Transcript

FDR & Churchill: A Friendship For the Ages with History Hit's Dan Snow | American History...

From American History Tellers · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 39 min · 7,104 words · 45 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "FDR & Churchill: A Friendship For the Ages with History Hit's Dan Snow | American History...", an episode of American History Tellers published December 11, 2024 (39 min, about 7,104 words). It mentions 9 people, works and ideas, including World War II, D-Day, Nazi domination, The Blitz, Battle of Britain.

What this episode is about

The discussion explores the profound friendship and collaboration between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II, highlighting how their relationship helped shape the Allied response to fascism. The conversation also delves into their early interactions, Churchill's visits to the White House, and significant events like D-Day that were influenced by their partnership.

Key takeaways

  • Even in crisis, Churchill's unyielding resolve overshadowed Britain's dire situation, rewriting the narrative of impending defeat.
  • America's post-Great Depression isolationism reveals a nation wary of foreign entanglements, despite global upheaval beckoning intervention.
  • Churchill's strategy: project strength and enlist America, proving that leadership often hinges on perception over reality.
  • The strong U.S.-U.K. bond forged in war underscores how necessity can transform adversarial histories into cohesive alliances.
  • In May 1940, with Hitler advancing, Churchill had not just a political crisis but an existential battle for democracy.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: World War II, D-Day, Nazi domination, The Blitz
  2. – 10:00: Battle of Britain, World War II, Nazi domination
  3. – 15:00: The Blitz, Battle of Britain
  4. – 20:00: World War II, The hidden history of the White House, BBC
  5. – 25:00: D-Day
  6. – 30:00: D-Day
  7. – 35:00: D-Day, World War II
  8. – 38:37: The hidden history of the White House

Notable quotes from "FDR & Churchill: A Friendship For the Ages with History Hit's Dan Snow | American History..."

  • Colonization but this show tries to also demonstrate the power of relationships in steering history the United States and Great Britain have had their share of conflict first…
    about American Revolutionary War · at
  • The BBC and PBS including an In-Depth series on D-Day we'll discuss how the British dealt with Hitler before the US entry into World War II Churchill's visit with Roosevelt at…
    about World War II · at
  • Speeches he has to make them Americans understand this is their fight because it's the fight of a free world against the horrors of Nazism and he even says to Roosevelt by the…
    about Nazi domination · at
  • Air force was so massive and powerful and terrifying it dwarfed the rir for the British Air Force and the British fought this Plucky Underdog battle to win and protect their…
    about Battle of Britain · at
  • And then they could deal with a more plant British prime minister and so London was attacked for months in a row there were fires that were worse in terms of their scale than…
    about The Blitz · at
  • British war effort perhaps even join the British war effort one of the most famous journalists in US history Edward AR Maro Ed Maro was here in London he would broadcast for…
    about BBC · at
  • The special relationship it was probably all leading to one shared and daring plan and that was D-Day history hit has covered D-Day in Vivid detail and I can imagine that this…
    about D-Day · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

Books & papers

  • The hidden history of the White House — Book · Referenced work · 3 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a source of information on Churchill's visit to the White House.
    And we have a chapter on the first visit in the book that was inspired by this podcast the hidden history of the White House power struggles scandals and defining moments and…

Companies & orgs

  • BBC — Company · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as the broadcaster where Dan Snow has presented history programs, including an in-depth series on D-Day.

Concepts & topics

  • Nazi domination — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at
    Central to the discussion of WWII and the motivations behind Churchill and Roosevelt's alliance.

Places & events

  • World War II — Event · Core topic · 5 mentions · first at
    Central theme of the episode, discussing the relationship between Churchill and Roosevelt during the war.
  • D-Day — Event · Key event · 8 mentions · first at
    Discussed as the culmination of Churchill and Roosevelt's efforts, a pivotal moment in WWII.
  • The Blitz — Event · Historical context · 4 mentions · first at
    Provided context for the challenges Britain faced during WWII, affecting Churchill's strategies.
  • Battle of Britain — Event · Historical context · 3 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a critical moment in WWII, showcasing Britain's resilience.
  • American Revolutionary War — Event · Historical context · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as part of the historical conflicts between the US and Britain.
  • War of 1812 — Event · Historical context · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as another historical conflict between the US and Britain.
    Colonization but this show tries to also demonstrate the power of relationships in steering history the United States and Great Britain have had their share of conflict first…

