History > Key Stage 3

Era of the Second World War
Course Notes and Worksheets

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World War I and the Western Front

World War One broke out in 1914. There were five main arguments between the countries of Europe:

1. Empires

An empire is when one country owns land in another part of the world. Britain and France had large empires. As Germany became more powerful, it wanted an empire too. This made Germany a rival of both Britain and France.

2. Navies

Britain had a huge navy to protect all the ships sailing to and from its empire. Germany built its own big navy. This made Britain worried, because Germany was a rival.

3. Industry

Germany had overtaken Britain as "The Workshop of the World".

4. Land

France and Germany were in constant argument as to who 'owned' the land called 'Alsace-Lorraine' Germany had taken this from France in 1871.

5. The Balkans (the area including Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania)

Austria and Russia both wanted to control this area.

Not long after this, a whole new type of warfare began, called "trench warfare." The new technology allowed better, more powerful weapons to be used. One example of this was the machine gun. This weapon meant hand-to-hand battles would rarely happen again.

Because of weapons like this, soldiers had to dig themselves in so they would not be easy targets. They dug themselves into 'trenches.' A series of trenches were built, stretching from France and Belgium down to Switzerland. This became known as 'The Western Front' – 'Western' because it was in Western Europe and 'Front' because this is a word to describe an area where fighting took place.

Recruitment

When war broke out, there was no shortage of volunteers. Why did so many want to volunteer to fight in a war that would cost nearly ten million people their lives and in which many more millions would be injured and lose their homes? The Government did not tell people this. They used 'propaganda'' (advertising) to convince people to join up.

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The Western Front – A Study in Depth

As mentioned in Unit 1, there was no shortage of volunteers in World War One. Half a million men had joined up within a month. In fact, there were so many volunteers that special groups of them were allowed to form 'Pals' Regiments. A regiment was a large group of soldiers under the control of a colonel. Regiments were then split up into battalions – about 1000 men. Volunteers were as young as 13.

One soldier remembers the day he signed up, having passed the medical:

"I thought it would be the end of the world if I didn't pass. When I came to have my chest measured, I took a deep breath and puffed out my chest. The doctor said I had just scraped through. I told my mother, and she said I was a fool."

Life in the Trenches

The first trenches were dug without a great deal of thought, but soon they became organised. Trenches were about two metres deep and wooden boards, called duckboards, were put at the bottom of the trench. As you can see from Source 1, sandbags were put on the top of the trench (because the packed sand helped stop enemy bullets). Behind the front-line trench were support and reserve trenches. Amenities such as toilets, kitchens and stores were better here. This system of trenches could reach as far back as eight kilometres (five miles).

The Early Morning

Waking up after a night's sleep, you could hear birds singing and, if No-Man's-Land was narrow, you might have heard the enemy waking up – Germans coughing or calling out to each other. Perhaps a machine gun would fire to let you know the enemy was awake – you might reply with a similar effort.

A Day's Work

The soldiers were not fighting all the time, but there were many other jobs to do. About one third of the men were on sentry duty. Another third spent the morning going back to the support trench to pick up food, ammunition, clean water, bandages, letters and so on. The last third had to repair trenches and this would be slow and tiring work. All the soldiers had to clean their weapons.

Health

Source 3

"I sat on the latrine box (toilet) and patiently counted 103 lice on my clothes and body. God, how I hate the little lobsters!"

A. Abraham, a soldier on the Western Front, tells how lice infested his clothes and body.

Source 4

In good weather, the health of soldiers improved, especially as many received better food in the army than they had at home. However, winter was a different story: the cold and wet caused pneumonia and a disease called 'Trench Foot.'

Food and Water

Much of the food was brought in tins or jars. If it was dropped into a shell-hole, the food was mixed up, wet and filthy (there was much worse than mud in those holes!). If the carrier was shot, the food might not arrive at all.

Water came in big round drums and was treated with chloride to kill the germs. Supplies were more regular when there were quiet periods. If there was fighting or shelling going on, it was a different story.

Trench Warfare – 'Stalemate'

You cannot win a war by sitting in a trench. You have to get out and capture the enemy's land. The generals – officers in charge – ordered their soldiers to attack again and again, hoping the other side's soldiers and weapons would run out. Obviously, sending soldiers 'over the top' would make them easy targets for enemy machine guns, and by 1916, there were few volunteers wishing to join up. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 26,000 British soldiers died.

In other battles, different methods of killing were used. The Germans were the first to use gas.

"A strange green mist, a running mass of men in agony, a four-mile gap without a defender".

