ADV INFO - Impact of the Second World War on British Politics Flashcards
when did Britain declare war on Germany
3 September 1939
when was the German invasion of Norway and Denmark
April 1940
when did Chamberlain resign
10 May 1940
when did Germany overrun west Europe
May - June 1940
when did British troops evacuate from Dunkirk
27 May - 4 June 1940
when did France surrender
22 June 1940
when did the battle of britian start
August 1940
when did hitler start bombing cities
September 1940
when did British soldiers withdraw from Greece
April 1941
When did British soldiers withdraw from Crete
June 1941
when did singapore fall
Feb 1942
when did the japanese start their occupation of Burma
March 1942
when was the first battle of el Alamein
July 1942
when was Tripoli captured by the allies
January 1943
When did Italy surrender
8 September 1943
when was D Day
6 June 1944
When was Paris liberated
25 August 1944
When was the battle of bulge
December 1944
When did the Japanese withdraw from Burma
April 1945
when was VE day
8 May 1945
when did Attlee become PM
5 July 1945
when was VJ day
15 August 1945
why was the beginning of the war known as the phoney war
the initial months of the conflict saw little action
when did the war start to escalate
April 1940
what was the Dunkirk spirit
it boosted British morale
what did the surrender of France lead to
Britain was alone in its fight against Nazi Germany
what were the political difficulties that Churchill faced
he was unpopular with his conservative colleagues
why were MPs suspicious of Churchill
his attacks on Chamberlain as an appeaser and his support for Edward VIII during the abdication crisis
what did RAB Butler say about Churchill
they had weakly surrendered to a half breed American
what did Churchill have the reputation for being
a serial floor crosser
what happened on Churchill’s first appearance as PM
he was cheered by Labour and Liberal MPs, whereas his own side largely cheered for Chamberlain
why were labour suspicious of Churchill
they remembered his enthusiasm for engaging the army during the general strike
What did Erskine May do in May 1941 and July 1942
met with lord Woolton to try and replace Churchill. They said that the party ‘thinks that Winston has had his day’
who was Erskine may
chairman of the 1922 committee
why did Churchill have the image of being a strong wartime leader
his consistent support for rearmament and opposing Hitler
what did A.J.P. Taylor say about Churchill
it was as if all his life had been an unconscious preparation for this hour
how did Churchill choose his cabinet well
the war cabinet included chamberlain, Halifax, Labour leader Attlee and another Labour member, Arthur Greenwood.
who was the minister for labour in the cabinet
Ernest Bevin
who was the minister of aircraft production
Lord Beaverbrook
who was home sec
Hebert Morrison (Labour)
who was president of the board of trade
Hugh Dalton (Labour)
what act passed in 1940
the emergency powers act
what did the emergency powers act do
it gave the government almost total power over property and British citizens.
what have historians emphasised about Churchill’s leadership style
his energy and enthusiasm for getting involved in all aspects of military strategy
what were the benefits of Churchill’s enthusiasm
he ensured that generals were always in control of their beliefs as a result of his ceaseless proofing for information and updates
what were the disadvantages of Churchill’s enthusiasm
his style made him unpopular among civil servants, who tended to see him as a meddler, as well as some of his cabinet colleagues, who resented his long interventions during meetings
who managed to dissuade Churchill from some of his outlandish suggestions
Alan Brooke, the chief of the general staff
what was Churchill accredited with being content to do
delegate key decisions on the home front to his colleagues, especially Attlee and Bevin
what did Churchill allow
for himself to be overruled on a number of domestic issues including the conscription of women in 1941 and the introduction of clothes rationing, both of which he personally opposed.
what were arguably Churchill’s greatest strengths
his will to win and his ability to boost the morale of the British people
how did Churchill boost morale
his inspiring oratory, both on the radio and in the House of Commons, made a significant difference to the public’s self-belief and contributed to the success of the Home Front’s efforts to keep troops well supplied
what did the RAF do well during the battle of Britain
they resisted German attempts to target aerodromes and communication systems. On 8th August 1940, 31 German planes were shot down, compared with 20 British ones. Hitler called off his planned invasion of Britain on 15th September, after a day on which 60 german planes were lost
what was largely successful for Churchill’s military leadership
the war at sea was largely successful. The sinking of half the Italian Fleet at Taranto as well as the Bismarck in 1941, was an achievement. The navy provided escorts for convoys carrying supplies for the USSR
what was an important turning point for the British
the battle of El Alamein
why was the battle of El Alamein an important turning point
The battles secured Egypt and the Suez Canal and stopped the Axis powers in Ukraine and the Middle East from combining.
how was D-Day enormously successful
some 326,000 men had safely landed by the end of the first week. Over 3 million troops were eventually landed, leading to the liberation of Paris, Brussels and Antwerp, enabling Allied troops ultimately to liberate Germany by May 1945
why was carpet bombing effective after July 1944
German synthetic oil production fell, leading to fuel shortages. The destruction of the Krupps armament factory also had a significant effect, forcing the Germans to divert aircraft from the Eastern front which relieved pressure on the Soviets
What can the success of the battle of Britain be attributed to
Hitler’s mistakes.
what happened in the back end of the battle of Britain
the British were struggling. 103 airmen were killed between 24th August and 6th September. However. Hitler’s decision to divert his aircraft to bomb British cities during the Blitz gave the British time to regroup
what decision of Churchill’s was heavily criticised
intervening in Greece
what was the issue with the intervention in Greece
the evacuation of 60,000 troops to Crete, itself not properly fortified and captured by a German parachute attack, was seen as a mistake. 36,000 British troops were killed. This was partly because Churchill failed to realise the importance of air support in naval operations
What other decisions of Churchill’s were criticised
the war in the Mediterranean. The British were driven out of Libya by Rommel after troops and planes were diverted to Greece
what happened to Malta
it sustained German and Italian bombing and was almost starved to surrender
what was an embarrassment to the British government
the loss of the Ark Royal aircraft
Who did Churchill underestimate
Japan
what was the consequence of Churchill’s mistakes in Japan
their early campaign in the Far East was disastrous. Japan took Hong Kong and the Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk. Churchill also thought Singapore was unassailable (it was known as “fortress singapore”). In fact, the Japanese were able to cut off its water supply and force it to surrender.
why was carpet bombing criticised
for its ineffectiveness on moral grounds
what were the losses of carpet bombing
158,000 allied airmen were killed during these bombing raids. Meanwhile, the killing of 50,000 German civilians on one night in Feb 1945 led to condemnation from some Labour MPs and the church
what cities were levelled by carpet bombing
Dresden
what did the experience of total war lead to
a significant development in social policy and welfare
which suggestion of the Beveridge report was brought in before the end of the war
the introduction of child allowances of five shillings a week for each child after the first
how much was the suggestion to implement the Beveridge report defeated by
335 votes to 119
what was passed in 1944
the butler education act
what did the 1944 education act aim to do
tackle the evil of ignorance
when was Nazi Germany defeated
8th May
what had Churchill wanted for the coalition
he wanted it to continue until Japan was defeated by Attlee disagreed
when was polling day in 1945
5 July
when were the votes counted in 1945
26 July
What did the media expect from the 1945 election
a conservative victory
what actually happened in the 1945 election
Labour won by a landslide
what were the votes in the 1945 election?
Labour won 48% of the popular vote against 39.6% for the conservatives, their majority was 146 seats; 250 of the 393 Labour victors were new MPs