Full transcript with timestamps

wondering from Wonder I'm Lindsey Graham and this is American history tellers our history your story every once in a while American history tellers gets the chance to talk with someone who loves history as much as we do and today it's our Good Fortune to speak with British historian and TV presenter Dan snow host of Dan Snow's history hit podcast so much of history is decided by large events battles Explorations colonization but this show tries to also demonstrate the power of relationships in steering history the United States and Great Britain have had their share of conflict first in the American Revolutionary War and again in the War of 1812 but in the centuries since these two countries enjoy a strong bond and nowhere has that been more evident than in the friendship and working relationship between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and prime minister Winston Churchill as they LED their

countries in the fight against fascism one of the ways Churchill and Roosevelt came to know each other was during the visits Churchill made to the White House and we have a chapter on the first visit in the book that was was inspired by this podcast the hidden history of the White House power struggles scandals and defining moments and here with me today to further explore the special relationship between Churchill and Roosevelt is Dan snow he spent his career presenting history programs for the BBC and PBS including an In-Depth series on D-Day we'll discuss how the British dealt with Hitler before the US entry into World War II Churchill's visit with Roosevelt at the White House and then the culmination of their efforts D-Day at self my conversation with Dan snow was coming up

next Dan snow welcome to American history tellers thank you so much for having me it's a great honor the honor is all mine because you are a well-known champion of popular history and your show history hit covers a wide range of topics but there's a special focus on the rich history of the UK as one might imagine one figure who looms large in the 20th century is Winston Churchill so I'd love for you to take us back to the early days of World War II to May 1940 when Winston Churchill had just become Prime Minister what position was Churchill in and the country I suppose at the time you know what Lindsay you're totally right I'm lucky enough to talk about and make shows about history stretching from the Bronze Age all the way to the present day really but I do genuinely believe believe that there has never been a more dramatic week or fortnite in history than in May 1940 where Winston Churchill takes over the Reigns as prime

minister of Britain on exactly the same day that Hitler launches what is probably the most successful military offensive in history The Blitz cre through France and the low countries which will see the complete destruction of French British Belgian Allied armies in that theater of war in a matter of days and so Churchill becomes Prim minister at this Nader of the British historical story he's staring disaster in the face and Churchill has got a big big problem he's got to win a war against Germany on the continent of Europe but there are other threats Italy is lurking in the Mediterranean seemingly about to jump into the war against Britain Japan is threatening the British Empire in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean and so Churchill is juggling this crisis and the biggest problem he's got is he hasn't even really got the confidence of his own political party let alone the nation let alone the empire in the rest of the

world so he's got to go and build that up from scratch and he has a very simple strategy he projects absolutely unwavering strength and determination he's going to fight the Germans no matter what the cost because he identifies that narcism isn't like you know Napoleon bonapart Kaiser vilhelm Louis the 14th narcisism is something he as he sees it is pretty much unique in a thousand years of History Twisted science the true dark heart of humanity so he's going to project that resistance to Nazi domination and then he's going to get the Americans in he says to his son in May 1940 he says to his son my plan is to drag the Americans in that was it so the first order of business is Shore up the British front Shore up British politicians show up the British people to fight the Germans the second order of business is to get the USA involved yeah this um projection of confidence does seem to be at odds with reality on

the ground Britain's only allies are occupied Nations and America is reluctant to enter the war what do you know about this reluctance this isolationism it makes total sense the Americans didn't want to get dragged into another horrific war on the European continent when I go and visit cemeteries as you've done of young American men from Nebraska from Washington State and they traveled thousands of miles away they've crossed this Mighty ocean to die in a a muddy field outside Paris France it's completely understandable the Americans didn't want to get involved but Churchill needs them involved he tells them first of all I need Destroyers I need ships secondly I need aircraft and then he goes through a few other things he needs and then by the way he says to Roosevelt very early on in his Premiership he goes by the way we'll go on paying for as long as we can but um soon we're going to run out of money and

