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March Z0T3 Vo|ume:5 No:6
A Shot that led to
Seventy Mi l l i on Deaths!
The day was June 28
th
, 1 91 4. Arch
duke Franz Ferdi nand, heir to the
Austro-Hungarianthrone,cl i mbed i nto
an open-topped car wi th hi s wife for
a ri de through Sarajevo, the capital
town of Bosni a-Herzegovi na. He had
no i nkl i ng of what lay in store for hi m.
This was to be a momentous ri de for
manki nd, and hi s l ast. He was on the
road to the greatest conflict the
world had seen till that ti me- World
War I.
Ni neteen year ol d Gavri l o Pri nci p,
shot and ki l led both Franz Ferdi nand
and hi s wife. The automatic pistol of
that young Serbi an not onl y put an
end to the l ife of a nobl e and hi s wife,
but al so triggered a great war, that
cl ai med more than ten mi l l i on l ives.
The war to end al l wars actual ly be
came a curtai n rai ser for a more
deadly war - World War I I . It has been
esti mated that more than si xty mi l
l i on people di ed i n that war. Thi s i ssue
of Manorama Tel l Me Why sketches
World War I and Wof
the darkest chaD
k
m
o

manki nd.
I
r M
FROMTHEHOU5EOFMAGlCPOT,MANORAMAYEAR:!C;,\':l.TA.THLWEEK

MALAYALAMANORAMADAlLY
.
l

Why is it said that

Europe was ripe for
war in 1 9141
World War I whi ch
broke out i n 1 91 4, was
the greatest conflict
that the world had seen
ti l l that ti me, and it
eventual l y i nvolved
more than 25 nati ons.
Even before the war,
condi ti ons in Europe
seemed to ensure that a
conflict woul d occur.
The German Empi re
was establ i shed in 1 871 ,
Kaiser Wi l hel m I I , the
rul er of Germany from
1 888, was an ambi ti ous
man, who wanted to
make Germany a worl d
power. To achieve thi s,
he entered i nto an al l i
ance with I taly and Aus
tria-Hungary. Thi s al l i
ance was known as the
Tri pl e Al l iance or Central
Powers. Italy, however,
later took the si de of
the Al l i es.
The French hated the
Germans, and the Brit
ish were al so al armed at
Germany's i ncreasing
mi l itary power.
So, in
1 904, Britai n and France
Tell Me Why
Ferdinand and his wie
a short while before their
assassination
Gavrilo
Princip
Why did World War I finally break out?
Archduke Franz Ferdi nand was the
Crown Pri nce of Austria-Hungary. Hi s as
sassi nati on provided the sparkthat i gnited
World War I. I n 1 91 4, he and his wife went
on a visit to Serbi a, a country that Austria
had a strong i nfl uence over. Many Serbi an
nati onal i sts resented thi s Austri an i nfl u
ence, and one of them, Gavri l o Pri nci p,
shot the archduke on 28th June 1 91 4.
Thi s assassi nati on led to Austria-Hun
gary decl ari ng war on Serbia. At once the
system of al l i ances that had been i n pl ace
began to operate. Germany supported
Austria-Hungary. The Serbs had the sup
port of Russi a wi th whom it had an al l i ance,
and France backed Russi a. Though Britai n
di d not joi n the conflict i mmediatel y,
l i ed Powers .
when Germany
i nvaded neutral
Bel gi um in or
der to reach
France, Britai n
too joi ned the
war on the si de
of France and
Russi a. Thus the
war began to
i nvolve more
and more na
ti ons because
of the mutual
defense al l ianc
es that existed
in Europe at
that time.
1OCC|C|C
W0|IOWC|1
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became al l i es, and they were
joi ned by Russi a in 1 907. Thi s
al l i ance of three nati ons was
cal l ed the Tri pl e Entente or AI-
As tensi on grew between the
two opposing groups, war
seemed i nevitabl e.
World Wars '
Alfed von Schliefen
What was 'The
Schlieffen Plan'?
The Schl i effen Pl an
was created by the
German General Count
Alfred von Schl i effen
in December 1 905. At
that ti me Europe was
effectivelydivided i nto
two camps - Germany,
Austria and I tal y on
one side, and Britain,
France and Russi a on
the other. Germany
therefore faced ene
mi es on both the east
and the west.
Schliefen decided to
tackle the enemies on
the west first. He
thought that a massive
attack against France
would be enough to
put of Britai n. Accord
ing to hi s pl an, once
6
the enemies on the west were dealt with,
Germany woul d then get enough ti me
to tackle its Eastern enemy- Russi a.
Schl i effen al so pl anned to go through
Belgi um and Luxembourg i n order to at
tack France. Bel gi um had had her neu
tral ity guaranteed by Britai n i n 1 839 - so
hi s strategy for success depended on
Britai n not supporti ng Belgi um. Howev
er, ti me was to prove hi m wrong.
Why did Germany's calculations go
wrong on the Eastern Front?
Germany had thought that it coul d
defeat France first, before turni ng i ts at
tention to Russi a and that Britai n woul d
stay out of the war. Germany al so be
l ieved that it woul d have enough ti me to
get its army to the east after defeati ng
the French, because the vast Russi an ar
my woul d take at least si x weeks to mo
bi l ize. However, Germany had underes
ti mated the Russi ans.
The Russian army was huge - there were
about one and a hal f mi l l i on permanent
sol diers. I n additi on, Russia was able to
mobi lize about three mi l l ion more sol-
The Battle

T
*
k |U
T
of Marne
Te First Battle of
the Marne marked the
turning point i n the
way World War I was
fought. The invading
German forces had
moved to within b
Russian prisoners of war afer the
Battle ofTannenberg
di ers very quickl y i ndeed. I n
August, two separate Russi an
armi es i nvaded Germany, and
Germany was forced to fight the
war on both the eastern and
western fronts at the same time.
The Russi an forces vastly out
numbered the Germans, but the
Russi an army was badly trai ned
and i l l equi pped. Their com
munication system was not ef
fective, and as a result, the Ger
mans defeated the Russi ans at
the Battl e of Tannenberg.
Though the Germans were vic-
torious, the Russi an i nvasi on
meant that Germany had to di
vert many of its troops from the
Western Front where they were
badly needed.
|| |S1
b||1C|h,1hCh
KuSS|C
kms of Paris at the Marne River, when France counterattacked,
and halted the German advance. French reinforcements were
driven to the front by 600 Paris taxis! French and British troops
forced the Germans to retreat norh of
the Aisne River, where they dug in to
conduct the trench warare of the next
three years. Thus the German dream of a
quick victory could not become a real ity.
French soldiers preparing for an assault
1

k
The Race for the Sea
".
The 'racefor the sea'
was a name given to a period of World War I
when,aferthe Battle of Marne, both Germany
and the Al l i es wanted to avoid another head
on cl ash. Both si des dashed northwest, hop
ing to take control of the ports on the coast.
Each of them wanted to get ahead of the en
emy, and then wheel back to surround thei r
opponents.
Thi s so cal l ed race therefore ended at the North Sea coast.Thi s
area of Fl anders, described as havi ng the dreari est l andscape i n
Why was the Battle of Ypres
si gnificant?
The Battle of Ypres pl ayed a
si gnificant role i n World War I .
The town of Ypres was i mpor
tant, because the l and surround
ing Ypres to the north i s flat, and
canal s and rivers l i nk it to the
coast. Therefore, whoever con
trol l ed the town woul d control
the surroundi ng countryside.
British troops entered Ypres
i n October 1 91 4. Theywere una
ware of the size of the German
force advanci ng on the town.
Fi erce fi ghti ng took pl ace and
neither the Bri ti sh nor the Ger
mans coul d cl ai m to control the
area.
I n fact, the Battl e of Ypres ac
tual ly incl udes three battles. The
first Battle of Ypres took place
between October 30th and No-
8
Belgian soldiers defending the
German attack towards Ypres
vember 24th, 1 91 4. The Al l ies
won the battle. The second bat
tle took place between April 22nd
and May 25th, 1 91 5. The Germans
used a new weapon, gas, and
no si de real l y won thi s battle.
The thi rd battle took place be-
Tell Me Why
Western Europe, con
tai ned the last gap
through whi ch ei ther si de
coul d l aunch a deci sive
thrust. By October 1 91 4,
the Al l i es had reached
Ni euport on the North Sea
coast. The Germans, thei r
enemi es, captured Ant
werp and forced its Bel
gi an defenders back to
Nieuport, near Ypres.
tween July 31 51 and Novem
ber 1 Olh, 1 91 7. TheCanadi ans
eventual l y took the vi l lage of
Passchendal e after months
of fighti ng. The Al l i es then
stopped thei r ofensive. I n
the end. the Al liesonlygained
eight kms, and the casualties
total l ed 250,000 sol diers for
each si de.
World Wars
\
t l t
hat tu s of th
rlytr nches?
Trench warfare characterized
much of the fi ghti ng duri ng World
War I , parti cul arl y al ong the West
ern Front. At first, the trenches
were just long muddy hol es. Later,
trench systems became more
compl i cated, with many i nterl i nk
i ng l i nes oftrenches.
Many trenches were onl y head
hi gh, and had earth walls. The
earth that was removed to make
the trenches was pi led up to form
defensive banks. These banks
were strengthened with sandbags.
Some trenches were real l y deep,
and had coi l s ofbarbed wi re before
them as an additi onal defense.
Soldiers moving around the trenches

