation of the Allies in Europe to take hold of Poland and other countries.
BTW...just did a little math, and in my 1,323 days of daily reading, I have now gone over 20,000 pages--20,419 to be precise. A respectable 15.4 pages per day average. And the notable thing about that is that it really doesn't take THAT much time to read 15 pages per day...but look what a mountain of pages has been climbed just by keeping at it.
Day 31 (DDRD 1,324): June 18, 2021
Read to page 538. Here are a couple of things I was particularly fond of:
and
We've switched back to the Pacific Theater...and Churchill's comments on that make me think that I see another reason why he did not win re-election to Prime Minister in 1945: he was very focused on finishing the war with Japan, and even suggested that the election be postponed until that was accomplished. Which makes sense, but I can also see how this would sound to a war weary people. So there's that.
Day 32 (DDRD 1,325):
June 19, 2021
The first ever officially recognized Juneteenth!
Read to page 567...which leaves a mere 17 pages. Seems like a shame to leave that for tomorrow...especially as it's only 8:19 am as I write this. Well, we'll see how it goes.
At one point in today's "20," Churchill says that Great Britain "emerged from the war with a great external debt of three thousand million pounds." (546) That's four billion dollars, which doesn't sound so bad...but of course that's in 1945 money. That's about $60 billion in today's money. Still doesn't sound so bad...but, of course, we're living in a time when our government is spending trillions of dollars in order to bring the country back from the brink of the Covid disaster.
P.S. And then I went to get a biometric screening, and took The Second World War with me, and ended up having twenty minutes of reading time. And then I went for a three mile walk, and when I got home after lunch I had a little lie down and read a bit more, then took a nap. And then I woke up and realized, "Shit, I've only got four pages left in this book!" So I finished it off.
It was a great read, for sure. I would like to come back to Mr. Churchill at some time...assuming I can find some stuff that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
DDR Day 1000 to Day 2000:
(1) Leviathan 63 days, 729 pages(2) Stalingrad 27 days, 982 pages
(3) Life and Fate 26 days, 880 pages
(4) The Second World War 34 + 32 + 40 + 43 + 31 + 32 days = 212 days, 4,379 pages
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