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.
Describe Phase 2 of the Blitz
From November 1940 to February 1941, the OKD switched the priority of its nightly bombing raids to other industrial cities. London was still being bombed, but the emphasis was on other industrial areas such as the West Midlands (including a particularly ferocious attack on Coventry destroying factories as well as the cathedral), Liverpool, Hull, Bristol etc. By now the Luftwaffe had about 1,100 bombers available every night for bombing raids. On average 200 planes flew every night.
What type of bomb is used in the Blitz?
- Incendiaries
- V-1s
- V-2s
What is a V-1 bomb?
These were pilotless, extremely fast and could carry very heavy bombs. Londoners called them ‘doodlebugs’ . They would make a screeching noise as they whizzed over the land, then their engines would cut out and they would fall to the ground, detonating their huge quantities of heavy explosives when they crash landed. One effective counter measure was to shoot these down from the ground with big guns or from the air with equally fast fighter planes. However most of the V1s reached their targets and caused thousands of deaths and a great deal of damage and destruction.
What is a V-2?
V-2s were more frightening than V-1s as each one carried four tonnes of explosives and there was absolutely no warning of them or defence against them. These rockets could fly at a height of 60 miles and reach a maximum speed of 3,600mph. They were launched from mobile sites in Holland. Over 1,100 of these rockets were fired at Britain and they killed 2,754 people in London alone.
What did most Londoners do during air raids?
As The Blitz began, Londoners looked for shelter from the bombs in London in Underground or Tube stations. Initially the government tried to stop this, but it became a more popular and effective places for them to shelter in. People would simply buy a train ticket and ‘camp’ for the night on the platform. Thousands of Londoners spent each night on the hard, crowded platforms of many different Tube stations. The next morning – when the raid was over – they would emerge out of the stations tired, dirty and looking to see if they still had a house left!
What was mickey’s shelter/
People were not happy with the shelters given to them by the government as they didn’t feel safe. People used underground stations and crypts of churches as mass shelters. Conditions were awful. Mickey Davis formed a committee to run a shelter with free healthcare; clean beds; a canteen and toilets.
What are incendiaries?
Dropped by first wave of bombers. They started fires; and the plan was that later waves of bombers could use fires as targets. Fires that got out of control di more damage than bombs. High casualties.
What was the South Hallsville School disaster?
Locals were advised to take shelter in South Hallsville School, which had a useful basement that could be used as a bomb shelter. The building was being used to get people out of the line of fire and into safer areas; however residents were left in the school for three days, even though it had been flagged as a potential target for bombing due to its location. Residents waited in the school. There was mix up and the buses went to Camden Town instead of Canning Town. Held up on their way back to the East End, the buses did not arrive in time to evacuate the school as promised. The school took a direct hit and the whole school building fell into the basement, leaving hundreds of people dead, dying or trapped.
What was the impact of the South Hallsville disaster?
People left London without waiting for official evacuation. First government action was to ban all mention in the press.