I hope you won't make us pay at that point as well well so he he lays it bare before the Americans but the Americans quite rightly are thinking we don't want to get involved in this war this is Europe's War this is a war of Empires it's a war of the old world here we are we've just recovered from the Great Depression we've recovered from the wounds of the first world war America is on its way to building the greatest most powerful economy the world's ever seen they don't want to get dragged into the past in some squabble in the European continent so Churchill has to make them believe with his rhetoric with his speeches he has to make them Americans understand this is their fight because it's the fight of a free world against the horrors of Nazism and he even says to Roosevelt by the way you're going to end up fighting Germany eventually you'd be a lot better off fighting Germany when you've still got a free and

independent Britain on your side so this period of early and mid 1940s is certainly a fraught one Churchill comes into office in May but by July and through October of 1940 the Battle of Britain was raging now this was an attempt by Hitler to control the Skies over the UK before an eventual ground Invasion today it's kind of remembered I suppose as a bit of a David versus Goliath story but I think it's understood that it's more complicated than that how so linday this is one of my favorite stories because it's really one of the areas of History where there is a powerful myth and that myth just is not true the idea was that the German air force was so massive and powerful and terrifying it dwarfed the rir for the British Air Force and the British fought this Plucky Underdog battle to win and protect their Skies from German domination now that's a story that Brits quite like it makes us sound kind of

cool it makes us sound Plucky and and exciting and tenacious actually you know the reality is completely the other way around first of all look at the aircraft sure the German air force was a bit bigger but lots of those aircraft were obsolete or they weren't fit for a purpose of resting Air Supremacy over Southern England off the British so actually in terms of Frontline fights in terms of the planes that are actually doing the fighting fast Interceptor fighter aircraft single cater armed with Cannon and machine guns state-of-the-art tight turning aircraft actually the Brits and the Germans had kind of equal numbers people may have heard of the Spitfire and the hurricane aircraft those were the two British Frontline Fighters the meses Smith famous mesmi 109 a fantastic German fighter they were pretty equally matched in fact in terms of the aircraft the Spitfire I'm obviously a bit biased I'd say was

slightly better but really the 109 and the Spitfire in particular were very very evenly matched but here's the true Advantage the British had they were fighting over home territory so if a hurricane or a Spitfire got shot down the pilot could bail out he'd pull open his canopy he'd jump out parachute to ground he could be back on his base the next day that afternoon we have examples of people that landed in the pub had a few beers uh and got a taxi back to their base they were flying the following day One Pilot was shot down three times in three days each day managed to get back to base and flew again so if a plane was shot out of the sky it didn't mean you lost a pilot now now the Germans are doing their fighting over Southern England say when their pilots bail out they're going straight into prisoner of war camps so they're losing far more pilots than they can replace on top of that the British have

got the secret weapon really one of the most important weapons of the second world war and that's radar radio Direction finding absolute Top Secret in fact it was so secret that initially all those German Jewish Refugee scientists that arrived escaping Hitler's thirdd Reich they were put to work on the atomic program because they were considered too dangerous to allow to work on the radar cuz radar was top top top secret so these physicists are like go away and see if you can split the atom and so radar allowed the Brits to see German raids gathering over France and North France coming across the channel so the Brits could send up individual interceptors individual squadrons to shoot down those raids and take a terrible toll before that aerial Warfare was just you go up with your mates in the morning you fly around a bit you hope you bump into the enemy and then you land instead now you stay on

the ground till that Bell Rings you climb up you pounce on a German bomber Force coming in you land you rearm you get back up there incredibly efficient so the Brits build the first ever 3D battle space for an aerial theater of combat and that is the deal breaker now this was also a time in the UK known as The Blitz because along with military targets increasingly civilian targets were bombed by the Germans this is um a Relentless bombardment that went on for 9 months a terrible disruption of ordinary life but I gather it wasn't all just huddling in shelters or bravely trying to ignore the risks and carry on this is also a nuanced story yeah this is very like the Battle of Britain there's a useful myth here for the Brits is that we are people that could just carry on and take it no matter what was thrown at us a story of social cohesion so elements of that myth are correct the German lford had come across they tried

