Total War, Britain during the Second World War

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Total War, Britain during the Second World War

Part 1: The outbreak of war

When war broke out on 3 September 1939, the mood in Britain was very serious. Nobody expected that the war was going to be ‘Over by Christmas’. The British government reacted quickly. There had been a war scare in September 1938 at the time of the Munich Crisis and this provided valuable practice for the real thing. In the meantime, gas-masks had been produced for everybody in the population and air-raid shelters had been constructed. The Emergency Powers Act, which allowed the government to control public life throughout the war was passed in August 1939. On aspect of it was the introduction of Identity Cards, which had to be carried at all times. These were also used for National Registration which allowed people to be called up for the armed forces or for war work.

Fears of bombing

It was widely believed that British towns and cities would be bombed immediately after war was declared and that hundreds of thousands of people would be killed or wounded. In 1937 the Air Ministry had estimated that on the first day of a war with Germany, 3,500 tonnes of bombs would be dropped on Britain and that a further 700 tonnes would be dropped on every day after that. Deaths were estimated at fifty people for every tonne of bombs. 1,250,000 cardboard coffins were produced and plans were made for mass burials. The casualties expected would require 2,800,000 hospital beds, so all hospitals were taken over by the government under the Emergency Medical Service. Their work was co-ordinated for the first time and all non-emergency patients, and many people who were seriously ill, were sent home. Cinemas and theatres were closed and new regulations were introduced by the Defence of the Realm Act. It became an offence to be seen without a gas-mask

The calculations of the numbers of bombs dropped and people killed were based on completely inaccurate figures. The German airforce (the Luftwaffe) had been very effective during the Spanish Civil War, when it had had almost no opposition and had been able to bomb at low level in daylight. Bombing Britain was quite another proposition as the Germans found out in 1940. One major advantage that Britain had was that Robert Watson Watt had invented Radar in 1936 and by 1939 a network of radar Stations had been built along the east and south coasts. These were able to warn the RAF of approaching raids.

Regulations from September 1939

In the first few months of the war, several new ministries were set up to organise the fight against Germany. Food, Shipping, Economic Warfare and Information all came under government control. At first, these new ministries had little effect, but over the next six months they became more and more important. The Ministry of Information began to make films that warned the British people of the possible dangers of the war and also how to recognise German paratroops and spies. Lord Woolton became Minister of Food in April 1940 and began to encourage the British people to save food. He also organised the publication of recipe books to help housewives overcome the monotony of the diet under rationing. His most famous creation was Woolton Pie, which was made from vegetables and potatoes.

Air Raid Precautions

A blackout went into force immediately in September 1939. All lights had to be hidden at night. Blackout material could be bought cheaply and windows were taped to prevent people being injured by flying glass. Anderson air-raid shelters were distributed; these were dug into the garden and covered with earth. They were designed to protect people against falling brickwork if the houses were bombed. In areas where it was impossible to use Anderson shelters, large concrete shelters with curved roofs were constructed.

Many people, however, had no gardens and no public shelters, particularly if they lived in city centres or in flats. Some moved in with friends or relatives during warnings, others moved onto the ground floor. Here they constructed a safe room, sometimes in a cellar. From 1941, some people used a Morrison shelter, which was a steel cage, which fitted under a dining table. To reduce the likelihood of casualties, people were advised to keep off the streets as much as possible.

To tackle the effects of bombing, the British government set up a series of Auxiliary Services, of which the Air Raid Precaution (ARP) was one. Just as important were the Observer Corps, which watched for planes on high buildings, counting and identifying them for the RAF controllers after they had been picked up on radar and the Auxiliary Fire Service, which worked alongside the Fire Brigade and Heavy Rescue Squads, which tried to find the victims of air-raids,

Evacuation

Evacuation was the moving of children and other vulnerable people from areas that were likely to be bombed during the Second World War. About 1,500,000 people were evacuated during the period from 1 to 4 September. Britain was divided into three regions, Evacuation areas, Neutral Areas and Reception Areas. People at risk were moved from Evacuation areas to Reception areas in the four day period. The whole transport system was taken over for the purpose.

