Churchill 1930-1945 Flashcards
(44 cards)
What was Churchills role in 1920s Britain?
• Lord of the Admiralty
• Chancellor of the Exchequer (no previous financial experience)
How did the Gold standard create issues for the working class?
Old staple industries suffered
Which demonstrations did Churchill show little sympathy towards in the 1920s?
1926 General strike
Sent military to deal with the tonypandy riots
Did not support Irish and Indian independence
When were the Round table talks and what were they about?
1930-31
Discussed Indian independence between the British government and the Indian independence movement
How did Ghandi participate in the fight for Indian independence?
Led protests, attended the round table talks, released from prison to meet with the king
How many died in the Amritsar massacre (1919) and what was it?
379 deaths
British troops open fired on indian protestors
When was the government of India act passed and what did it do?
1935
Didn’t grant India independence, but set up a framework of a less controlled government
Which group was against Indian independence?
Indian empire society
What was Churchill’s view of Indian independence?
• Wanted to keep India, described it as the “jewel in the crown” of the British empire
• Anglo-Saxon supremacy, didn’t think India was smart enough for self governance
• Part of the Indian empire society
When did King Edward VIII abdicate?
December 1936
Why did Edward VIII abdicate?
• His affair with American Wallis Simpson caused controversy (she previously had a divorce)
• Encouraged to abdicate by Parliament after visiting Merthyr Tydfil and claiming “something must be done”
What was churchills approach to Edward VIII’s abdication?
• Wanted Edward and Wallis to have a morganatic marriage (she would gain none of his assets from marriage)
• Part of group ‘The Kings friends’ = loyalist, old fashioned views
How did appeasement fail?
In the Munich conference 1938, Chamberlain agreed to allow Hitler to invade the Sudetenland but not the rest of Czechoslovakia
Broke the agreement in March 1939 when German troops marched into Prague
How many people were unemployed in Britain by 1938?
2.5 million
Why was appeasement a good idea for Britain at the time?
• Against rearmament because they couldn’t afford it (Great Depression), would cost £700 million
• 2.5 million unemployed
• 10 year rule, no war for ten years
What were Churchill’s view on how to approach the war in 1938 instead of appeasement?
- Grand Alliance with US, USSR, Britain and France
- War in 1938
- Rearmament
Why did churchills proposals to counter appeasement not work?
• Countries couldn’t agree on an approach to justify a grand alliance
France: wanted harsher treatment of Germany (TofV)
US: isolationist
USSR: communism
• Germany had more troops than Britain
• Depression weakened British economy
How many troops did the German army have in comparison to the British army in 1938?
Germany : 1 million
Britain : 896,000
What was the “phoney war”?
No military action took place in Western Europe
•Naval blockade
•British troops forced to withdraw from Norway
Why was Churchill elected as PM in 1940?
Previously appointed to the admiralty and oversaw many victories
Why did Sir Hugh Dowding and Churchill disagree in the Battle of Britain?
Churchill wanted to send aircraft to aid France
Dowding wanted to preserve aircraft for home defence and didn’t want to launch an all out attack on Germany straight away
Dowding dismissed Churchill and led Britain to victory in the Battle of Britain
How many British troops were evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940?
224,318
How was the Mediterranean strategy successful?
• Secured the Suez Canal and protected vital trade routes
• Invaded Sicily in 1943 to avoid German occupation in Italy
Which wartime generals did Churchill work well with?
Montgomery
Sir Alan Brooke
