Britain in the Second World War Flashcards
What was the phoney war?
A period from September 1939 to March 1940 where little fighting took place
Why did the phoney war happen?
Hitler was confident that he could get Britain and France to agree to a peace deal with him rather than continue the war so he took no action against them; Britain and France took little action either
Why did the phoney war end?
The war became genuine in April 1940 when Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was replaced by a new leader, Winston Churchill
How did Churchill differ from Chamberlain?
Churchill had been speaking out against Germany throughout the 1930s, whilst Chamberlain had been promoting appeasement.
Why was Churchill a good leader for Britain throughout this time?
He was able to provide the strong leadership Britain needed at this difficult time and he kept up the morale of the British people with inspiring speeches and tours of the country.
What was Churchill’s attitude to the Nazis?
There was no talk of surrender and he rejected any idea of peace. For him, the defeat of Nazism was all that mattered. His speeches always explained why it was crucial to defeat Nazism and he ensured that the British people were united as one in the fight against Hitler.
What led to the evacuation of Dunkirk?
In May 1940 the German army turned its power on France, Belgium and the Netherlands, Blitzkrieg tactics were devastatingly effective.
Why was evacuation from Dunkirk necessary?
The Allied forces were surrounded and facing total defeat, by early June hundreds of thousands of British troops were stranded and had to be evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk
What happened at Dunkirk?
Between 26th May and 4th June, 330 000 British and 10 000 French troops were evacuated by a fleet of large and small boats , many of them crewed by amateur sailors. The evacuation was codenamed ‘Operation Dynamo’.
What Dunkirk a success?
Dunkirk was celebrated in Britain as a great achievement. Militarily, it was a bitter and total defeat:
- The French were left to fight the Germans alone
- The British forces had been forced to leave most of their equipment behind
- British forces lost almost 70 000 men killed or taken prisoner
- RAF lost almost 200 fighters during the evacuation.
What was the “Dunkirk Spirit” ?
The phrase used to describe the morale that was brought about by civilians, government and the media. Churchill was determined to continue the war after Dunkirk and he continued to make rousing and inspirational speeches to rally Britain.
Why did the Battle of Britain happen?
Churchill was determined that he would make no deal with Germany, Britain would fight to the finish. Hitler had to invade Britain.
Why did Hitler think he could win the Battle of Britain?
The German navy was no match for the British navy.
However, the Germans believed that if the RAF could be wiped out, then the navy’s dockyards could be destroyed by bombing and without the protection of the RAF, British ships would be vulnerable to air attack by German planes.
Operation Sealion began on 1st July 1940.
What happened during the Battle of Britain?
It was a series of air battles lasting throughout summer 1940.
In the air the RAF were consistently out-shooting the Luftwaffe.
British production of planes increased to 563 per month – out-producing the Germans
What were the strengths of the RAF?
They had a very accomplished and experienced commander.
They benefitted from new technologies.
The development of radar gave them an advantage.
The Spitfires and Hurricanes were superior to the German Planes.
They were organised into regions so that they could meet attacks quickly.
Volunteer pilots from Canada, America, Poland and Czechoslovakia joined the RAF to fight against the Luftwaffe.
What were the weaknesses of the Luftwaffe?
Goering didn’t really understand how modern air warfare worked.
The majority of planes were no match for the agile Spitfires and Hurricanes
Only had enough fuel on board to guarantee them 30 minutes’ flying time over England
Bombs were too small to inflict any significant damage on airfields and aircraft factories.
Why was the Battle of Britain a turning point in the war?
It was Hitler’s first real defeat
It was a morale booster for the British
Britain’s survival was essential to Allied success
It bought time for the USA to enter the war
Why was the Battle of Britain not an end?
Britain only avoided defeat. It was hardly a victory
Hitler was far from beaten and was still in control of most of Europe
It brought about the launch of the Blitz
Why did D-Day happen?
Throughout 1942 and 1943 Allied forces were pushing back the Axis powers from the South.
Italy surrendered in September 1943.
The work of the codebreakers at Bletchley Park enabled the Allies to be more successful in sinking German U-Boats.
The Germans called off organised attacks
In January 1944, Soviet forces began to push Nazis back through Eastern Europe.
Roosevelt and Churchill had promised to open a second front at the Teheran Conference in November 1943.
How did the Allies plan for D-Day?
Eisenhower was made Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces.
Plans were drawn up for the invasion under the codename of ‘Operation Overlord’.
Churchill delayed the assault until he felt that the time was right
Allied troops were trained in landing tactics
New devices were developed to assist in the landings.
The Allies took countless aerial photographs of the Normandy areas
The French Resistance provided information on German defences and troop deployments.
How did the allies trick the Germans in preparation for D-Day?
As air superiority was necessary for the success of D-Day in the first half of 1944 more than 2 600 German fighter pilots were killed as a result of constant attacks on Luftwaffe bases and aerial combat.
It was imperative that the Germans were convinced that the invasion would take place in an area other than Normandy. The whole deception plan was named ‘Operation Fortitude’ .
The Allies heavily bombed the area around Calais to make the Germans think that would be the site for the Allied landings
When did D-day begin?
6th June 1944
How did Overlord begin?
Some 13 000 Allied aircraft pounded radar installations, rail links and bridges
False radio messages were used to convince the Germans that attacks were taking place elsewhere
Where did the invasions take place?
Several beaches and were supported by paratroopers dropped from planes or landed in gliders.
