...Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic were both imperative for the Allies during World War II. The victories from these battles gave the allied forces hope and more momentum during the war. Germany was a strong military force and had already captured Poland and was spreading throughout Europe. The Battles decisive victories put a halt to German operations and pushed pack the Germans from their original invasion plans. The Battle of Britain was definitely a turning point for the Second World War since it prevented Hitler from controlling Western Europe. Germany had already invaded France, Britain partner in the declaration of war, and if the British Isles had fallen, Germany might have won the war. However, as I will show in this article, Operation Sea lion, The Nazi plan for invasion of Britain, was not planned well, and would probably not have succeeded even if the RAF had not taken down the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. .A.F.'s victory in the Battle of Britain was the first nail the evil Nazi empire's coffin and ensured it's final defeat, it bought valuable time for Britain and the world. A free Britain slowly but surely built it's forces, worked hand in glove with the U.S.A., supplied the U.S.S.R. and brought the resources of it's vast Empire to bear on Herr Hitler and his Nazi hordes The Battle Of The Atlantic was the LONGEST battle of the entire war, and it ebbed and flowed for five...
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...The Battle of Britain I. DEFINE THE SUBJECT The Battle of Britain began shortly after the fall of France was emanate and would eventually sign an armistice with Germany. This would allow Germany to focus squarely on Great Britain. In late May, 1941 Prime Minister Winston Churchill disregarded calls for peace 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...
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...Battle of Britain Marie A Spicer HIS331 Professor Golding May 18, 2013 The Battle of Britain was the longest and bloodiest battle to date lasting five years. The Battle of Britain was not fought by the army or sailors or marines but by the Air force it is also the largest aerial bombing to this day. Portsmouth, was one of the main targets; a few weeks later Luftwaffe started on RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the weeks went on there were other targets as well. Luftwaffe started zoning in on other places of interest using terror bombing strategy Germany failed its plans to destroy inflight defenses, or get them to surrender. This ended the threat of Operation Sea Lion from coming into play. May 1940, German had gained control of Belgium, and northern France and the Neverlands Hitler started to eye the British, using their bombers and fighters, first against shipping, airfields, and on the villages, Luftwaffe was not doing well at all, and it was noticeable to say the least. The Luftwaffe’s turning point was that it did not have the equipment or training it so needed This created a lose lose situation from the start. The fighting experience on the two sides was incomparable to one another. The RAF’s had better planes than the Germans and that was that. The RAF during the fight was happy to have the advantage of defending against attacks. This was because of the Radar system. British luck came as Luftwaffe didn’t use strategic bombing. On September,15 84...
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...Battle of Britain The Hollywood film I chose to study was the Battle of Britain, directed by Guy Hamilton. In 1940, the diabolical mind of Adolf Hitler was planning to bomb Britain into submission. There was only one problem, standing in between of Hitler’s warped ideas of “Fortress Europe” and Britain’s freedom was the Royal Air force. The R.A.F is a group of pilots who dedicated themselves to protecting Britain and facing the overwhelming number of enemy German planes. The Luftwaffe hesitated their attack on Britain which gave the Royal Air Force the much needed time to get reorganized and to figure out their plan of attack. The German army wanted to brutally bomb Britain so that when the time came for Germany to attack Britain across the English Channel, it would be much easier. The first time German airplanes attacked, Britain was prepared with radar, but the Germans soon found out and quickly got rid of it. When Germany first started bombing they focused on only bombing the British airfields, so that Britain would not be able to fight back at full strength. The Luftwaffe had many more pilots and planes than Britain did and as the battle progressed Britain started running low on pilots. In the film, one night German pilots were going bombing and got confused as to where they were, so they figured it would be a safe place to drop their remaining bombs. Little did they know they bombed London, a major political city in Britain. Britain retaliated by bombing Berlin. This caused...