Memoirs of B. Liddel Hart

"A knife-edge pain in the lungs and the coughing up of a greenish froth of stomach and the lungs, finally resulting in death."

Lance Sgt. Cotton describes the effects of chlorine gas

Gas had done what no attacking soldiers could – it had broken through the trenches. The British and French soon used it too. It wasn't always reliable though, and the opposition thought of ways to counter the effect.

Huge guns were used to fire shells from behind the trenches, across No-Man's-Land and into the enemy's trenches. Britain alone used 170,000,000 shells during the war, but often only churned the ground in No-Man's-Land to mud and shell holes, making it harder to cross.

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The War in Britain

Not everyone was quick to volunteer to fight in the war. Some actually refused either to fight or to volunteer to fight. One group who refused to fight were called 'Conscientious Objectors.' Some objectors were given permission to miss the fighting. Some were told that they must fight and sent to prison if they continued to refuse. Of these, at least 71 died from ill treatment whilst in prison.

The Zeppelin

The Zeppelin was an airship – German – which was used to bomb certain areas of Britain.

Life at Home

As the war went on, life became more difficult. Like today, Britain at that time imported much of its food. Germany realised that if it could starve Britain of its goods, Britain might be forced to surrender.

Rationing

Each of the groups listed below had different ration books. Each book contained vouchers giving the owner the right to purchase food and petrol.

• Jews
• Vegetarians
• Shipwrecked Crews
• Muslims

As the war went on, life became much harder. Ships bringing food to Britain from abroad were targeted by German U-boats. Rationing helped. The Government was given powers to make sure newspapers only reported the war news the Government wanted reported.

Source A

"By 1918 we were so fed up we wouldn't even sing 'God Save the King.' Never mind the bloody king, we used to say; it should have been God Save Us!"

Private J.A. Hooper

"We all heard we must grow more food, so I went to work on a farm, setting potatoes".

The Price of Peace

11th November 1918 The Germans surrender, but the war is not over until all sides agree. This agreement happens in 1919. At Versailles in France, a peace agreement is drawn up. This agreement says:

• The Germans started the War (they had to take the blame).
• The Germans had to pay for most of the damage (£6.6 billion).
• The Germans could only have a small army.
• The Germans could not have any tanks, submarines or aeroplanes.
• The Germans were to receive nothing (no compensation for damage in the war).
• The Germans had to give up land and colonies.
• The Germans must never unite with Austria.

The Cost of War

• 25,000,000 Cubic Metres of trenches to fill in.
• 320,000 Kilometres of barbed wire to pull up.
• 300,000 Houses destroyed.
• 1,000 Bridges Blown up.
• 6,000 Factories gutted.
• 8,000,000 Dead or Injured.

Many people believed that the allied leaders treated Germany unfairly at the end of the war. If Germans felt it was really unfairly treated, how might they feel about the allies?

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Europe Between the Wars

The League of Nations

As we have seen, the war had cost a great deal – in human suffering and damage to farmland besides the cost in economic terms.

The question people were asking was: "How can me make sure there is never another war like that one?"

Politicians from different countries met and hoped Germany's punishment would set an example to others. They also came up another way to stop a future war and this was the League of Nations. It was the brainchild of the President of the USA, Woodrow Wilson. The idea was that countries who joined the League would work for world peace. Fifty countries signed up immediately when it was set up in 1920.

The idea behind it was simple: if one country attacked another the members of the League of Nations would refuse to buy the bully's goods or sell them things they wanted. This was called 'sanctions.'

The League had initial problems when it was first set up and it had other aims besides stopping wars. It wanted to improve the lives of working people, making them wealthier and improving their working conditions. They also wanted to end slavery. It had some success, but as we have seen in earlier units, it was unable to get rid of it completely.

Fifty countries joined the League. Germany and the USSR did not join, nor did the USA. Some decisions made by the League were totally ignored.

Source A

"The League quickly turned into a talking shop, led by the countries which had won the First World War."

Challenges to Peace

Assessment

As we have seen earlier, the League of Nations had no real power, so when one country bullied another, there was little it could do.

Two examples of this were Japan and Italy. Both countries were growing and becoming stronger. Both wanted land outside their country. Both chose weaker countries to attack:

• In 1931 Japan attacked Manchuria – part of China .
• In 1935 Italy attacked Abyssinia – a poor country in East Africa.

Germany After Versailles

1. Think! What problems did Germany face after their defeat in WW1 and the Treaty of Versailles? Give examples:

• Social.
• Economic.
• Political.

