This essay will consist of a number of Interpretations some agreeing with the popular myth that the Battle of Britain was won "by the few" and the second part of the essay will be why Interpretations written after the battle do not follow the myth.

Battle of Britain Introduction This essay will consist of a number of Interpretations some agreeing with the popular myth that the Battle of Britain was won "by the few" and the second part of the essay will be why Interpretations written after the battle do not follow the myth. In July 1940 Hitler offered a negotiated surrender. Which consisted of Britain being allowed to keep their empire. The Germans considered this very generous considering after World War I, Britain, took all Germanys colonies off them. But the proud Winston Churchill turned the offer down and Britain prepared to be the next victims of blitzkrieg. The South coast of Britain was deserted, with road signs being taken out. Cars and oil barrels where placed in fields to prevent enemy planes landing. With the U.S.A still not playing an active part in WWII, and all of Britain's Europeans allies crippled, Winston Churchill was left alone to fight the Nazi onslaught. It was clear that air superiority was going to be a key part in the Battle of Britain. If the Nazis managed to gain the air superiority over the English Channel that would be leave the nazi boat the freedom of the water and an Invasion of Britain would inevitable. But if the R.A.F managed to keep control, of the skies, the Germanysnavy would become under heavy fire, and with a high risk of many ships being lost

  • Word count: 4459
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Explain why Britain was able to continue to hold between June 1940 and the end of 1943.

BRITAIN'S SURVIVAL 1940-43 When France surrendered in June 1940 Britain was the only European country holding out against Germany. Explain why Britain was able to continue to hold between June 1940 and the end of 1943. There were many reasons in why Britain was able to hold out against Germany in the battle of Britain for so long with no allies, but the main reason was that they maintained air superiority. To maintain air superiority Britain developed a system called "Chain-Home". This was a system of aerial defences, which had been put into place between the times of "The Munich Agreement" and the defeat of France (Oct 1938). Radar (or RDF) stations were placed on the southern border of Britain and would detect incoming planes. Then men in observation towers would see what type of planes were attacking and transmit it back to fighter command where they would send the appropriate type and number of planes to shoot down the opposition. British planes also had another advantage; they were fighting over their home country. If a pilot survives a crash they can land in Kent or Sussex and head back to fighter command to take off again, pilots were much more needed than planes. The German pilots however would be kept as prisoners of war. The British planes could also land and refuel but the German planes could only spend 10 minutes over Britain before refuelling. The planes

  • Word count: 975
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The Battle Of Gettysburg

The Battle Of Gettysburg The night of July 2nd marked the end of two bloody and inconclusive days of fighting. After the promising scenario of July 1st and the route of the Union 1st and 11th corps, things were becoming bleak after the failure of assaults launched by General Robert E. Lee on July 2nd, against both sides of Union general George Gordon Meade's positions. Robert E. Lee, with his spirits and hope high, was determined to drive his rival from the field, crush the Potomac Army, and even and force the United States government to negotiate a peace settlement with the rebellious Confederate States of America. As for July 3rd, Lee proposed an assault against the center of the Union line, 1 away from the 'Cemetery Ridge'. The essence of this attack would be the 5,400 men of Major General George Pickett's division of Longstreet's corps. Supporting Pickett's battering would be portions of 'A.P. Hill's' corps, which had been heavily used on July 1st but had partially been reserved on the 2nd. A total of 12,000 men would take part in the planned attack. Due to the nature of Meade's troop, the famous "fishhook line", these forces could be easily supported by other units of the Army of the Potomac. One of the squad's leaders in Pickett's division was General Lewis Armistead, a participant of the prior war of Mexico and a close friend of Winfield Hancock. Armistead's brigade

  • Word count: 1312
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The Battle of the Somme was a complete waste of Time………………

