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History - Britain > Britain at war > Flashcards

Britain at war Flashcards

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1
Q

When did Britain and France declare war on Germany ?

A

3rd September 1939 after it invaded Poland on 1st September - British expeditionary force moved into france at once

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2
Q

How many troops did the BEF have by 1940 ?

A

394,165 defending the border between France and Germany

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3
Q

When did Germany first attack France and what was it known as ?

A

10th May 1940 attacking with great speed - known as Blitzkrieg - troops swept through Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands into France - BEF forced to retreat

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4
Q

When was Winston Churchill appointed ?

A

10th May 1940 - he had constantly criticised the government’s policy of appeasement with Germany, so when in power he urged on war effort and built close relationship with USA.

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5
Q

When did France surrender ?

A

22nd June 1940 - Britain left alone in the war until USA joined at beginning of 1942

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6
Q

When did Germany invade Norway and Denmark ?

A

9th April - both were neutral countries

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7
Q

When was operation yellow launched by Germany ?

A

10th May 9 (on western Europe)

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8
Q

Blitzkrieg tactics used by Germany (4)

A
  • German planes bombed the area to be occupied
  • German tanks moved in and took over the area
  • German troops move din and occupied the area, under the cover of artillery fire
  • planes and tanks moved on to the next target leaving troops to occupy the captured area and put down all resistance
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9
Q

Effects of Blitzkrieg (6)

A
  • ordinary people in fear and uncertain of situation
  • soldiers exhausted from moving for so long and at great speed
  • allies confusion from Blitzkrieg meant they were forced to retreat for they had no time to prepare for invasion
  • BEF and allied troops forced to evacuate Dunkirk
  • because of its speed troops had to act without orders
  • many refugees clogged up roads making it hard for allies to move their troops and attack Germans
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10
Q

When did allied troops reach Dunkirk ?

A

21st May 1940 - it was the only French Port not held by the Germans and had a long shallow beach which would make the rescue of troops difficult

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11
Q

Operation Dynamo

A

Operation to reduce troops from Dunkirk which began on 26th May 1940;

  • government asked owners of small boats togo to Dunkirk to ferry soldiers to the big ships
  • by May 29th 300 boats were involved and shuttled until 4th June
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12
Q

How many troops were rescued form Dunkirk ?

A

It was estimated that 20,000-30,000 troops would be rescued but the final total was over 338,000

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13
Q

Difficulties of Dunkirk (6)

A
  • shallow beach - soldiers had to wade into the sea to be picked up
  • thousands waited on the beach with little food or water
  • little organisation - some small craft sent to Dover rather than Ramsgate - 24hr delays
  • enemy shelling hitting beach - hampered evacuation
  • bad weather - collisions and vessels cast adrift
  • overcrowding in boats
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14
Q

Importance of Dunkirk (5)

A
  • used to increase British morale
  • national effort as ordinary people used their boats
  • soldiers able to continue to fight
  • presented as victory in Britain
  • Dunkirk spirit - Britain would keep going in face of crisis even when France fell
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15
Q

Why did Hitler want to destroy the RAF ?

A

so that they couldn’t attack invading troops when Germany attempted to capture Britain - Operation Sealion
BUT Britain were determined to win air supremacy to prevent being bombed into defeat by Luftwaffe

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16
Q

Battle of Britain

A

series of battles over many months between the RAF and Luftwaffe for control of the air over Britain (due to France surrendering and Hitler’s turning to Britain)

17
Q

Four stages of the Battle of Britain (10)

A

1) 10th July - 7th August 1940 : Luftwaffe begins bombing attacks on British coast, especially radar stations

2) 8th August - 6th September 1940 : Luftwaffe attacks o RAF airfields
* 12th Aug- Luftwaffe bomb British airfields and radar stations on coast
* 13th - Luftwaffe bomb british airfields in Essex, Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, and aircraft factories
* 15th - Luftwaffe flies over 2000 raids - the day of heaviest fighting - Luftwaffe lost 75 planes, RAF 34
* 16th-18th - Heavy fighting and losses

3) 7th-15th September 1940: Luftwaffe think RAF are beaten and attack London
* 7th Sept - Luftwaffe bomb London for first time - blitz until 15th sept daily
* 15th Sept - Luftwaffe runs last bombing of London - lost 60 planes

4)15th September 1940 : Luftwaffe are defeated - Battle of Britain day - 17th Sept Hitler calls of operation sea lion

18
Q

Why did Britain win the Battle of Britain ? (6)

A
  • had radar system along coast invented in 1935
  • had more fighter planes than Luftwaffe - spitfire plane
  • they were constantly building new planes unlike Germany
  • Hitler diverted attacks from RAF to London
  • Luftwaffe planes flew too low - RAF bombed from above
  • Dunkirk spirit
19
Q

When did the USA join WW2 ?

