Britain during 2nd WW

• How Britain became the only undefeated country in Europe
• From the Phoney war to the «< miracle >> of Dunkirk (Sept. 1939 - June 1940)


  1. The Blitzkrieg's successes

  2. Germany attacked Denmark and Norway

  3. France was attacked in May 1940

  4. Neville Chamberlain resigned, replaced by Winston Churchill
• Britain's defence in the Battle of Britain

  • Radar stations tracked approaching planes
  • British aircraft production exceeded expectations
  • British aircraft had larger range of action
  • Britain recovered more pilots than Germany
• On the 7th of September, Hitler and Goering changed their strategy


  Operation Sea Lion was postponed, the Battle of Britain was eventually won
• The Blitz (Sept. 1940 - June 1941)

  1. German bombers attacked the port of London

  2. Bombing of British industrial cities

  3. Blitz aimed at breaking British morale

  4. Blitz failed to defeat Britain
• Churchill's behaviour as a war leader

  • Visited destroyed cities, comforted inhabitants, became popular
• The Blitz came to an end in June 1941 when the Luftwaffe was sent to fight on the Russian front
• How did British people get involved in the war effort? (the Home front)
• Britain was better prepared than France for German attacks


  • Anticipated high death toll from air raids
  • Established military conscription before war
  • Civilians registered for war work
• Gas attacks and evacuation plans

  1. 38 million gas masks produced

  2. Evacuation plans to move people to safer areas

  3. Evacuation exposed social contrasts
• Role of the ARP


  • Provided shelters, enforced blackout, prepared for invasion
• A new defence force called the Home Guard was created in May 1940
• Most civilian casualties came from air attacks, but lower than expected
• Food rationing began in January 1940, fuel remained a critical issue
• V2 missiles


  More fearsome than V1 bombs because they could not be shot down or even seen
• About 500 V2 missiles hit London, causing nearly 10,000 casualties
• More than 2 million homes were damaged or destroyed during the war
• Between 60,000 and 70,000 British civilians died from air attacks during the war
• The number of British civilian deaths was much lower than what experts had forecast in 1939
• The number of British civilian deaths was rather low compared to the number of civilians killed in Germany by the Allies
• Food rationing


  Strict control over fuel, bacon, butter and sugar were first rationed, then almost all foods except vegetables and bread
• Food rationing began in January 1940
• Food rationing


  Supervised by the Ministry of Food, led by Lord Woolton, established fair rations depending on each person's situation
• Even the royal family had their own ration books
• For many of Britain's poor, their diet and health actually improved thanks to food rationing
• There was a black market, especially since rationing soon went beyond food
• Britons were asked to

  1. Avoid waste

  2. Use recipes to cook wisely and make up for shortages

  3. Salvage scrap iron and paper
• People were encouraged to

  1. Increase food production

  2. Grow their own food in gardens and allotments
• Altogether 1.4 million allotments were made available, including the moat of the Tower of London
• Censorship


  Established to control information that may be of use to the enemy or demoralise the population
• Pictures of 38 pupils killed in a South London air raid in 1943 were censored
• The losses of the RAF forces were hidden from the public
• The sufferings of German civilians killed by British air raids were played down
• Propaganda posters targeted women to

  1. Evacuate children

  2. Save on food, fuel and clothing

  3. Volunteer for the ARP, war factories or Women's Land Army

  4. Not spread sensitive information
• The mood of the British people was closely watched through Mass Observation reports
• Wartime propaganda made good use of the image of Prime Minister Winston Churchill
• Battle of the Atlantic


  Long sea battle between the Royal Navy and German U-boats, who were sinking British merchant ships
• In 1940, 1000 merchant ships were sunk, and this number increased in 1941 and 1942
• Only about 1/3 of the supplies from the US and Canada were actually delivered to Britain
• Thousands of sailors died after the sinking of their ships by German torpedoes