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..."[Adolf Hitler] had been waiting a long time for August 15" (Skipper 14). The Battle of Britain was an air battle between Germany and Britain. Before Germany invaded Britain, it had taken over eight other countries including France, Austria, and Belgium. Britain was the last country Adolf Hitler needed to take over before attacking the United States. On August 15, 1940, Germany attacked Britain for the first time. From that day to November 7, bombs and gunfire could be heard in both countries. In the three month period, many soldier and civilian lives were lost. By September, Royal Air Force and German soldiers were exhausted. When the war was over, the land of Germany and Britain was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. Despite the fact that Germany had more soldiers and aircraft, Britain was able to win the battle using radar networks and fighting on familiar land. When looking back on the Battle of Britain, there are reasons that support the ideas that it was horrible yet beneficial battle. The book Battle of Britain by G. C. Skipper supports the idea that the battle was controversial....
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...colonialism as a state centralized system of power, often distinguished by economic exploitation and with astounding disregard for the colonies (D. Gregory, R. Johnston, G. Pratt, M. Watts & S. Whatmore 2009). Great Britain was no stranger to colonialism, and since the first settlers arrived at Jamestown, the British Empire expanded its control over the first thirteen colonies for nearly 170 years. An intricate part of colonialism was the economic doctrine of Mercantilism. In Companion to British History, Mercantilism is explained as a basic economic theory to increase the country’s wealth by amassing gold. He listed amongst other aspects of the theory the following trade policies: trade restraints by prohibition, taxation on imported goods which could be produced in the colony, prohibition of imports from countries with unfavorable trade balance, goods exported to colony had to pass through home country ports first, establishment of trade treaties, and the regulation of colonial trades so that the colony’s raw materials were exported to the imperial power in exchange for the import of that power’s manufactured goods (2008 Charles Arnold-Baker). At the end of the French and Indian wars in 1763 and in order to fund the British debt from that war, Great Britain began to exercise more control over the colonies by passing trade acts to include increased taxation. The Sugar Act of 1764, increase the duties on sugar and many other raw materials which restricted the colonies’...
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...Country First Rev. Second Rev. Third Rev. Britain • 1760’s – 1830’s • Agriculture improve: • Open field inefficient • Animal raising and new crops • Transportation: canals, turnpikes • Financial: • Bank of England created • Adam Smith’s invisible hand • Provincial banks created - Technological: • Spinning Jenny, steam engine • 1840’s – 1940’s • Transportation: - railway -shipping changes from wood to steel construct. -automobiles • Mining: • Steel, iron, coal • Financial: • Limited liability • Larger firms • Technological: • Textile and electrical engineering • Depression after WWI: • Cotton market down and exports down • Bankrupt due to WWI • Response via tariffs, limited unemployment insurance, devaluation of currency and abandonment of gold • 1940’s - PRESENT • Beveridge → nationalize industries services • Lagged behind other countries but major player in petro, auto, and pharmaceuticals USA • 1790’s – 1850’s • Agriculture and National Economy: • Cotton gin spurred slavery in West • Transportation: • Railway, canal, roads • Technology: • Textiles, vulcanizing rubber, wheat reaper, telegraph • Immigration: • Chinese, Irish, Germans (up) • 1860’s - 1940 • Transportation: • Railways increase • Technology: • Telephone, patents, Bell & Edison • Entrepreneurs: • JP Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller • Roaring 20s: • Exports increase • Ford and the car • Tariff law (Fordney’s) - 1929 depression: - unemployment increase - Roosevelt’s...
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...In my opinion, the 1950s cannot be seen as a period of prosperity for the people of Britain for a number of reasons which I will explain further on. I believe that source 1 mainly agrees with the above statement, however, there are some areas in the source which can display ways in which the source doesn’t fully agree with the above statements. Source 2 also, somewhat agrees with the above question, however, there are a greater number of aspects of the question which can imply that the statement is not 100% true. Source 3 is the source which mostly disagrees with the above question for a number of reasons. I believe that the 1950s were not years of great prosperity for the people in Britain for a number of reasons. Firstly, although source 1 states that the British people ‘have never had it so good’ it can be interpreted that this account could be considered as being somewhat biased as it is a speech made by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in July 1957 during a Conservative Party rally in Bedford which means that all that is said in the rally is to ensure that all the supporters of the party are pleased with the progress that is being made. As it is a speech made at the rally of the party that implemented policies in order for this situation to happen they would only discuss the positives of their policies and only talk about the benefits it has for people, it would not discuss the limitations or the negative impact it may have had on the lives of some. The use of the word...