to destroy the RAF they tried to rest control of the above Southern England in particular that's failed so they turned to Terror tactics they turned to just smashing British cities in the hope that whilst they might not be able to knock the RAF out of the war they can erode civilian morale they can force the British people to their knees they thought they could force Churchill out of office because he'd be so unpopular and then they could deal with a more plant British prime minister and so London was attacked for months in a row there were fires that were worse in terms of their scale than the legendary Great Fire of London in 1666 the British did tolerate unspeakable hardship they had to go down to the subway stations every night they had to take shelter and makeshift bomb shelters in the backyard they witnessed their streets their cities destroyed fires sweeping through they pulled together they volunteered to

go and fight fires they volunteered to patrol important buildings like hospitals my great grandpa was on the roof of a hospital all night he was one of the doctors in Hammer Smith hospital and he'd be up there with buck of water and sand putting out incend bombs they landed on the roof to protect his patients but there's another story about The Blitz and that is that things did get a bit loose there was an uptick in violence and all that street lights were put out there was no light pollution so the streets were very dark there was certainly crime when houses were hit and people scavenged through the remains of the houses and pillaged what personal items they might be able to find there food valuables there was a loosening of sexual behavior that the number of children children born out of wedlock uh rocketed it was a time both of people pulling together but also of individuals looking out for themselves taking

advantage of dislocation of Crisis there were stories that were suppressed at the time of people from poor areas of London industrial areas of London where they didn't have adequate bomb shelters hardly any bomb shelters in fact and they would make their way to the west side of town to the Richer parts of town where they knew that affluent people would be in nightclubs drinking partying listening to Jazz in deep basements protected from the bombing and they would try and bust in and get access to those spaces so were the signs of the social compact fraying but the government in those days there's no social media they controlled the narrative and the dominant narrative that was put out was of everyone doing their bit pulling together obeying the law and keeping their heads down during this time of persistent bombardment Churchill and his staff were forced to keep operations running in reinforced

War rooms beneath the Streets of London and I know in one of your episodes you visit these War rooms what were they like the government air a bunkers underneath whiteall which is the administrative heart of the British state they're some of the most special places in the UK today they are a network of tunnels of bunkers that were dug out before the war and in the early months of the war because it was clear that air power was going to play a critical part in the next war and Churchill actually famously liked going up on the roof he loved watching the bombs fall from the roof of Downing Street in the foreign office yet to be persuaded to get down below for his own personal safety so on the occasions when he was down there there were bedrooms you can still go and see his cot his Camp bed there's a cigar in the ashtray next to it his desk Churchill loved Maps there are maps all over the place he

needed to be able to visualize where the fighting was and what strength Allied and axis units were at so there's wonderful graphics and illustrations down there on all the walls there was a secure line to Roosevelt down there you can still see the tiny little room like a little phone booth if any of your listeners are old enough like I am to remember the days of pay phones is a little booth where you would go and have very very intimate conversations with Roosevelt through a secure Campbell underneath the Atlantic the air conditioning has been reconstructed the typing pools where the various liais and officers were at those were just locked up after the end of the second world war and only pretty recently really were they Declassified and turned into a museum you can walk in and see them as they were at the height of to the blitz at the height of the second world war and I think it's one of the most special

experiences you can have in Britain I thoroughly recommend it but it wasn't actually just the British government and military command that was operating underground because the American Media was too how did news from the UK reach the United States yeah that's right I mean the Americans were very present in London and I think the reports they were sending back the stories of resistance the stories of bravery and the stories of the horror inflicted by Hitler's aircraft those bombers helped to move the American public towards a place where they were ready to support the British war effort perhaps even join the British war effort one of the most famous journalists in US history Edward AR Maro Ed Maro was here in London he would broadcast for CBS from a basement below the BBC the British Broadcasting corporation's broadcasting house and he would send daily updates really on the destruction and death but also on the

lives of londoners the people carrying on trying to make the most of it so this is modern war correspondence that your listeners will be so familiar with and he used to begin his broadcasts with the iconic but is now the iconic phrase this is London and then he' end them by saying good night and good luck

well Lindsay now it's time for me to turn the tables on you because I want to know more about the American side of this story because after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor America is dragged into World War II Hitler then declares war on the USA days later for Churchill he sees this as something like salvation he's actually pleased about that he doesn't make any bones about it and he jumps on a ship almost as soon as possible and because he wants to be in the heart of the action he wants to get to the White House and he wants to meet American decision makers most of all the president tell me how does that trip go and how do they start forging that special relationship so with the Japanese attack and Germany declaring war on the US shortly after America was finally a full participant in the war but Churchill made this visit 10 rough days at Sea apparently because he worried that the US might Focus its

