Great Britain During World War II

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It’s 4:30am on September 1st, 1939 and the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein awaits for the order to open fire on the Polish garrison of the Westerplatte Fort, Danzig in what was to become the first military engagement of World War II. Meanwhile, sixty two German divisions supported by 1,300 fighter planes prepared for the invasion of Poland. Fifteen minutes later the invasion would take place and spark the beginning of World War II. Two days later at 9am Great Britain would send an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that they pull from Poland or go to war with Great Britain. Four hours later the Ultimatum would expire and Great Britain would officially be at war with Germany on September 3rd, 1939. Six hours later France would also declare war on Germany. In May 1940, Britain would get a more aggressive Pro-war leader, Winston Churchill, to replace Neville Chamberlain. Later that month, on May 26, 1940, in the face of a large-scale German attack, British soldiers on the home front were forced to perform one of the largest evacuations in history, The Evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk on the Belgian coast. From July through October, the British people suffered under the Battle of Britain, which was a lot of intense German bombings. But, the Royal Air Force successfully defended its homeland from the German Luftwaffe, and the Nazis were unable to crush British morale. In March 1941, the United States began giving direct aid to the British in the form of weapons and ammunition through the Lend-Lease Act. After Pearl Harbor, in December, America would directly become involved in aiding the British in Europe. In January 1942, Roosevelt and Churchill decided to establish a Combined Chiefs of Staff and to the ma... ... middle of paper ... ...ed heavily on public subsidy, and the gas and electricity companies had in many cases developed as municipal undertakings. They seem of proper national concern. The iron and steel industry proved more controversial, being denationalized and renationalized in subsequent years. In international affairs the Attlee government introduces a major change of direction, beginning the dismantling of the British Empire. The empire becomes gradually transformed into a Commonwealth of independent nations, capable of accommodating republics as well as monarchies. Works Cited Gascoigne, Bamber. "HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN (from 1707)." History World. (2001): n. page. Print. . Gascoigne, Bamber. "World War II - The Blitz." History World. (2001): n. page. Web. 29 Sep. 2011. .

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