The United Kingdom / British Empire
Basic Facts:
Population: 48,000,000 (not including colonies)
Area: 240,000 square kilometres (not including colonies) Government: Constitutional Monarchy Monarch: King George VI Prime Minister: Nievelle Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee (in successive order) |
Britain in the War:
Pre - War:
In the mid - 1930's British politicians like Neville Chamberlain advocated a policy of "appeasement" to Germany's territorial demands in Europe. This policy of appeasement would in theory ensure peace. British politicians advocated this policy because they were not extremely concerned with German territorial expansion; they believed that Germany was simply seeking to regain the territory it lost in the First World War. Moreover, the German rearmament deterred Britain from direct intervention as the British public did not wish to be involved in another war similar to the First World War. In addition, anti - war sentiment in Britain was high. Nonetheless, Britain started to slowly rearm. In 1938 the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement, which allowed Germany to take over the Sudetenland. However, soon in 1939 the entire country was annexed. This forced British politicians to change their stance on the "appeasement" policy. Even Chamberlain, who was the primary advocate for appeasement, shifted to a war perspective. British rearmament hastened. Britain France then entered an alliance with Poland, under this alliance, if either Britain, France, or Poland was attacked by Germany, then the other two must come to its aid. |
Although it seems that Chamberlain's policy of appeasement had failed completely, it is important to note that it accomplished one thing - it bought Britain and France valuable time to re - militarize. Consequently, the Allies were in a better position for war in 1939 than they in 1938.
War Declared:
On September 1st, 1939 Germany invaded Poland. Britain was quick to issue a warning but neither Britain nor France immediately declared war. After some delay due to confusion with the French government, Britain honoured the alliance by declaring war on Germany on September 3rd. However, unlike the First World War, not all of Britain's dominions were automatically at war with Germany, but most eventually sided with the mother country. Plans: At the time Britain's active army was far smaller than its French and German counterparts, but the British navy was still the strongest in the world. Early on in the war, the French and British tried to implement the same grand strategy as they did in the First World War: Britain would send a relatively small force (the British Expeditionary Force) to fight in Europe and blockade Germany from the sea, while France would dedicate its larger army to fight along the new Maginot Line. This plan was theoretically viable, but their outdated trench warfare concept and their lack of aggression caused the plan to fail. |
Phoney War:
In September 1939 most German units were in the East fighting the Polish, this left only a small amount of troops defending their Siegfried Line on the French - German border. On the other hand, France mobilized significantly greater forces along their Maginot Line (opposing the Siegfried Line). Therefore the Germans were decisively outnumbered. However, the Allies refrained from immediate offensive action; they did not wish to launch an offensive against the heavily fortified Siegfried Line, instead they wanted to fight a defensive war along their Maginot Line. The only notable offensive effort was from the French Saar Offensive, which ended in withdrawal. Since there were no effective Allied actions to relieve pressure from Poland, it fell in October. |
In the meantime, Britain begun its naval blockade of Germany, which responded by deploying its own submarine blockade of Britain. Later in April 1940 Germany invaded Denmark and Norway. Norway was needed for its iron, and Denmark was needed for firmer air control of northern Germany and southern Norway. The Germans invaded Denmark and Norway on April 9th and Denmark capitulated on the same day. On the other hand, Norway with British support and its more forbidding terrain offered more resistance. However, the British withdrew from Norway in May, the latter surrendered on June 10th. The British had previously occupied the Faroe Islands in April and Iceland in May (both were a part of Denmark) in order to prevent possible German takeovers.
The Phoney War ended in May when German forces attacked the Allies along the Western Front en masse, which initiated the Battle of France.
The Battle of France:
After the fall of Poland, the British and French expected a massive German offensive through Belgium, like what happened back in 1914. Therefore most Allied forces were concentrated in Belgium. Most of the preparations were made French generals, who wanted the Western Front to run along Belgium and the Maginot Line to avoid devastation of French soil. However, the German army averted the bulk of Allied forces by feinting an attack through Belgium while breaking through the Ardennes Forest. Due to poor communications between the Allies, the Battle of France was lost in six weeks. Ironically, this was even faster than the Germans originally anticipated. The Schlieffen Plan in 1914 also coincidentally called for victory in six weeks.
Before the defeat of France, the bulk of the British Expeditionary Force and significant French forces were trapped in a small pocket along the northern coast of France. Marshy terrain and bad weather delayed the Germans from closing up the pocket and gave the British time to organize a massive evacuation that would be known as the Dunkirk Evacuation. Over 300, 000 men were evacuated into Britain. More evacuations followed in the following month as France fell.
The Phoney War ended in May when German forces attacked the Allies along the Western Front en masse, which initiated the Battle of France.
The Battle of France:
After the fall of Poland, the British and French expected a massive German offensive through Belgium, like what happened back in 1914. Therefore most Allied forces were concentrated in Belgium. Most of the preparations were made French generals, who wanted the Western Front to run along Belgium and the Maginot Line to avoid devastation of French soil. However, the German army averted the bulk of Allied forces by feinting an attack through Belgium while breaking through the Ardennes Forest. Due to poor communications between the Allies, the Battle of France was lost in six weeks. Ironically, this was even faster than the Germans originally anticipated. The Schlieffen Plan in 1914 also coincidentally called for victory in six weeks.
