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London and the Second World War, 1939–45

Britain and the Second World War: the wider context

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1

Overview

What the Blitz was, why the Luftwaffe turned on cities, German aims, the relief for Fighter Command, other bombed cities, why raids ended in May 1941, the Ministry of Information, censorship and the 'Blitz spirit'.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

What is meant by the Blitz?

Key term

Why did the Luftwaffe turn from airfields to cities in September 1940?

Key term

What did the German high command hope the bombing of the capital would achieve?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is meant by the Blitz?

    Model answer

    The sustained German bombing campaign against British cities that ran from September 1940 to May 1941.

  2. 2

    Why did the Luftwaffe turn from airfields to cities in September 1940?

    Model answer

    It had failed to destroy Fighter Command by attacking its airfields, and Hitler ordered reprisals after the RAF bombed Berlin.

  3. 3

    What did the German high command hope the bombing of the capital would achieve?

    Model answer

    To wreck the port and war industries, and to break civilian will so that Britain would agree to peace terms.

  4. 4

    How did the switch to bombing cities help the RAF?

    Model answer

    It gave Fighter Command's battered sector stations and airfields time to repair and rest, which helped Britain win the Battle of Britain.

  5. 5

    Which other British cities were heavily bombed in the same campaign?

    Model answer

    Coventry, which was devastated on 14 November 1940, together with Liverpool, Plymouth, Hull, Bristol, Clydebank and Belfast.

  6. 6

    Why did the heavy raids stop in May 1941?

    Model answer

    The bomber squadrons were moved east to take part in the German invasion of the Soviet Union that June.

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£6.6 , fixed in 1921.
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Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe huge loss of life left England short of workers.
BForeign craftsmen and labourers were wanted.
CCompetition for work also bred resentment.

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Strategy means the plan for a whole campaign.
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