The Battle of the Somme was a complete waste of Time.................. I disagree, although the loss of life in the Somme was tremendous, I don't think the Somme was a complete waste of time. It did accomplish its original aims - relieving the French at Ver Dun, pushing the Germans back. The Battle of the Somme started on July the first of 1916 at 7:30 am. It was the idea of a man called Sir Douglas Hague. It was formulated with the goal of relieving the French at Ver Dun. Ver Dun was an area that held great significance to the French and they would defend it no matter what. Hague thought that if the British were to attack a point on the German lines then they would draw troops to defend it, draw troops from Ver Dun, relieving the French and giving them a chance to recover and regroup. That was not the only goal. Hague also believed that he could use this opportunity to push the Germans back. Also the battle would give the British a chance to use some new weapons. The plan was simple, the British would fire their artillery for a solid week, killing all the Germans and destroying the barbed wire. The British soldiers would then be able to literally walk across and take the German trenches. This however did not go exactly to plan. The first problem came with the artillery. For this job the British were using a new piece called the 'creeping barrage'. The way this was used

  • Word count: 783
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Explain how Spielberg presents the horrors of war in the opening sequence of 'Saving Private Ryan'. What do you believe his purpose is and to what extent does he achieve his purpose?"

"Explain how Spielberg presents the horrors of war in the opening sequence of 'Saving Private Ryan'. What do you believe his purpose is and to what extent does he achieve his purpose?" Steven Spielberg uses different camera shots, the use of sound and silence, colour and light, and the contrasting pace between the two scenes to display the horrors of war and the impact it has on the lives of the soldiers' families and themselves. I think the purpose of the opening sequence is to get the audience emotionally involved. It shows the brutality and pain the soldiers experienced during and after battle for their country's pride. The opening sequence shocks you and creates a sense of terror in the battle and a fear of what will happen next. 'Saving Private Ryan' has some central camera angles throughout the battle sequence; these include the shot of the Captain Miller's hand shaking vigorously just as he is about to go onto the beach and fight for his country, and also a close up of Captain Miller's face, showing the anxiety that he is feeling about the next ten minutes or so, which could put his life in jeopardy. The most significant part of the battle scene is when Tom Hanks stops for a moment of silence and contemplation, next to a barricade, and looks around to gather his thoughts and perspective at that moment in time. The whole of the time that he is thinking is displayed in

  • Word count: 934
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"How far was the Battleof the Somme a "Victory" for the British?"

"HOW FAR WAS THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME A "VICTORY" FOR THE BRITISH" A) PLAN OF INVESTIGATION: "How far was the Battle of the Somme a "Victory" for the British?" This investigation seeks to evaluate the extent to which the Battle of the Somme was a victory for the British. The main body of this investigation will outline the way the British set out their strategies to win the war and what were its weaknesses and oppositions. During this investigation two main sources are going to be used: "The first day of the Somme" by Richard Tames and the other source is from the British newspaper "The Times" written on July 3rd 1916(still existing today).Through these 2 different sources we will evaluate and highlight the differences and similarities about the British "victory" over the Somme. To evaluate the success and failures about the British offensive in the Somme it is important to know who is writing the source because the writer may be biased in favour of one side. This will be mentioned during the investigation. The investigation will also mention the origin purpose, value and limitations of the sources chosen. B) SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE: The aim of the British army was to bombard the German defences by breaking through their trenches and barbed wire until they gave up. At first there were around 120,000 British soldiers attacking along the 18 mile front. The British and the

  • Word count: 1887
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Jellicoe threw away a great chance to Win a decisive victory at Jutland".

"Jellicoe threw away a great chance to Win a decisive victory at Jutland" Both naval fleets had never experienced a "Battle at Sea" before in the war. The Battle of Jutland would be the only sea campaign that they would encounter. Both fleet commanders, Admiral Jellicoe of the British Grand Fleet and Vice Admiral Scheer of Germanys High Seas Fleet both had a plan to lure one another into a trap. Using a small number of ships to act as 'bait'. However neither commander realised the opposing side had most of their fleets close by. On 31st May 1916 forty German Ships, commanded by Hipper encountered 52 British vessels, commanded by Admiral Beatty. Each fleet was led by their battle cruisers, which were very powerful. They both opened fire 15 kilometres away from each other at about half- past three in the afternoon. The German fleet had an advantage because their gunners were far more accurate than the British. Their shells were far more destructive as well. They annihilated two battle cruisers- the Indefatigable and the Queen Mary. Enormous internal explosions sank them. The German shells pierced the gun turrets and started fires on the British ships. The fire exploded the magazines and the ammunition, which was kept stored below decks. The British navy were more likely to suffer damage to their magazines as their ships were poorly designed. The magazines that were

  • Word count: 687
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Compare the ways in which "on the idle hill" and "The destruction of Sennacherib" portrays images of war".

