Britain at War
Britain at war Unseen archives Chapter one The opening moves
By the morning of the 3th september 1939 war was inevitable. Prime minister neville chamberlain broadcast to the nation at 11.15 a. that this country is at war withg germany this declaration followed britans issuing of an ultimatum to germany to withdraw from the polish territory they had attacked and occupied in the early hoin urs of the 1st september. Less than a year earlier at the end of september 1938 neville chamberlain had negotiated a peace deal in munich with adolf hitler which britain conceded to the germany annexation of sudetenland. to avoid a secound war with germany only twenty years since the end of the great war; chamberlian agreed that those parts of czechoslovakia,s sudetenland accupied by ethnic germans could become part of german territory. He reterned from the tank munich to declare i believe it to be peace in our time. The threat and outbrack of war brought immediate effects on most of the population. Fear of aerial bombardment first world war and developed by the germans in the spanish civil war provoked a mass evacuation of children young mothers and pregnant womanion from the majort cities whether one of the evacuation one of those lelf behind in the cities or one of those that housed the evacuees this process meant emotional and practical upheaval. By the secound crossed the channal to meet up with french force and moved to defend the belgian border these were regular and reserve soldiers well trained but poorly equipped although throughout there had been some preparations for war the years between the end of the great war the war to the end all wars and 1939 had seen a cutting down on defance spending so that when war did come the military were not in a state of readiness after the initial flurry of activity in september there was little action in 1939 the term phoney war was coined
By the morning of the 3th september 1939 war was inevitable. Prime minister neville chamberlain broadcast to the nation at 11.15 a. that this country is at war withg germany this declaration followed britans issuing of an ultimatum to germany to withdraw from the polish territory they had attacked and occupied in the early hoin urs of the 1st september. Less than a year earlier at the end of september 1938 neville chamberlain had negotiated a peace deal in munich with adolf hitler which britain conceded to the germany annexation of sudetenland. to avoid a secound war with germany only twenty years since the end of the great war; chamberlian agreed that those parts of czechoslovakia,s sudetenland accupied by ethnic germans could become part of german territory. He reterned from the tank munich to declare i believe it to be peace in our time. The threat and outbrack of war brought immediate effects on most of the population. Fear of aerial bombardment first world war and developed by the germans in the spanish civil war provoked a mass evacuation of children young mothers and pregnant womanion from the majort cities whether one of the evacuation one of those lelf behind in the cities or one of those that housed the evacuees this process meant emotional and practical upheaval. By the secound crossed the channal to meet up with french force and moved to defend the belgian border these were regular and reserve soldiers well trained but poorly equipped although throughout there had been some preparations for war the years between the end of the great war the war to the end all wars and 1939 had seen a cutting down on defance spending so that when war did come the military were not in a state of readiness after the initial flurry of activity in september there was little action in 1939 the term phoney war was coined