Free Churchill's Ace (Epic War Series Book 1) by Greg M. Sheehan

when do you think we’ll be flying, you know in combat?”
    “I don’t know; ask Zigfried or Adolf Hitler.”
    “My head hurts, now.”
    “How much Schnapps did you have?”
    Hans laid back on the log and closed his eyes. “Apparently not enough.”

 
     
     
House of Commons
     
     
    Winston Churchill was a back-bencher in the House of Commons. His constant harping as to the fears of Germany rearming put him far out of the mainstream, landing him in what his critics, of whom there were many, in the “Political Wilderness.” Winston was more than by just himself; he was ridiculed and despised.
    It was claimed that time had passed him by. That he was nothing more than an old warmonger who drank too much and who grabbed at straws to keep the crumbling English Empire together.
    It wasn’t only the Labour Party who now thought Winston Churchill was out of touch with reality. His own Conservative Party would have preferred that he retired or perhaps just faded away. Of course, that wasn’t to be the case.
    The leader of both parties saw Churchill as an alarmist. Who, including Germany, would want another catastrophic war so soon after the Great War? That was incomprehensible. The memories of death and destruction were still front and center, and no one on any side had forgotten the pain and suffering.
    Sure, Hitler was a con artist, with a bag of anti-Semitic slogans. But was he a madman or a megalomaniac? No, was the answer that came from England and the rest of Western Europe.
    It was late in the session when Winston Churchill got his chance to speak. When he rose the other members of the House of Commons rolled their eyes and folded their arms. He started in, “I’m more than dismayed at the state of affairs we find ourselves herein attached to. It is evident to anyone who cares to cull the facts that the Luftwaffe or German Air Force if you please, has exceeded so-called parity with the RAF.”
    Right on time the catcalls commenced. They came from every direction, and a house member within earshot said, “Tell us something new, sir.”
    Winston’s glasses slid slightly down his nose as he looked at the member. The member was in the crosshairs now, and he very well knew that. “The good gentleman will recall that on occasions previous, I have brought up my grave concerns on this matter, only to be ridiculed as to the preposterous notion that Great Britain would take a back seat to Herr Hitler’s Luftwaffe.
    “We were promised superiority in the air, which in the end would afford but a modicum of protection from the Luftwaffe and Hitler’s territorial wishes. And have no doubt, Herr Hitler is on the move. Whether this noble house seeks to see the writing on the wall or not, that does not change consequences of our lack of action, and if we have been misled intentionally or not, that now does not matter. For if Nazi bombs fall on England, our good peoples who have put their faith in our judgment, will not care why that is the case, but only when we will put an end to it, before everything they and we hold dear is destroyed.
    “Now, the idea of German air superiority is no longer preposterous, but, unfortunately, is prima facie fact. The London Times articles hence published articles, bear witness to the growing might of the German Air Wings. I for one do not gloat, because I was correct in my assessment of the situation so many months and I dare say years ago.
    “I am saddened that my warnings did not head a significant call to order. The RAF could have and should have been upgraded with men and material. Instead, we are now three steps behind Adolf Hitler and his Luftwaffe. It seems rather than leading the way for the next decade of military air development, we have chosen to chase our tails around the schoolyard singing Ring Around the Rosie .”
    The cat calls commenced again, but there were less of them. Another member chided Winston. “Then what is to be done if the Germans have more planes than our