"Compare the ways in which "on the idle hill" and "The destruction of Sennacherib" portrays images of war". The structure of these 2 poems are similar but comparisons can be made between "On the idle hill" and "The destruction of Sennacherib" Although the content is similar the title, tone, language, devices, structure and punctuation are very different. In the early 1800's when Byron wrote "The destruction of Sennacherib" a large war campaign was occurring; The Napoleonic Wars. The wars surrounding him would effect his view on war. In the late 1800's when Housman wrote "On the idle hill", no major battle was occurring. However, ironically within 20 years of this poem more "lads" were being sent to the slaughter in World War One. The titles of the two poems are very different. "On the idle hill" portrays a very passive image, whereas "Destruction of Sennacherib" is very active. Byron's poem is a stereotype of war. The title shows action and it brings a sense of all encompassing. Whereas "On the idle hill" shows laziness as "idle" personifies the hill making the start of the poem peaceful and natural. This image contradicts war, which is very ironic. The two poems by Byron and Housman portray war. "On the idle hill" is a very natural affair. "The Destruction of Sennacherib" is a very violent and graphic event. Both of the poems show the beginning and the end of the battle

  • Word count: 1013
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Why Did So Many Men die in the Battle of the Somme?

Why Did So Many Men die in the Battle of the Somme? Introduction The World War I started in 1914 and ended in 1918. The main European countries that were involved in the war were France, Russia and Britain. These countries were on one side. On the other side the countries involved were Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. The Battle I'm going to talk about is the Battle of the Somme, this was between Germany and Britain. The main question is 'why did so many British man die in the Battle of the Somme'. The Contexts are: ) Disaster on the first day 2) The failure of plan of the attack 3) Deaths in the Battle of the Somme 4) The Nature of Trench Warfare 5) Failure of Tanks 6) Conclusion of the essay Disaster on the first day Introduction of the point: Commander in Chief Douglas Haig planned to win the war in one major battle. But he made a very big mistake and I'm going to tell you what happened with some evidence. What happened The battle began with a five-day bombardment of the enemy trenches. On 1 July Commander Douglas Haig ordered the advance to begin. He told his troops that they should walk across 'No mans land' because there would not be 'even a rat' alive in the German trenches. While the bombardment was taking place, the Germans had withdrawn into especially prepared deep dugouts. Once it had stopped, they prepared for the advancing British soldiers.

  • Word count: 1787
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The battle of the Somme - This analysis is to debate whether or not the battle should have been fought using the sources and information given.

The Battle of the Somme Began on the first of july 1916, historians have been debating for years on whether or not it should have been fought. This analysis is to debate whether or not the battle should have been fought using the sources and information given. Source A is an extract of comments made by Jack Cousins on atelevision interview years after the war. "You'll find the barbed wire infront of the German trenches blown away." However it had just been thrown about and got tangled even more. This source is fairly reliable and it is determined by this statement. This source gives the impression that the battle should not have been fought because as Jack Cousins stated "wrong information" was given, so the battle was wrong as soldiers were not fully prepared for the things they faced. Source B was written by a historian, B.H Liddle Hart, for a book in 1972. This source is from endless research and interviews. "German machine gunners had perfected to a three minute drill " because the first day didn't go well, this statement is also fairly reliable and the source is written by a historian, this gives its more reliablity. However this source again shows the battle should not have been fought as Germans had better weapons and could use them affectively as the British had poor and obsolete weaponry which makes it unfair and a one sided battle. The Germans had a better

  • Word count: 1929
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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