Summary of Chapter Two Churchill as a wartime prime minister for OCR Britain
128 views 1 purchase
Course
Britain 1930-1997
Institution
OCR
Book
OCR A Level History
Summary of Chapter Two: Britain's position in the world 1951-97. These useful pages summarise the key points in the chapter in as few words as possible. A great place to start revision from rather than reading through the huge textbook. These notes helped me achieve an A*. Apologies for any spelli...
Britain 1951—1997 Revision Notes (Britain 1930—1997: History OCR A-Level)
Churchill 1930—1951 Revision Notes (Britain : History OCR A-Level)
Summary OCR A Level History - OCR A Level History: Britain 1930–1997 - Britain (Y113) - Full Revision Notes
All for this textbook (20)
Written for
A/AS Level
OCR
history
Britain 1930-1997
All documents for this subject (15)
Seller
Follow
niaburkinshaw
Reviews received
Content preview
Initial challenges that Churchill faced
o Came into office may 10th may 1940 with bad
o By 13th Churchill puts cabinet together
o Little enthusiasm from Roosevelt
o Cabinet contained Chamberlin lovers
o Bad military record
• Gallipoli
❖ Trade routs to Russia
❖ Underestimated ottomans, believing 50.000 men would be enough
• Despite lord Kitchener stressing 70,000 required
• Greeks said 150,000 required, ARROGENTALLY IGNORED
❖ Since week navy sent old battleships forced to regroup
❖ At landings allies failed to exploit advances due to lack of leadership
❖ 56,000 men lost
❖ Not get beyond the beaches
• Norway
❖ Poorly managed, attempt to block Germany accessing Swedish iron ore
❖ Plan was to lay mines in Norwegian waters
❖ Disputes about methods and objectives (forces in Namos forced to withdraw early)
❖ In Narvick little was achieved and fell to Germans
o By 28th May
• British army been cut off from French, and went to Dunkirk, chance of rescuing 300,000 due to German
air superiority
• Italy threatened to join war
❖ Threatening Suez Canal, and vital Indian trade
• Japanese threat in south Asia
• Diminishing gold reserves
• Threat of bombing, Germany had already large scale bombed Poland
• Halifax as foreign sectary making discreet appeasement deals
❖ With Italy to discover German peace terms it Wasn’t cowardly seemed sensible
❖ However made Britain seem week
❖ Pressure by Roosevelt for peace conference by Australian high commissioner, Churchill
rejected it describing it as ‘rot.’
o Action taken
• 4th of June improved situation as Dunkirk evacuated
❖ However Belgium surrender, France next
• Direct appeal to US who responded with isolationism
• French and Britain allied, but could not prevent surrender
❖ 3rd July attack on French fleet so Germans didn’t get ships
• Churchill starts a Egyptian campaign agenised Italy, however forgetting about Germany as an increasing
threat
• Dowding came up with strategy while change in German tactics from airfields to civilians to mobilise
small group of fighters energetic working irregular
❖ Not backed by Churchill for personality clash
o Churchills special style
• High levels of dedication and energy
❖ Tries to micro-manage and supervise all details
• Many irrelevant ideas
❖ Despite scientists showing the impracticalities ( germ warfare)
• Energetic and worked irregular hours which he expected others to do
• Believed in establishing strong relationships with allies
❖ Roosevelt and Stalin
• Inspiring speeches
• Military and flamboyant outfit
• Daring and ruthless
❖ He decided to destroy a entire French fleet to prevent German captur
, Relationships with generals
o Lacking military experience
o Offering opinionated strategic views
o Frustrated by military leader caution
o Didn’t like that in ww1 generals like Haig could peruse costly plans (bit hypocritical)
o Brooke
• Highly competent organiser
• Different temperament to Churchill
• Conscious of need to deploy troops to prevent heavy losses
• However for major decisions less deliberation
• No resistance to middle east campaign, despite only leaving the air force and navy to
defend Europe
• Nor resistance to troops in Italy occupying more British than German troops
• Not in charge of German invasion in 1944, went to Eisenhower
o Wavell
• Initial rapid victories in north Africa, little credit given
• Personally disliked by Churchill
• Some troops taken by Churchill to Greece
• When Germans invaded and evacuation to create occurred, he was blamed and
demoted
o Auchinleck
• Insisted on delay and created a effective defence
• Sacked for delays
o Montgomery
• Won over Churchill with self confidence
• At El Alimein had better preparations that Auchinleck should have been credited for
• Slow in following up victory
• ‘Operation market garden’ was overambitious
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller niaburkinshaw. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $4.56. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.