Reading through today’s Sunday papers feels like surveying the aftermath of the battle of the Somme. Around 20,000 British soldiers lost their lives there on the first day alone. A further 30,000 were wounded. Gordon Brown must surely count himself one of the walking wounded after recent events and may even be wondering if he hasn’t died and gone to hell.

He should take heart from those who went before. To historians, desperate situations are more interesting than great victories. They throw up extraordinary characters and tales of heroism against the odds.

Leaders are rarely magnanimous in victory — as Churchill urged them to be. Mostly they lord it up and preen in their assumed glory. A back against a wall reveals more of the moral fibre of anyone than easy accomplishment. Churchill himself is the perfect example.

So what can Brown do now to escape the deep, dangerous hole he finds himself occupying?

He can soldier on, of course, crying out his familiar very-sub-Shakespearean mantras: “Carry on with the job. Long-term decisions. Global solutions. International action … etcetera. He should face up to the fact that oratory and original thought are not his for the taking in this dark night of the soul.

Just hanging on in there, though, is a perilous position for him. It would surrender the initiative to his enemies. In effect he would be placing his fate in the hands of every opponent who has a grudge against him — and there are many.

On the other hand, he could simply resign. Walk away from his troubles as if they never existed. Retire to the life he loves, of books, academia and history.

Ah, history! Wouldn’t it remind him of how little he achieved as Prime Minister, how dismally he is placed in the league table of British leaders? At least Anthony Eden won a general election before he impaled himself on the bayonet of Suez. Harold Wilson won three elections in his long march to the bankruptcy of Britain. Clement Attlee won a landslide victory and didn’t remain long enough to see out the economic disaster that resulted from his Marxist nationalisation spree.

No, Gordon would be rated one of the worst Prime Ministers of all, mainly because he brings his many failures as Chancellor with him. His honeymoon to hopeless clown within 12 months is hard to match in recent history.

That doesn’t leave many options for our unhappy leader, does it? Well, yes, it leaves one. Big, brave and gloriously counter-intuitive, Gordon could confound the lot of us by emulating Marshall Foch.

When French HQ radioed Foch and asked for his position at a crucial battle in World War I, he replied, “My centre is giving way, my right is in retreat. Situation excellent. I shall attack.” And attack he did, taking the enemy completely by surprise.

If I were Gordon I would announce an immediate general election. It should be in the minimum timeframe possible — three weeks on Thursday — the Labour Party has no money left to fight an election. Who cares? Who needs useless posters stuck up everywhere? As Prime Minister he would command all the screen time he wanted. Minor expenses could be funded from the few usual suspects remaining, including a couple of friendly unions. The fact that it is August could work for him if he plays his hand astutely.

He would instantly backfoot both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, who would not be prepared for an election. He would begin to win plaudits from the papers and political commentators for his “courage” — and not before time. The electorate would grudgingly admire his pluck — a favourite quality for the British. Many would see him anew, and admiration would not be far away. As an underdog, the Brits would line up behind him again in increasing numbers. He would be the talk of the town. Even David Cameron would have difficulty in matching the fighting, no-more-boring Mr Brown.

But would he win? I doubt it. The best he could do would be to claw back some support to deny the Tories the landslide they now see beckoning.

If he could close the gap to a 30, 40, 50 seat majority for the Conservatives, he would be a hero in Left-liberal circles and a formidable Leader of the Opposition. The newly energized Labour ministerial team might clean up against a tentative and inexperienced Treasury bench. David Cameron would be hard-pressed to gain traction for his new administration of which so much is expected.

Of course, Brown could crash out badly and be forced to resign anyway. But at least he would have fought his corner with attempted distinction and gone down in a fanfare of glory. The Charge of the Brown Brigade against impossible odds. The Brits would love it.

That may be the best he can hope for.