Mr Andrew Morel
BA, MA, PGCE
Ysgol Uwchradd Llanidloes High School
History GCSE Winter 2023 Sessions:
How effectively did Britain prepare for war?
The subject content in this session comes from the key question ‘’How effectively did Britain prepare for war?’’
We will treat this as an overarching question and refer back to it regularly as ultimately you will need to make a judgement on it to show full understanding of the content.
How effectively did Britain prepare for war?
We need to treat this not as a yes or no question ie. Did Britain prepare well?
Instead we need to view it as a continuum questions- and it is this we will refer to throughout.
Very effectively prepared
Not prepared at all
Detailed Explanation:
Threat from Germany
The Threat of Germany:
Aftermath of World War One:
Hitler promised that he would make Germany a great power once again. To succeed in doing this, he would have to break the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. In Britain, many came to believe that war should be avoided at all costs.
In 1933, Hitler was made Chancellor of Germany, and by 1934 he was the Führer. From this point on he did everything to tear up the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
Conscription and Re-armament 1935
In March 1935, Hitler re-introduced conscription and announced his plans for rearmament. He stated that he was to create a German army of more than 500,000 men and launch an air force, violating the Treaty of Versailles. Britain and France criticised Hitler’s action but did little else.
Anglo-German Naval Agreement
In 1935, Britain and Germany signed an agreement allowing the German navy to 35% the size of the British navy, breaking the Treaty of Versailles.
Although the agreement pleased the British as their navy had the majority, it caused friction with France as they had not been asked for their opinion on the matter.
Question 1: Many people thought that there would never be another World War after the end of WWI. What changed everything?
Question 2: Which treaty would Hitler have to break if he was to make Germany a military power again?
Treaty of Rapallo
Locarno Treaty
Treaty of Versailles
Russian Revolution
Rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Party
German punishment after World War One
Question 3: What did Hitler restart in 1935?
Construction and rearmament
Conscription and rearmament
Conscription and disarmament
Question 4: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement stated that the German navy could be how large?
75% of the Royal Navy
50% of the Royal Navy
35% of the Royal Navy
Question 1: Many people thought that there would never be another World War after the end of WWI. What changed everything?
Question 2: Which treaty would Hitler have to break if he was to make Germany a military power again?
Treaty of Rapallo
Locarno Treaty
Treaty of Versailles
Russian Revolution
Rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Party
German punishment after World War One
Question 3: What did Hitler restart in 1935?
Construction and rearmament
Conscription and rearmament
Conscription and disarmament
Question 4: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement stated that the German navy could be how large?
75% of the Royal Navy
50% of the Royal Navy
35% of the Royal Navy
The Threat of Germany:
Re-militarisation of the Rhineland
Hitler sent troops into the German region of the Rhineland. This act of re-militarisation broke the Treaty of Versailles. The soldiers had been given orders to retreat if they were opposed by the French. Britain and France criticised this action but were unwilling to send troops to stop Hitler.
Anschuluss with Austria 1938
Following calls from the Austrian Nazis for the union of Austria and Germany, the German army was sent in to make this happen in March 1938. Any opponents to the union were arrested and a vote was held in which 99.75 per cent of the population agreed with the Anschluss.
This broke the Treaty of Versailles, but again Britain and France did nothing to stop Hitler.
The Czech Crisis
After the successful Anschluss, Hitler stirred up trouble in neighbouring Czechoslovakia. Nazis in the German speaking region of the Sudetenland began to demand their independence. The Czechs did not wish to give up this area as it included modern factories and was well defended. Hitler threatened to go to war to help the Sudeten Germans.
The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain went to Germany to speak to Hitler and learnt that he wanted the Sudetenland to join with Germany. After Hitler threatened war to get what he wanted a conference was held at Munich in September 1938. Britain, France, Italy and Germany decided that the Sudetenland should be part of Germany. Britain and France promised to protect the rest of independent Czechoslovakia.
Chamberlain returned to London believing that he had avoided war.
Question 1: Where did Germany re-militarise in 1936?
Question 2: In 1938, the Anschluss took place. This was the union of Germany and which other country?
Austria
Belgium
Switzerland
The Saar
The Ruhr
The Rhineland
Question 3: In 1938, where did a crisis arise after Hitler encourage German speaking people to demand their independence?
Bohemia
Slovakia
Sudetenland
Question 4: At which Conference was the union of Germany and the Sudetenland permitted by Britain, France and Italy?
Munich
Berlin
Stuttgart
Question 1: Where did Germany re-militarise in 1936?
Question 2: In 1938, the Anschluss took place. This was the union of Germany and which other country?
Austria
Belgium
Switzerland
The Saar
The Ruhr
The Rhineland
Question 3: In 1938, where did a crisis arise after Hitler encourage German speaking people to demand their independence?
Bohemia
Slovakia
Sudetenland
Question 4: At which Conference was the union of Germany and the Sudetenland permitted by Britain, France and Italy?