British troops sharing a trench with

French infantr
What were the different types of
trenches?
There were three different types of
trenches - front l i ne trenches, support
trenches, and reserve trenches. The front
l i ne were usual l y two metres deep, and
had a zigzag pattern to prevent enemy fire
from sweepi ng the entire length of the
trench.
The second and thi rd types of trenches
were the support and reserve trenches,
respectively. These trenches were con
structed to easi l y move sup
pl i es and troops to the front
trenches. Al l of the trenches
were l i nked to each other by
other trenches, underground
tunnels, or tel ephone com
munications
networks.
Barbwire was al so stretched
across the l i ne for protecti on
from enemy attack.
10
What was life l i ke
in the trenches?
Death was a con
stant compani on to
those servi ng i n the
trenches. The soldiers
in the trenches often
stayed there with
very l ittle sleep. The
mai n reason that
sol diers on the front
l i ne coul d not sleep
was that they had to
be on guard agai nst
enemy sneak at
tacks. Another rea
son that the sol di ers
were very ti red i s
that ni ght was used
as a ti me for prepa
ration and mai nte
nanceofthetrenches.
Te trenches were
constantly bei ng
destroyed, ehher by
enemy shel lfi re, or
Tell Me Why
water damage.
Sol diers al so had
to worry about
contracti ng di s
eases l i ke trench
foot and dysen
tery.
Rats thrived easi
ly in the trenches,
and keepi ngthem
at bay was a con
stant strai n. Lice
were a never-end
i ng problem,
breedi ng in the
seams of filthy
clothing and caus
i ng men to itch
unceasi ngly. Add
i ngtothe miseries
of trench l i fe were
poison gas attacks,
terrible fod, bore
dom, and sni per
attacks.
Why did the Allies attack Turkey?
I n 1 91 5, Worl d War I entered its sec
ond stage. The conflict gradual l y wi d
ened to i ncl ude many more nati ons.
The Ottoman Empi re i n Turkey was l os
i ng ground, and so Turkey deci ded to
attack Russi a. Germany welcomed Tur
keyasan al ly, and the Russi ansappealed
for hel p from Britai n and France to beat
off the attack.
Wi nston Churchi l l , a Bri ti sh politici an,
believed that an attack on Turkey was
necessary. He was convi nced that wi n
ni ng the war i n the trenches of the
Western Front i n Europe was dificult, and
argued that Germany coul d be defeated
only afer crushi ng its weaker al lies l i ke
Turkey first. Though many pol i ti ci ans
opposed hi m, Churchi l l fi nal ly got hi s
way, and the Al l i es attacked Turkey.
Turkish Soldiers
1 1
hy was the Gall i poli campaign a di s
aster?
The Gal l i pol i campai gn was a campai gn
to take over Constanti nople, the capital of
Turkey. Wi nston Churchi l l had developed a
pl an for attacki ng the Dardanel l es- the strait
of water on whi ch the city stands. Opera
tions agai nst the Dardanel les began on
February 1 9th, 1 91 5, with British shi ps bom
bardi ng Turki sh defenses with l ittle effect. A
second attack was made on the 25th whi ch
succeeded i n forci ng the Turks to fal l back.
However, the Bri ti sh mi nesweepers were
prevented from cleari ng the channel due to
heavy fire.
With the fai l ure of the naval campai gn, it
beca me clea r to Al l i ed leaders that a g rou nd
force was goi ng to be needed to el i mi nate
the Turki sh army on the Gal l i pol i Peni nsul a
whi ch commanded the straits. The Bri ti sh
pl an cal led for l andi ngs at Cape Hel les, near
the ti p of the peni nsul a. The first l andi ngs
began on Apri l 25th, 1 91 5, but were badl y
mi smanaged. Bri ti sh troops took heavy
casualties as they l anded, and in spite of
heavy fighti ng, were unabl e to make much
headway. A second l andi ng on August
tb
12
was si mi larl y un
successful. Fi nal ly,
the deci si on was
taken to evacuate.
The Al l ies had suf
fered heavy losses -
over 46,000 l ives
were lost in the di s
astrous Gal l i pol i
campai gn.
Why were the
Al lied troops i n
Bulgaria calle the
'forgotten army'?
Duri ngthecourse
of World War I, Bul -
Tell Me Why
The Anglo-Frenchfeet at the
entrance to the Dardanelles
garia, a nei ghbour of Serbia,
became a German al ly. The Al
l i es thought that Bul garia, wi th
Germany supporti ng i t, might
now attack Serbi a. So they sent
troops to Sal onkia i n Northern
Greece, whi ch bordered both
Bul gari a and Serbi a. The objec
tive was to hel p the Serbs i n
thei r fight agai nst Bul gari an
aggressi on. But the expedition
arrived too late, the Serbs hav
i ng been beaten before they
l anded. However, itwasdeci ded
to keep the force i n place for
future operati ons. So the troops
remai ned there for the rest of
thewar, and were often referred
to as 'the Forgotten army'.
What were the features of
the second Ypres ofensive?
The Second Battle of Ypres
comprised the onl y major at
tack l aunched by the German
forces on the Western Front i n
World Wars
1 9 1 5. Its mai n feature was that
for the first ti me, Germany de
ci ded to test the use of chl ori ne
gas as a weapon. The French
divi si ons were engulfed by a
cl oud of greeni sh yellow gas.
The effectiveness of the gas
attack was so compl ete, that it
surprised even the Germans.
The gas afected some 1 0,000
troops, hal f of whom di ed
withi n ten mi nutes. Those who
l ived were temporari l y bl i nded.
2,000 of these troops were cap
tured as pri soners of war. The
Germans were unprepared for
such a breakthrough however,
with the resul t that they fai l ed
to expl oit it to thei r advantage.
13
Whywasthererivalry
between German and
Britain for the upper
hand at sea?
Britai n had rul ed the
seas for many years be
fore World War I. Her
mi ghty navy was the
pride of the nati on. As
the German Empi re
gradual l y grew more
powerful, its rul er Kaiser
A propaganda poster
protesting the attack on
RMS Lusitania
A
Wi l hel m II was determi ned to make
Germany an equal l y strong mari ti me
power. I t was bel i eved that every na
tion that had rul ed the waves, had
prospered and thrived, whi l e those
that l acked naval supremacy, had not.
So a race for naval supremacy began
between Germany and Britai n. I n fact,
Germany's attempt to bui l d a battle
shi p fleet to match that of the United
Ki ngdom is often consi dered to be a
major reason for the enmity between
those two countries that resulted i n
World War I .
Why were the U-boats i mporant
in naval warare?
The German submari nes were known
as U-boats. More l i ke submersi bl e shi ps
than the submari nes of today, U-boats
operated pri mari l yon the surface usi ng
reg u l ar eng i nes, submerg i ng occasion
al ly to attack under battery power.
The U-boats were used to i mpose a
counter bl ockade. Si nce it was diffi cult
for underwater shi ps to stop and search
suspi ci ous vessels, the U-boats si mpl y
sank them wi thout any warni ng! On
May 7th, 1 5 a U- boat sank the l i ner
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusi tania and there was a
great deal of outrage at the
si nki ng of an ' i nnocent' mer
chant shi p. Of the 1 , 1 98 l ives
lost, 1 28 were Ameri can ci vi l
i ans. Thi s event turned Ameri
can publ i c opi ni on agai nst Ger
many, and was a si gnificant
factor i n getti ng the u.s. i n
volved i n the war.
How were the Al l ies able to
overcome the menace of U-b
oats?
The German U-boats were
abl e to i nflict a lot of damage on
the Al l i es. I n fact, they sank over
four mi l l i on tonnes of shi ppi ng,
and the Al l i es were forced to
thi nk of ways to counter them.
The Al l i es answer to the U-boat
attacks was to send shi ps in
convoys.
One hundred shi ps woul d sai l
together i n a convoy that was
protected by escorts. The escort
shi ps used i ncreasi ngl y sophi s
ticated equi pment to locate the
World Wars
A German V-boat
U-boats underwater. They
woul d then attack German U
boats wi th depth charges. The
mi nes pl aced underwater by
the Al l i es al so destroyed many
U-boats. As a result, by 1 91 8,
the menace of the U- boats to
Al l ied shi ppi ng had lessened
consi derably.
Of the 1 6,693 merchant vessels
that were escored from May
1 9 1 7 to November 1 91 8 in one
of the 1 , 1 34convoys, 99%safely
reached thei r desti nation. I n
fact, i t can be sai d that i t was the
convoy system, whi ch fi nal l y
cri ppl ed the U-boats campai gn
agai nst Al l ied shi ppi ng.
15
Why was the Battle of Jut
land remarkable?
The battle of Jutl and was the
greatest naval battle of World
War Lit was fought on May 31 "_
June 1 51, 1 91 6, in the North Sea
near Jutl and whi ch is the north
ward-poi nti ng peni nsular
mai nl and of Denmark. It was
fought between I mperi al Ger
man Navy's Hi gh Seas Fleet
commanded by Vice Admiral
Rei nhard Scheer, and the Royal
Navy's British Grand Fl eet com
manded by Admiral Sir John
Jel l i coe.
The battle raged after sunset,
and throughout the ni ght. The
British tried to cut the Germans
off from thei r base i n hopes of
conti nui ng the battle i n the
morni ng. However, under the
cover of darkness , the Germans
crossed the wake of the British
fleet and returned to port. Both
sides cl ai med victory. Fourteen
British and eleven German
shi ps were sunk wi th great loss
1 6
Britain's Grand Fleet
at the Battle ojJutland
of l ife. The Battle of Jutl and
played a key rol e i n the demise
of the reputation of the battle
crui ser, saw the first use of a
carrier based aircraft in battle,
and i s one of the most contro
versi al naval acti ons in the Royal
Navy's l ong hi story.
How did the World War I
change civilian life?
Duri ng World War I , l ife was
tough for civi l i ans too. I n Britai n,
the government took more and
C0mC0h
mCh, IC1Sg010
WCr|
Tell Me Why
more control over
the dai l y l ives of peo
pl e. The government
coul d court - marti al
anyone whom i t
thought put the
country's security at
ri sk. Factories were
taken over for the
producti on of arms,
and private l ands
were used by the
government to grow
more crops. Worki ng
hours were l onger,
news was censored,
and taxes rose dra
matical ly to pay for
the war. Food was
extremel y scarce,
and rati oni ng was
strictly enforced.
I n France, Russi a
and Germany too,
the si tuati on was the
same. Conscription
came into force which
meant that al l men
between the ages
and 1 8 and 47 had to
compul sori l y serve i n
the army. Starvation,
forced l abour, and
soari ng prices made
the war a ni ghtmare
for ci vi l i ans.
World Wars
Why di d the role of women change
a a result of the war?
Before the outbreak of Worl d War I , i n
1 91 4, a woman' s rol e was mai nly con
fi ned to the home. Jobs for women
consi sted mai nly of domestic l abour,
nursi ng, teachi ng, and agri cul ture if
thei r fami ly owned a smal l hol di ng. Al
though some women were empl oyed
in factories they performed mai nl y me
ni al and repetitive tasks, and were pai d
much less than thei r mal e co-workers.
World War I changed the rol e of
women in the workplace forever. As
more and more young men vol un
teered or were conscri pted i nto the
a rmed forces to fight i n the wa r, women
were cal led upon to fi l l thei r rol es i n the
factories, mi nes, and many other roles
tradi ti onal l y carried out by the men.
They al so took on new jobs created by
the demands of war. Thousands of
women joi ned the army too. They were
essenti al for cooki ng and cateri ng,
store keepi ng, cl eri cal work, tel ephony
and admi nistration.
A woman at work in afactory
Why was Edith Cavell a special figure to
the common man?
Edi th Cavel l was a Briti sh nurse servi ng i n
Bel gi um duri ng the war. She was executed on a
charge of assi sti ng Al l ied prisoners to escape
duri ng World War One. Cavell entered the
nursi ng professi on when she was only 20 years
old. Moving to Bel gi um, she was appoi nted
matron of the Berkendael Medi cal I nstitute i n Edith Cavel
Brussel s in 1 907.
When the Germans occupied Bel gi um in 1 91 4, Cavel l joi ned the
Red Cross. The Berkendael l nstitute was converted i nto a hospital
for wounded sol diers of all nati onal ities.
Why was Kitchener's new army formed?
Lord Kitchener was the Bri ti sh Secretary of State
for War. He real ized that World War I woul d not end
qui ckly, and that the Bri ti sh army i n existence was
much too smal l to wi n a war agai nst Germany.
Kitchener expected the war to last at least three
yea rs wi th mi l l ions of casua Ities, a nd felt that Brita i n
needed to raise a huge army as soon as possi bl e. To
rai se such an army qui ckl y, he cal led for vol unteers.
With the hel p of a war poster that featured Kitch
ener andthewords, 'Joi n YourCountry'sArmy',
over 30,00,000 men vol unteered in the first
two years of the war. Ci vi c pri de and commu
nity spi rit prompted cities to compete wi th
each other, and attract the greatest possi bl e
number of new recruits. Men queued up out
si de enl i sti ng posts. Vol unteers were a cross
section of society, i ncl udi ng stockbrokers,
students, journal i sts, cl erks, teachers and shop
Lrd Kitchener
assi stants.
Why were so many so keen to joi n? One rea-
1 8
Tell Me Why
Many of the captured Al l ied
sol diers who were treated at
Berkendael subsequently suc
ceeded in escapi ng - with
Cavell's active assi stance - to
neutral Hol l and.
Cavell was arrested on 5th Au
gust 1 91 5 by l ocal German au-
1|!!J0Jll!tf!l
G 8AV 3 HG
Lord Kitchener'sfamous
army recruitment poster
thorities, and charged with
having personal l y ai ded i n the
escape of some 200 such sol
di ers. She became a nati onal
heroi ne, and her bravery hel ped
to change the common man's
view of the role of women dur
i ng the war.
son i s that the year 1 91 4 wit
nessed a heady rush of patri
otic opti mism nationwide,
fuel led by hatred towards
the Germans. Moreover, ar
my service promi sed oppor
tunities, excitement and travel
deni ed to most Britons of the
ti me. For many, the army
promi sed a break from the
gri ndi ng poverty of everyday
l i fe. Army l ife meant regul ar
pay, as wel l as proper food
and clothi ng. Sad Iy, however,
the new army was formed so
quickl y that there was no
ti me for proper trai n
i ng. It had no uni
forms, arms or equi p
ment, and thi s i nex
perience was to cost
them dearly.
Young men besieging
the recruiting ofce
1 9
s
t major
f Rol nd
At the begi nni ng of the
war, France held the lead i n
the ai r wi th the most ai rcraft
and the most experienced
pi lots. One of the most fa
mous pi l ots of al l ti me was
Rol and Garros, a l eadi ng
pre-war French aviator who
gai ned renewed fame dur
i ng the Fi rst Worl d War.
Garros' greatest warti me
achievement was hi s develop
ment of a forward fi ri ng ma
chi ne gun which di spatched
bul lets through the rotati ng
bl ade of hi s ai rcraft. To protect
the propel l er, he attached steel
deflector plates - a somewhat
crude, if effective safety device.
With his new machi ne gun, i n
a two week period i n March
1 91 5 Garros downed no fewer
than five German ai rcraf, and
French soldiers at the Battle a/Verdun
Why was the Battle of Ver
dun a di saster?
The Battle of Verdun was the
longest battle of the Fi rst World
War. Never before, or si nce, has
there been such a l engthy bat-
20
tie, i nvolvi ng so many men, si tu
ated on such a ti ny piece of
l and.
The German commander-i n
chi ef consi dered Engl and to be
Germany's most i mporant en-
Tell Me Why
earned the title of 'ace'. The
term stuck and was conse
quentl y attri buted to other Al
l ied pi lots who si mi larly
Roland Carros
emy. He bel i eved Engl and
woul d col l apse as soon as
France, thei r most i mportant
al ly, woul d be defeated. That i s
why a target had to be found
that woul d be so i mportant to
the French, that they woul d be
wi l l i ng to sacrifice thei r entire
army- and the target the Ger
mans chose was Verdun, an
i mportant stronghol d at the
Eastern border.
The German pl anwas tocrush
the French front-l i ne com
pletel y with a massive arti l l ery
bombardment. Over 1 ,200 Ger
man guns were made avai l abl e
World Wars
achieved five successes.
Whi l e on a mi ssion i n 1 91 5,
Garros' fuel l i ne cl ogged,
and he was forced to l and
behi nd German l i nes. He
was captured and hel d as a
prisoner of war unti l 1 9 1 8,
when he managed to escape
and rejoi n the French army.
He scored several more vic
tories unti l hewas shot down
and ki l led i n action on Octo
ber 5th 1 91 8.
for thi s. German troops were
pl aced i n position on the ni ghts
of 1 1 th to 1 2th February 1 91 6,
but because of the terri bl e
weather circumstances the at
tack was del ayed unti l 21 't Feb
ruary. Thi sdelayprobabl ysaved
France from defeat, as the two
French di vi si ons that had been
hasti l y added to the Verdun
front-l i ne coul d be placed i n
posi ti on, and defensive i m
provements coul d be made at
the l ast mi nute.
The battle, whi ch l asted from
21 't February 1 91 6 unti l 1 9th De
cember 1 91 6 caused over an
esti mated 700,000 casual ti es.
On 1 9th December, the Germans
concl uded that they had suf
fered a defeat, and the Battl e of
Verdun fi nal ly ended.
21
Why did the Brusilov Ofen
sive end in failure for Russia?
The Brusi lov Offensive took
place in 1 91 6. The offensive
started in June 1 91 6, and ended
in August of the same year. The
winter months of 1 91 5-1 91 6
had been relativel yqui etforthe
Russi ans, and the ti me had been
constructively spent in trai ni ng
new recruits.Therefore, i n 1 91 6,
the Russi an army was in a much
better state than it had been at
the start of the war.
The massive German attack at
Verdun requi red the Al l ies to
use the Russi an army in the ef
fort to get the Germans to
withdraw troops from the
Western Front
to the east. The
Russi ans, led
by General
Al exey Brusi l ov
pl anned a ma
jor attack not
only i n the
Western Front
but i n the East
ern Front as
wel l .
success. By June 8th, the Austri
ans were in ful l retreat. However
the Germans came to thei r ai d.
By thi s ti me, Romani a had
joi ned the war on the si de of
the Al l ies. Romani a tri ed to hel p
Russia, but was defeated by
Germany.
The spectacular advances
west that Brusi l ov's men had
gai ned, dried up, and by August
1 0th it had come to a ha It. By th is
date, the Russians had lost
about 500,000 men and the
Austri ans 375,000 men. The
Brusi l ov Offensive came close
to success, but ulti mately has to
be deemed a fai l ure in the sense
that it did not achieve its goal.
Brusi l ov's at
tack started on
June 4th. Three
of his four ar
mi es had great
Irish troops rest in trench on the Somme
22
Tell Me Why
What was the result of the Battle of
Somme?
The Battle of Somme is a famous conflict
of the Fi rst Worl d War, in which the Bri ti sh
and the French army attempted to take the
strong defensive posi ti on hel d by the Ger
mans in the Somme val l ey.
I n the last week of June 1 91 6, the Bri ti sh
began bombardi ng the German positi ons
wi th shel l s. Morethan one and a hal f mi l l i on
shel l s rai ned down on the Germans i n ei ght
days!
On July 1 51, the shel l i ng stopped and the
British troops confi dently set out, expecti ng
to meet l ittle resistance from thei r oppo
nents. However, German bunkers were dug
especi al ly deep, and were unafected by
the bombardment. As the Bri ti sh advanced,
the Germans mowed them down l i ke grass.
Wounded SoLdiers
World Wars
I!
On that morning
al one, the Bri ti sh
sufered sixty thou
sand casualties,
twenty thousand of
whom di ed.
The Bri ti sh Com
mander ordered
the attack to con
ti nue, and the of
fensive ground on,
maki ng only mi nor
gai ns for the Al l ies.
The biggest di stance
gai ned in the battle
was a mere twelve
ki l ometres! All in al l ,
it i s estimated that
the Bri ti sh suffered
420,000 casual ti es
and the French
200,000, a heavy
price i ndeed. The
Battle of Somme
saw a colossal sacri
fice of human lives.
23
A Column o!
American Troops
Why did America enter the war?
We have seen that the battles on
the Western Front had no real victors.
Both in the Battle of Verdun and the
Battle of Somme, both sides did not
gain any real advantage- all they suc
ceeded in doi ng was i nflicting heavy
causal ities on the other si de. America
meanwhi l e, had deci ded to stay out
of the conflict, and stay neutral .
I n 1 91 7, the Germans decided that
the war could be won not i n the
trenches of Europe, but at sea. Ger
many declared hersubmari neswoul d
si nk al l shi ps i n the Atl antic war zone,
regardless of whether they were Al
l i ed or neutral shi ps.
On May
7
th
1 9 1 5, German U-boats,
patrol l i ng in the Atl antic Ocean, fired
torpedoes at the British passenger
24
ship Lusitania, si nki ng her
in 20 mi nutes. Onboard
were 1 28 Americans. Thi s
enraged the Americans,
who broke off di pl omati c
rel ati ons wi th Germany.
Later, the American Presi
dent Woodrow Wi l son
l earnt that Germany had
What was Italy's
role in World War I?
Italy had si ded with
Germany and Austria
Hungary i n the Tri pl e
Al l i ance. I n theory, Ita
ly shoul d have joi ned
i n the sides of these
two nations when war
broke out in August
1 91 4. She did not. What
Ital y di d was to wait
and see how the war
progressed. On Apri l
26th 1 91 5, she came
i nto the war on the
si de of the Tri pl e En
tente - Britai n, France
and Russi a. This was
because in 1 91 5, Italy
had si gned a secret
treaty in whi ch Britai n
had ofered Italy large
secti ons of territory in
ItaLian Gunners
the Adri ati c Sea regi on in return for
I tal y's support.
On May 23,d, 1 91 5, Italy declared
war on Austria Hungary. However,
between 1 91 5 and 1 9 1 7, Ital i an
troops onl y got sixteen ki l ometres
i nsi de Austri an territory. Then a se
ries of battles fol l owed, in whi ch the
Ital ians had to fight the whol e Aus
tri an Army and seven divi si ons of
German troops. The I tal i an Army lost
300,000 men- and the war ended i n
humi l iati on for I taly.
offered to help Mexico regai n the por
ti ons of the Southwest that it had lost
to the United States i n the 1 840s, if it
joi ned the Central Powers. To add fuel
to the fire, German U - boats sank seven
Ameri can shi ps. This was the last straw,
and on Apri l 6th 1 91 7, America declared
war on Germany.