A

After Japanese allies of Germany bombed the US naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on 7th December 1942

20
Q

What was the USA’s main concern ?

A

The war in the Pacific against Japan and so they didn’t want to fight long so they made a plan for a quick invasion of Britain

21
Q

Dieppe raid

A

August 1942 - showed the problems of trying to capture a French port from the Germans and 3000 troops were killed and a destroyer sunk - a lot of sea and air support would be need by US and Britain for successful invasion

22
Q

Site chosen for D-Day

A

Normandy coast (operation overload) which would include 132,400 troops

23
Q

Why did Britain plan for D-Day?

A
  • Germans had been fortifying for years from Norway to Spain

- Raid on Dieppe showed need for sea and air support

24
Q

What did scientists invent to help D-Day ?

A

two floating harbours - mulberries that were to be towed across the Channel to help land troops and equiptment

25
Q

What was secretly laid across the Channel for D-Day ?

A

The Pluto pipeline that could carry 1 million gallons of fuel across the channel every day

26
Q

How many crafts were involved in the D-Day invasion ?

A

4000 landing craft along with 250 warships and 11,000 planes to support them

27
Q

How else did Britain plan for D-Day? (2)

A
  • Allies used spitfires to take pictures of the coast which were analysed so they could determine the best way to attack
  • Bletchley Park codebreakers
28
Q

When did D-day take place ?

A

The date of invasion of was changed several times due to the weather, making sure there were enough troops and making sure enough of the Luftwaffe were destroyed BUT - final date was the night of 5th/6th June 1944

29
Q

On the 5th June what did allied and french resistance activities suggest ?

A

The invasion would be on the coast near Calais

30
Q

Early morning of D-Day (4)

A
  • troop landings began, timed to occur at low tide on the different beaches and began to move inland
  • ships bombed an 80km strip of the french coast
  • gliders and planes began to parachute troops in
  • allied panes targeted German military defences to make them less effective against invaders
31
Q

How did the German army respond to D-Day ?

A

they were under pressure on several fronts and due to deceptions of invasion being in Calais, couldn’t move quick enough to stop troops landing in Normandy - allowing more reinforcements and supplies to be landed

32
Q

5 D-Day landing beaches and no. of troops landed

A 
Utah - 23,000 - 197 killed
Omaha - 34,000 - 2,400 killed
Gold - 25,000 - 400 killed
Juno - 21,400 - 1,200 killed
Sword - 29,000 - 630 killed
33
Q

Why did D-Day succeed ? (10)

A
  • careful planning and preparation
  • attacks on radar stations all along Channel as far as Normandy
  • coded messages and info leaked by resistance groups suggesting invasion would be near Calais - mislead Germans
  • deception of Germans - dummies dropped from aircraft
  • Pluto fuel pipeline
  • rapid ferrying of troops and supplies due to mulberries
  • air and sea backup
  • parachuted troops captured inland areas - blew up railway lines and bridges to disrupt german communications
  • USA provided many troops and equipment - allies could keep going despite heavy losses
  • Germany unable to easily regroup and organise due to pressure on East (Russia)
34
Q

How did allies put pressure on Germany following D-Day ? (3)

A
  • bombed industrial sites, military bases and cities in Germany
  • used radar to find enemy submarines and bomb them - kept the sea clear so allies could ship supplies to mainland Europe
  • helped resistance groups to fight Germans and sabotage road and rail links
35
Q

How did allies still make military errors ?

A

At Arnhem in September 1914, they failed to liberate the Netherlands - their plans were hurried and they underestimated the German forces - only 2,800 of 10,000 troops involved returned

36
Q

What did some Germans try to do when they felt Germany was going to lose ?

A

attempted to assassinate Hitler - Hitler then got rid of all possible conspirators, many of which were experienced soldiers - thus weakening his military command

37
Q

Where did a surprise German attack take place in December 1944 ?

A

through the Ardennes forest through Belgium and France at the Battle of Bulge - they lost with heavy causalities

38
Q

When was it clear that Germany faced defeat ?

A

April 1945 - it was under attack on two fronts and short of men, arms and supplies - allies advanced on all sides and as soviet troops neared Berlin Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrendered

History - Britain (5 decks)

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