...Some people have the view that the events of Dunkirk in 1940 deserve to be remembered as a triumph for Britain and its people. How far do these sources support or contradict this interpretation Dunkirk was an important event during WWll. By 10th May 1940 the German troops had advanced through the parts of France and had advanced the beaches and ports of Dunkirk causing the Allies to retreat and to be trapped. Due to hesitation Hitler did not order the Germans to attack. This allowed Operation Dynamo to take place. This gave the Allies 10 days to be evacuated back to Britain. A variety of boats and ships, which were mostly privately owned, allowed the evacuation to take place. This meant that 140,000 French and 200,000 British troops were rescued. However the consequence of this made France surrender and over 100,000 pieces of ammunition left for the Germans to take or destroy. In addition to the 220,000 troops that were left behind. This essay would be considering both arguments through the evaluation and analysis of a range of sources. B3 taken from a GCSE textbook and supports this statement. It is portraying the fact that Dunkirk should be considered a triumph by stating that 340,000 men, 71 heavy guns and 595 vehicles were rescued. Furthermore it shows that the RAF fighter planes shot down 3 German planes for every RAF plane lost. The evidence from the source also shows that Dunkirk was a triumph and was emphasised by Churchill. However the source lacks detail by...
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...Historians disagree about the causes of the Second World War. Some trace it back to the anger created in Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. Some blame Neville Chamberlain and the appeasers for being too weak. Some ascribe it to Hitler's aggression. The war broke out when Hitler invaded Poland. Britain declared war two days later, on 3 September. At first there was a 'Phoney War' – nothing happened – but in 1940 the Nazis attacked. Their Blitzkreig tactics quickly destroyed the Allied forces, and the British army was evacuated from Dunkirk. For a while, Britain faced the Nazis alone, and had to survive the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. In June 1941 Hitler invaded Russia and in December 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into the war. The war became a truly global conflict. Meanwhile, in Europe, the Nazis implemented their 'Final Solution' to exterminate all Jewish people. The critical battles which changed the course of the war were at Midway in the Pacific (June 1942), El-Alamein in Africa (November 1942) and Stalingrad in Russia (January 1943). After that, the Allies never lost a battle. On D-Day (6 June 1944), the Allies invaded Normandy. The Soviet Red Army was advancing from the east. Hitler committed suicide, and Germany surrendered (7 May 1945). On 6 August 1945 the Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and Japan surrendered on VJ Day (15 August 1945). The Second World War took place on a global scale. You may wish...
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...The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. As part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May to 4 June 1940. After the Phoney War, the Battle of France began in earnest on 10 May 1940. To the east, the German Army Group B invaded and subdued the Netherlands and advanced westward through Belgium. In response, the Supreme Allied Commander—French General Maurice Gamelin—initiated "Plan D" which relied heavily on the Maginot Line fortifications. Gamelin committed the forces under his command, three mechanised armies, the French First and Seventh and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to the River Dyle. On 14 May, German Army Group A burst through the Ardennes and advanced rapidly to the west toward Sedan, then turned northward to the English Channel, in what Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein called the "Sickle Cut" (known as "Plan Yellow" or the Manstein Plan), effectively flanking the Allied forces.[3] A series of Allied counter-attacks—including the Battle of Arras—failed to sever the German spearhead, which reached the coast on 20 May, separating the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) near Armentières, the French 1st Army, and the Belgian Army further to the north from the majority of French troops south of the German penetration. After reaching the Channel, the Germans swung north along the coast, threatening to capture...
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...operation Dunkirk for Germany. During the battle of Britain the Luftwaffe had little to no plan of attack, it was not systematic or consistent. During the attacks on Britain the Luftwaffe chief Goering, decide to switch Plans and bomb the RAF. Hitler quickly grew impatient with the lack of results, due to this the Luftwaffe changed strategies once again, on Hitler’s orders, and started to bomb major British cities as he did not trust his generals judgement on the fact that the bombings would successfully wipe out the RAF (Bbc.co.uk, 2015). The German’s advanced into west France and were ready to seize Dunkirk, when unexpectedly they were ordered to halt...
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...On May 26 to June 4, 1940, 338,000 troops were evacuated from Dunkirk to England when the Nazis were surrounding them. The Germans had such coordinated strategy, proficient air power and very mobile ground forces supported by panzer tanks. The Germans occupied Luxembourg on May 10, the Netherlands on May 14 and Belgium by the end of the month. German forces invaded France unexpectedly through Ardennes Forest, moving along the Somme Valley to the English Channel. German forces have cut off all communication and transportation between Allied forces, which pushed Allied troops into a small area of the French coast. General John Gort, commander of the British Expeditionary Force thought of evacuating his entire force in order to save them from...
