Homework - Use the following source materials on the beginning of World War Two to answer the assigned questions.
Source # 1 - Video of Nazi Germany's takeover of Austria and Czechoslovakia - click here
Source # 2 - Graphic describing the tactic of Blitzkrieg
Source # 3 - Video of German victory against France and the Battle of Dunkirk - click here
Biography - Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle was born in 1890 in France. His father was a math teacher who had fought in the Franco-Prussian War which ended in defeat for France (it was at the end of the war the Otto von Bismarck had the King of Prussia crowned the Emperor of Germany at the Palace of Versailles). De Gaulle's father greatly influenced De Gaulle's life-long goal of restoring France to be the most powerful country in Europe.
In 1909, De Gaulle enrolled in a student in a military academy and graduated in 1912 a lieutenant in the French army. He led a frontline unit in World War One and awarded medals for bravery in battle. He was badly wounded in the battle of Verdun and was left for dead. However, he revived when his body was collected by the Germans to be buried. The Germans took him prisoner, and despite many escape attempts, he was held in a German maximum security prison for the rest of the war.
After the war de Gaulle returned to the French military. However, he got in trouble for constantly criticizing his superiors. They supported the ideas of trench warfare, which had been used in World War One. In contrast, De Gaulle thought the French army should become more modern in using armored tanks and in a strategy of mobile war (similar to the Blitzkrieg tactics designed by the Germans). The French military ignored De Gaulle's ideas - the Germans read them.
When Germany attacked France in 1940, De Gaulle was put in command of a tank unit which was able to slow the German attack. However, because other parts of the French army retreated, De Gaulle was also forced to retreat. After six weeks of fighting, the French government and military decided to surrender to the Germans instead of continuing to fight. However, while he was not a top French commander, De Gaulle refused to surrender. He said, "France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war." De Gaulle fled to England where he began to organize the Free French and support the British in their war against Germany by organizing soldiers from French colonies to fight on the Allied side. From England, De Gaulle was able to lead the French resistance to the German occupation of France and he spoke to the French people by radio broadcast from England.
After the Allied D-Day invasion of France in June 1944, De Gaulle returned to France as a hero and was elected the premier, or leader, of the country. However, De Gaulle often fought against the other national leaders, many of whom had worked with the Germans while they occupied France. In 1946, he resigned his position. However, he remained an active force in French politics and became the president of France from 1958 to 1969. He died in 1970.
Source # 4 - Video on the Battle of Britain - click here
Note - You will have to log into your BHS Google Account to access the video
Biography - Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was born in 1874 in England. His father was a member of the British Parliament and his mother was an American heiress. Churchill was sent to a military school where was popular, but not a good student and had a tendency to get in trouble. He went on to study at the Royal Military Academy and graduate to become a military officer. After graduating, Churchill traveled to Cuba, India, Sudan and South Africa as a war reporter for a British newspaper.
When he was 25, Churchill returned to England and was elected to British Parliament. As a young Member of Parliament, Churchill was very outspoken and active, working to both reduce taxes and improve the lives of the poor. As a result of his hard work, in 1911, he was promoted to be the First Lord of the Admiralty, which meant that he was in charge of the British Navy. Churchill was worried that the Germans were building a navy to be stronger than the British Navy and so he spent the next three years working to build up the strength of the British Navy. As a result, the British Navy was prepared for war when World War One began in 1914.
As the First Lord of the Admiralty, Churchill was involved in planning the British strategy in World War One. The first significant setback in his life was his plan to attack the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Gallipoli. The Ottoman Empire was seen as being weak and Churchill thought it was would be easy to defeat them. However, the Ottoman defense to the British attack was strong and Churchill's plan turned into a military disaster for the British. Churchill was forced to resign his position in the government. Out of government, Churchill joined the British Army and served as the commander of a unit on the Western Front in France. While he did not participate in any major battles, he did spend a significant amount of time on the front line. In 1917, he returned to government and was made Minister of Munitions (weapons).
After World War One, Churchill was a leader in the Conservative Party and held different positions in the British Government. However, he spent more time on personal interests such a writing books, painting and even learning how to do masonry (build with bricks).
In the late 1930’s, Churchill began to speak out against Hitler and said that Britain needed to stand up to Nazi Germany. Churchill argued that the British policy of giving in to Hitler’s aggression would make Hitler stronger and would lead to war. The war Churchill feared began in 1939 when Germany attacked Poland. Churchill’s stance against Hitler and Nazi Germany made him very popular with the people of Britain.
After Germany attacked France in May 1940, Churchill became the Prime Minister and began to rally the British people to a long war against Germany. He gave many speeches to Parliament, such as his famous “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat” speech to inspire the British to keep fighting against a seemingly invincible enemy. After the defeat of France, Britain was alone in its war against Germany. It was a time when Britain doggedly fought on against Germany even though seemed to be winning and German air force was bombing British cities in the Battle of Britain. It was during this period that Churchill proved to be a strong leader by telling the British people that Britain would “never surrender”. Churchill became known as the "British Bulldog".
In 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union and declared war on the United States. After these events, Britain no longer stood alone against Nazi Germany. From this point forward, Churchill worked closely with Franklin Roosevelt, President of the United States, and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, to coordinate that Allies’ war against Nazi Germany. However, Churchill never fully trusted Stalin and tried to prevent Stalin from gaining too much territory at the end of the war.
As the war ended, Churchill saw that Britain was weak and was no longer the world power it had been before World War One. This realization caused Churchill to tried to get the United States to take on the role of standing up to Stalin and the Soviet Union. In 1946, Churchill visited the United States and famously used the term “Iron Curtin” to describe how the countries of Eastern Europe were now controlled by the Soviet Union and forced to become communist.
Churchill also argued for more unity among the countries of Europe to prevent another war. He said that the countries should form a “United States of Europe” and supported many of the early parts of building the European Union.
After the war, Churchill, who was then 70, resigned as Prime Minister. However, six years later, he was again elected Prime Minister and served until he was 80 years old, when because of poor health he had to retire. He continued to be very active, spending his time writing, speaking and painting. In his later life he won the Nobel Prize for Literature and was made a honorary citizen of the United States. He died in 1965 from a stroke.
Source # 5 - Except from Winston Churchill speech "Never Surrender" delivered to British Parliament on June 4, 1940
Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…
Source # 6 - Cartoon of Winston Churchill published on June 8, 1940
