London & WW2 Flashcards
How did WW2 start?
> Treaty of Versailles - G didn’t want to sign it
Hitler - promises to break treaty
Rearmament of germany breaks treaty
Put soldiers in rhineland (france + g border)
Made peaceful merger with Austria
G takes over sudetenland - munich agreement
Hitler breaks Munich agreement by taking over rest of czechoslovakia
Soviet union agrees non-aggression pact with g
G invade poland. Britain promise to protect poland
Ultimatum given to G to withdraw from France.
Ultimatum expires and war begins
How is London politically important?
- capital of England, Britain and UK
- Britain was the ruler of a huge empire so one of the most important capital cities - australia, parts if africa, india, canada and new zealand.
- Huge trading centre for a variety of goods over the empire.
- international banks, trading companies based in London
- London used to calculate international time zones.
- Uk was the only real superpower around the world.
Why London’s location significant as Germany’s target
London was accessible from the North Sea up the River Thames, but the Royal Navy had many ships protecting the island of Britain. Its geographical position (in the South East) also made London an obvious and close target for the German Luftwaffe.
Why is the King living in London important to it as a target?
The King lived in London. Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Both these buildings were hugely powerful symbols of Britain, but also of its capital. If the Luftwaffe could destroy these two buildings, it would have a massive effect on Britain’s and Londoners’ morale.
Why is the parliament in London important to it as a target?
The Houses of Parliament was where the UK and the vast British Empire was governed from.The Prime Minister lives in 10 Downing Street surrounded by government buildings. If the Luftwaffe could destroy these buildings, it would have a similar devastating effect on Britain’s war effort.
How was the BBC in London significant to being a target?
Headquarters of BBC. The BBC was the world’s most famous wireless broadcaster. Its programmes could reach virtually every home in the UK and thousands of places across the British Empire. Bombing London would have an impact on Britain’s ability to broadcast news, info and propaganda, also its ability to contact allies.
Why was Britain’s rail network make London as a significant target?
Until 1960, most goods were transported across the country by rail. Britain’s rail network was based around London and it was the most connected city in the country with major railroads branching out in all directions. If the Nazis could destroy London’s railways, this would have a massive impact on the rest of the country’s economy and its ability to transport goods both to and from London.
How did the Air Raid precautions committee prepare England for war?
The ARP split the country into: Danger areas (certain of attack), Neutral (could be attacked) and Reception areas (safe). Children; infants and their mothers; pregnant woman; the blind or disabled were sent to reception areas for evacuation and safety. Two days before war, 1.3 million people evacuated on trains and buses out of cities and into towns. During the Phoney war, most evacuees returned.
How did the provision of shelters help prepare for war?
The ARP ordered the anderson shelters to be built in the back. Made out of corrugated steel which lined a pit dug in the garden, Earth was piled up on top to protect from nearby blasts and shrapnel. These shelters didn’t protect people from direct hits. However, some people preferred to stay in their homes, so the Morrison shelter was created - was a large steel table which had sides covered with wire netting. This stopped people from getting crushed by buildings.
How did the provision of gas masks help prepare for war?
Use of chemical gases as weapons was banned by agreements by Britain, France and Germany but many thought these promises would be broken. Everyone was issued gas masks. During the Phoney war, fewer and fewer people stopped carrying their gas masks with them. Even at the Blitz, only a third of people carried their masks.
How did blackouts help prepare for war?
This was to make sure no lights were omitted from houses so that german bombers wouldn’t be able to find cities in the night. Volunteer ARP wardens were appointed to sound air raid sirens and manned observation posts. They had to patrol and make sure the blackout were effective. They ordered people to put out lights and fix blackout covers.
What happened in the summer of 1940?
> Now in the summer of 1940 Hitler turned his attention to fighting the British.
As Britain was an island and heavily defended, Hitler knew that in order to invade Britain, he would need to destroy the naval bases of the Royal Navy as well as the airbases of the Royal Air Force (RAF). So began the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940.
The Luftwaffe dropped heavy bombs on airfields, radar stations, factories, towns and ports in Britain. It inflicted a lot of damage and destruction as well as killing hundreds of pilots and tens of thousands of civilians.
However the Luftwaffe suffered even worse damage than the RAF. It lost more planes and had more pilot fatalities than the RAF, so – despite heavy civilian fatalities – it is often considered a British victory as the RAF prevented the Luftwaffe from clearing the way for a Nazi invasion and occupation of Britain.
What happened on the 7th September 1940?
On September 7th, the Luftwaffe switched its targets. Instead of targeting airfields and seaports, the Luftwaffe was ordered to concentrate instead on bombing the cities and big towns in order to maximise civilian casualties and fatalities. Blitzkrieg was launched on the British population in order to savage their morale by destroying their homes and killing as many people as possible. This was The Blitz and London was directly in the firing line.
What were the objectives to The Blitz?
- To disrupt the transport infrastructure by bombing railway termini and rail tracks.
- To damage trade and industry by bombing London’s ports and factories.
- To destroy Londoners’ morale by destroying their homes.
Describe Phase 1 of The Blitz
Phase 1 had dropped 13,000 tons of high explosives and almost 1 million incendiaries on the capital. The docks and rail lines in and out of London had taken a heavy pounding. Thousands of Londoners still found a way to get to work. No bridges over the Thames had been hit, the docks were still in operation despite the heavy damage, an airfield had been hit 56 times but no runways had been damaged and remained in operation throughout. Battersea Power Station had only suffered one attack which caused minor damage.