Before the defeat of France, the bulk of the British Expeditionary Force and significant French forces were trapped in a small pocket along the northern coast of France. Marshy terrain and bad weather delayed the Germans from closing up the pocket and gave the British time to organize a massive evacuation that would be known as the Dunkirk Evacuation. Over 300, 000 men were evacuated into Britain. More evacuations followed in the following month as France fell.
Battle of Britain:
After the fall of France Britain stood almost alone against the Axis. A German amphibious invasion was expected. However, in order for such an invasion to occur, the British navy and air force must be weakened first. This called for aerial bombing of British air fields, factories, and radar stations, but the priority was later changed to major cities. Thus the Battle of Britain was initiated; it was fought almost exclusively between the British and German air forces. After 4 months, the German air force halted the attack as it was taking considerable casualties and air superiority was not achieved. This was the first major Allied victory of the war. North Africa: Although the North African Theatre was small - scale compared to other Second World War theatres, it is important to note that Commonwealth, Free French, and later American forces fought there to halt Axis expansion into the oil fields of Arabia and Persia. . Their opponents were initially the Italians, but later German forces became involved too. The Axis objectives were to break through British defenses in Egypt, occupy the Suez Canal, and secure African resources. This would undermine the Allied strategical position by cutting them off from Asia. Further, ambitious German plans called for an offensive from North Africa to the Middle East, and finally to Russia. If successful, this plan would link up German forces in Africa with those on the Eastern Front. However, the British decisively defeated the Axis at the Second Battle of Alamein, more than 200 kilometres from Cairo. By 1943, the Axis were driven out of Africa. |
Sea War:
Since the beginning of the war, German submarines had been attacking British shipping. It was their response to Britain's naval blockade. In effect, it was a counter blockade. In the early years of the war, German submarines, which were also known as U - boats (short for Unterseeboot, meaning "under sea boat"), were highly successful in destroying Allied shipping. As the war went on, British convoys innovated tactics such as the Pineapple, Raspberry, and Beta Search. These were employed with considerable success against submarines.
On the surface, the British naval blockade of Germany managed to strangle its trade from the North Sea. However, unlike the First World War, Germany could feed itself with food from occupied areas. Therefore the blockade had a smaller impact than expected. In addition, German air cover allowed some of its ships to break out of the North Sea. Naval bases in occupied France and Norway allowed them to refuel and repair without having to return to German proper. This posed another problem to British shipping. Thus Britain was forced to eliminate German surface ships which broke out of the North Sea.
Commonwealth warships also engaged against the Japanese in the Pacific for most of the war.
By 1944 the German and Italian navies were virtually destroyed; the Japanese navy was only a shadow of its former self. In addition, the American navy took more responsibility in the Pacific Theatre. Therefore the British naval forces were mostly relieved of its former duties.
Western Front 1944 - 1945:
The Soviet gains in 1943 and early 1944 significantly weakened the German army on the Eastern Front, in response, the German command drew large amounts of troops from France to the Eastern Front. This presented an opportunity to the Western Allies to land in Europe and open up a new front. Thus the Normandy Landings ensued in June 1944. In less than three months, Paris was under Allied control again. By the end of 1944 the Western Front was pushed back to Germany.
Overshadowed by their American allies, the British largely operated in support of their American allies. The British participated in the Battle of the Bulge, which was the last great German offensive. British forces were also instrumental in the collapse of the German Siegfried Line in early 1945. The German effort on both the Western Front and the Eastern Front collapsed by April 1945. Germany surrendered on May 8th.
Since the beginning of the war, German submarines had been attacking British shipping. It was their response to Britain's naval blockade. In effect, it was a counter blockade. In the early years of the war, German submarines, which were also known as U - boats (short for Unterseeboot, meaning "under sea boat"), were highly successful in destroying Allied shipping. As the war went on, British convoys innovated tactics such as the Pineapple, Raspberry, and Beta Search. These were employed with considerable success against submarines.
On the surface, the British naval blockade of Germany managed to strangle its trade from the North Sea. However, unlike the First World War, Germany could feed itself with food from occupied areas. Therefore the blockade had a smaller impact than expected. In addition, German air cover allowed some of its ships to break out of the North Sea. Naval bases in occupied France and Norway allowed them to refuel and repair without having to return to German proper. This posed another problem to British shipping. Thus Britain was forced to eliminate German surface ships which broke out of the North Sea.
Commonwealth warships also engaged against the Japanese in the Pacific for most of the war.
By 1944 the German and Italian navies were virtually destroyed; the Japanese navy was only a shadow of its former self. In addition, the American navy took more responsibility in the Pacific Theatre. Therefore the British naval forces were mostly relieved of its former duties.
Western Front 1944 - 1945:
The Soviet gains in 1943 and early 1944 significantly weakened the German army on the Eastern Front, in response, the German command drew large amounts of troops from France to the Eastern Front. This presented an opportunity to the Western Allies to land in Europe and open up a new front. Thus the Normandy Landings ensued in June 1944. In less than three months, Paris was under Allied control again. By the end of 1944 the Western Front was pushed back to Germany.
Overshadowed by their American allies, the British largely operated in support of their American allies. The British participated in the Battle of the Bulge, which was the last great German offensive. British forces were also instrumental in the collapse of the German Siegfried Line in early 1945. The German effort on both the Western Front and the Eastern Front collapsed by April 1945. Germany surrendered on May 8th.