The 1945 election was the first general election to be held in Britain since November 1935. It was held on 5 July 1945 with the result announced three weeks later on 26 July 1945 to allow the votes of those serving overseas to be counted. From May 1940...
Pages tagged with "Second World War"
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During the late 1930s, the British government began to prepare the civilian population for war. As well as the widely expected and feared bombing raids, it was also thought that poison gas might be used against civilians. Gas masks were issued in 1938...
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The Nazis had made clear their hatred of Jews from as early as 1920. Their vision was of a German race cleansed of what they regarded as an alien species. After Hitler became chancellor in January 1933, the Nazis immediately began to enact laws which...
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The name given to Britain’s policy in the 1930s of allowing Hitler to expand German territory unchecked, appeasement was instituted in the hope of avoiding war. Most closely associated with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, it is now widely...
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After Germany invaded the Soviet Union (Russia) on 22 June 1941, the Soviet leader, Stalin, demanded help, and the western Allies provided supplies. The most direct route was by sea, around northern Norway to the Soviet ports of Murmansk and Archangel....
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In 1942, in retaliation for an RAF bombing raid on the German town of Lübeck, the Luftwaffe launched a series of destructive raids against historic towns and cities in Britain. These attacks were termed the 'Baedeker' raids after the famous German travel...
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Victory in the Battle of the River Plate, the first major naval engagement of the war, was a great boost to British morale during the ‘Phoney War’. When war broke out, the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, was...
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Blitzkrieg ('Lightning War') was the method of offensive warfare responsible for Nazi Germany’s military successes in the early years of the war. Combined forces of tanks, motorised infantry and artillery penetrated an opponent’s defences on a narrow...
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The Second World War brought many changes to the lives of children in Britain. For some, the war was a time of fear and confusion that meant separation from families, the destruction of a home or even the loss of a parent. However, for others, these...
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Six years of war brought many changes to familiar festive rituals. Christmas celebrations often had to be scaled down or adjusted as restrictions and shortages took hold. For many families, the most difficult part of a wartime Christmas would be spending...