Munich
Berlin
Stuttgart
The Threat of Germany:
Invasion of Czechosolvakia
In March 1939, German troops invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. This broke the agreement signed at Munich just six months earlier and proved that Hitler wanted to gain more than just the German-speaking areas.
The British and French finally realised that Hitler could not be trusted and agreed not to give in to him again. Chamberlain subsequently made a deal to protect Poland and began the rearmament of Britain.
Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939
In 1939, Hitler went further and demanded the Polish Corridor. This area had been taken from Germany and made part of Poland by the Treaty of Versailles. As Britain and France had made deals to protect Poland he now made a deal of his own. In August, Hitler shocked the world when he made a peace deal with his enemy, communist USSR. However, they had promised to split Poland between them. Hitler thought this would stop Britain and France from helping Poland.
Poland
On 1 September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. Two days later on 3 September, Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler refused to withdraw his troops. The Second World War had now begun.
Question 1: Hitler’s invasion of which country in March of 1939 finally showed Britain that Hitler could not be trusted?
Question 2: Nazi Germany surprised the world by signing a treaty with which country in August 1939?
France
Poland
USSR
Poland
Austria
Czechoslovakia
Question 3: Britain and France declared war against Germany on 3 September 1939 after the invasion of which country?
France
Czechoslovakia
Poland
Question 1: Hitler’s invasion of which country in March of 1939 finally showed Britain that Hitler could not be trusted?
Question 2: Nazi Germany surprised the world by signing a treaty with which country in August 1939?
France
Poland
USSR
Poland
Austria
Czechoslovakia
Question 3: Britain and France declared war against Germany on 3 September 1939 after the invasion of which country?
France
Czechoslovakia
Poland
Very effectively prepared
Not prepared at all
Detailed Explanation:
Threat from Germany
How effectively did Britain prepare for war?
Britain’s Policy of Appeasement:
The policy of Appeasement’s aim was to avoid war through negotiations and compromise. It was the policy favoured by the then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.
Why follow it?
Britain’s Policy of Appeasement:
Historian’s Assessments (Interpretations)
Traditional historians in the 1940s-1950s criticized appeasement as cowardice that ultimately enabled Hitler to start WW2.
Revisionist historians in the 1950s argued that appeasement was clearly a factor that led to war, but it was the understandable reaction of real people, facing real problems as they evolved, and doing the best they could with the resources they had.
Counter-revisionist historians in the 1990s said that appeasement was the only choice of the British government in the 1930s, but it was poorly carried out too late, and was not enforced strongly enough to constrain Hitler's demands.
Which of these groups of historians do you agree with most? This can help give reasons to your answer for the overarching question.
How effectively did Britain prepare for war?
Very effectively prepared
Not prepared at all
Detailed Explanation:
Britain’s police of Appeasement
Winston Churchill was one voice that spoke out against the policy of Appeasement. He suggested Britain hadn’t effectively prepared for war because appeasement was like someone ‘’who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last’’
Preparations for War
Preparations for War
RADAR:
To protect the country from the bombing, Britain turned to new technology call ed Radar. Developed in the 1930s this defence system aided Britain in tracking the flight of German bombers using radio waves. Bombers could now be spotted before they flew over Britain.
Radar towers were built and Radio station operatives were trained to work out the position of German aircrafts. The information could then be shared with British fighter planes.
Although radar would not stop German bombers getting through, it would help the smaller RAF to attack the enemy bombers as they knew where they were positioned.
Anti-aircraft guns:
For further protection during the war thousands of anti-aircraft guns were placed across the country. These guns, backed with powerful searchlights for attacks during the hours of darkness, could fire over a hundred rounds a minute to bring down an aircraft.
Barrage Ballons:
To defend against those bombers that got through the RAF’s fighters, barrage balloons were used. These were large balloons, attached to cables, that were meant to stop bombers flying at a low height. This would make accurate bombing more difficult. By August 1940, over 2,000 barrage balloons flew over major cities and industrial sites in Britain.
Preparations for War
Air Raid Shelters
Little had been done to protect people from the bombings before the Czech Crisis in 1938. During the crisis, the government ordered the building of air raid and bomb shelters and this continued in the major towns and cities until the outbreak of war. During the war the design proved to give little protection if hit directly by a bomb.
The government organised for families to build their own shelters. From February 1939, people were given an Anderson shelter made of corrugated iron. Two million of these shelters were given out and they were to be placed in a hole in the garden and covered with earth. Not everyone benefitted from this as many didn’t have gardens. These people used Morrison Shelters instead.
Before the bombing of Britain began in 1940, the government decided not to use the underground stations as shelters. This decision was later reversed.
Air raids protections!
A big worry for the British was an attack, at home, from the air.
Air Rad Protection Wardens (ARPs)
In 1937, the government created the Air Raid Wardens’ Service. Civilians were recruited as wardens and trained on how to help protect people from the bombing. When war broke out in September 1939 there were 1.5 million wardens, who now belonged to the newly named Air Raid Precautions or ARP.