General John Joseph Pershing

inspecting American troops
25
What was the Niv
elle Ofensive?
General Nivel l e was
the Commander in
Chi ef of the French
Army, who promi sed
to end the war with
one swift, vi ol ent, and
brutal bl ow. He be
l ieved that a huge and
overwhel mi ng attack
agai nst the Germans
General Nivelle
woul d result in victory wi thi n 48 hours,
with just 1 0,000 casualties. Nivelle's pl an
was for a major assault by French forces
in the Ai sne regi on, supported by a sec
ondary attack by Briti sh forces at Arras,
Vi my Ri dge, and at Bul let Court.
However, Nivel l e di d not keep hi s pl ans
a secret, and the Germans came to know
of the ofensive. They accordi ngly pre
pared their defenses, and over 1 ,30,000
casualties were sustai ned by the Bri ti sh,
whi l e the French sufered 1 ,87,000 casu
al ti es. Nivel l e was sacked as Commander
i n Chi ef, and hi s reputation was severely
damaged.
Why did the French army mutiny?
1 91 7, the third year of the war, became
one of the most dangerous for the Al l ies.
France, and the French army, had faced
the bul k of destruction and fi ghti ng on
the Western Front. Di scontent among
the men began to emerge over thei r
treatment i n the army. They had poor
food, no home leaves, l i mited rest op-
portunities, and they di strusted
the French general s who com
manded them. These became
major probl ems.
Discontent spread, and some
30,000 men deci ded to leave
their trenches and walk home.
Disci pi i ne i n the a rmy col l a psed,
and there was general pani c.
Several ol der general s were
qui ckl y replaced, and General
Petai n, who had fought several
successful battles, was chosen
to lead the army. He i mmedi
ately took charge of the situa
ti on. Mass arrests were made of
al l l eaders of the muti ny. Better
food, home leaves and peri ods
of rest were put i nto effect. Afer
six weeks of muti ny, the French
army had been restored.
Why did Passchendaele be
come famous?
The Thi rd Battl e of Ypres
known as Passchendael e 1 9 1 7
was one of the great conflicts of
the Fi rst Worl d War. A hundred
days of heavy fi ghti ng resul ted
i n over hal f a mi l l i on Al l ied casu
alties for a gai n of only a few
ki l ometres.
Sir Dougl as Haig, the British
commander-in-chief, bel i eved
the area around the vi l l age of
Passchendael e in Ypres ofered
the greatest scope for a break-
World Wars
The Battle of Passchendaele
through by whi ch the army
coul d capture the ports on the
Bel gi an coast that the Germans
were usi ng as bases for thei r
submari nes. The offensive be
gan onJul y3Pt, 1 9 1 7, but Bri ti sh
arti l l ery bombardment, whi ch
was needed to shatter the ene
my's defensive trench system,
al so wrecked the low-lying re
gi on's drai nage system. In addi
ti on, the unusual l y rai ny
weather turned the ground i nto
a wastel and of mud. For three
months, Bri ti sh troops sufered
heavy casualties for l i mited
gai ns.
27
Why di d the British fi nd it
dificult to conquer Turkey?
The Ottoman Empi re was
the last of a series of Turkish
Musl i m empi res. The Turks
sided with the Central Pow
ers in World War I. They were
pressed by the Russi ans and
Armeni ans from the North,
and by Bri ti sh and Al l ied
forces from the south.
The Bri ti sh chose to attack
by l and on the Gal l i pol i pe
ni nsula, wasti ng nearl y two
years in a very bloody cam
pai gn that achi eved nothi ng.
Turki sh and Arab troops
fought bravely and stub
bornly at Gal l i pol i , and i n
flicted huge losses proving
that the Turks could be a for
midabl e fighti ng force.
In 1 9 1 8, another ofensive
was l aunched agai nst the
Turkish armies, and by a com-
bi nati on of bri l l iant pl anni ng,
overwhel mi ng ai r power, and
strong cavalry force the Al l ies
captured Damascus. Three weeks
later, Turkey surrendered.
Why did the Revolution take
place i n Russia?
The Russi an Revol uti on of 1 91 7
was a combi nation of two suc
cessful revol uti ons, both in the
year 1 91 7. The first revol uti on
overthrew the autocratic i mperi al
Prisoners of War (POW)
A
prisoner of war is a person who is cap
tured by the enemy during war. During World War l
about eight mil lion men surrendered and were held in
POW camps until the war ended. Prisoners of war were usually
treated very harshly. They were herded into cages, and taken to
special camps where conditions were often inhuman. An inter
national agreement named the Geneva Convention, was
made in 1 864 to set norms on how to treat POWs.

T
k |U
T
Lawrence of Arabia
Colonel T .E. Lawrence
was a British scholar,
writer and
soldier who
T
.
E.l.wrence
mobilized the Arab re-
Bolshevik
forces marching on
Red Square
volt against the Turks in World War
One. He was better known in his life
time as 'Lawrence of Arabia', because
of the role he played in helping the Ar
abs. The Arab revolt laid the ground
for the British offensive that led to the
capture of Damascus. Lawrence wrote
a book called 'The Seven Pillars of
Wisdom'. His life formed the basis of
the film 'Lawrence of Arabia'.
monarchy, and was cal led the
February Revol uti on.
There were many reasons for
thi s revol uti on. To begi n with,
the peopl e had suffered greatly
under the hi gh handed rul e of
the Tsar of Russi a. When Russi a
entered the war, it suffered
huge losses that on I y worsened
the di scontent. Peopl e became
ti red of the war and the short
age of food that led to wi de
spread starvati on. When the
Germans defeated the Russi ans
at Ri ga, thousands of troops
just threw down thei r arms and
wal ked home.
The mi smanagement of the
World Wars
government, and fai l ure at war
turned the people agai nst the
Tsar. Hi s deci si on to take com
mand of the army seemed to
make hi m personal l y responsi
bl e for the defeats. By March
1 91 7, the Tsar l ost control of the
government and was forced to
abdicate. A provi si onal govern
ment was establ i shed. The sec
ond revol ution occurred later
in the year when the Bol shevi k
Party overthrew the provi si onal
government. The Bol shevi ks
under Vl adi mi r Leni n had no
i nterest i n conti nui ng the war,
and they soon si gned a peace
treaty with Germany.
29
Who was Lenin?
Vl adi mi r I l l i ch Leni n was the founder ofthe
Russian Communi st party, l eader of the Bol
shevi k Revol uti on of 1 917, and first head of
state of the Uni on of Soviet Social i st Repub
l ics. He was a great fol lower of the German
pol i ti cal thi nker and economi st Karl Marx, and
partici pated i n many l abour strikes. I n 1 895,
the government exi led Leni n to a vi l l age in
Si beri a. He returned to Russia, and
later organized and l ed the revol u
ti onary Bol shevi k Party. He headed
the government after the Bol shevi ks
came to power. Leni n died i n
1 924.
What was the result of the
war in Africa?
When Worl d War I broke out,
Britai n, France and Germany al l
ruled over colonies i n Africa. Many
of the battles of the war took
place in Africa too. In the West
and South the Al l i es attacked
Germany's Afri can ports. In the
East, German-held Dar es Sal aam
was bombarded. I n the North,
the main concern of the British.
was to safeguard the Suez Canal.
German South West Africa
was brought under al l i ed con
trol i n the first few months.
Cameroon took l onger to cap
ture. The East Africa campai gn
took even l onger. German forc-
30
es struggled for four years unti l
they fi nal l y surrendered i n No
vember 1 91 8. African troops
from French West Africa saw
acti on i n Western Europe, but
the Bri ti sh never took Afri can
sol diers out of the conti nent.
There i s no doubt that the
Fi rst Worl d War gave ri se to a
cruci al change in the rel ati on
shi pbetweenEuropeandAfrica.
Overtwomi l l i onpeopl ei nAfrica
made huge sacrifices for the
European Al l ies. 1 00,000 men
di ed i n East Africa and 65,000
men from French North Africa
and French West Africa lost
thei r l ives.
1e|l NeNy
Why was a German ofensive
launched in 1 9181
The German Commander Eri ch Luden
dorff had hoped that the German sub
mari nes woul d swi ng the war in Germa
ny'sfavour. However, thi s di d not happen,
and so, Ludendorff decided to l aunch an
al l-out offensive agai nst the Al l ies on
l and. He was confi dent that the sheer
si ze of the Germa n army wou I d ensu re a
victory. Moreover, storm troopers armed
wi th l i ght machi ne guns and flame
throwers were ready for action. These
storm troopers traveled l i ghtly, and were
skil led in fast, hard-hitting attacks before
movi ng on to thei r next target.
On March 21 st, 191 8, Ludendorff
l aunched the offensive at St.Quenti n on
the Somme. The first few days of the at
tack were an overwhel mi ng success. The
Germans advanced 60 ki l ometres in a
A German A7V tank at
Somme, France
World Wars
Erich Ludendorf
week, and Pari s was
under attack, causi ng
many to leave the city.
Many in Germany as
sumedthatthewar was
al l but over.
However, the Ger
mans experienced one
major problem. The
speed ofthei r advance
put their supply l i nes
under huge strai n. The
suppl y units of the
storm troopers si mpl y
coul d not keep upwith
them and those lead
ing the attack became
short of vital suppl i es.
The Germans could not
advance any more, and
the All ies began to pl an
a counter ofensive.
31
President Wilson
delivering his war message
before the Congress
.
Who put forward 'The
Foureen Points'?
'The Fourteen Poi nts'
werea set of 1 4pri nci pl es
proposed by the Ameri
can President Woodrow
Wi l son as a basi s for endi ng Worl d War I , and
for keepi ng the peace thereafter. He pre
sented these points in an address to the
United States Congress on January 8
th, 1 91 8.
The first five of the Fourteen Poi nts deal t
with i ssues of broad i nternati onal concern.
The next ei ght poi nts referred to specific
territori al questi ons. The 1 4th point led to
the establ i shment of the League of Nati ons.
Mi l l i ons of copies of booklets that ex
pl ai ned Wi l son's pl ans were di stri buted to
Al l ied nati ons and dropped from pl anes
above Germany. Germany wel comed thi s
set of poi nts as a basi s for peace. However,
only six poi nts were fi nal ly put i nto effect.
32
What was the
result of the Allies
counter offen
sive?
The Germans
l aunched thei r last
attack of the war
on July 1 5th 1 91 8,
and the Second
Battle of Marne
was fought. How
ever, it soon be
came clear that the
Germans had not
only fai led i n thei r
ai m to wi n the war
in thi s offensive,
but had in fact, lost
ground. With the
Germans havi ng
ulti mately fai led i n
thei r effors to
break through,
Ferdi nand Foch,
the Al l ied Supreme
Commander, au
thorised a counter
offensive on 1 8th
July, l aunchi ng 24 divi
si ons of the French army
al one, in additi on to U.s.,
British and Ital i an troops
and some 350 tanks. Hi s
counter offensi ve was suc
cessful, and the Germans
retreated to where they
had been before they
launched their offensive.
The Al l ies conti nued to
make gai ns and Foch
broadened the offensive
to incl ude the whol e ofthe
Western Front. As a resul t
of hi ghl y successful Al l ied
counter offensi ve, thefi nal
chapters of World War I
started to unfol d. The Ger
man Commander Luden
dorff began to crack under
pressure, and he persuad
ed his government to ask
the Al l i es for an armistice.
German soLdiers
advancing past a captured
French position
1
C0hvC|1COmy
O|CCOCC10|y
10guh
CC10|y|
Wh t was lif in Am ric Ilk
during World W r 17
Te effects of the war were felt
in America too. There was a boom
i n i ndustries that manufactured
weapons. I n order to produce
more materi al i n a shorter ti me,
new technol ogies were devel
oped. As there was a shortage of
men, more employment oppor
tunities opened up for women.
The War I ndustries Board super
vised al l American factori es. The
War Labour Board regul ated pay
and worki ng hours. There was
censorshi p of news, and great use
was made of fi l ms as a medi um of
propaganda.
Ameri can soldiers fought for
onl y a few months before the ar
mi stice in 1 91 8, yet so many of
them were ki l led and wounded
that today, nearly every ci ty and
town i n the u.s. that existed at
the time has a memori al to com
memorate i ts l ocal war heroes.
33
The Railway Carriage in which
the Armistice ending World War I
was signed
How did the Armistice take place'
The word 'armi stice' general l y
means the period when fi ghti ng i s
stopped before peace negotiations. I n
the case of the Fi rst Worl d War 'the ar
mi stice' refers to the agreement be-
tween the Germans and
the Al l ies to end the war
on November 1 1 th, 1 91 8.
By October 1 91 8, Ger
many's al l i es had given
up on the war. Bul garia
had asked for peace, and
Turkish forces were i n
ful l retreat. The Austri an
army was more or less
destroyed, and on Octo
ber 27th, the German
Commander Ludendorf
resi gned. l nsi deGermany
too, thi ngs were not
good. There was hunger
and di sease, as wel l as
pol i ti cal unrest. On 9th
November, the Kai ser
abdicated the throne of
Germany, and a Soci al i st
government seized
power. The Germans too
had enough of war, and
they surrendered.
The guns fel l si l ent on
November 1 1 th, as al l
hosti l ities ceased. After
four years, World War I
was over.
Why was the Battle of Vitto-
oV f n
The Battle of Vittorio Veneto
was fought from October 24thto
November 3'd, 1 9 1 8, between
the Ital i an army and the Austro
Hungari an forces near Vittorio
Veneto. Rei nforced by Bri ti sh
and French troops, Italy won a
deci si ve victory, and reversed
an earl i er defeat it had suffered
at Ca poretto.
A resoundi ng success for the
Al l i es, the Battl e of Vittorio
Veneto fi ni shed the Austro
Hungari an army as a fighti ng
force. The Ital i ans l ost some
38,000 sol di ers. Nearly 300,000
Austro-Hungari ans were cap
tured as pri soners. Thi s battle
heral ded the warti me defeat of
Austro-Hungarian soldiers
in trenches
Austria-Hungary, and an end to
its Empi re. It was the fi nal action
fought on the Ital i an Front.
Why did the Armistice
change the map of Europe?
'At eleven in the morni ng, on
the eleventh day of the eleventh
month of 1 91 8, the guns on the
Western Front fel l si l ent, as an
armistice between the al l ied
powers and Germany took ef
fect'. The war had seen the col
lapse of four empi res -German,
Austro-Hungari an, Russian and
Ottoman- and weakened a fifth,
the Bri ti sh Empi re.
Based on the pri nci pl e of rec
ognizi ng nati onal ities, and the
victors' posi ti on of power, the
borders wi thi n the European
conti nent were redefined and
ratified by the several treaties
si gned in 1 91 9-1 920. Of these,
The Versai l les Treaty redrew the
map of Europe and the Mi ddl e
East, and hel ped sow the seeds
ofthe Second World War.
What were the conditions of
the Treaty of Versailles?
The Treaty of Versai l l es of
1 91 9 was the peace treaty that
was created as a resul t of the
six-month-I ong Pari s Peace
Conference, whi ch put an ofi
cial end to Worl d War 1 . Afer
more than a year of negotia
tions, the Paris Peace Confer
ence spawned five treaties to
mark the end of World War 1 .
36
These treaties determi ned the
fate of the vari ous defeated
countries.
A painting by Sir WiLLiam
Orpen that shows the signing 0/
the Treaty a/Versailles
orld War I caused a terri
ble loss of human life and
propery. It involved practi
cally all the countries of
Europe and the U.S.A., as
well as most of the African
and Asian states. Nine mil
lion men were killed, and
twenty-nine million people
The Treaty of Versai l les
dealt excl usively with
Germany, and in doi ng
so, brought the most at
tention and the most di s
agreement. Some of the
Fourteen Poi nts that the
Ameri can Presi dent
Woodrow Wi l son had put
forward were i ncl uded i n
the treaty, and the
League of Nations was
establ i shed. I t was de-
were wounded or missing.
Thireen mil lion died on ac
count of civilian massacres
disease and famine, whica
overook the world, as a conse
quence of the Great War. Thefi
nancial cost of the Great War
was estimated to have been
about 400 billion dollars.
raves of French soldiers who
died on the Ypres Salient
German Delegates in
Versailles
si gned as an organization of
di fferent nations that woul d
work to preserve world
peace.
Accordi ng to the Treaty of
Versai l les, Germany was hel d
responsi bl e for the war, and
forced to pay massive
amounts for the damage
caused by the conflict. The
size of its armed forces was
strictl y l i mited, and its colo
ni es, as wel l as many parts of
Germany were taken away.
The Germans had no choi ce
but to agree to these harsh
demands, but the treaty
caused great bitterness i n
Germany. They felt that the
treaty was unfai r as they had
not been a I lowed to ta ke part
in the tal ks - they had just
been tol d to si gn.
37
Why was the League of Na
tions formed?
The League of Nati ons was an
international organization es
tabl i shd by the Treaty of Ver
sai l les at the end of World War I.
Its ai m was si mpl e - to ensure
that such a war never broke out
agai n. Al though the concept of
the League of Nati ons was i n
troduced by u. s. President
Woodrow Wi l son, the United
States never becamea member.
The League was set up to
handl e disputes among coun
tri es i n an orderl y and peaceful
manner. Thi s woul d be done i n
the League's Assembly. The
League was given the power to
verbal l y warn ofendi ng na
ti ons, as wel l as to take eco
nomi c sancti ons agai nst them.
The League coul d al so enforce
its deci si on with mi l itary acti on
as wel l .
The League proved to be i nef
fective, however, because i twas
unabl e to i ntervene i n such acts
of aggressi on as Japan's i nva
si on of Manchuria i n 1 931 , Italy's
conquest of Ethi opia and occu
pation of Al bania, and Germa
ny's takeover of Austri a i n 1 938.
TheLeagueofNati onsdi ssolved
itself duri ng World War II.
Though unsuccessful, the or
ganization did establ i sh a basi c
model for the United Nati ons,
whi ch was establ i shed later.
Palace of Nations,
Geneva - The League of Nations '
Headquartersfom 1 929 until
its dissolution
Why was propaganda
i mporant duri ng World
War l ?
Do you know what
propaganda i s? I t i s infor
mati on that is careful l y
desi gned to support a
parti cul ar cause. Propa
ganda i s used for the pur
pose of i nfl uenci ng ac
tions of i ndivi dual s or
groups.
Each of the nati ons that
participated i n Worl d War
One used propaganda
posters, not onl y as a
means of justifi ng the
war to thei r own people,
but al soasa means of get
ti ng men, money and re
sources to suppor the
war. Posters were used to
recrui t men, and to en
courage warti me thrif.
In Worl d War I, the
l engths to which govern
ments woul d go to in an
effort to bl acken the ene
my's name reached a new
level. Stories were spread
about the atrocities com
mitted by the enemy's
troops. At the same ti me,
each nati on gl orified the
bravery of its own men. I n
short, propaganda en-
World Wars
sured that the peopl e onl y got to
know what thei r governments want
ed them to know. So, someti mes truth
suffered as a consequence.
A scene fom Charli-}I)x1' S
propagandjim' Sho
u
w Arms '( 1 918)
39
1S1h| S
ChCwSpCpC|0|
CO| ChkpCpC|?
Why was there cen
sorshi p duri ng the
war?
Censorshi p i s the
suppression of i nfor
mati on for a parti cul ar
reason. Duri ng World
War I, censorshi p was
very heavy, as the gov
ernment di d not al low
any news that coul d i n
any way, undermi ne
the war effort, or give
i nformati on to spi es. Newspapers were
al l owed to publ i sh only positive news
about the country's war effort. Bad news
was often del i berately suppressed.
The letters that sol di ers wrote were al
so censored, so that people back home
woul d not get any i nformation about
where troops were, or what the real pi c
ture was. Offi ci al war reports had to be
approved by the government before
they were sent to the newspapers, and
l i sts of those who were dead were not
publ i shed. Postal and press censorshi p,
in parti cul ar, were desi gned to prevent
contact with the enemy, and to ensure
that the conflict was presented to the
publ i c in a positive l i ght.
Why di d cinema play an imporant
role i n war propaganda?
Ci nema has ofen been used as propa
ganda to i nspire national pride and mo
rale, and to di spl ay the nobi l ity of one's
own forces whi l e criticizing the vi l l ai ny
of the enemy. A fi l m cal led 'The Battle of
Somme,' i l l ustrates thi s. It was one of the
. "S':
first battles to be extensively fi l med. A
-
series of reel s from the first weeks of the
M Q

