Defender of the Realm

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Note: This episode is the third part of a crossover storyline that spanned the other shows in the USA Action Extreme Team lineup. The crossover began in episodes of Street Fighter ("The Warrior King") and Savage Dragon ("Endgame"), and concluded in Wing Commander Academy ("Recreation"). [2] Guest Voices: Neil Ross (Shang Tsung), John Vernon (Shao Kahn), Peter Renaday (Shadow Priest) The only two individuals he could not dominate were Roosevelt and Stalin. Roosevelt, because he desperately required American military might to defeat the Nazis. Stalin, because after 1941 the Soviet Union was the main military opponent of Hitler’s Germany. Both Roosevelt and Churchill were duped and felt they could negotiate with Stalin. Stalin’s occupation of Eastern Europe showed how mislead they were. Winterhalter, Ryan (July 8, 2010). "Five truly horrendous TV shows based on videogames". GamesRadar . Retrieved June 8, 2014. As the book begins, Churchill pursued two crucial wartime objectives. The first was to inspire the British people in the fight against Nazi Germany, which was poised on the shores of the English Channel to invade Great Britain, even as they bombed England during the “Blitz.” Second, he sought to secure the support of the United States, even as President Franklin Roosevelt was fighting against the forces of isolationism that were gripping the American people. On May 10, 1940, King George VI accepted Neville Chamberlain’s resignation as prime minister of the United Kingdom and its empire. Early that morning, Hitler had unleashed the German blitzkrieg on the Low Countries initiating the western front of the European Theater of the greatest war in human history. Before the day ended, King George had appointed the sixty-five-year-old Winston Churchill to replace Chamberlain and lead the government and its war effort to oppose Hitler. Thus, begins DEFENDER OF THE REALM, third volume of William Manchester’s masterly biography of Winston Churchill, THE LAST LION.

I close with a few choice examples of Reid’s narrative. On his combative style of debate, Sir Ian Jacob noted that he would “debate, browbeat, badger, and cajole those who were opposed to him, or whose work was under discussion.” Reid’s summary: Alfie wants nothing more than to be a normal 14 year old boy. Unfortunately for him he's heir to the throne of England and keeper of a family secret passed down from generation to generation since the time of Alfred the Great. When his father dies unexpectedly, Alfie suddenly finds himself as the new king thrust into a battle he didn't even know existed. Churchill got wind of the coup and defeated it saying we are not going to surrender. We are going to fight to the death.This was a long read, but well worth the time. While this book is the last in a trilogy by William Manchester on the life of Winston Churchill, it covers World War II from the British perspective. Paul Reid was selected by Manchester to complete this this volume using Manchester’s research notes. The writing style is very readable. While reading this biography, I always felt compelled to keep reading, not just to finish a long read, but to understand this man without whom the world today would be completely different.

Alfie as a main character is intriguing. Flawed, in over his head, but doing his best through circumstances he can't control is my favorite type of hero. I would have liked to see more of Hayley as a narrator, but at its core, this is Alfie's story. On his attitude on his buddy Lord Beaverbrook, whom he tapped to get aircraft production up by hook or by crook:I think Churchill's determination to win the war and destroy Hitler, and his boldness from the start of the war, was crucial for victory. At the same time, it was astonishing to read how such a political master like him, manufactured his own downfalls. From what I understood his loyalty-above-all nature, besides his old-fashioned ways, heavily contributed to victory. The animated show does not depict any Fatalities due to being aimed at a younger audience, but there are still a few deaths, albeit bloodless. Sub-Zero kills a Kahn Guard and a Tarkatan (in two different episodes) by freezing them and then breaking their ice-covered bodies. Another death was Jax lifting a Guard up by his head and then (offscreen) smashing him into pieces on the ground, after which he says "Rest in Peace. Or should I say, Pieces!" Anyway, Churchill survived to become Prime Minister again, during the formation of the Korean War and the formation of NATO. Eisenhower had a long relationship w/ Churchill - or should I saw he had a long history of IGNORING Churchill? - as the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and then as he helped form NATO. Churchill always wanted a quasi United States of Europe, but without the UK in it. He would have been in favor of Brexit, I think. Churchill had a serious stroke while in his second term as PM, but managed to hide his condition as it took him months to recover. This reminded me of Woodrow Wilson in 1919. There is no way that a world leader's condition could remain hidden for so many months today! Churchill began his long slide into ill-health and political death w/ this stroke, although he was in office for another couple of years. The last ten years of his life were filled w/ travel and pontificating to his circle of friends, who had remained loyal for all these years. And to make another remark, while I feel Churchill was most knowledgeable of events in Europe, I certainly do not share his views on maintaining the British Empire and colonialism. In an author’s note preceding The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm, co-author Paul Reid describes how William Manchester eventually chose him to write the final book of his three volume biography of Winston Churchill. Manchester wrote the first two volumes in the 1980’s, but age and increasingly poor health were preventing him from completing the final volume. After suffering a stroke that inhibited his ability to write, Manchester thought the work would never be completed. Despite many suggestions from others, Manchester was reluctant to let another author finish the trilogy. Manchester was quoted as stating”...nobody else can write it. Nobody has my style. Nobody can put it in context like I can. I’m the only person who can write that book.” However, towards the end of his life, Manchester eventually changed his mind and selected Paul Reid to finish the work.