efforts on Japan rather than Germany so he essentially invited himself to The Wine House to shore up this special relationship between the US and Britain and between himself and FDR but there is this fascinating chapter in the American history tellers book the hidden history of the White House that does detail Church Hills visit the White House and these two men's time together which was rather long many days and stretching into weeks full of big dinners and long cocktail hours not exactly wartime deprivation but he was also very political their strategy talks went very late into the night and Churchill who's always described as a bit of a bulldog of a man seems to go to Great Lengths to show difference to Roosevelt one story I liked was that Church Hill apparently took to cherring FDR around in his wheelchair I guess simultaneously staying very close and intimate while also kind of subordinating himself

Churchill was a a man leading a country in need and he was smart enough to know how to develop a bond when Churchill heard the news of PE Harbor he didn't disguise the fact he was ecstatic he believed Britain was now saved well I think Britain was saved this was the moment that Churchill was hoping for and though it was a dark hope but he was the necessary push for The American Nation to get over its isolationism and recognize that the world was on fire and America was needed and then Churchill as you said jumps on a ship almost immediately and he arrives at the White House with all sorts of ideas all sorts of solutions and a big shopping list as well and he writes to his cabinet minister says that he was treated like a member of the family but he's clearly forging a very very close personal relationship tell me some more about that yeah well the trip starts pretty much with a press conference this is

Churchill's introduction to America and I think he knows that he has an act to play there's a a good scene in The Book of this first press conference the room is filled with both cigar and cigarette smoke as both leaders were inveterate smokers but the reporters are clicking their cameras and and anxious to get information from FDR in Churchill and FDR knows that this is his opportunity to sell the British predicament to the American public and wants to show off Churchill to Americans in fact he does show him off he tells Churchill to show himself to the cameras through the porters and Churchill in typical Bluster gets up on a chair and waves his cigar around as cameras click then one of the reporters asks Churchill in another humorous moment Mr Minister can you tell us when you think we may lick these boys and um a slightly befuddled Churchill has to be told what the American colloquial liit means and once he

finally grasps it means to defeat he retorts in a very churchi way if we manage it well then it will only take half as long as if we manage it badly right from the start Churchill is on a charm offensive he needs to charm Roosevelt he needs to charm Congress he needs to charm the press and ultimately the American people sounds to me from your book like he needs to elanar Roosevelt as well he wasn't the easiest guest he had a man of appetites oh a man of appetites for sure but Elanor I'm glad you bring her up she was not especially pleased with her husband because it was only upon Churchill's arrival that she discovered he was visiting Franklin had told Eleanor that there was a guest coming and that they should prepare for copious amounts of food Cognac and champagne but for National Security he did not not tell his own wife that it was the Prime Minister who was visiting and then I learned from your book he drank a lot of

booze and some of that was before breakfast yeah Churchill's tastes were peculiar and copious so he demanded or I guess requested that he have a glass of cherry uh before his breakfast and for breakfast he wanted something hot and something cold and well the Americans obliged they gave him bacon and eggs certainly more eggs than Churchill was probably accustomed to with rashing back home and he also there an unexpected encounter when Roosevelt um stumbled across Churchill completely naked yeah apparently the president wanted to have a meeting right then and he was told that Churchill was in the bath and that didn't bother Franklin and it didn't bother Churchill either and I think that says a great deal about the two men that um maybe perhaps FDR was intent on catching Churchill at a fragile moment but Churchill was intent on turning it to his Advantage he leapt out of the bath showed his full naked body and said

see Mr President I have nothing to hide it's a fun story but it does feel like the beginning of a very very close relation between two Sovereign Nations fighting alongside each other at War church and Roosevelt they managed to keep things very tight between these two Nations yeah I I think they had to the B story is probably indicative of the relationship as a whole it is one of shared needs and ideals but one of testing each other's strengths and weaknesses these are two very strong men leading in dire times and they need to be absolutely certain that each one of them is trustworthy it's an allegory for their relationship but I think this is a moment in which these men personify their Nations what do you think was achieved across those three weeks that church WIll spent at the White House well I think as we hinted at it cemented the special bond between the these two leaders they agreed on a number of