ci.

battle, di stri buted whi l e the battle was

a ; ; ' 1 1 '
h d d' ff aa; Stl gOing on, a an extraor I nary e ect
,@ P g@

on the publ i c. Many peopl e were
W 4T
WI W ,
I
h k d
b th
.
I h h' l
; - " @
.. _-P S oc e y e VIO ence s own- w I e
others were deepl y moved bywhat thei r
troops were undergoi ng.

40
W
" T
The font page of an evening daily with
the news of Armistice Day
Tell Me Why
5I k |ACI
For the Fallen
Lawrence Binyon, who
served with the Red
Cross during the war,
wrote a poem in honour
of those killed in batle.
The poem is titled
'For the Fallen,' and it is
often read on the
Anniversary of Armistice
Day, November 1 1 .
It is one of the most fa
mous and enduring war
poems, written at a
historic moment during
World War I.
Why was the Hi ndenburg
cult stared?
Paul von Hi ndenburg was
a German general and presi
dent. He became a popular
World Wars
Crowdsfockaround the statue of
Hindenburg in Berlin
hero duri ng World War I. The Ger
mans in fact, used hi m as the cen
tral figure i n a propaganda scheme
to cover up an earl i er defeat. The
German authorities understo that
the publ i c needed a hero to i dol ize,
and they chose Hi ndenburg as thi s
hero. A huge statue of Hi nd en burg
was bui l t in Berl i n, and peopl e
were encouraged to pay for the
pri vi l ege of bangi ng nai l s i nto the
statue! The i dea was to project
Hi ndenburg as an ' i ron man' and
to rai se moneyfor thewar effort.
Hi ndenburg soon developed i nto
a cult figure. Soon there were
wooden statues of Hndenburg
bui lt al l over Germany, onto whi ch
peopl e nai led money and cheques
for war bonds.
41
Why did Zeppelins play an
i mporant role i n World War I ?
Zeppel i ns were huge ai rshi ps
i nvented i n 1 900 by a German,
Count von Zeppel i n. Hydrogen
gas was used to provide l i ft, and
smal l engi nes propel l ed the ai r
shi p through the sky. By 1 91 4,
the Zeppel i n coul d reach a
maxi mum speed of 1 40 kmph,
and reach a hei ght of about
4,000 metres.
In the early part of the war,
Zeppel i ns were used for bomb
ing rai ds. I niti al ly, the Al l ies had
no defence agai nst these rai ds.
The Zeppel i ns woul d leave Ger
many at dusk, and arrive over
Engl and by the cover of ni ght.
Cities coul d be easi l y spotted by
thei rstreet l i ghtsandthebombs
woul d be dropped. The Zeppe
l i ns woul d then turn back home
and arrive before dawn.
Often, Engl i sh pi lots woul d
fol low the Zeppel i ns across the
sky, but they had l ittle chance of
42
A ZppeLin
catchi ng them. Only later in the
war di d theti deturn agai nst the
Zeppel i ns. New ai rcrafs wi th
more powerful engi nes were
bui lt, that coul d catch the mid
ni ght i nvaders. These new ai r
craftsal socarrieda newweapon
that proved dead Iy for the Zep
pel i ns.
Bri ti sh fighter pi lots and anti
ai rcraf gunners now became
very good at bri ngi ng down
Zeppel i ns. A total of 1 1 5 Zep
pel i ns were used by the German
mi l itary, of whi ch, 77 were de
stroyed. I n June 1 9 1 7, the Ger
man mi l itary stopped usi ng
Zeppel i ns for bombi ng rai ds
over Britai n.
Why di d tanks become a
part ofWorld War l ?
I n World War I , trench warfare
resulted in a decl i ne of the i m
portance of the caval ry duri ng
battles. Caval ry battles, fought
in mud, proved very costly, and
Tell Me Why
from a mi l i tary point of view,
hopeless. So In 1 91 4, Lieuten
ant-Col onel Ernest Swinton
proposed the development of a
new type of fighti ng vehicle
thetank.
The Germans, British, Austri
ans, Russi ans and French all had
armoured fighti ng vehicles that
coul d fight on 'normal' terrai n.
But these vehi cl es coul d not
cope wi th trenches that were
soon to domi nate the Western
Front. The i dea ofthetankcame
from a development of farmi ng
vehicl es that coul d cross diffi
cul t l and wi th ease, by usi ng
caterpi I i a rtracks. The fi rst mode I
came off the factory floor on
September 8th , 1 9 1 5.
Before l ong, tanks became an
essenti al part of the army. By
theti methewar drewtoa close,
the Bri ti sh, the first to use them,
had produced some 2,636
tanks. The French produced
rather more, 3,870. The Ger
mans, never convinced of its
merits, and despite thei r record
for technol ogi cal i nnovation,
produced j ust twenty tanks.
Tank desi gn conti nued to i m
prove beyond the war and the
tank, whi ch hel ped to make
trench warfare i neffective, re
stored movement to the battle
fiel d.
Tank on the Move
How did the Germans de
velop the bomber?
Once the Zeppel i ns were no
l onger effective, the Germans
felt the need of a bomber capa
bl e of attacki ng targets in Brit
ai n. The Gotha l i ne of ' heavy'
bombers was the resul t of thi s
need, and represented a most
i mportant development for
bomber ai rcraf.
The Gotha GIV had several ad
vantages over earl i er pl anes.
The rather flat nose made it pos
si bl e to pl ace the engi nes closer
together, and it was possi bl e to
run the engi nes at ful l power.
Another feature of the Gotha
A range ofboms displed infont
ofaGerman GothaG1 V bomer
4
T Handle page VISO,
t lrgest British aircrf of
Worl War 1.
GIV was a 'tunnel ' in the bottom
ofthetai l , which al l owed thetai l
gunner to cover the lower rear
of the ai rcraft, maki ng it a most
difi cul t ai rcraft to successful l y
attack.
Why were the All ied bomb
ers not so efective in World
War l ?
In World War I , the Al l ies al so
set a bout developi ng a strateg i c
bombi ng force. It was cal led the
I ndependent Force. The mai n
task of the I ndependent Force
was to attack the German war
i ndustry, and its mai n weapon
was a bomber cal led Handley
Page 0/400. However, because
of bad weather these ai r
crafts were abl e to fly onl y very
few mi ssi ons agai nst the Ger
man war i ndustry. Thus, it was
not very effective i n its aim of
destroying the German war in
dustry- but at the same ti me, it
suffered heavy losses in men
and machi nes.
Tell Me Why
Who were the leaders of the warri ng
countries duri ng World War 1 1
There were many i mportant peopl e who
shaped the events of Worl d War I , some of
the most promi nent of them bei ng Kaiser
Wi l hel m I I , David Lloyd George, Czar Ni
chol as I I , Thomas Woodrow Wi l son, Lord
Kitchener, and General Paul von Hi nden
burg.
Kai ser Wi l hel m I I bel ieved passi onately
that Germany shoul d become a world
power to rival Britai n and supported the
bui l d up of the German army and navy to
achi eve his dream. Lloyd George was the
British Pri me Mi ni ster who supported the
war strongly. Czar Nichol as II was the Em
peror of Russi a who fai l ed to i nspi re the
nati on duri ng the war, and was murdered
duri ng the Russi an revol uti on al ong with
hi sfami ly.
Woodrow Wi l son was the Ameri can
Presi dent who supported the Al l ies, and
played a major role i n establ i shi ng the
League of Nations after the war. Lord
Kitchener was the British Secretary of War
who became famous for hi s recrui ti ng of a
World Wars
Kaiser Wilhelm II
David Lloyd George
large vol unteer
force cal led Kitchen
er's Army. Paul von
Hi ndenburg was a
German hero who
was i dol ized by the
Germans, so much
so, that he became a
cul t fi gure i n Ger
many.
45
Paul von
Hindnburg
Who was Paul von
Hi ndenburg?
Paul von Hi ndenburg
was a German Com
mander, who later be
came the President.
He was an i mportant
figure duri ng Worl d
War I. He had retired
from the army, but
was recal l ed when
war broke out, and
sent to the Eastern Front as Commander
of East Prussi a. The Germans scored a no
tabl e victory at Tannenburg i n August
1 91 4, where Hi ndenburg overcame a
much l arger army. Thi s led to hi s
appoi ntment as Commander
i n-Chi ef of the German armies i n
the East i n September 1 91 4. Fur
. ther vi ctory at the Masuri an
Lakes i n 1 91 5, resul ted i n hi s be-
i ng hai led as the savi our of East
Prussi a, and he was agai n pro
moted to Fiel d Marshal , fi nal l y
becomi ng Army Chief of Staff.
A popul ar hero, Hi ndenburg
retired once agai n from the Ger
man army i n June 1 91 9, but re
mai ned in ofice. Hi ndenburg
became President of the Repub
l i c in 1 925, and was responsi bl e
for appoi nti ng Adolf Hi tl er as
Chancel l or i n 1 933. Hi s deci si on
to do so woul d ul ti mately lead to
Worl d War I I .
Why was
Field Marshal
Douglas Hai g
c o n s i d e r e d
controversl I .
Dougl as Hai g
was a Bri ti sh
commander on
the Western Front
for most of Worl d
War I . The huge
casualties that hi s
mi l itary strategy
produced made
hi m a controversi al
figure.
Hindnburg
and Lndrf
Tell Me Why
Douglas Haig
Dougl as Hai g
served as a caval ry
officer for ni ne years,
mai nly i n I ndia, and
later i n South Africa
and Sudan. In 1 906,
Hai g went to the War
Office as di rector of
mi l i tary trai ni ng. Hi s
responsi bi l ities i n
cl uded the organiza
tion of a Bri ti sh Expe
diti onary Force. On
the outbreak of war
in 1 91 4, Hai g was
commandi ng the
BEF's 1 st Army(orps,
whose overal l com
mander was Si r John
French. By the end of
1 91 5, it was cl ear that
World Wars
French was i l l -suited to the role, and in De
cember, Hai g was appoi nted commander
i n chi efi n hi s place.
I n an attempt to break the stal emate on
the Western Front and relievethe pressure
on the French at Verdun, Haig ordered the
Somme offensi ve, which began on 1 July
1 9 1 6. The Bri ti sh army suffered 60,000
casual iti es on the first day, the hi ghest i n
its hi story, and Hai g's conduct ofthe battle
made hi m one of the most controversi al
figures of the war. Hi s mai n probl em was
that he was slow to adapt to changes
needed i n trench warfare, and the de
mands of i ndustri al ized war. Though hefi -
Douglas Haig and
Foch in London in 1919
nal l y l ed hi s forces to victory i n 1 91 8, he
was cri ti ci zed after the war for the exces
sive sl aughter of troops under hi s com
mand, whi ch earned hi m the nickname
'Butcher' Hai g.
47
What were the contributions of General Joseph Joffre?
Joseph Joffre was a French
general who pl ayed a promi
nent role in Worl d War I . He
joi ned the army i n 1 870, and
became a professi onal sol
di er. However, he spent much
of hi s early career i n the colo
nies, where he was a mi l itary
engi neer. He was appoi nted
Chief of the French General
Staff i n 1 91 1 . Responsi bl e for
the French war efort, Jofre's
Joseph Jofe
remarkable qual iti es of mag
i steri al cal m and an absol ute