Numbers of people evacuated in September 1939

Schoolchildren                        827,000

Mothers and children                524,000

Pregnant women                          13,000

Blind and disabled people                    7,000

Teachers                                103,000

Children were moved in school groups with their teachers. They were allowed to take one suitcase and had labels around their necks in case they got lost. Evacuation was not compulsory and many people refused to go. In all about 48% of schoolchildren left evacuation areas. In the reception areas host families were allowed to choose the evacuees they wanted. This could create problems because some children did not find homes.

Government propaganda

To back up the new regulations and to remind the people of Britain that great care was needed, the government bombarded them with propaganda. There were wireless broadcasts, posters and a large number of short films. Some showed how to fit a gas mask, others described simple fire precaution, but all emphasised the need for people to remain calm.

The Phoney War

Within a few weeks of the declaration of war, many of the precautions seemed to be pointless, because there were no air-raids and no fighting. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF), which had been sent to Belgium, saw no action at all. People began to get careless, gas masks were left at home, children began to come home from evacuation and by January 1940 40% of all evacuees had returned home. There was a general air that perhaps nothing was going to happen after all and there were still a million people unemployed. This was very surprising as industries had been put on a war footing and production had been increased. It was a sign that the government was a little half-hearted in its methods

By December most places of entertainment were open again. Cinemas and theatres ignored the regulations ordering them to close.During the Phoney War regulations were gradually ignored. People became more careless about carrying their gas masks and observing the black out

Rationing

During the Phoney war, the government introduced rationing in January 1940. This continued throughout the war. At first only some foods were rationed, but clothing, soap and furniture were all added later. Rationing did not end in 1945, but lasted until 1953. Some foods, notably bread, were rationed for the first time after the end of the war. It was believed that bread would have been too much of a blow to people’s morale while the fighting was still going on.

Reasons for rationing

There were a number of reasons for the introduction of rationing. In the first place it was intended to ensure that Britain had an adequate supply of food. In 1939 Britain only produced about 45% of its food supply, the rest was imported. Britain had been threatened with starvation during the Napoleonic War and during the First World War and it was an obvious way of attacking the country

Rationing was also intended to keep up morale by ensuring that everybody was treated equally. The government realised that food prices were going to rise and did not want the rich to be able to buy things that others could not afford. King George VI allowed his ration book to be published and kept to the limits set.

Rationing was also meant to try to ensure that people in Britain were as healthy as possible; this had two purposes. Fit people would be able to work, but they would also needs little hospital care or other medical treatment. Both of these would help the war effort tremendously as there were bound to be many urgent casualties from bombing.

The rationing system

Under rationing the amounts of food that people got each week were strictly controlled. Everyone was issued with a ration book and then had to register with a butcher, a grocer and a dairy, who were then supplied with enough food for their customers. The ration book had to be taken on holidays and given to the landlady or hotel. But not everybody received the same rations. A committee was set up to decide how much nutrition people in different jobs required. Workers in heavy industry received more, as did pregnant women. Workers in office jobs received less.

Special supplements were made available for young children; orange juice and cod liver oil became common and lasted long after the war. The government also produced artificial meats. Such as SPAM and MOR. These were made from off-cuts of pork and ham and were tinned. They survived on school dinner menus until well into the 1970s

To help families, school meals were made available for every child so that mothers could work during the day and not have to worry about their children at lunchtime. British restaurants were opened to give people cheap meals at lunchtime and in the evening. These were 'off the ration'.

Despite all of the government’s attempts to ensure that people were treated equally, there was a ‘black market’ in food. Sometimes it was simply odd pieces of meat that were left over after all of an anima; had been cut up. Liver, kidneys and other offal could be made into sausages and sold ‘under the counter’. People who lived in the countryside often had food to spare and could sell it to ‘black marketeers’, who resold it at a profit. Much more serious were cases of smuggling or the theft of food before it reached the shops.


Part 2: Blitzkrieg

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Ideas about the war changed overnight on 9 April 1940, when the Germans invaded Denmark and then Norway. A month later Holland, Belgium and France were also attacked. All five countries were quickly overrun and by 22 June Hitler was master of western Europe. The Phoney War now seemed nothing more than a distant memory.

In Britain the most important effect of the German attacks was the resignation of Neville Chamberlain as prime minister and the appointment of Winston Churchill. At first there was a good deal of pressure on Churchill from his Cabinet to make peace ...

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