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...Queen Ann's War, which lasted from 1702 to 1713, was the second of the four North American wars that were waged by the British and the French between 1689 and 1763. This was a direct result of the global maritime and colonial rivalry between Great Britain and France. In addition, it was also a result of the struggles between these two forces for control of the Europeans and North American continents. Queen Ann's War occurred because of unresolved issues that developed at the end of King William's War, from 168 to 1697. The main events that occurred during Queen Ann's War were the capture and the burning of Saint Augustine by English colonies in 1701. During this time, St. Augustine was under Spanish possession. A major French operation was the capture and the burning of Deerfield, Massachusetts and the massacre of many of residents of the town in 1704. 1 What followed these operations were unsuccessful expeditions in 1704 and 1707 by the troops from New England against Port Royal, Acadia and the conquest of Arcadia in 1710 by colonist that were supported by a squadron of British ships.2 One major operation that was a failure by the British was a joint venture by the British and the colonial joint military against Quebec and Montreal. When the war ended in 1713, it brought an end to the War of the Spanish Succession. Walker's Expedition to Quebec was also referred to as the Quebec Expedition. This was an attempt by the British to attack Quebec in 1711 during Queen Ann's...
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...After the Great Awakening, the colonies began to structure an unusual American identity following the shadow of Britain mercantilism. Multiple European wars affected Atlantic trade and encouraged Britain to review its policy of salutary neglect toward the colonies. After the French and Indian War, Britain challenged the colonial war effort and sought to return the colonies to strict control only to be confronted by negative reactions and conflicts that led to a call for colonial independence. During the war, British encouraged the colonies to display a unified effort against the French. They wanted the colonists to raise money and form troops to fight against the French and their Indian allies. The resulting Albany Plan of Union failed to...
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...To grow, Britain needed good reliable, extensive, cheap transport systems. Heavy raw materials such as coal, cotton and iron had to be brought to factories. Then the finished product had to be delivered all over Britain and abroad. As well as the goods businessmen and woman had to be able to travel to sell their goods.  Between 1750 and 1900 many types of transport were used on the roads: packhorse trains, wide wheeled wagons and mail coaches. Soon many problems grew: road traffic grew rapidly. there were pot holes to fall into. there was no spring in the wheels of the carriages so it made it an uncomfortable ride. the roads weren’t smooth and wheels got caught on rocks. when the soil got wet it went into mud and it was very hard to get the wheels through. the roads were getting damaged. footmen sometimes had to walk in front with an axe to clear the way of bushes and trees. journeys in wagons took twice as long in the winter than in the summer. the fastest coach took six and a half days from London to Newcastle. There was danger of Highway men (people who mugged carriages for goods). Soon the roads were improved when business people and local people joined together to form turnpike trusts and parliament gave them control over a section of road. The people set up gates and toll houses and charged people to use the roads. The money that they raised was used to improve the roads or even build new ones. The number of turnpike trusts grew quickly and soon...
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...Essay - Great Britain Between the late 16th and early 18th centuries Great Britain was the world's biggest empire to date, and controlled almost a fourth of the known world. This massive empire was achieved through bloody conquest and suppression of the native population in every country, which Great Britain got into contact with. In the time of the empire, artists created paintings of this great nation, they painted its great fights and conquests of the new worlds that were discovered. Britain was portrayed as a fair and just ruler of the savages, but this was far from the truth, because Britain just exploited the countries and brought along with its rule enslavement of entire populations, which was maintained by ruling with an iron fist. Many in Britain today still believe that imperial times were a glorious period that the inhabitants of the Britain should be admiring and looking up to. But imperial Britain wrought so much pain to the populations that was suppressed and forced into slave like conditions for the good of the empire, even though the British Empire helped create infrastructure in their occupied land and laid the foundation for new democracies. In the two following articles and the documentary “Seven Ages of Britain -Episode 6 Age of Empire” will the topic of whether or not Britons should be apologetic for their time as an empire be analysed and discussed. The article: “British Empire: Students should be taught colonialism ‘not all good’, say historians”...