Why was General Erich von
Ludendorf considered a
great tactICian
Erich von Ludendorfwas one
of Germany's seni or army com
manders in Worl d War I . Luden
dorff found fame after German
victories at Tannenburg and
the Mansuri an l akes. Al ong with
Paul von Hi ndenburg, he was
responsi bl e for destroyi ng Rus
sia's army on the Eastern Front.
Ludendorf gai ned a reputa
ti on as a hard worki ng oficer,
and was appoi nted to the Gen
eral Staff. He also devel oped a
reputation for havi ng hard-l i ne
mi l itaristic views. He saw war as
48
anacceptabl ewayofdi pl omacy
and as a way for a nati on to as
sert its power. He viewed peace
as merely an i nterrupti on be-
Hindenburg, Kaiser Wilhelm
and Ludendrf
Tell Me Why
refusal to admit de
feat proved vital dur
i ng the earl y days of
the war, parti cul arly
duri ng the Fi rst Bat
tle of Marne, afer
which he was de
cl ared the savi our of
France. For the rest
of the wa r, he played
a less active role, and
after the German
success at the Battle
of Verdun, he was re
moved from ofice.
Why General Petain was consid
ered diferent from other gener
al s?
General Petai n was a cauti ous,
but successful French army com
ma nder. Germany's in i
ti al successesatVerdun
led Jofre, the French
Commander i n Chief,
to appoint Petai n in di
rect command of the
defence of Verdun on
26th February 1 91 6. Or
dered to hol d the sec-
General Petain tor at al l costs, Petai n
I o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 8
del ivered upon hi s fa-
mous pl edge ' l i s ne passeront
tweenwars. Heal sobel ieved
that it was the duty of a na
ti on to be prepared for war,
and that al l of a nation's re
sources shoul d be ori ented
towards war.
Ludendorf's qual i ti es as a
tacti ci an led to the successful
i nvasi on of Bel gi um, and the
capture of Liege. He mobi l ized
Germany for total war, and
started the pol i cy of submari ne
warare. There i s no doubt that
he was a bri l l i ant mi l itary com
mander, and it was hi s deci sive
victories over Russi a i n 1 9 1 7 that
l ed to the Russi an withdrawal
from the war.
World Wars
pas!' whi ch means 'They shal l
not pass!'.
Petai n restored the fighti ng
capacity of the French forces
by i mproving l i vi ng condi
ti ons for sol di ers at the front,
and by restricti ng hi mself to
defensive operations. How
ever, compared to the other
general s of that ti me, Petai n
was consi dered to be too
cauti ous, and too much i n
favour of defence, rather
than endless and costly at
tacks. Moreover, hi s i dea of
preferri ng defence over
attack did not find favour
with many of the other
general s of the ti me.
4
Ferdinand Foch
What were the contribu
tions of Marshall Ferdinand
Foch1
Marshal Ferdi nand Foch was
the French commander of the
Al l ied forces i n World War I . Af
ter World War I broke out, he
commanded an army detach
ment, and pl anned the strategy
that enabl ed Joseph Joffre to
win the Fi rst Battle of Marne.
After commandi ng at the Bat
tles of Ypres and the Somme,
Foch was appoi nted Chief of
the General Staff Adviser to the
Al l ied armies, and then Com
mander in Chief of all Al l ied ar
mies. When Germany was
forced to ask for an armistice,
the condi ti ons were di ctated
by the recently promoted Mar
shal Foch. Consi dered the
leader most responsi bl e for the
Al l ied victory, he was showered
with honours after the war, and
was buried near Napol eon.
50
Why is General Erich von
Falkenhayn associated with
Verdun?
Eri ch von Fal kenhayn was a
German general, who is most
associated with the Battle of
Verdun i n 1 9 1 6. Fal kenhayn
was criticised for his tactics at
Verdun that led to the deaths
of thousands of German sol
diers.
Fal kenhayn wanted to
l aunch a decisive blow agai nst
the French, and thought he
Falkenhayn
coul d destroy
thei r confi
dence by tak
ing out the
fortsi n Verdun
that had al
ways offered
France de
fence from at
tack.
Fal kenhayn
bel ieved that if Verdun was
captured, then the whol e of
France woul d surrender as
Verdun, i n the mi nds of the
French, was i mpregnabl e.
However, by the ti me the
battle had ended, German
casualties were horrific, and
Fal kenhayn was bl amed for
thi s.
Tell Me Why
September 3rd, 1 939.
A newspaper-seller
breaks the 'News '
A
meri
ca,
Soviet Uni on and
Chi na.
51
Why was Hitler able to
become the head of the
German State?
The manner of Germa-
ny's defeat i n World War I
' l eft them feel i ng very bit
ter. Moreover, they felt be
trayed by the harsh treat
ment given to them by the
Treaty of Versai l l es. Agita
tors l i ke Adol f Hitl er were
abl e to pl ay on these feel
i ngs of bitterness and be
trayal to whi p up anger
agai nst the Al l ies, and to
fuel a burni ng determi na
tion to make Germany
once agai n a leadi ng world
power once agai n.
52
Adol Hitler
When World War 1 began in 1 91 4,
Hitl er joi ned the Bavarian army. After
the end of World War 1 , Hitl er moved
to Munich, Germany. Whi l e there, he
joi ned the Nati onal Social i st German
Workers' Party, whi ch was to later
become the Nazi Party- and was
elected as the party chai rman in
1 92 1 .
By 1 930, the party had 1 07 seats i n
the German parl i ament, and Hitl er
hadan i mmenseamountofi nfl uence
overthe peopl eofGermany. Hi s party
pl aced i ncreasi ng pressure on the
l eader of Germany, Presi dent
Hi ndenberg, and Hitl er was eventu
al ly named Chancel l or of Germany i n
January of 1 933.
Tell Me Why
What was the driving force
behind World War II?
The dri vi ng force behi nd
World War I I was Hitler's forei gn
pol icy. Hitl er was shrewd
enough to understand that
Britai n and France had had
enough of war, and that they
both did not feel much i n com
mon wi th their former al ly, the
Soviet Union. So, he gradual ly
became more and more ag
gressive.
Hitl er began secretly bui l di ng
up Germany's army and weap
ons. In 1 934, he i ncreased the
sizeofthearmy, began bui l di ng
warshi ps and created a German
ai r force. Compul sory mi l itary
service was al so i ntroduced.
The next step was taki ng over
Hitler salutes a marchpast
in Nuremberg
the Rhi nel and, and then annex
i ng Austria and Czechosl ovaki a.
The Lithuani an port of Memel
was next, and then Hitl erturned
to the free port of Danzig and
the Pol i sh Corridor. He al so
si gned a non aggressi on pact
wi th the Soviet Uni on.
Although Britai n and France
were aware of Hitl er's actions,
theywereal so concerned about
the rise of Communism, and
bel i eved that a stronger Ger
many mi ght help to prevent the
spread of Communism to the
West. However, when it ap
peared that Pol and woul d be
Hitl er's next target, both Britai n
and France promi sed that they
would take mi l itary action
agai nst Hitl er if he i nvaded Po
l and. They thought that thi s
woul d stop Hi tl er- buttheywere
proved wrong.
ha re rl ac l
In German, Bl itzkrieg means
' l i ghtni ng war'. This type of wa r
fare consi sted of surpri se attacks
and'l i ghtni ngfast' rapidadvances
i nto enemy territory. Thi s tactic
with its coordi nated massive ai r
attacks usual l y shocked the en
emy, and made it feel as if it was
struck by l i ghtni ng!
The German mi l itary i n World
War II achieved most of its great
victories with the Bl itzkrieg tac
tic. Hitl er needed the right tool
for his grand war pl ans, some
thi ng that would make his fu-
A Heinkel Bomber fies over
London's Dockland.
ture war very diferent from
World War 1 , and woul d ful l y
expl oit the German advantages
Why did Britain and France al low the i nvasion of Poland?
The deci si on of Adol f Hitl er to i nvade Pol and was a gambl e. The
German a rmy was not yet at fu I I strength, a nd the Germa n economy
was sti l l i n peaceti me production. Yet Hitl er
was confident that the i nvasi on of Pol and
woul d resul t i n a short, victori ous war fortwo
i mportant reasons. Fi rst, he was convi nced
that the use of the world's first armoured
corps woul d swiftly defeat the Pol i sh armed
forces in a bl itzkrieg offensive. Secondly, he
j udged the British and French pri me-mi ni s
ters, Nevi l l e Chamberl ai n and Edouard Dal a
di er, woul d opt for a peace settle
m
ent rather
than war.
One of the reasons for the rel uctance of
Britai n and France to get i nvol ved was that
they had al ready accepted German rearma
ment i n 1 935, the re-occupati on of the
54
Tell Me Why
. .

