Question

Read the excerpt from the speech “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” by Winston Churchill and answer the question that follows. The King of the Belgians had called upon us to come to his aid. Had not this Ruler and his Government severed themselves from the Allies, who rescued their country from extinction in the late war, and had they not sought refuge in what was proved to be a fatal neutrality, the French and British Armies might well at the outset have saved not only Belgium but perhaps even Poland. Yet at the last moment, when Belgium was already invaded, King Leopold called upon us to come to his aid, and even at the last moment we came. He and his brave, efficient Army, nearly half a million strong, guarded our left flank and thus kept open our only line of retreat to the sea. Suddenly, without prior consultation, with the least possible notice, without the advice of his Ministers and upon his own personal act, he sent a plenipotentiary to the German Command, surrendered his Army, and exposed our whole flank and means of retreat. Consider the following details Churchill includes about the King of Belgium’s decison to surrender. Choose one and evaluate the effect it might have on a person listening to Churchill’s speech. How could the detail influence the listener’s opinion of the King of Belgium? Detail 1: “Yet at the last moment, when Belgium was already invaded, King Leopold called upon us to come to his aid” Detail 2: “Suddenly, without prior consultation, with the least possible notice, without the advice of his Ministers and upon his own personal act, he sent a plenipotentiary to the German Command, surrendered his Army, and exposed our whole flank and means of retreat.”

Answer 1

When listening to Detail 1, any listener could make up the image of the Belgish king as a proud person who did not ask for help until the very last moment when there were no more alternatives. Hence, the aid he sought for could be provided by the British army that now had to undertake a greater risk. Hence, apart from a proud person, it can be inferred that Churchill's considers King Leopold a bad planner and others have to go and solve his problems instead.

When listening to Detail 2, King Leopold is ultimately described as a coward and a traitor who ran to make a deal with the enemy, leaving those who came to help him without protection. Apart from a bad ally, he has been unkind to the help and quite cynical.