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...Dossier #6 TRADITION AND MODERNITY “The sun never sets on the British Empire. "This famous quote is often used to show the large number of territories that Britain had all over the world during the seventeenth to the middle of the twentieth century. By extension, this also shows the scope of its influencel. The first of this set of three documents is the opening speech to the 2012 Olympic Games given by Academy Award winner film director Danny Boyles under whose direction the whole programme fell. At first sight Boyle’s text seem somewhat unrelated to the Olympics as it seems rather like a tribute to Britain and we get the impression that he was on a mission of patriotism lauding Britain as a great country. However, to put this speech into perspective it may be worthwhile to bear in mind the fact that, as mandated by the Olympic Charter, the formal ceremonial opening of this international sporting event is combined with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation’s culture. We can therefore understand the relevance of the contents of this opening speech. In fact, the different sections of the ceremony were designed to reflect aspects of British history and culture. Document 2 is the 2006 logo of the British Conservatist party. The previous logo of a torch which was used from 1983 until then was abandoned because of its negative association with the party under Margaret Thatcher. The torch emblem logo having been introduced in the Iron Lady’s eighties heyday, David...
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...During World War 2 after the fall of France to Germany, Hitler’s next move would be to attack Britain. In order to successfully invade Britain, Hitler’s army would have to attack by air. Hitler knew that Britain’s Royal Navy would be too strong for Germany to conquer, so Hitler and his military leaders came up with Operation Sea Lion. This Operation was supposed to give Germany control of the English Channel. Before the main plan could go into effect however, Germany first had to take down Britain’s Royal Air Force (R.A.F) Hitler would send around 2700 fighter planes to attack and destroy the R.A.F. The Battle of Britain marked the first time a major battle was fought completely by air. This grave mistake to underestimate Winston Churchill’s leadership ability and Britain’s Aerial strength proved to be the first major turning point for World War 2. Invading Britain was a tough decision for Hitler, because he had to decide whether it would be smarter to invade Russia or Britain first. Before the Battle took place, Hitler believed that Britain would be too scared to fight and that they would try to negotiate a peace offer. He figured that without any European allies left, Britain would quickly succumb to his will. Winston Churchill had others plans however, he hated Hitler and would never make a peace treaty with someone he believed to be evil. Instead he rallied the people of Britain and began to prepare his country for a long and disastrous war. Meanwhile, Hitler himself was...
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...for one is a place for holidaying, not for politics. Most British politicians have been unfamiliar with, and have felt distaste for continental politics. The Labour party for example wanted to get Britain taken out of the EU. Britain has also been an Empire for a long time, and then it’s hard to join an organization demanding a handover of national sovereignty. The EU standards and regulations are something that triggers irritation in Britain when they for example have to change the way they make bicycle brakes to meet EU standards, when they think their way of making bicycle brakes is perfectly fine. One issue which has caused big discussions is the Agricultural policy and the British contributions to the community budget. Britain expected to gain new alliances, new markets and to strengthen their European identity by joining the EU. But she had little satisfaction from the experience, one reason for this could be that EU membership seemed to have brought Britain neither the expected losses nor the expected gains. Even though Britain isn’t too pleased being a member of the EU she cant leave the community because an increasing amount of her trade is done with the EU. When the EU was formed it was 30% as compared to the 45% today. It would also be unthinkable for Britain to be shut out of talks on world issues with such countries as France and Germany, something she probably would be if she quit being a member of the...
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