A b| |1Zk||Cg
A11CCk|
i n mi l itary professional i sm and
i ndustry. The answer l ay i n Bl itz
krieg whi ch was made possi bl e
wi th i ntense trai ni ng and mod
ern weapons.
The i nvasi on of Pol and began
wi thout warni ng on l '
t
Septem
ber 1 939, and was the first dem
onstration of the speed and
stri ki ng power of Bl itzkrieg. The
Germans tore through the
Pol i sh mi l itary, and by the end
of the month Poland had sur
rendered to the Germans and
the countrywas occupi ed.
Bl itzkrieg has become the ba
si s of modern warfare in the age
of the tank, ai rcraf, and radi o,
si mpl y because it makes the
best mi l itary use ofthei r natural
advantages in speed and fire
power.
Rhi nel and i n 1 936, and the uni on with Austria in March 1 938. Al l
these acts were i n defi ance of the Treaty of Versai l l es. Hitl er had
thus successful l y i nti mi dated the Western powers by the threat of
World Wars
mi l itary acti on, and in parti cu
l ar, through the wi despread
fear of air attack by the power
ful German air force. Moreover,
many in the west regarded the
Treaty of Versai l l es as flawed,
and held the bel ief that com
muni sm posed the greater
threat to Western democraci es
than Hitl er.
Hitler takes the salute as
the victorious German Army
marches through the streets of
Warsaw, Poland
55
Why was Norway i mportant to
Hitler?
Worl d War I I started i n September
1 939, when Pol and was i nvaded by
German sol di ers. German sol di ers i n
vaded Norway on 9th Apri l 1 940. Nor
way was i mportant to Hitl er as a base
for ai r attacks agai nst Britai n, and for
attacks agai nst the British naval bl ock
ade, whi ch was preventi ng shi ps from
bri ngi ng vital i ron ore to Germany.
There were a few short battles i n
several pl aces i n the country, but onl y
at the Norwegi an capital Osl o di d the
Germans encounter any seri ous resist
ance. A German crui ser was sunk, and
a battl eshi p was damaged before the
German ai rborne troops captured the
city.
Many Norwegi ans carried out activi
ties that were i l legal duri ng the war.
Some spread uncensored i nformati on,
through underground newspapers
and leaflets. Others hel ped peopl e flee
The Norwegian port ofNarvik,just after
l_;n bombing
LC1Sm0vC
10L0hO0h|
from the Nazis to other
countries, mai nl y Swe
den and the UK. Many
peopl e were arrested
and sent to pri son
camps.
The king and the gov
ernment fled to London
i n the UK, and conti nued
their campai gn of resist
ance from there. Norway
had a l arge fleet of mer
chant shi ps before the
war. Duri ng the war
years, 1 940-1 945, many
of these shi ps transport
ed goods to countries
that were at war with
Germany. The Norwe
gi an government i n
London organized thi s
traffic. A total of around
1 0,000 Norwegi an men
and women di ed be
cause ofthe war.
Tell Me Why
Why was Germany able to
occupy France without much
dificulty?
Fol l owi ng the i nvasi on of Po
l and i nthefal l of 1 939, therewas
a seven month period cal l ed
The Phoney War,' duri ng whi ch
ti me onl y mi nor battles took
pl ace, and a major confronta
tion was avoided. Afer Norway
was occupi ed by the Germans,
Germany attacked Hol l and and
Bel gi um, and then l aunched a
massive armoured attack
agai nst France. Sl i ci ng across
Northern France, the German
tanks, ai ded by tactical bomb
i ng from the Lufwaffe or Ger
man ai r force, conducted a bri l
l i ant bl itzkrieg campai gn and
reached the Engl i sh Channel on
May 20th Thi s assaul t cut off the
Bri ti sh Expedi ti onary Force or
World Wars
German Troops inAustria
BEF, as wel l as a l arge number of
French and Bel gi an troops, from
the rest of the Al l ied forces i n
France.
Orders were given to evacu
ate the BEF back to Engl and. Be
gi nni ng on May 26th and l asti ng
ni ne days, Operation Dynamo
rescued 338,226 sol diers -
21 8,226 British and 1 20,000
French- from Dunkirk. With the
evacuation of the BEF, the
French army and remai ni ng
Bri ti sh troops were lef to de
fend a long front wi th mi ni mal
forces, l ittl e armour and heavy
weapons, and no reserves. On
June 5th, the Germans renewed
thei r ofensi ve, and quickl y
broke through the French l i nes.
Ni ne days later Pari s fel l .
57
R's Fighter - 'Spitre '
Why di d Hitler plan Oper
ation Sea Lion?
'Operation Sea Li on' was
the name given by Hitler for
the pl anned i nvasi on of Great
Britain i n 1 940. The whole plan
rel ied on Germany havi ng
compl ete control of the Eng
l i sh Channel , whi ch, i n turn,
meant that Germany had to
have control of the skies so
that the Royal Air Force coul d
not attack German shi ps cross
ing the Channel. The plan
cal led for some 260,000 Ger
mantroopsto be landed al ong
the Engl i sh coast, and move
i nl and towards London.
Operation Sea Li on looked
si mpl e in theory. Britai n
shoul d have been an easy
target. The Lufwaffe was
very experienced in modern
warfare, the Germans had
experienced astoni shi ng
success si nce the attack on
Pol and, whi l e the Bri ti sh had
l ost a vast amount of mi l itary
equi pments on the beaches
of Dunkirk. The RAF and the
Army i n Britai n looked weak
only the Royal Navy seemed
to offer Britai n some sem
bl ance of protecti on.
However, Operation Sea
Li on was never carried out, as
the Germans lost the Battle
of Britai n before i t coul d be
i mplemented.
A London street afer a night of
bombing during the Blitz
'Blitzed' houses in London andSt Paul's
Cathedral which survived the attacks in 1 940
Why was Operation Sea Lion aban
doned?
To pave the way for Operati on Sea Li on,
German ai rcraf attacked shi ppi ng i n the
Engl i sh Channel , on July 1 Qth , tryi ng to l ure
the RAF i nto battle. However, thi ngs di d
not go as pl anned. The Germans lost some
227 ai rcraft i n the month between July 1 Qt
h
and August 1 Q
th
whi l e the RAF lost ni nety
si x. The Battle of Britai n, as thi s battle was
cal l ed, moved i nto hi gh gear on August
1 5th when the German Air force l aunched
its mai n attack- and lost. The Battle of Brit
ain marked the first use of radar on a wi de
spread scal ei nwarfare. l tal l owedthe RAF's
three mai n southern ai r groups to wait on
the ground for i ncomi ng attacks, and then
leap i nto the fray when the bombers were
si ghted on radar.
On 7th Septem ber, theGerma ns l a u nched
its first dayl i ght bombi ng of London, and
by 1 5th September, Germany had suffered
a crushi ng defeat. Hitl er realized he coul d
not gai n superiority i n the ai r, and cal led for
an i ndefi nite postponed of Operation Sea
Li on.
World Wars
k |A
Italy's War
The perormance
of the Italian
armed forces dur
ing the Second
Worl dWarwas
not impressive.
The Italians failed
to takeover a
much weaker
Greece, and were
i nefective i n
fighting i n Norh
Africa. This was
mainlydueto a
lack of modern
weaponry, good
leadershi p, and
above all a clear
lack of desire to
achieve Musso
lini's goals.
A Stuka, one of the bombers used by Germans
How di d London handl e the 'Blitz'?
The appearance of German bombers in
the ses over London duri ng the afternoon
of September 7th, 1 940 heral ded what i s
cal l ed the ' Bl itz' of London. Wi th Operation
Sea Li on scrapped, Hitler wanted to destroy
London to force the British to come to terms.
At around 4 pm on that September day, 348
German bombers escorted by 61 7 fighters
blasted away at London ti l l 6 pm. Two hours
later, gui ded by the fires set by the first as
sault, a second group of raiders commenced
another attack that
lasted unti l 4:30 PM
the fol l owi ng
morni ng.
Thi s was the be
gi nni ngofthe' Bl itz'
- a period of i ntense
bombi ng of Lon
don a nd other ci ti es
that conti nued un
ti l the fol l owi ng
May. For the next
consecutive 57
days, London was
bombed, ei ther
duri ng the day or
ni ght.
Fi res consumed
many porti ons of
the city. Resi dents
sought shelter
wherever they
Smoke risingfom
St. Katharine Docks
afer the frst air raid
ofthe Blitz
Why did Hitler invade the
Balkan regi on?
By June of 1 940, most of
Western Europe had fal l en to
Germany, whi ch had had
quickly subdued Belgi um,
Hol l and and France, in addi
ti onto Denmarkand Norway,
afer spl itting Pol and wi th
Russi a. Hitl er's l ong pl anned
i nvasion of Russia was hi s next
goal . Meanwhi le, the Ital i an
dictator, Mussol i ni, who was
Hi tler's al ly, decided to invade
Greece i n October 1 940. How
ever, the I tal i ans suffered a
humi l iati ngdefeat, and Hitl er
decided to clean up the mess.
coul d fi nd i t - many fleeing to
the underground stati ons
that sheltered as many as
1 77,000 peopl e duri ng the
night.
I ntheworst si ngl ei nci dent,
450 were ki l led when a bomb
destroyed a school bei ng
used as an ai r rai d shelter.
The underground stati ons
were over crowded, wi th l it
tle water, and no bathrooms
but the people neverthel ess
turned the Bl itz into a gl ori
ous battl e for survival .
World Wars
On Apri l 6th, 1 941 , Hitl er
l aunched a si multaneous at
tack on Yugosl avi a and
Greece. He attacked Yugosl a
via because i ts pro - German
prince had been overthrown
in a coup encouraged by the
Bri ti sh, and Hitl er wanted to
puni sh the Yugosl avi ans.
I n only two days, the mi l
l i on-strongYugosl avi anarmy
was defeated at the cost of
1 5 1 German casualties, and
threeweeks l ater, Greeceal so
fel l . Hitl er' s Bal kan campai gn
had been as great a success
as his campai gns i n France
and Poland.
One of the destroyed homes in
London during the BLitz
61
What is 'Barbarossa'?
Operation Barbarossa was
the name given to Nazi Ger
many's i nvasi on of Russi a on
June 22nd 1 941 . Barbarossa
was the largest mi l itary at
tack of Worl d War II, and
pl ans for the attack on Russi a
had been around si nce 1 940.
However, these pl ans were
changed several ti mes be
fore the actual attack.
The attack started at 03.00,
German soldiers in Rostov,
a cit in Southern Russia.
62
German tanks advance across
a cornfeld in Russia
Sunday morni ng June 22nd 1 941 . l n
total, the Germans and her al l ies
used 3 mi l l i on sol di ers, 3580 tanks,
7 1 84 arti l l ery guns, 1 830 ai r
crafs and 750,000 horses. The i ni
ti al attacksi nvolvednumbersnever
seen before - and the success rate
must have taken even Hitl er by
surprise. The Russi an army was on
the verge of a total col l apse, and
Moscow seemed desti ned to fal l .
However, thi s di d not happen.
One reason was that, the German
avance had been so fast that i t
had stretched the whol e army's
suppl y and communi cati on l i nes.
Moreover, the i mpact ofthe wi nter
occurred before the Germans had
reached the objectives set by Hit
ler- and thi s proved the Germans
undoi ng.
Why di d Sara
barossa fai l ?
Hitl er's general s ad
vised hi m agai nst
wagi ng war on Russi a
whi l e sti l l wagi ng war
on the Western Front.
This was especi al l y
true si nce the Red Ar
my was far superior i n
number - but Hi tl er
pressed ahead regard
less. By the end of the
year, more than three
mi l l ion Russi ans had
been taken pri soner
and another mi l l ion
were dead. The Nazis
had the Kreml i n in
their si ghts.
Hitl er expected
Moscowtofal l quickly.
However, fierce resist
ance drove the Ger
mans back i nto the icy
pl ai ns. Hitl er's army
was l eft out in the bit
ter col d, without the
resources for wi nter
warfare. As wi nter ad
vanced, it froze the
Germans' equi pment
in the mud. The Ger
mans' suppl y i ssues
were becomi ng cri ti
cal . Li ketheAmeri cans
i n Bel gi um i n 1 94, the l ength of thei r
suppl y l i nes meant that wi nter uniforms
had to be sacrificed forfood, ammuni ti on
and fuel onthetrai ns and suppl y wagons.
The German Armi es before Moscowwere
fi ghti ng in December 1 941 with the same
uni forms that they had i n the summer!
Newly bui lt up Soviet units near Mos
cow now numbered over 500,000 men
and on December 5 they l aunched a mas
sive counterattack which pushed the
Germans backover 320 kms. The i nvasi on
of the USSR woul d cost the German Army
over 250,000 dead and 500,000 wound
ed.
Ambi ti ous from the start, Operation
Barbarossa's fai l ure marked a downturn
for the Nazi's fortunes. But, Russi a's victo
ry came at a massive price. Up to twenty
ei ght mi l l i on Russi ans perished duri ng
WW I I most of them duri ng thi s brutal
chapter ofthe War.
The people of Moscow dig anti-tank ditches
Why was technology i mpor
tant i n overcomi ng the threat
of the German u-boats?
As an i sl and, Britai n needed to
bri ng in a vast amount of food
and mi l itary equi pment to sur
vive the war. A great deal of raw
materi al s came to Britai n from
America, and therefore, had to
cross the Atlantic. I n normal times,
thi s journey coul d be hazardous
because of the weather. Duri ng
the war, the German submari nes,
or U-boats lead by Admiral Raeder
proved an ever greater threat,
and severely damaged Britai n's
abi l ityto survive the war.
German submari nes hunted
in what were cal led wolf-packs.
Bri ti sh suppl y shi ps crossed i n
convoys, and the shi ps that
brought i n food and suppl ies
were slow, and coul d barely
protect themselves.
It was technol ogy that al
lowed Britai n and her al l i es to
turn the ti de agai nst the U
boats. Powerful new radars
were fitted to l ong range Al l ied
ai rcraf that were equi pped
with search l i ghts and depth
chargers. Thi sal i owedtheAl l ies
to hunt down the U-boats at
ni ght. Hi ghfrequencydi recti on!
Fi nders hel ped the convoy es
corts to pi npoi nt the subma
ri ne's location and hunt them
down. New shi ps were devel
oped cal led corvettes, whi ch
were very l i ghtly armored
whi ch made them much faster
but they were very heavi l y
armed with depth charges, and
al so with other equi pment
which enabled al l corvettes to
hear submari nes underwater.
There is no doubt that if the U
boats had prevai led, the west
ern Al l i es coul d not have been
successful in the war agai nst
Germany.
How did Japan extend its
territory?
Duri ng the Fi rst World War,
Japan joi ned the Al l ied powers,
but played onl y a mi nor rol e i n
fighti ng German col oni al forces
in East Asia. After Worl d War 1 ,
Japan' s' economi c si tuati on
Tell Me Why
worsened, and the mi l itary es
tabl i shed al most complete
control over the government.
I n 1 93 1 , Japan took over the
mai nl and Chi na province of
Manchuri a, and by 1 937, Japan
Thefag which Japanese
soldiers carried with them,
with prayers written on it.
\
1
` k |U
T
I nternational Ai r Force
The Japanese Battle ship Yamato
control led the enti re Chi nese
coast.
In 1 940, Japan occupied
French I ndochi na or Vi etnam,
and joi ned the Axi s powers Ger
many and Italy. These acti ons
i ntensified Japan's confl i ct wi th
the United States and Great
Bri tai n. The US and Great Britai n,
al armed by Japan' s expansi on,
reacted wi th an oi l boycott. The
resul ti ng oi l shortage and fai l
ures to solve the conflict di plo
mati cal l y made Japan decide to
capture the oi l rich Dutch East
I ndies, whi ch i s today known as
I ndonesi a. Thi s put Japan onthe
path to a war with the u. s. and
Great Britai n.
e Royal Ai r Force was truly international i n
character. I t had pilots not just from Britain, but also from
France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Canada, New Zealand and
the USA. The pressure was so great that sometimes the
pilots received only ten hours of training be-
fore being sent to fly on a mission!
World Wars 65
Whydi dJapanattackthe US
Navy at Pearl Harbour?
Pol i ti cal relati onshi ps be
tween the USA and Japan had
broken down i n 1 937, when Ja
pan attacked Chi na to add to
thei r growi ng empi re. Japan
had al ready taken control of
Korea and Manchuria, The Japa
neseai mwastoal sotakecontrol
of British, French, and Dutch
col oni es in the Far East, and the
Ameri can controlled Phi l i p
pi nes.
The Chi nese leader Chi ang
Kai -Shek who was resisting the
Japanese attack had the ful l
support of Washi ngton.
Al armed at the Japanese pl ans
for expansi on, America i m
posed sancti ons on Japan. An
noyed, the Japanese govern
ment demanded that the US
must withdraw its support of
Chi na, l if the trade embargo
wi th Japan and suppl y them
with oil. The US refused to meet
these demands, and on the 7t
h
of December 1 941 , at 7:53 a. m.
Japanese warpl anes attacked
the Ameri can fleet as it lay at
anchor i n Pearl Harbour, the
Naval base i n the Hawai i an Is
l ands. Forty mi nutes later, a
second wave of 1 70 warpl anes
attacked the harbour.
Without a decl arati on of war
from the Japanese, the attacks
came as a compl ete surprise to
the American nation, and the
Japanese were able to bomb
ai rfields, and attack shi ps wi th
very l ittle opposition from the
Ameri cans. America and Britai n
then decl ared war on Japan.
The warship ' USS Shaw'
explodes during the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbour,
7th December 1 941
Why was Japan able to at
tack Pearl Harbour success
fully?
I n Apri l , 1 940, the US Fl eet
was sent to Pearl Harbour on
the i sl and of Oahu i n Hawai i, for
protection agai nst an attack
from Japan. The Ameri cans
were preventi ng suppl i es of
badl y needed oi l and i ron from
reachi ng Japan, and thi s was
hurti ng Japan's war efort. So,
the Commander i n Chief of the
Japanese Combi ned Fl eet be
gan pl anni ng for a surprise at
tack on the US Navy at Pearl
Harbour. He wanted to destroy
the US Fleet with one crushi ng
bl ow.
On 26th November, the Japa
nese Fl eet set sail. By mai ntai n
i ng radi o si l ence and by taki ng
advantage of squal l s and cl oudy
weather, the Japanese were
abl e to steal thi l y come withi n
The warship ' USS Arizona'
during the Pearl Harbour
Attack
320 kms of Pearl Harbour.
On Sunday, 7th December,
1 941 , 1 05 hi gh-level bombers,
1 35 dive-bombers and 81 fight
er ai rcraf attacked the US Fl eet
at Pearl Harbour. In thei r first at
tack, the Japanese sunk six
Ameri can battl eshi ps that were
anchored in Pearl Harbour. I n
two hours, 1 8 warshi ps, 1 88 ai r
craft and 2,403 servicemen
were lost i n the attack. The fol
l owi ng day, Ameri can decl ared
war on Japan.
The Japanese attack was suc
cessful because of the surprise
el ement. Lucki ly for the Ameri
cans, two carriers were on a
trai ni ng crui se and so they es
caped the attack.
Why was desert war considered dangerous?
Fol l owi ng the fal l of France, the fighti ng i n Worl d War I I
shifted to the desert sands of North Africa. However, the
desert was a cruel place to fi ght a war. Armies had to endure
_ l y broi l i ng heat duri ng the day, and freezi ng temper-
- atures at ni ght. A short, sudden shower coul d turn
the desert i nto a sea of mud, whi l e flies and i nsects
made l ife hel l on earth for the sol di ers. The war i n
North Africa was, i n fact, j ust a series of advances
and retreats al ong a 1 920 kms -long stri p of l and.
The mai n ai m was to deprive the enemy of water,
fuel, ammuniti ons, food and rei nforcement, and
to achi eve this, ski rmi shes were i n the form of
.. , . . ..
rashes from one suppl y poi nt to the next.
Why was Hitler's attack on
Russi a not effective?
The Germans i nvaded the So
viet Union in the summer of
1 941 , and l ooked poised to take
Moscow by October that year.
The German Bl itzkrieg technique
was as devastating i n Russi a as
it had been i n the rest of Eu
rope.
As the German armi es swept
further into the Russi an heart
l and, one mi l l i on Soviet troops
were drafed to protect Kiev,but
i t was of no avai l . By October
1 941 , three mi l l i on Soviet sol
diers were prisoners of war.
However, the tabl es were
Red Army POWs captured by
Germans
Why di d Hitler lose the
battle of Kursk?
Tank Battle at Kursk in Russia
The greatest tank battle
in hi story occurred at Kursk
in Russia. I t was the last
major ofensive l aunched
by the Germans on the
Eastern Front. The war had
al ready turned agai nst
Germany and her al l ies i n
Europe by the ti me the
battle of Kursk took place,
because of the mi l itary
mi ght of the Al l ies, whi ch
Germany had not ex
i ntended to destroy the Soviet army
centered on Kursk.
pected.
German pl anni ng
for the offensive had
begun i n March 1 943.
However, i t was del ayed
several ti mes, over several
months. Operation Cita
del, the German code
name for the attack, was
turned with the Battle of Stal i n
grad. The Germans had moved
swiftly forward, reachi ng the
banks of the River Vol ga. The
German sol di ers now had one
l ast major task - to take the city
of Stal i ngrad. Afer more than a
year of bi tter defeats, the Soviet
army was exhausted, but it
started to empl oy a new tactic -
World Wars
However, the Red Army
learnt of the attack through
thei r spy network. The at
tackbegan onJul ySth 1 943.
The wel l prepa red Red Army
del ivered a seri es of crush
i ng counter attacks and
drove the Germans back.
The Kursk offensive ended
i n defeat for the Germans,
ei ght days later.
the fi ghti ng retreat. And so be
gan a bitter battle. The ferocity
of the fighti ng shocked the Ger
mans, who were used to wi n
ni ng easi ly wi th thei r Bl itzkrieg
tactics. Suddenl y they were
faced with a massi ve Russi an
counter attack and by the
spri ng of 1 944 the Germans
started retreati ng!
69
British soldiers in Singapore with
Japanese captors
of effective opposi
ti on, Japanese forces
took Burma, Malaya,
Si ngapore, and the
Dutch East I ndi es i n
rapi d succession. By
March 1 942, the Japa
nese had conquered
an empi re.
Why was Japan able to wi n in East
Asia i nitially?
Why was Japan so
successful in East Asia
i n the first six months
after it entered the
war? The mai n reason
was because the Al l ies
were not expecting
the Japanese to enter
the war, and were i l l
On December 7th 1 941 , Japan effec
tively attacked the United States' Pacific
Fl eet in Pearl Harbour. In the Phi l i ppi nes,
Japanese fliers destroyed most of the
Ameri can ai r force on the ground. Freed
70
..
War and Bag
1 k 1 As, guns, grenades and
small bombs became the prime weapons, a totally
unexpected entrant reached the war front : it was
the jute bags that were used to pack food grains.
Barricades were made for the trenches by fi lling
sand in these bags. The main advantage of this was t t the
fired bul lets lost their momentum as they forced into the
bag and entered the sand, and the sand bags did not explode
either. Grenades too had the same effect, with the sand
bags. Jute bags did not lose demand even after plastic be
came widespread. Plastic is not used to barricade trenches
because it easily catches fire.
Even in modern times, the price of jute bags goes up
whenever there is war in any part of the world. Especially
when battles occur in open areas as in a desert .
Anirudh Sharma
Tell Me Why
prepared to meet at
tacks i n East Asia. The
Japanese were excel
lent planners, who
used the i ntel l i gence
that they had gath
ered bri l l i antly, whi l e
ensuri ng excel lent
co-ordi nati on of their
attacks on land, sea,
and ai r. These
strengths were re
sponsi bl e for Japan's
victories i n the Pacific
area duri ng the i ni ti al
si x months after the
attack on Pearl Har
bour.
WhydidtheBattle
of Coral Sea open a
new chapter in na
val warfare?
The Battle of the
Coral Sea was a major
ai r and naval battle
duri ng World War I I .
I t was fought be
tween the Ameri cans
Japanese infantry during their
conquest ofBurma
and Japanese on May 7th and 8th 1 942. The
battle marked a major turni ng point in the
Pacific war, because it effectively stopped
the Japanese advance to the south to
wards Austral i a.
1S1h|S1hC
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Japan attempted to send an i nvasi on