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...Some read between the lines that Dunkirk for Britain was a triumph because the soldiers escaped and survived the incident at Dunkirk to fight another day; this can be seen in interpretations of source B1. Its written by a military historian who interprets Dunkirk as ‘a miracle’ he then goes on to say ‘Hundreds of troops were rescued from the German advance in a nick of time- it seemed like a victory just getting the troops back to fight another day’ the historian has come to this conclusion because they saved a whole lot of people even though they lost some, it boosted the opinions of the army in the public eye and how they can fight another day. This is a reliable piece of evidence to a certain extent as it gives you all the information about Dunkirk, it is written by a military historian, so it’s got professional hindsight because of that and because it was written 60 or so years after it happened. However this source can be questioned as it was written 6 decades after it happened so some of the facts could have been lost, it’s only a one sided piece of evidence and it could be biased as he would be working for the government as a historian. It’s also not a primary source as he wasn’t there which it happened. From source b2 I can infer that the British soldiers were brave and that even though they were alone they were not willing to back down. Their ally France had let them down and now they had to face what was to transpire on their own. This also shows us that the evacuation...
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...a German term for ‘Lightning war’ which was designed to create disorganization among enemy forces and locally concentrated firepower. Blitzkrieg was based on speed, co-ordination and movement; the major science of this approach was the ability to get large mobile forces through weak points in the enemies’ defences and then cause damage when behind static lines. With large formations cut off from communication and logistics, pressure is then put on interior defences. This resulted in panic amongst the civilian population. Moreover, numerous historians believe that the evacuation at Dunkirk should be viewed as a success as British troops were stuck at Dunkirk in between the German army who were advancing. The British army could have been wiped out, however 340 000 troops were rescued and the event also raised British morale. Despite this, alternatively several historians also believe that Dunkirk was a failure because 68 000 soldiers were either dead or missing and a disproportionate numbers of equipment, horses and ammunition were left...
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............................................1 Hitler’s Grand Strategy?..............................................................................................3 HITLER AS A MILITARY LEADER.............................................................................9 Strengths.....................................................................................................................9 Weaknesses............................................................................................................... 12 Decision Making Process .......................................................................................... 15 HITLER’S MILITARY “MISTAKES”/”BLUNDERS”................................................. 18 Dunkirk “Stop” Order...
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............................................1 Hitler’s Grand Strategy?..............................................................................................3 HITLER AS A MILITARY LEADER.............................................................................9 Strengths.....................................................................................................................9 Weaknesses............................................................................................................... 12 Decision Making Process .......................................................................................... 15 HITLER’S MILITARY “MISTAKES”/”BLUNDERS”................................................. 18 Dunkirk “Stop” Order...
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...talks with Hitler and said that Britain “would fight on” (“Churchill decides toll,” 2012). The Battle of Britain was during the time period of June, 1940 to May, 1941 with the heaviest fighting occurring from June to October, 1940. The Battle of Britain was a fierce air battle between the Germans and the British over Great Britain’s airspace which was important as Germany wished to invade by land. As a precursor to the invasion of England, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) would attack the British coastal defenses, radar stations and shipping ports. This caused almost all of Britain’s Expeditionary Force to become penned in a tiny pocket around the French Channel port of Dunkirk along with a large number of the French Army as well. This caused the British to attempt to rescue over 330,000 men from the Dunkirk coastal line in attempt to fight another day. Of that 330,000+ number approximately 224,000 of them were Britain’s Expeditionary Force which represented about 85 percent Britain’s Army (Macdonal, 1997). After the fall of France, Germany was very confident and planned very little for this battle. They believed they would first take over airspace and launch a ground attack by sending in their troops across the English Channel which was to be called “Operation Sealion”. First they attacked the normal targets to include military bases and airfields. Shortly afterwards they switched to more strategic targets in an attempted effort to crush the moral of the British, but...
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...Britain and World War II [pic] In this module you will study: • The Phoney War • Evacuation • Dunkirk • The Battle of Britain • The Blitz • Conscription • The Battle of the Atlantic • D-Day • Censorship and Propaganda • Internment • The role of Women in the War • Rationing |The Phoney War |Source A | | |3 Sept: 827,000 children and 535,000 | |Dawn: This Phoney war gets on my nerves. If we’re going to have a war, I wish |pregnant mothers have been evacuated from| |they’d get it started. |the towns to the country. | |Mum: Just ignore her. |4 Sept: a Nazi U-boat sinks the SS Athena| |Hope and Glory |– 112 passengers died. | | |9 Sept: RAF drops 12 million propaganda | |By the end of September, Germany and Russia had defeated Poland. Everyone expected |leaflets on Germany. | |Hitler to attack western Europe with his ‘blitzkrieg’ tactics, but nothing happened |15...