crucial strategies one thing that Churchill did acques to was Roosevelt's demand for a single Command Center in Washington and having these Supreme Allied commanders in Europe and Asia one source of direction for the military operations and this might have been in response to America's position in World War I in which her troops you know fought under British and French command and chaed a bit at it but I think crucially Churchill got from FDR what he wanted a promise that the United States would fight Germany first because I think Roosevelt and his military advisers had already determined that Germany was the more dangerous foe with more resources and Industrial capacity and it's interesting is that there's a mix of Good Vibes and relationship building but also very practical things like pooling shipping and more arms and Munitions heading over to Britain so a successful trip and the start of a

successful well you you'd say friendship wouldn't you I mean they spent a lot of time together during the second world war they spent a lot of time together of course they communicated hundreds if not thousands of times by letter Telegram and phone call these were by necessity probably the two closest people on on the planet separated by thousands of

miles so if Churchill's visit to the White House was perhaps the beginning of the special relationship it was probably all leading to one shared and daring plan and that was D-Day history hit has covered D-Day in Vivid detail and I can imagine that this was a plan that went through several iterations what were Churchill's early thoughts about striking back against Germany this is a great question is he because Churchill was initially a bit reluctant to head back into the cockpit of violence that was Northwest Europe everyone who studies European military history realizes that Northwest Europe is where Empires go to Juke it out that's where Napoleon that's where the Kaiser that's where Louis the 14th that is where the game of Empires is settled and it's because of the geography and it's because of the sea and it's because all kinds of interesting reasons but Churchill didn't want to go back there

he'd been in the trenches on the Western Front in the first world war he said chewing barbed wire on the west front there must be other alternatives to that he was always looking for opportunities attacking the Baltic attacking the Balkans attack up through Italy he thought there must be other ways of cracking this tough European problem other than just going Landing marching across France and Belgium like his ancestor done like he done in 1914 to 18 and dealing with those same casualties and so he managed to get that so-called second front postponed it would not happen in 1942 despite hows of the Soviet Union Stalin going please land in France please take the pressure off me it would not happen in 1942 Churchill managed to get it postponed it did not happen in 1943 instead Allied troops would Advance up Italy but it would happen in 1944 and Churchill took a lot of persuading that the plan was in place

and they would land with success and even more important than the landing they'd be able to deal with the vaunted German armored divisions after they landed one of your history hit episodes um goes through the very first 90 minutes of D-Day as if it was in real time and in preparing for it you talk to people who were there as the Armada left the British shores as Witnesses and combatants what was the departure scene like as troops headed out to Normandy well I could talk about this all day because I've been so lucky to meet so many of these veterans and one told me he was a Commando and he sailed down out of Southampton round the aisle of white and the was ships and boats the biggest Fleet ever assembled in history something like 7,000 ships and boats in all and a good chunk of them were in this stretch of water called the solent behind the aisle of white very near where I am now actually and he said as

they came down he was in the first wave and fog horns and horns were going off on the decks these ships and ships whistles and there was this sound and he said it was like coming out of the tunnel at Wembley about to play a soccer match for England Wembley's our National Stadium and he said it was so pumped up that at that exact moment if my own Nan had walked past my own Grandma had walked past in a German uniform I'd have slaughtered her on the spot I'll never for getet that you know this is a guy who's 19 20 years old and he's just sliding out from British Shores heading across to a very uncertain Fate on the German occupied French Coast but in the opening minutes that unit they did get a Shore and they got a Shore reasonably safely with not so many casualties on the beach they landed there had been very effective preparation air strikes which had suppressed the Germans in their bunkers there had been a massive

