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The bombing to Great Britain
Everyone in Britain expected Germany to invade, but the British air force won an important battle against German planes in the air over Britain . This, however , did not prevent the German air force from bombing the towns of Britain. Almost one and a half million people in London were made homeless by German bombing during the next few months. -
Fight for power.
The war quickly became worldwide. Both sides wanted to control the oil in the Middle East , and the Suez Canal, Britain's route to India.
Japan, Germany's ally, atacked British colonial possessions, including Malaya (Malaysia) , Burma and India. As a result , Britain used soldiers from all parts of its empire to help fight against Germany, Italy and Japan. But the weakness of Britain was obvious to the whole world when its army surrendered Singapore to Japan. -
They forced to forced onto the battlefield two of the most powerful nations in the world.
In 1941 Germany and Japan had made two mistakes
which undoubtedly cost them the war. Germany
attacked the Soviet Union, and Japan attacked the
United States. -
The Soviet army pushed Germany out of the USSR.
The Soviet army was pushing the Germans out of the USSR,
and Britain had driven German and Italian troops out of North Africa. Italy surrendered quickly following Allied landings in July 1943. -
Secondary education for all
In 1944 , for the first time, the government promised free secondary education for all, and promised to provide more further and higher education. -
Britain and the United States invaded German- occupied France.
Britain and the United States invaded German occupied
France. They had already started to bomb German towns, causing greater destruction than any war had ever caused before. -
Germany surrendered
In May 1945, Germany finally surrendered. In order to save further
casualties among their own troops, Britain and the United States then used their bombing power to defeat Japan. -
The ideas of union are not established, Europe is divided.
At the end of the war the victorious Allies created the United Nations, which expressed the ideas of the Atlantic Charter. The idea of the four allies (Soviet Union, United States, France and Britain) working together for the recovery of central Europe collapsed. Europe became divided into two, the eastern part under communist Soviet control, the western part under a capitalist system protected by US power. -
The URSS tried to capture Berlin
The Sovier Union tried to capture West Berlin by stopping all road and rail traffic to it. As a result of the struggle for West Berlin opposing alliances were formed: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of the Western nations, and the Warsaw Pact of the Eastern bloc. -
North Korea Invaded South Korea.
Troops of North Korea, which was under Soviet control invaded South Korea, which was under US control. Brirish troops formed part of the United Nations force which defended South Korea. -
increase in car production.
Car production was twice what it had been in 1939, and by 1960 cars were owned not only by richer people but by many on a lower income. -
The building of the first nuclear energy power station.
Britain's leadership in nuclear power resulted in the devlopment of nuclear weapons. But it also led to the building of the first nuclear energy power station in the world in 1956. -
Britain wanted to join the European Community.
Britain was increasingly in terested in joining th e new European Community (EC) . Britain wanted to join the Community because of the realisation that it had lost political power internationally, and because of a growing desire to play a greater part in European politics. -
The Beatles
The Beatles were an example of the new popular culture. They came from an ordinary suburb of Liverpool, and quickly became world famous. -
Britain become a member of E.C.
Great Britain finally became a member of the European Community. -
Malvinas/Falklands War
Britain went to war to take back the Falklands/Malvinas after an "Argentinian invasion". Inspite of the great distance involved, British forces were able to carry out a rapid recapture of the islands. The operation was very popular in Britain, perhaps because it suggested that Britain was still a world power. -
The economic cost.
The war itself had cost £900 million, but the total cost
of defending the island since 1982 had risen to £3 billion by 1987. -
Conservative Party
In the national elections that year, the Conservative Party was returned to power with a majority of 102 seats. This -
The Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution was about the sovereignty of
Parliament in the nation's affairs. But not everyone
was happy with parl iamentary life.