force by sea to capture Port Moresby i n
Papua, New Gui nea, si nce i t was the major
Al l ied ai rbase in the regi on. This woul d
have prevented the Al l i es usi ng l and
based ai r power agai nst Japanese forces
in the i sl and regions, and al lowed Japan to
extend its ai r power over Austral i a too. US
carrier forces stopped the Japanese at
tempt to l and at Port Moresby by turni ng
back the covering carrier force. I n the bat
tle, Ameri can dive bombers destroyed
four Japanese carriers, and reversed the
bal ance of power in the Pacific.
-
The battle of Coral Sea opened a new
chapter i n naval warfare because i t was
fought enti rely by pl anes - no shi p on ei
ther side made any visual contact wi th any
enemy shi p.
World Wars
71
Why is the fall of Rome significant?
Worl d War I I was the l argest and most
violent armed conflict i n the hi story of
manki nd. I t was waged on land, on sea,
and i n the ai r, for approxi mately six
years. On Jul y 25th
1 943, Mussol i ni, the
dictator of Rome, and an al l y of Germa
ny, was overthrown. Si x days later, the
Al l ied forces landed at Sal erno i n Italy ,
and began a l ong hard sl og up al ong
the Ital i an peni nsul a.
The Al l ies advance was bl ocked by
the Germans at what was cal led the
Gustav Line at Monte Cassi no. To by
pass that l i ne, the Al l ies l anded some
50,000 seaborne troops, with 5,000 ve
hi cles, at Anzio, only 52. 8 kms south of
Rome. The Gustav Li ne was broken i n
May 1 944, and after a bi tter battle,
Rome fel l to the Al l ies on June 4th 1 944.
US troops entered the city ami dst the
cheers and celebrations of its residents.
Rome was the first Axis capital to fal l to
Mussolini and Hitler
the Al l ies, and its fal l
marked the begi nni ng
of the end for Nazi Ger
many.
A Prelude to Peace
72
'The Declaration by United Nations' was a document
signed in London on 1 2th June 1 941, by 26 countries, in
cluding the USA, USSR, Britain, and China. The countries
promised 'to work together, with other free peoples, both
in war and in peace' This was a first step towards the estab-
lishment of the United Nations- and towards peace.
Tell Me Why
What was
the infl uence of
American troops in
..
Britai n?
America entered the war on
the si de of the Al l ies after the Japa-

nese attacked Pearl Harbour. Duri ng

the next three years, over ' .5 mi l l i on
Ameri can sol di ers passed through Britai n
on thei r way to Europe to fight the war.
The Ameri can sol di ers were cal led Gi s, and
they had a tremendous i mpact on l i fe i n Brit
ai n. To begi n with, they were much better pai d
than Bri ti sh sol di ers, so they had pl enty of mon
ey to spend, whi ch was a bi g boost to l ocal busi
ness. They l avi shed gifts l i ke chocol ates, nylons,
and ci garettes on women. Si nce these were i n
short suppl y i n war ti me Britai n, Ameri can Gl 's
became very popul ar with the femal e populati on!
They al so threw around money i n bars, and thei r
swaggeri ng, boasti ng. and brashness al l made
them stand out amongst the normal l y sober and
di_sci pl i ned British. Many sol di ers married British
gi rls, and duri ng the war, over 20,000 local gi rls

became the brides of Ameri can Gi s. I n short,

the Ameri can troops brought col our, excite
ment, vi brancy, and money to l i fe in war
ti me Britai n.
WC| C0mC10
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mCC1y0u.
73
Why was the in
vasion of Norman
dy i mportant for
the Allies?
The i nvasi on of
Normandy by the
Al l ied troops was
code-named Opera
tion Overlord, and it
cal l ed for the l argest
ever assaul t on l and,
sea, and ai r so as to
free occupied Eu
rope from Nazi Ger
many. It began i n
the earl y morni ng
hours of June 6th,
1 944, now known as
D-Day. Thousands
of Ameri can, Bri ti sh,
Canadi an, and
French sol diers-
backed by para
troopers, bombers,
and warshi ps
stormed an eighty
kms stretch of
French beach cal l ed
Normandy.
D-day was the be
gi nni ng of the end
of the war. The i nva
si on of Normandy
al lowed the Al l ied
forces to get thei r
sol diers back on the
74
European mai nland, and to start defeati ng
German opposition and Nazi tyranny. A
huge fighti ng force had been assembled,
i ncl udi ng 1 ,200 fi ghti ng shi ps, 1 0,000
pl anes, 4, 1 26 l andi ng craft, 804 transport
shi ps, and hundreds of amphi bi ous and
other speci al purpose tanks. Duri ng the
operation, 1 56,000 troops, of whi ch 73,000
were Ameri can, were l anded in Normandy,
ai rborne and seaborne.
&
- .
Red Army anti-tank rifemen under fre
As pl anned, ai rborne units l ed the i nva
si on. Droppi ng paratroopers behi nd Ger
man forcs and supporting the sol di ers on
the beach, ai r support was cruci al for the
success of the operation. As dawn broke,
an armada of more than 5,000 Al l ied shi ps
steamed through ten l anes cl eared by
mi nesweepers. At 6:31 am, the first l and
i ng craft dropped i ts ramp, and US sol diers
began fighti ng. It took si x weeks of hard
Tell Me Why
fi ghti ng before the Al l ies were
abl e to achieve thei r objective,
and Pari s was fi nal ly l i berated
from the Germans on 25th Au
gust 1 944. The i nvasion of Nor
mandyal lowedtheAl l iedforces
to push i nto France, and then
i nto the heart of Nazi Germany.
There i s where the war, whi ch
had caused the end of mi l l ions
of l ives, woul d fi nal l y come to
an end.
What was the result of Op
eration Bagration?
Operati on Bagration, the Red
Army's spri ng 1 944 attack, was
desi gned to support Al l ied op
erati ons in France, l i berate Rus
sian territory, and break the
back of the German army for
once and for al l .
The Operation was preceded
by a surprise attack by a Soviet
US soldiers come ashore at
Omaha Beach, Normandy
guerri l l a army that emerged
from the forests of Bel orussi a.
The bri gades of thi s guerri l l a
armyhad pl anted40,OOOdemo
l iti on charges.
On June 22nd 1 944, the thi rd
anniversary of Hitler's i nvasion
of the Soviet Uni on, the Soviet
l eadershi p gave the order for
the mai n assaul t on German
front l i nes. The screams of rock
ets were fol lowed by the roar of
4,000 tanks. The Operation l ast
ed from 22nd June, 1 944 to 1 9th
August, 1 944. TheGermanarmy
on the Eastern front was deal t a
devastati ng blow from whi ch it
woul d never recover.
Operation Bagration al so en
sured that the former Soviet re
publ ics, from the Bal tic Sea to
the Cri mea, woul d return to the
Communist fol d. In so doi ng, it
set the stage for Soviet domi na
ti on of much of Eastern Europe
for the next 40 years.
Battle oflmphal
How did the Allies cross the
German frontier?
In September 1 944, the l ong
awaited fi nal victory over Nazi
Germany seemed cl ose at hand
for the Al l ies. I n the East, the Red
Army moved steadi l y towards
the German frontier. In the skies
over Germany and the occupied
countries, Al l ied air power
wreaked havoc on the German
army, German i ndustry, and
l i nes of communi cation. I n the
West, three Al l ied army groups
stretched from the North Sea to
Switzerl and, and were ready for
the fi nal assault agai nst the Nazi
homel and.
The Al l ied armi es confronti ng
the Germans i n mid-September
1 944 had arrived on the Euro-
76
pean continent through two
great invasions. The first i nva
si on assaulted the Normandy
coast of France. I n the second
i nvasion, US forces l anded east
of Toul on, and wi thi n two
weeks, the Al l ies had captured
57,000 prisoners and opened
the major ports of Toulon and
Marsei l l e.
On September 3,d the Al l ies
l i berated Brussels, and on Sep
tember 1 1 th Ameri can patrols
crossed the German border
near Aachen. The German de
fenders fought back savagely
under Hitler's order to resist to
the last man. They were not
driven out unti l October 2Pt,
when Aachen became the first
l arge German city to be taken
by the Al l ies. By March 1 945, the
Al l i es had crossed the Rhi ne,
and entered the heart of Ger
many.
Why was India important in
the Burma campaign?
The raid at Pearl Harbour on
7th December 1 941 was a dev
astati ng blow to the Ameri cans.
Japan meanwhi l e, was on a
wi nni ng spree. Hong Kong and
I ndo-Chi na fel l to them wi thout
diffi culty, but the greatest tri
umphs occurred on the Mal ay
Peni nsul a and i n Si ngapore,
Tell Me Why
b\ k \
Radio Signals
1
Radio was used in World War II to
enterain troops, keep the home front informed, and raise
money for the war. However in 1 942, American disc jockeys
were banned from playing listener's requests overthe radio.
Do you know why? The Allies feared that enemy agents
might use these requests as a code to pass on information to
their bosses!
where Bri ti sh, Austral i an and I ndi an
troops were forced i nto a humi l iati ng sur
render.
The Bri ti sh were determi ned to recap
ture Burma, and by the summer of 1 943,
the British forces were begi nni ng to domi
nate i n the skies over Burma, wi th the Royal
Ai r Force operating out ofl ndia. Whi l e Japan
had no ori gi nal pl ans to i nvade I ndia, the
Japanese knew that an offensive i nto I n
di a was the onl y way they coul d el i mi nate
the threat agai nst Burma.
Thi s l ed to two major battles i n I ndi a.
The first was at I mphal , the state capital of
British soldiers in Rangoon on the lookout
jor Japanese squads
Mani pur i n I ndia.
Whi l e the attack on
I mphal commenced,
a si mul taneous at
tack on the northern
town of Kohi ma al so
began. Japanese mor
tar fire rai ned down
on the I ndian troops
who were i l l suppl ied.
Nevertheless, the I n
di an troops hel d, and
combat turned i nto a
stal emate. The Japa
nese were fi nal l y
driven back, and the
RAF could now to
conti nue assert pres
sure from the skies on
Japanese troops i n
Burma.
I n March 1 945,
Rangoon the capital
of Burma fel l to the
Al l ies, and Burma had
been recaptured by
the Al l ied victory.
77
How did Berl i n fal l ?
By Apri l 1 1 945, the Russi ans were out
side Berl i n. They prepared for battle for two
weeks, knowi ng that Berl i n woul d be heav
i l y contested. Adolf Hitl er deci ded to re
mai n in the city, and the Battle of Berl i n was
to become the deci di ng conflict between
Nazi sm and Communi sm.
The fi nal chapter i n the
destruction of Hitl er's Ger
many began on Apri l 1 6th,
1 945when Stal i n unleashed
the brutal power of 20 army
divi si ons, 6,300 tanks and
8,500 ai rcraf wi th the ob
jective of crushi ng German
resistance, and capturi ng
Berl i n. The depleted Ger
man forces put up a stif de
fence, i niti al ly repel l i ng the
attacki ng Russians, but ul ti matel y suc
cumbi ng to overwhel mi ng force. By Apri l
24th the Soviet army surrounded the city
sl owl y, ti ghteni ng its strangl ehol d on the
remai ni ng Nazi defenders. Fi ghti ng street
to-street and house-to-house, Russi an
troops bl asted thei r way towards Hitl er's
chancel l ery in the city's centre. I nsi de hi s
underground bunker, Hitl er married hi s
l ong-ti me mi stress Eva Braun, and then
joi ned her i n sui ci de. Hi s dreams of a Ger
78
man Empi re died
with hi m.
What was the
significance of VE
Day?
The unconditi on
al surrender of Ger
many was si gned at
Rhei ms on May 7th
and ratified at Berl i n
on May 8th. So May
8th, 1 945 became VE
Day- or Vi ctory Eu
rope day- when the
Al l ies announced
the surrender of
German forces in
Europe. On that
date, massi ve cele
brati ons took place,
notably i n London,
where over a mi l l i on
peopl e cel ebrated
Churchill waves to
crowds on VE Day
Why was the Allied
attack on Japan called
island hopping?
An Allied Bomber over an Island
In mi d-1 943, the Al l ied
command in the Pacific
moved towards Japan
usi ng a strategy known
as 'i sl and hoppi ng'. As
part of thi s strategy, US
forces moved from one
island i n the Pacific to
another, using each as a
in a carnival atmos
phere the end of the
European war.
The Al l i es had actu
al ly agreed to mark
May 9th as V-E day, but
Western journal i sts
broke the news of
Germany's surrender
a day early. The Soviet
Uni on kept to the
agreed date though,
so Russi a and other
countries sti l l cele
brate Vi ctory Day on
May 9th I n Germany,
VE day was considered
a day of defeat. Later,
however, the Germans
changed thei r stand,
and VE Day is now
consi dered in Germa
ny as the day of l i bera
tion from the Nazis.
World Wars
base for capturi ng the next.
US forces succeeded in taki ng the i s
l ands afer brutal fighti ng and fanatical
resi stance from the Japanese. At Truk,
a pri nci pal Japanese base, US pl anes
struck the ai rfields and shi ps, si nki ng
three l i ght cruisers, si x destroyers, over
twenty-five merchantmen, and de
stroyi ng 270 ai rcraft. As Truk was
burni ng, Al l ied troops began l andi ng
at Eniwetok. The i sl ands of the Atoll
were captured on February 23'd. Other
i sl ands in the Pacific were si mi l arly
captured by the Al l i es, who then be
gan construction of massive ai r bases
on these i sl ands.
What were the effects of
'Little Boy?'
Created duri ng the super-se
cret Manhattan Project, Little
Boy was the first atomic bomb
produced by the United States.
Whi l e the bomb itself was
bui lt by May 1 945, the urani
um for its core was not avai la-
bl e until July. 'Little Boi
weighed approximately
4000 kil os.
The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima
afer the dropping ofAtom bomb
With the deci si on to em
pl oy Little Boy agai nst Hi ro
shi ma, the bomb was l oad
ed aboard the B 29 Super-
fortress ' Enol a Gay'. At
tacking the city, on August
6th, the bomb performed
as pl anned, destroying
much of the city and ki l l
i ng between 70,000 and
80,000. The first efect of
Why did the US sanction the
use of the atom bomb agai nst
Japan?
On August 6th, 1 945, the Unit
ed States became the first
country to ever use the atomi c
bomb i n warfare. On thi s day,
the first of two atomi c bombs
were dropped. The first was
known as 'Little Boy,' and was
dropped on the city of Hi roshi
ma. The second was known as
'Fat Man, ' and was dropped
three days later, on Nagasaki .
The two bombs together took
over 1 00,000 l ives i nstantly, and
many more thousands sufered
and di ed from the after efects
of radiati on.
80
The atomi c bomb was creat
ed in the South Western desert
of the United States under top
secret conditi ons. For many
years, the Germans and Ameri
cans were i n a race to complete
the bomb first. It was consi d
ered a spectacul ar success
when on Jul y 1 6th, 1 945 in the
New Mexico desert, the first
atomic- bomb was detonated i n
Tell Me Why
the expl osi on was bl i ndi ng l i ght, accom
panied by radiant heat from the firebal l .
The Hi roshi ma firebal l was 370 metres i n
di ameter, with a temperature of 7,200 OF.
Near the poi nt where the bomb was
dropped, everythi ng flammabl e burst into
fl ame, gl ass products and sand melted i nto
molten gl ass, and humans were either va
porized, or turned to carbon in an i nstant.
The bl ast al so sent out shock waves that
travel l ed at the speed of sound, destroyi ng
90% of the bui l di ngs i n Hi roshi ma. Even
those who survived the bl ast conti nued to
sufer and die years later from the effects
of radiati on.
The Bomber 'Enola Gay' and its crew, who
dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima
a test run. The United States di d not hesi
tate i n usi ng the atomi c bomb on Japan,
but were the Americans j ustified i n thei r
use of the first atomi c bomb?
World Wars
The mushroom cloud
over Nagasaki after
the dropping of
Atom bomb
` Kuh|C1mCh
C` L| 11| Cb0y|S
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The US bel i eved
the atom bomb
woul d end the war
successful ly at the
earl iest possi bl e mo
ment. The droppi ng
of the bombs al so
warned the worl d
especial ly the Soviet
Uni on- that America
was not a country to
be trifled wi th.
81
What was the result of the atom bomb on
Nagasaki ?
The second atom bomb was dropped by the
United States on August 9th 1 945 on the sea
port of Nagasaki i n Japan. The code name for
the bomb was 'Fat Man' and it was dropped
by the US B-29 Superfortress Bockscar.
Nagasaki was a major seaport in Southern
Japan. The expl osion afected a total area of
approximately 1 1 0 square kms. Al most every
thi ng up to a ki l ometre from ground zero
whi ch was the poi nt where the bomb was
dropped- was completely destroyed. Al l
homes wi thi n a ki l ometre and a hal f were de-
Colonel Paul Tib
bets who dropped
the atom bomb
on Hiroshima
82
Last of the Nazis
Rudolf Hess was probably
the last of the Nazis to die in
captivity.
Born in Alexandria, i n
1 894, as the son of a German
merchant, Hess joined the
Nazi movement as a young
man. He later became a
close and loyal associate of
Hitler. By 1 939, however,
Hitler acted in closer associ
ation with senior generals
and admirals, and the great
days of Hess were over. He
probably felt himself cut off
from his leader, and made a
desperate attempt to re-
cover his position with Hit
ler. Without Hitler knowing
about it, he made a very ad
venturous, solitary flight to
Scotland, with an offer for
Britain to make peace!
Hess was, however taken
into custody by the British
and put in prison. Later, at
the Nuremberg war trials he
was sentenced to life i mpris
onment, and was put in the
Spandau Prison in Berlin. He
died on August 1 7, 1 987, ap
parently by committing sui
cide. Shortly after Hess died,
the entire prison building of
Spandau was dynamited,
ending a gory chapter of his
tory.
Tell Me Why
stroyed, and dry, combusti bl e
materi al s such as paper i n
stantly burst into flames thou
sands of ki l ometres away from
ground zero. Of the 52,000
homes i n Nagasaki, 1 4,OOOwere
destroyed and 5,400 more se
riousl y damaged. Fi re-fi ght
ing eforts were hampered by
water pi pe breaks. About
70,000 residents were ki l l ed
and over the years another
80,000 di ed from the efects of
radiati on poisoni ng.
Jllf the Third World War is
fought with nuclear weap
ons, the fourth will be
fought with bows and ar
rows".
- Lord Louis Mountbatten
"I don't know what kind of
weapons wil l be used i n the
Third World War, assuming
there will be a Third World
War. But I can tell you what
the Fourth World War will
be fought with - sticks and
stones".
-Albert Einstein
Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat ....
The famous phrase 'blood, toil, tears
and sweat became well known after a
speech given by Winston Churchill to the
House of Commons of the Parliament of
the United Kingdom on 1 3th May 1 940. It
was Churchil l's first speech to the House
after taking over as Prime Minister of tle
UK, having replaced Neville Chamberlain
on 10th May.
This speech was a great inspiration to
the embattled nation.
Winston Churchill Hereare some excerpts from Churchill's
inspiring speech. "1 would say to the
House as I said to those who have joined this government: I have
nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before
us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many,
many long months of struggle and of suffering."
"You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory!
Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terror - Victory, however
long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no
survival".
World Wars
83
Japan Surrenders
On August 1 4t 1 945, Emperor Hi
rohito announced that Japan would
surrender unconditionally. The sur
render took place on September
od
aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo
Bay. Japan was reduced to its home
islands, and occupied by American
forces. World War II had final ly, and
formally ended.
Howdidthe
war change
the world or
der?
World War I I
rai ned rui n on
the worl d. The
ci ti es of Ger
many were
levelled by Al
l ied bombers.
A m e r i c a n
atomic bombs
had made a sad wreck of Hi roshi ma and
Nagasaki . Huge areas of Europe and
Southeast Asia lay i n rui ns. Fami ne
stal ked Europe fol l owi ng a severe
drought. Twenty five mi l l ion people were
rendered homel ess in the Soviet Union.
The war ti me conference by the United
States qnd the Soviet Uni on was to deter
mi ne the sha pe of the post wa r worl d.
The wartime al l i ance between the
Kamikaze attack on US carrier Bunker Hill
84
United States, Britai n,
and the Soviet Union
was fast breaki ng up.
Europe was bei ng di
vided i nto two sepa
rateand hosti l e camps
- Eastern Europe was
domi nated by the So
viet Uni on, and West
ern Europe was soon
to ral ly under the
United States. Thus
World War II gave
birth to the cold war
between the two super powers.
The divided Germany and its
former capital Berl i n woul d be
come a fl ash point of conflict in the
future. I n 1 945, Pol and came under
the thumb of the Soviet Uni on. I n
the Pacific, the defeat of Japan re
sulted in America domi nati ng the
regi on. The Japanese victory over
the col oni al powers in 1 941 -2 i n
the Far East meant that the coun
tri es of the regi on woul d ri de a
wave of national i sm to freedom.
b k |U1
Kamikaze
Kamikaze were Japanese
suicide pilots who attacked
Allied warships in the Pacific
Ocean. In Japanese, Kamika-
ze means 'divine wind'. Many
Kamikaze pilots were very
young, mostly between 1 8
and 24. They were i nspired
by Japanese military tradi
tions of self-sacrifice. They
wore the ritual head cloth
hachimaki of the Samurai
warriors of ancient Japan.
The war cry of the attacking
Japanese pilots was
'TORA!TORA!' Theword Tora
means Tiger.
The UNflag
How did the United Na
tions come i nto exi st
ence?
Mi l l i ons were ki l led, and
many mi l l i ons more lost
thei r homes in World War I I .
This, coupl ed with the
senseless waste of wealth
and health l ed to the bi rth
of the United Nati ons. Fran
kl i n D. Roosevelt, the Ameri
can presi dent, was the chief
architect of the United Na
ti ons. I n fact, the term Unit
ed Nati ons was coi ned by
Frankl i n. D. Roosevelt. The
chi ef ai m of the
United Nati ons is
to keep peace. It
encourages re
spect of human
rights and i nter
nati onal l aws.
The United Na
ti ons came i nto
bei ng on 24th Oc
tober, 1 945.
85
86 Tel l Me Why
How di d the common man
overcome the difficulties of
war?
"Don't you know that there
is a war goi ng on?" Thesewere
thewordswhich rangthrough
Britai n duri ng World War I I .
The Engl i sh met war on a war
footi ng. Rationi ng became
the norm. The meat ration