Naval bombardment a huge Gathering of battleships out to seea we have a cruiser we have a ship left called HMS Belfast now a museum ship and that cracked some of the porcelain and the toilets in the ship's heads so great were the vibrations caused by the ship's guns firing again and again so those shells were landing on the beach and they were suppressing those German positions and then there was the floating tanks these strange floating tanks championed by Church and others and they would go in and provide armored support exactly as those troops those Commandos landed on the shore so actually on sword Beach where this one Commander I mentioned where he landed they got a Shore there were some casualties but they managed to break through Hitler's Atlantic Wall and they were advancing into Normandy you know minutes after they landed there was of course one exception to that Omaha Beach where the Americans fought a

terrifically hard battle against German positions if anyone's been to Omar Beach they'll know that there's Cliffs there there's Bluffs the Germans have the advantage of height uh it is a terrifying place to land the Germans for various reasons were greater state of Readiness and the Americans there took terrible casualties as they fought heroically into and through those German positions I'm glad you bring up the German state of Readiness because the success of D-Day pretty much hinged on the element of surprise why were the Germans not expecting the Allies to land in Normandy you're right there's tactical Readiness and then the Strategic Readiness as well and that the Germans didn't think the Allies were going to land in Normandy it's about 60 mi from where I am now on the coast of the UK to the Normandy Beach in fact about 70 Mi at its closest the channel is only 20 mi so if you go from Dover in

Kent across to Cal it's only 20 mil so of course the Assumption was they'd attack across the Narrows and Hitler was convinced Hitler had a meeting with a Japanese military official in Berlin and the Japanese official reported it back to Japan and we were able to we know this because the code Breakers at that time were able to decrypt and intercept this message it's reported that Hitler was sure there'd be a diversionary attack in Normandy but the main attack would come across the Narrows in Cal and that's for for several reasons double agents were feeding Hitler that information there was something called Operation Fortitude which was a massive deception campaign there was a fake US Army group the best General the Allied best General was thought to be General Patton the American General who' showed his excellence in North Africa and Italy and he was stuck in K he was Furious about that he was stuck in Kent with a

fake Army issuing orders making public appearances inspecting dummy tanks made out of plastic and Boler wood and rubber fake landing craft so he was making as much noise as he could in Kent while the real Force left from the area where I am now around the aisle of white Portsmouth and Southampton and went that further distance across the channel so the Allies just ran rings around the Germans there was another fake Army in Scotland in fact to make the Germans believe that actually the second front would be Norway it would drive the Germans out of occupied Norway so the Germans did not have a clue what was going on and as a result when even after D-Day Landings had begun Hitler was not convinced this was the main effort Hitler wanted to keep elite units in and around Cal to wait for the Allied Landings there that he was expecting at any time so as this operation goes on minutes turn to hours

I assume it is a tense time with Churchill and Roosevelt in London and Washington closely monitor during events but far away from the action what did Churchill say to the House of Commons this is a great moment because in fact Churchill was Furious Churchill wanted to be present at D-Day and in fact Eisenhower was furious at Churchill Churchill wanted to go along on one of the battleships and watch the bombardment and be there as it was all happening and in the end King George V 6 said you are absolutely not to go to D-Day so instead Churchill was in the UK and he went to Parliament on the 6th of on the day of those D-Day Landings it's just a reminder that in parliamentary democracies the business of being accountable to Parliament didn't come to an end just as the American elections went ahead even though it was a time of War so Churchill had to pay attention he had to go to Parliament and he had to

inform MPS and via the MPS their constituents the British people he had to inform them on the progress the war Churchill shares this speech is so exciting he shares the kind of intelligence that he's getting from the battlefield he says reports are coming in in Rapid succession so far the commanders who are engaged report that everything is proceeding according to plan and what a plan he calls it this vast operation undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult that has ever taken place and I'm not sure he's wrong about that I mean it's always a little bit of Churchill overstatement but actually in June 1944 it's hard to think of anything that ever taken place on a bigger scale than D-Day and he goes through some of the challenges that the troops faced he talks about how tactical surprise has been attained and we hope to furnish the enemy with a succession of surprises during the course of the

fighting and then as with all these Churchill speeches comes back to one of his Central points and that is the centrality of his alliance with the United States of America he says complete Unity prevails through the Allied armies there is a Brotherhood in arms between us and our friends of the United States the quickest way to win World War II was the great Powers working as closely as possible together that's particularly the United States in the British Empire and Hitler's only chance of success for example by this stage is to try and drive a wedge between the British and the Americans and Churchill was just not going to let that happen I'd love to ask you Lindy is FDR under the same kind of pressures to talk to the American people on the 6th of June well Roosevelt was he was a leader of a Nation who was actively involved in day just as much as the British and by this point had committed