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...By the end of World War Two, Britain as the European victor of the war was looking towards not only rebuilding their own economy and society but also to taking a larger role in leading the rebuilding of a powerful Western Europe. Britain wanted to be treated as an equal by their victorious partners after WWII, the US and USSR, and the British leaders believed this could be accomplished by the creation of a unified Western bloc in Europe. From 1945 until 1957 with the signing of the Treaty of Rome, Britain was successful in leading Western Europe through leadership in post war reconstruction, economic arrangements, security, and atomic weapons. Britain’s commitment to being a world power as well as their widespread influence overseas also helped the British to maintain a leadership role in Western Europe despite French ideas of British Americanization. Overall, despite occasional moments of weakness, Britain was essentially the driver of the “European bus” from 1945 until 1957 when the British decided they no longer wanted to be on board the European bus. World War II devastated Western Europe both physically and economically but provided an opportunity for Britain to take a leading role in the reconstruction process. Reconstruction became the immediate concern for Britain and their Western European neighbors. Britain’s leading role in Western Europe was sparked by their success in post war reconstruction beginning with their role in the Marshall Plan funding by the...
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...Discussion Questions on Atonement: 1. What sort of social and cultural setting does the Tallis house create for the novel? What is the mood of the house, as described in chapter 12? What emotions and impulses are being acted upon or repressed by its inhabitants? How does the careful attention to detail affect the pace of Part One, and what is the effect of the acceleration of plot events as it nears its end? 2. A passion for order, a lively imagination, and a desire for attention seem to be Briony’s strongest traits. In what ways is she still a child? Is her narcissism—her inability to see things from any point of view but her own—unusual in a thirteen-year-old? Why does the scene she witnesses at the fountain change her whole perspective on writing? What is the significance of the passage in which she realizes she needs to work from the idea that—other people are as real as you. And only in a story could you enter these different minds and show how they had an equal value? Do her actions bear this out? 3. What kind of a person is Emily Tallis? Why does McEwan decide not to have Jack Tallis make an appearance in the story? Who, if anyone, is the moral authority in this family? What is the parents’ relationship to Robbie Turner, and why does Emily pursue his conviction with such single-mindedness? 4. What happens between Robbie and Cecilia at the fountain? What symbolic role does Uncle Clem’s precious vase play in the novel? Is it significant that the vase is glued together...
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...knows how great it is. I hope it is not too late. I am very much afraid it is. We can only do our best.” (6). Many including Hitler saw Churchill as a temporary filler for the position of Prime Minister (16). On his first day as Prime Minister, Hitler launched an attack through Belgium, Netherlands, and France (17). One condition that hurt Churchill’s rise to power was the fact that he was vastly disliked and had made bad decisions in the past. Lukas even quotes some stating he, “…had become almost a parody of the paranoid aristocrat: intransigent, embittered, apocalyptic, ‘’”a reactionary of the deepest dye’’” and widely accused of that acting like a gentleman (21). On May 24th, 1940 Hitler ordered a halt of his troops before reaching Dunkirk which allowed Churchill and his cabinet to...
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...World War Two Study Guide Fascism: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry,commerce,etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism. A political movement that employs the principles and methods of fascism, especially the one established by Mussolini in Italy. Benito Mussolini: Benito Mussolini served as Italy’s 40th Prime Minister from 1922 until 1943. He is considered a central figure in the creation of Fascism and was both an influence on and close ally of Adolf Hitler during World War II. In 1943, Mussolini was replaced as Prime Minister and served as the head of the Italian Social Republic until his execution by Italian partisans in 1945. Adolf Hitler: Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. Hitler was responsible for starting World War II and for killing more than 11 million people during the Holocaust. He was know as the Führer of the Third Reich. As dictator of Germany, Hitler wanted to increase and strengthen the German army as well as expand Germany's territory. Although these things broke the terms of the Versailles Treaty, the treaty that officially ended World War I, other countries allowed him to do so. Since the terms of the Versailles Treaty had been harsh, other countries found it easier to be lenient than risk another bloody European war. When the Nazis attacked Poland World War II began. Nazism: "Nazi"...
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