What should you know about the two World Wars for the Life in the UK test?

What should you know about the two World Wars for the Life in the UK test?

Learn each war as a short story with a cause, two sides, a few turning points and an end. Then compare them, because people confuse the two.

The First World War ran from 1914 to 1918. The Second World War began in 1939 and ended in 1945.

What caused the First World War?

The early 1900s were a time of hope in Britain. The country had a large Empire, a respected navy and thriving industry. Social progress brought old-age pensions, free school meals and help for the unemployed. MPs began to be paid for the first time.

On 28 June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated. That was the trigger. There were deeper causes as well: growing nationalism, militarism, imperialism and a Europe divided into two camps.

Who fought and what happened?

Britain was with the Allied Powers, including France, Russia, Japan, Belgium and Serbia, and later Italy, Romania, Greece and the United States. The Central Powers were mainly Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, and later Bulgaria. The whole Empire joined in. More than a million Indians fought for Britain and around 40,000 were killed. Men from the West Indies, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada fought as well.

Millions were killed or wounded, with over 2 million British casualties. The attack on the Somme in July 1916 caused about 60,000 British casualties on the first day. The war ended at 11.00 am on 11 November 1918.

What happened in Ireland and between the wars?

Home Rule for Ireland was promised in 1913, but the war made the government postpone it. Nationalists rose in Dublin in the Easter Rising of 1916, and the leaders were executed. A peace treaty came in 1921, and in 1922 Ireland became two countries: Northern Ireland, in the UK, and the Irish Free State.

In the 1920s living conditions improved. In 1929 the Great Depression brought mass unemployment in places, though new industries such as cars and aviation grew. The BBC began radio in 1922 and the world's first regular television service in 1936. In 1918 women over 30 won the vote partly because of their work in the war.

What caused the Second World War?

Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. He thought the terms forced on Germany after the First World War were unfair, and he wanted more land. He rebuilt the army and tested other countries. Britain tried hard to avoid war. When he invaded Poland in 1939, Britain and France declared war.

The sides were the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) and the Allies, mainly the UK, France, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa.

What were the turning points?

Think of it in order:

• 1940: France falls and Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister. He refused to surrender and inspired people.
• Dunkirk: more than 300,000 men were saved from the beaches by the navy and civilian boats.
• Summer 1940: the Battle of Britain was won in the air by the RAF, using the Spitfire and the Hurricane.
• Then the Blitz: night bombing of cities. Coventry was almost destroyed. People still speak of "the Blitz spirit".
• 1941: Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, and the United States joined after Pearl Harbour in December.
• 6 June 1944: D-Day, the landing in Normandy.
• May 1945: Germany was defeated. In August the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war with Japan.

From the end of June 1940 until June 1941, Britain and the Empire stood almost alone against Nazi Germany.

What else was linked to the war?

Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, and Howard Florey and Ernst Chain turned it into a usable drug, mass produced by the 1940s. Scientists led by Ernest Rutherford were the first to split the atom.

How can you keep the two wars apart?

Make a table with two columns. Under each, write the start year, the cause, the sides, the main events and the end date. Notice that the First World War lasted four years, while the Second lasted six. Many people mix up the Somme (First) with D-Day (Second), and the trenches (First) with the Blitz (Second).

For the battles of both wars, see battles and wars. For what changed next, read Britain since 1945. The chapter is on the history chapter page, and you can check your progress with the free practice test.

Check yourself

Name the event that triggered the First World War and give its date.

Name three events of 1940 and put them in order.

What changed in the UK for women's votes because of the First World War?