A third of the wardens were women and most of whom were volunteers. They were given the responsibility for streets or factories.
They did not wear a uniform but were given a steel helmet and an armband to show who they were.
Their responsibilities included: issuing gas masks; enforcing the ‘blackout’; sounding air raid sirens to warn civilians of bombing raids; guiding people to bomb shelters carrying out first aid; reporting fires and bomb damage.
Preparations for War
As I draw the item you have to see if you can work out which Preparation for War it could be:
How effectively did Britain prepare for war?
Very effectively prepared
Not prepared at all
Detailed Explanation:
Preparations for War
‘’Britain started to prepare for the Second World War at least a year before it actually started.’’ Imperial War Museum, The Home Front, 2020
Conscription and Reserved Occupations:
By 1939, the British government realised that the army was too small, and that action was needed to get the armed forces ready for war.
To increase the size of the army as quickly as possible, conscription was introduced. The Military Training Act of April 1939 made it compulsory for single men aged between 20 and 22 to sign up. The National Services Act of September 1939 meant that men between 18 and 41 could be conscripted. By the end of 1939 more than 1.5 million men had been conscripted to join the British armed forces.
Not all men would be called up to the military. During the First World War it had become apparent that skilled workers were needed to stay in certain industries. In 1938, the government produced a list of reserved occupations. The list included farmers, railway workers, teachers, doctors and those involved in engineering. Coalmining was not on the list, but it was added during the war.
Question 1: When was the first Conscription Law of World War Two made?
Question 2: How many men had been conscripted into the British army by December 1939?
1 million
1.5 million
2.5 million
April 1939
August 1939
September 1939
Question 3: What was not initially included as a reserved occupation?
Coal Miners
Railway workers
Farmers
Question 1: When was the first Conscription Law of World War Two made?
Question 2: How many men had been conscripted into the British army by December 1939?
1 million
1.5 million
2.5 million
April 1939
August 1939
September 1939
Question 3: What was not initially included as a reserved occupation?
Coal miners
Railway workers
Farmers
Very effectively prepared
Not prepared at all
Detailed Explanation:
Conscription and rearmament
How effectively did Britain prepare for war?
Content review task:
Very effectively prepared
Not prepared at all
Detailed Explanation:
Very effectively prepared
Not prepared at all
Detailed Explanation:
Very effectively prepared
Not prepared at all
Detailed Explanation:
Very effectively prepared
Not prepared at all
Detailed Explanation:
Threat from Germany
Britain’s police of Appeasement
Preparation for war
Conscription and reserved occupations
How effectively did Britain prepare for war?
Unit 1 Exam question 4:
No matter what option you are doing in unit 1 the skills needed for each question will always remain the same.
We are going to look at question 4 worth 12 marks.
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
Munich Crisis
Appeasement
Britain’s policy of appeasement towards Germany in the 1930s was aimed at giving ground diplomatically in order to avoid another war. People in Britain remembered the horrors of WWI while some politicians felt that Germany had been unfairly treated by the Treaty of Versailles. In addition many leaders at the time felt that the Depression had made Britain incapable of fighting a large scale conflict. Appeasement simply ignored Hitler’s military build-up and by 1939 Germany had an army of 1.4 million men and a highly advanced air force. This is also linked to the Munich crisis as Britain sacrificed part of Czechoslovakia on order to maintain peace.
The Munich Crisis came about as a result of Hitler’s desire to expand Germany to include all German speakers in Europe. The Sudetenland area on the west of Czechoslovakia contained many ethnic Germans. This may have been caused by Britain’s policy of appeasement which had so far failed to challenge Hitler for breaking the terms of the Treaty of Versailles for example over the union of Austria and Germany which was forbidden. It is likely that the policy may have actually encouraged Hitler as he may have been under the impression that Britain and France were simply unwilling to act. A link can also be formed with the remilitarisation of the Rhineland as Hitler was again allowed to go unchallenged for his breach of the terms even though German generals were told to retreat if they faced and kind of opposition.
In 1919, the Rhineland was established as a demilitarised area by the French who wanted a buffer zone between themselves and Germany should another war begin. In 1936 and probably the result of growing military confidence after the introduction of conscription, Hitler ordered German soldiers into the zone. This would also be linked to the policy of appeasement as it is likely that economic weakness in both Britain and France meant that both countries were in no position to react for fear of staring a war. There is also a link here with the policy of appeasement in that Britain adopted a similar strategy in relation to the Sudetenland and probably for similar reasons. Britain had very little support in order to fight a war with Germany with Canada the only country willing to lend support.
GCSE History
Winter 2023 Sessions:
Thank you very much for using this resource as I have shared with you some tips to succeed at History GCSE. All the very best in your exams!
We will hold a Live Question and Answer session on Wednesday 29th November 2023 between 6.30 and 7.15. Join us to ask anything you are unsure of.