On the 1st September, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. Britain and France sent Germany an ultimatum.

This morning, the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German government a final note, stating that unless we heard from them by eleven o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us.

I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently, this country is at war with Germany.

Neville Chamberlain's mournful voice announced the war as if lamenting the death of a maiden aunt. The evacuation of children began.

None of this meant for a minute that Chamberlain was going to hand the reins over to Churchill.

For all that his dark prophecies seemed to be coming true, Churchill was still mistrusted by the vast majority of his party.

But the swing in public opinion towards him had been so great, it seemed prudent to include him in the government.

And on the day the war was declared, Churchill was given his old job back as First Lord of the Admiralty.

But, as if in a rerun of Gallipoli, Churchill's first big campaign ended in disaster when his attempt to cut off Germany's iron ore supplies through Norway backfired horribly.

Somehow Churchill escaped the blame for the fiasco in Norway. Whatever the problems, his energy and resolution made it seem as though he at least was doing his best.