#2.Churchill As War Time Prime Minister

Question 1

when was frances defenced broken

Answer 1

10th of may

Question 2

by the 28th of may what even occured

Answer 2

Dunkirk evacuation

Question 3

how many men needed rescuing from Dunkirk

Answer 3

300,000

Question 4

what were other issues Britain faced in may 1940

Answer 4

fear of italy taking over suez canal and egypt
japan and British possessions in east asia
Gold reserves
Germany had bombed Poland and would likely bomb Britain
Lord Halifax was in his cabinet

Question 5

what did the war cabinet discuss on the 28th of may

Answer 5

French proposal to approach Mussolini to find out Hitlers peace terms

Question 6

what was the reason for Halifax’s opinion

Answer 6

he wanted to solve the issue before France fell

Question 7

when were the Dunkirk evacuations

Answer 7

4th June

Question 8

how many were evacuated from Dunkirk

Answer 8

224,318 British troops

111,172 allied troops

Question 9

what made britains and France’s relations poor

Answer 9

the bombing of the French fleet in 1940 and the refusal to give planes to France to help defend

Question 10

where did Britain send its forces when there was a threat of German invasion

Answer 10

Egypt

Question 11

Where did the German bombing Campaign divert it’s attention to

Answer 11

the towns and cities of Britain

Question 12

How did the bombing of British cities help Britain

Answer 12

it allowed the RAF to recover

Question 13

how was 1940 an achievement for Britain

Answer 13

the UK had stood alone in the war against Germany, Italy and Japan without any allies

Question 14

how was Churchill a good war leader

Answer 14

strong relationship with allies
strong speeches
travlled to see other war leaders
he had daring ruthlessness

Question 15

who were the four main generals during the war

Answer 15

Brooke
Wavell
Auchinleck
Montgomery

Question 16

how was churchills relationship with Brooke

Answer 16

they agreed on key issues ie no invasion of northern europe and the committment to egypt and the suex cana; however hated political intereferance and disliked Churchill’s carelessness

Question 17

how was churchills relationship with Wavell

Answer 17

Churchill personally disliked him, when italy invaded Greece (1940) and Britain tried to defend it they lost to nazi reinforcements and Wavell was demoted

Question 18

how was churchills relationship with Auchinleck

Answer 18

he was wavell’s replacement- had good defence and counter attacks upon german’s in north Africa. But was sacked by Churchill for making delays to progress

Question 19

how was churchills relationship with Montgomery

Answer 19

Churchill favoured his character- won battle of el alamein in 1942, however most of the first successes of the war should have been accredited to Auchinleck

Question 20

where did war lead after the North African campaign

Answer 20

Invasion of italy and Sicily

Question 21

when was the date for the D-Day landings in France

Answer 21

6th June 1944

Question 22

who led the D day landings

Answer 22

General Morgan

Question 23

what was italy and the meditterranian viewed as

Answer 23

the sift underbelly of europe

Question 24

what were the reasons for a North Africa Campaign

Answer 24

protection of the Empire
trade with india
protection of oil fields which could have come into german hands
a war in turkey and greece would still help the Russians

Question 25

what were the arguments against the north africa campaign

Answer 25

the war relied on russian survival
it only had limited strategic importance
german atlantic fortifications weren’t built until 1942

Question 26

when did italy join ww2

Answer 26

1940

Question 27

when was the invasion of italy

Answer 27

1943

Question 28

why was the italy campaign controversial

Answer 28

sixteen allied divisions were occupied in italy when they could have been in france
italy was no longer a serious threat
for germans to be defeated action in france was required

Question 29

why was the D-day invasion postponed to june 1944

Answer 29

high casualities were expected 
russia was weakening german armies 
there was still a struglle in Italy 
Britain needed to protect it's empire 
seemed like a logical step from north africa

Question 30

why was the bombing of german cities justiied

Answer 30

german forces had used it to create terror in Poland 1939 and France in 1940.
public support for the bombing campaign

Question 31

what were the arguments against bombing germany

Answer 31

ethical obligations
1942 not effective or precise enough to destroy german industries
didn’t destroy morale

Question 32

how many germans died in total between 1939-45 from bombing

Answer 32

400,000- 600,000

Question 33

how many died in Dresden 1945

Answer 33

40,000

Question 34

how did Britain and Churchill become less important to the war effort

Answer 34

after USSR and USA has heavier involvement Britain’s role was sidelined
forced to accept yalta conference
annoyed that Roosevelt paid little attention to russia dominated post war europe
1944 was stretched against multiple fronts= opens front in greece

Question 35

why was the war criticised for continuing in 1944

Answer 35

War was for poland but now it was under soviet control.
Britain was defender of civilised values but had been involved with unethical bombing
was at war to preserve empire in the east
US controlled large amounts of troops in UK

Question 36

what were some of the reforms made during WW2

Answer 36

rest centres (those who suffered during air raids)
committee for homeless
national assistance (old means test ended 1941)
national fire service
railways nationalised 1942
1941- 8/10 hospitals nationalised

Question 37

why did labour win the 1945 election

Answer 37

beveridge report 1942- promised to be implemented by labour
labour offered a progressive manifesto
Herbert Morrison becomes household name after air raid shelter
many believed in welfare state and more fair opportunities

Question 38

why did the conservatives loose the 1945 election

Answer 38

conservatives blamed for ‘hungry decade’ of 1930s and appeasement
making associations between Attlee and the gestapo

Question 39

what other factors influenced the 1945 election

Answer 39

success of the USSR

electoral system lab got 47% of vote and con got 36.2% of vote however they got 61.4% of seats and tories only got 30.8%