Upload
bethanie-flowers
View
235
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Thesis
Despite Britain’s and France’s declaration of war on Germany, the Phoney War demonstrated the ineptness of the war as no significant military event occurred in the entire span of seven months.
Overview
No major hostilities taking place
From October 1939 to April 1940 (7 months 4 days)
"There is something phoney about this war."
Term was coined by US senator William Borah because nothing of military importance took place in Western Europe
Oct 14 1939• The British battleship
Royal Oak is sunk by Germans (death toll of 833 men)
Nov 30 1939• The USSR/Soviets
attack Finland
Dec 13 1939• The Royal Navy Sinks
German battleship Admiral Graf Spee
Dec 14 1939• Soviet Union expelled
from League of Nations
Dec 15 1939• The French build up
forces behind the Maginot Line
Feb 16 1940• The British capture the
Altmark from the Germans
Mar 12 1940• Finland signs a peace
treaty with USSR/Soviets
Mar 13 1940• The Winter War ends
Apr 9 1940• Germany invades
Denmark and Norway
Apr 13 1940• German lose 13
warships in the Battle of Narvik
May 10 1940• Chamberlain resigns,
Churchill becomes PM
TIM
ELIN
E
Background: Poland
Poland was occupied by Germany at the time
Allies didn’t do much to help
No land operations were undertaken by the Allies or the Germans after the German conquest of Poland in September 1939
Athenia
September 3- first casualty after Britain and France’s declaration of war on Germany
British passenger liner bound for Canada
Sunk by U-30 (German submarine)
Lemp, the German submarine commander claimed he thought “Athenia” was a naval boat
Sailing in zigzag manner Dark
Hitler claimed Winston Churchill ordered the British intelligence to place a bomb on the ship
Britain Protections
More time for government to protect Britain from an attack
Barrage balloons were deployed to force the Luftwafe to fly higher
Pillar boxes were painted with yellow gas-sensitive paint
38 million gas masks were handed out
Britain Protections(continued)
More time for government to protect Britain from an attack
Windows were taped- prevented glass from flying if bombed
400 million sandbags were piled around the entrances to shops and public buildings
“Bombing” Raids
British engaged in “bombing” raids in Germany
Dropped propaganda leaflets instead of bombs
Two purposes• Germans would
read about evils of Germany
• Show leaders of Germany how vulnerable their country was to bombing raids
Result: Germans
stepped up their anti-
aircraft protection
In September 3rd alone, 6 million copies of “Note to the German People were dropped in just one night (13 tons of paper!)
“Bombing” Raids (continued)
Politicians believed the raids served an important purpose
Members of military did not
‘BOMBER’ Harris writing at the end General Spears
of the war
My personal view is that the only thing achieved
was largely to supply the continent’s requirements of toilet paper for the five
long years of the war.
It is ignominious to wage a
confetti war against an utterly ruthless enemy.
Regulations
Public faced a torrent of prohibitions
Blackouts were regulated- low street lighting was allowed but no night time lighting of any description was allowed within 12 miles of the south-east coast
Public was unhappy
As nothing happened, things went back to normal
Works Cited
Hartley, June. "The Phoney War." BBC News- WW2 Memories. BBC, 2 June 2004. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
History.com. "Britain and France Declare War on Germany." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Jo, and Lydia. The Phoney War. Digital image. Wikispaces. Jspivey, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
"Phony War." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
"The Phoney War". HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. 2014. Web.