much of the nation's treasure and their young men to the effort so he too had to face the American public and apprise them of what's going on he did so via radio he asked them to join him in prayer saying about the men fighting on the continent that they will need thy blessings their Road will be long and hard for the enemy is strong he may hurl back our forces success may not come with rushing speed but we shall return turn again and again and we know that by thy Grace and by the righteousness of our cause our sons will Triumph so I think he took the same tack that success is assured we have been talking about two leaders from 80 years ago though while both very smart and cunning men they face great challenges it makes me think to ask what lessons we can draw from their relationship that we might apply today in a very different world yeah I think that's very interesting clearly well look we're all imperfect

they were both imperfect men there's a huge debate here in the UK about Churchill hero villain and and actually he's he's all those things he's he's everything he he was the man who attempted to preserve the British Empire who didn't want to give India its independence and yet the man who also defended liberal democracy in Britain you know he was a bundle of contradictions a truly extraordinary man but clearly the right person at the right time for that particular job I'm fascinated by Coalition Warfare those coalitions are capable of delivering such enormous resources which in modern industrial Total War is the key to success and when you can harness a coalition when you can bring together the intelligence gathering the Manpower the industrial output it's very very hard to defeat those big coalitions but they take a very particular kind of leader to make them work and Roosevelt and Churchill were prepared to

compromise they were prepared to give and take and they also prepared to accept that each of their Nations each of their publics had different agendas and that was okay and their job was to try and triangulate that and that I think is the great lesson of leadership in a coalition you don't get every single thing that you want but my goodness you're a lot more powerful when you fight with allies I put it back you Lindsay what are the lessons that you draw the lessons of Coalition the strength of Coalition is an obvious one but one of the larger lessons from Churchill and Roosevelt in particular is the importance of relation ships building relationships understanding what trust means understanding that loyalty is a give and take that there are compromises always to be made that ego is always to be put aside I think from Churchill and Roosevelt and many many other great leaders this is the

lesson you will always learn yeah you're totally right and keep your eye on the big prize and you may have to swallow one or two things you don't like on the way there but the prize is there Dan this has been an enormous amount of fun a bit different than we normally do but I enjoyed it so much I am a big fan of your history hit podcasts and videos especially the most recent one I watched on dday thank you for talking to me today on American history tellers thanks so much I feel I've learned a lot thank you Lindsay for that that was my conversation with historian and broadcaster Dan snow check out his podcast Dan Snow's history hit wherever you get your podcasts from wondery this has been a special episode of American History tellers for more on Churchill's visit to the White House check out the book inspired by this podcast the hidden history of the White House power struggles scandals and defining moments

you can find more information about the book in our show notes on the next episode we'll be wrapping up our series on the Transcontinental Railroad with an interview with Sue Lee historian and former executive director of the Chinese Historical Society of America she joins me to talk about the experience of Chinese railroad workers the dangers they faced and the Legacy they left

American history tellers is hosted edited and executive produced by Me Lindsey Graham for Airship sound designed by Molly boach music by Lindsey Graham this episode was produced by poly Striker and Alita rosanski our senior interview producer is Peter aruni managing producer Desi block senior managing producer Callum ples senior producer Andy Herman and executive producers are low Beckman Marshall Louie and arino flarity for Wonder

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "FDR & Churchill: A Friendship For the Ages with History Hit's Dan Snow | American History..."?

Lindsey Graham (Host), Dan Snow (Guest).

What is "FDR & Churchill: A Friendship For the Ages with History Hit's Dan Snow | American History..." about?

The discussion explores the profound friendship and collaboration between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II, highlighting how their relationship helped shape the Allied response to fascism. The conversation also delves into their early interactions, Churchill's visits to the White House, and significant events like D-Day that were influenced…

What is mentioned in this American History Tellers episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including World War II, D-Day, Nazi domination, The Blitz, Battle of Britain, The hidden history of the White House. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "FDR & Churchill: A Friendship For the Ages with History Hit's Dan Snow | American History..."?

The episode runs 39 min; the transcript is about 7,104 words in 45 timestamped sections.

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About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.