World War Two Core Knowledge Sheet 2 Flashcards
When was the battle of the Atlantic
1936 - 1945
What was the battle of the Atlantic
It was the German effort to stop merchant ships from getting through to England with supplies
What did Britain depend on these merchant ships for
depended on its merchant ships for an enormous quantity of imports – over 60 million tons a year. Imports included food, oil and raw materials such as coal, iron and cotton.
What did the Germans use attack in the battle of the Atlantic
planes, mines and warships, as well as U-boats but they soon relied on mainly U-boats.
How did u boats attack
The U-boats started to ‘hunt’ in groups, known as wolf packs, which made it easier for them to sink ships.
How many merchant ships were sunk
By 1945, 5219 British merchant ships had been sunk
What was a British convoy system ( this helped Britain win )
What did they do
From spring of 1941 the British used a convoy system .Ships in convoys
were escorted and protected by 5 warships.
The convoy escorts began to use radar.This helped them find U-boats and
sink them or tell aircraft pilots where to find them. Over 750 U-boats were
sunk during the War.
What did ULTRA do
Ultra allowed the British to decode German messages . This meant the allies knew where the German U- boats were
How many ships were sunk and made
Although the Germans Sank 22 million tons ally ships
War, over the same period the Allies built 42 million tons of new ships.
What allowed British aircraft to attack
German ships and planes in larger areas of the Atlantic.
The development of British bases in Ireland
What was the nazi Soviet pact
When war broke out in September 1939 Hitler and Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact. They agreed not to attack each other and to split Poland in half - Hitler
would control the west and Stalin would control the east
What was the name of the operation when Germans invaded the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
When was operation Barbarossa
June 1941
Why did hitler want the USSR
Hitler wanted to defeat Communism, take over land in the USSR as living space for Germans, and to use the Soviet people as slave labour.
Why did operation Barbarossa fail
Russian efforts , climate and German mistakes
What and when was pearl harbour
On 7th December 1941 hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on Pearl Harbour, a naval base in Hawaii
What was the damage done by the pearl harbour attack
they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval ships and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded.
What did pearl harbour lead to
This led to America declaring war on Japan and entering WW2
What was the code name for D-Day
Operation overlord
When did operation overlord stop
6thJune1944
What was operation overlord
It was a joint offensive between the Americans and the British.
What happened in operation overlord
Overlordbeganwithaseriesofairattacks.Some13,000Alliedaircraft (facing 400 Luftwaffe aircraft) pounded radar installations, rail links and bridges and effectively cut off the German defenders in Normandy from reinforcements.
How may men were involved
130,000 men came across by sea, 23,000 by air.
What was the purpose of operation overlord
To take back france and push the German troops back into Germany
Where was operation overlord mainly
France
How did the men get their equipment
they received equipment and supplies
from giant floating harbours known as Mulberries which had been sailed
across the Channel
What did the troops have to do once they landed
ThemenhadtofighttheirwayoutofNormandybeforetheGermanscould recover and trap them
Why were the D-day landings helpful
It allowed a foothold to be established in Northern France and gradually the allies began pushing the germans back until they finally gave up in May 1945
