Editing Arthur Fadden (section)

===War policy===
[[File:Arthur Fadden at Parliament House, 1941.webp|thumb|upright|Fadden arriving at Parliament House, Canberra, during his prime ministership]]
Fadden's brief term as prime minister was marked by continued tension with the British government over the conduct of the war in Europe and the deployment of Australian military assets.{{sfn|Arklay|2014|p=85}} One of his first actions as prime minister was to appoint Earle Page as a special envoy to the [[Churchill war ministry|British war cabinet in London]], an attempt to secure greater Australian involvement in British military policy.{{sfn|Arklay|2014|p=84}} In a telegram shortly after his appointment, British prime minister [[Winston Churchill]] assured Fadden that "we shall never let you down if real danger comes".{{sfn|Arklay|2014|p=84}} Fadden and Churchill subsequently came into conflict over the Australian troops at the [[Siege of Tobruk]] – the so-called "[[Rats of Tobruk]]" – who had been placed under British command. At the request of Australian general [[Thomas Blamey]], Fadden ordered that the troops at Tobruk be returned to sole Australian control, stating to Churchill that it was "vital to [the] Australian people to have concentrated control and direction of its Expeditionary Forces".{{sfn|Arklay|2014|p=86}} Churchill and the British government attempted to stall against passing on the orders and they were not carried out until Curtin succeeded as prime minister and reaffirmed Fadden's stance.{{sfn|Arklay|2014|p=87}}