Concentrate on the political problems faced by Germany. The Kaiser (German King), was unpopular. Why?

He knew he was unpopular and abdicated – he gave up the throne. He realised German people were angry with him. So who ruled Germany?

Many groups wanted power and they all had their supporters. The different groups decided on a fresh start and the New Germany would be called the Weimar Republic. This name was chosen because the new government met at Weimar because the capital, Berlin, was the scene of fighting between different groups each wanting power.

You are aware that many Germans were suffering economically and socially. In the early 1920s many Germans didn't have jobs and those who did, found their wages barely covered the high cost of food. There was much despair and little hope, but for a while, things changed. A political leader, Stresseman, with help from the USA, changed Germany's fortunes for the better – but this was not to last for long.

When people are desperate they make excuses or look for someone other than themselves to blame – a 'scapegoat'. In Germany, the politicians were the scapegoats. Everyone blamed everyone else and each politician said HE had the answer. The problem was that no political party was given enough time to make a difference, because none of them could get an overall majority.

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The Rule of the Extremists: Hitler

Political groups are normally centre parties. This means they appeal to most people. The Labour, Conservative and Liberal parties are examples of centre parties. Some political parties are described as extreme parties. Their ideas appeal to smaller numbers and sometimes their ideas can involve violence. Politicians who put forward racist views are an example of extremists.

In 1929, Germany, together with other European countries, was badly affected by a depression. This meant that little trade occurred between countries. People were not buying products and this led to unemployment. Throughout Germany and Europe, millions of people were out of work.

This continued for several years and caused many problems for people ( think about how long-term unemployment would affect your diet, your housing, your clothing and your self-esteem).

The main political parties were saying that the depression wasn't their fault – the extreme parties said it was and they successfully persuaded people to vote for them by promising to change things for the better.

Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party: Their Appeal

Adolf Hitler was born in Austria, but considered himself a German. He had fought heroically in WWI. He didn't trust centre party politicians – he and his party believed in extreme politics. Hitler promised jobs for the unemployed and a 'great' Germany which would stand up for itself and refuse to put up with the Versailles Treaty.

The Road to War

Hitler came to power in 1933 and so many people voted for him and his party that soon Germany became a dictatorship. He introduced many extreme policies and also set about re-building Germany's armed forces. Some of you will remember that the Versailles Treaty said that Germany wasn't allowed a large army, navy or air force.However, within three years of coming to power, Hitler had ignored much of the Treaty of Versailles. He had:

• introduced conscription;
• built up weapsons/ships/planes/troops
• marched into the Rhineland (The Rhineland was the part of Germany bordering France and German troops were not allowed to enter).

In 1938 Germany entered Austria and took it over. Again Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles, but he took the risk not only because he hadn't been stopped before, but because Japan and Italy had also got away with bullying other countries.

Not long after this, Hitler set his sights on Czechoslovakia and in October 1938, the German army marched into the Sudetenland – a part of Czechoslovakia with many German-speaking people. Hitler said such people wanted to be part of Germany, which was true, but his real reason for invading was that the area was rich in coal and deposits of iron.

Appeasement

"I felt it my duty to strain every nerve to avoid another Great War."

Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister 1938

Neville Chamberlain didn't stop Hitler invading Austria and Czechoslovakia. He wanted to avoid another war. He was prepared to give in to Hitler. Why would he do this?

Remember the horrors of World War I. It was now 1938 – twenty years on.

Neville Chamberlain knew that if war broke out, terrible destruction would come to Britain. The Luftwaffe, the German Air Force, were now able to reach all parts of Britain. They were able to carry, and therefore drop, powerful bombs. Neville Chamberlain wanted to prevent this and thought the best way to do so was to give in. This is called appeasement.

It is possible that Chamberlain believed that he would have to go to war with Hitler eventually. Possibly this was another reason why he gave in – he wanted to choose a better time to fight. If he could delay the start of the war it would give Britain more time to re-arm and prepare for war. Germany had been preparing for war for years but the British had not and so needed more time.

Assessment

You arrange to interview Chamberlain in 1938. You cannot understand why he has allowed Hitler to get way with all the things he has done. You ask him to explain why he is following a policy of appeasement.

• What does Chamberlain say to you?
• Why has he allowed Hitler to invade Austria and Czechoslovakia?
• Can he give you a reason that you understand?

Write his reply. Give details and use your own knowledge to explain.

Remember the power of aeroplanes in 1938. Were other weapons more powerful? Perhaps you can give examples.

Pages created by J Reeve, 2006.