shrank as shi ps went down i n

the Atl antic duri ng March,
1 940. Butter al lowance was
hal ved duri ng the bad ti mes
and the cheese al lowance was
the si ze of mousetrap bait.
Ni ne out of ten si ngl e wom
en joi ned the war efort. They
worked as Land Gi rl s, operated
mi xed anti-ai rcraf guns or
worked as welders i n Britai n's
shi pyards. Around 80,000
LandGi rl s boostedagricultural
output. About 1 000 of them
worked as rat catchers!
World Wars
What was the i nfl uence of
propaganda war?
Propaganda i s i nformation
used to promote a pol i ti cal cause
or poi nt of view. The i nformation
i s often mi sl eadi ng. A propagan
da war was waged by both the
si des duri ng Worl d War I I . The
poster was a 'weapon' wielded
by the leaders of the warri ng na
ti ons. The posters reflected the
bel iefs and wi shes of the rul ers.
Radios, feature fi l ms and news
reels al so played thei r part.
Joseph Goebbel s of Nazi Germa
ny was the demon king of the
propaganda war. He was a mas
ter of the art of propaganda.
However even hi s propaganda
was no match for the mi ght of
the Al l ies.
87
Why is it said that
Hollywood played a
major role during the
war?
War ti me was boom
ti me for Hol lywood.
Ameri cans tried to es
cape from the harsh re
al ities of war in the
darkness of the movie
houses. War workers
11S
wC| 1|mC,|C1Sg0
0|Cm0v|CChO
|C| C!
David Niven in the wartime movie
' The Way Ahead' (1944)
had pl enty of money. The US qui ckly
real ized that the fi l m was a powerful
propaganda tool. Cri me thri l lers, musi
cal s, and Westerns weretai l ored around
war themes. Patrioti sm proved to be
hugel y profitabl e for bi g studi os l i ke
MGM, Paramount, and Warner Bros.
In 1 943, the number of fi l ms deal i ng
di rectly or i ndi rectly wi th the war
reached a peak. As the war drew to a
close, Ameri cans l onged to escape
completely from the i mages of the war
around them. Therefore, musi cal s and
costume dramas became popul ar.
How di d the war revive the
British film i ndustry?
a strong i nfl uence on mai n-
. stream feature fi l ms. Movies
l i ke ' Mi l l ions Li ke Us', 'The Way
Ahead' and 'Waterloo Road'
centered round the l ives of or
di nary sol di ers and ci vi l i ans.
These fi l ms brought a new feel
i ng of real i sm to Bri ti sh ci ne
mas.
World War II was a bl essi ng in
di sgu;se for the British fi l m i n
dustry. The struggl i ng Bri ti sh
fi l m i ndustry came to l ife, and
produced a steady stream of
i nspi ri ng documentaries about
the 'people's war'. They exerted
88 Tell Me Why
The 'Way Ahead' is a typi cal example of a
warti me British movie. It fol l owed a band of
recruits through thei r trai ni ng and i nto battle.
David Niven, a British Army Offi cer in real l ife,
starred i n the movie. German fi l ms of the ti me
were quiet diferent. They consi sted of a mix
ture of hymns to nati onal hi story and mi l itary
strength and anti Jewish propaganda.
What was the attitude of Japan and Ger
many towards the conquered territories?
Conquest does not bring probl ems to an
end. The conquerors have to face the probl em
of mai ntai ni ng order i n the conquered territo
ries, and of repl acing existi ng governments.
There i s al so the all i mportant problem of re
vivi ng the economy, and bl eedi ng it for the
conqueror's profit. To solve these problems,
the ' New Orders' were establ i shed i n Asia by
the Japanese, and i n Europe by Germany.
Japanese rul e was harsh, but it was overshad
owed by German cruel ty. German policy to
wards its conquered territories was driven by
Nazi raci al pol i cy. Mi l l i ons of Jews were ki l l ed.
Mi l l ions of Russi ans were forci bl y transported
to Germany as slave l abour. The Germans
wanted to destroy Pol i sh i dentity. The entire
Pol i sh population
was to become
German sl aves,
formi ng a huge
pool of cheap la
bour. In Greece,
Germany control
l ed the food
stocks, and thou
sands starved.
World Wars
S R|k0
Italy
surrenders
O
n 25th July,
1 943, Musso
Iini was over
thrown. Mus
solini was a
fascist - the all
powerful
head of Italy's
nationalist
government.
An anti-fascist
Italian gov
ernment came
to power. The
new govern
ment signed a
secret armi
stice, an
agreement to
stop the fight
ing, with the
Allies on Sep
tember 3'd. Six
days later the
Allies landed
on the Italian
mainland at
Salerno, south
of Naples. lta
Iy had surren
dered.
A]oIR
89
90
What were the revenge weapons devel
oped by Hitler's Germany?
Adol f Hitl er gave Londoners a taste of terror
duri ng Worl d War II. The V-1 and the V-2 were
Hitl er's two revenge weapons. The V-1 was
developed by the Lufwafe, the German ai r
force. Nicknamed the doodl ebug, the V-1 was
a smal l pi lotless ai rcraft with short wi ngs. It
was guided to its target by an automatic pi l ot.
The Germans pl anned to bombard London
with 500 V-1 s each day. The flyi ng-bomb was
not parti cul arl y accurate, but London was a
very bi g target. By the end of August 1 944,
approxi matel y 21 ,000 peopl e were ki l l ed or
seri ously i nj ured by the doodl e bugs. At ni ght,
thousands sheltered in the Tube, London's
underground rai l way. The V-1 menace was
overcome by fast fighter ai rcraf, anti ai rcraf
shel l s, and the capture by the Al l ies of the V-1
l aunchi ng sites i n Northern France.
Then on 8th September 1 944, the V-2 ap
peared i n Bri ti sh skies. The V-2 rocket was de
veloped by the German army. The V-2 coul d
not be shot down nor di d it give any warni ng
of i ts approach. It cl i mbed to about 1 20 ki l o
metres, and pl unged to the Earth at our ti mes
the speed of sound. On 27th
March 1 945, the l ast V-2 to reach
Engl and exploded in Kent. The
, V-weapons h!d caused exten
sive damage and ki l l ed 9,000
peopl e in Britai n, buttheyfai led
to break the British spi rit.
The V-2 rocket on its
Mobile Launcher
Tell Me Why
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was
the wartime meeting of the
Churchill, Roosevelt
and Stalin at Yalta
b k |U
T
A Si ngl e Word that Proved
Deadl y
What real l y made Japan a vic
tim of the first ever atom bomb
attack, i n 1 945?
Some say it was the mi strans
lation of a single Japanese word!
The fateful word was ' mokusat
su', whi ch means, 'to wi thhol d
comment'. The Al lied forces gave
an ulti matum to Japan on J ul y
26, 1 945, known as the Potsdam
Decl arati on. The Japanese were
not really unhappy with its terms,
because it di d not demand un
condi ti onal surrender of the
government. I nstead, it only de
manded surrender ofthe armed
forces.When they i nformal l y
heard about the Potsdam Dec
l arati on on the radio, the Japa
nese cabi net started to consi der
World Wars
'big three' - US President Fran
klin D. Roosevelt, British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill,
and the General Secretary of
the Communist Party of the
USSR, Joseph Stal in. The con
ference was held at Yalta from
February4thto 1 1 th, 1 945. ltwas
intended to discuss the post
war re-establishment of the
nations of war-torn Europe.
the terms, sti l l awaiti ng ofi ci al
i nformation about it. Premi er
Suzuki spoke to the press on
July 28, 1 945. When asked
about the Decl arati on, he said,
'Mokusatsu'. What he meant
was, 'No comments, for the
ti me bei ng'.
The word, however, carried a
trap. I n Japanese, ' Mokusatsu'
coul d al so mean 'to i gnore'!
Unfortunately, the transl ators
chose the wrong meani ng. So,
the Al l ies were led to bel i eve
that the Japan had refused to
accept the Potsdam Declara
tion. This made them angry,
and the atom bombs were
dropped on Japan.
Was thi s the onl y reason for
the deadl y bombi ng? We can
not be sure. Yet, the fact re
mai ns that even a si ngl e word
can fal l l i ke a bombshel l !
91
The Unbeaten
Soldier
When di d World
War II end?
Hi story books say,
i n 1 945. But not for
Hi roo Onoda, a Japa
nese sol di er who
held out agai nst the
enemi es for 29 years
after Japan had for
mal ly surrendered i n
the war. The reason?
Hiroo Onoda
di ed over the dec
ades, but Onoda,
remained defiant,
defendi ng hi s post.
Despite the efforts
of the Phi l i ppi nes
army, letters and
newspapers left for
hi m, radi o broad
casts, and even a
pl ea from Onoda's
brother, he did not
He j ust did not know that the
war had ended!
Drafted i nto the Japanese ar
my in 1 942 (he was 22, then),
young Onoda was trai ned for
gueri l l a warfare. Later, in 1 944,
he was sent to the smal l i sl and
of Lubang, near Mani l a, i n the
Phi l i ppi nes. Shortly after the
Americans l anded i n Japan, al l
but four of the Japanese sol
di ers had ei ther died or surren
dered. But Hi roo Onoda re
mai ned on the island with three
other hol douts. The other three
bel ieve the war was
over. Later a young Japanese
met hi m, but Onoda said he
coul d surrender onl y after re
ceivi ng orders from hi s com
manders. At l ast, Major Tan
i guchi , Onoda's one-ti me com
mander gave hi m oral orders to
surrender, and he emerged
from the j ungl e of Lubang I s
l and with hi s . 25 cal i ber rifle,
500 rounds of ammuni ti on,
and several hand grenades.
He returned to Japan to re
ceive a hero's welcome, i n
1 974.
Nuremberg Trials
After the war, many leading Nazi and Japanese officials stood
trial, charged with various war crimes. At Nuremberg, Germa
ny,194S-46, a trial of22 leading Nazis was organized by an I nter
national Mil itary Tribunal of US, French, Russian, and British
judges. Twelve of the 22 defendants were sentenced to death. In
Japan, General Tojo was executed in 1 948:
92
Tell Me Why
The German
Enigma Machine
World Wars
Why is it said that si gnal readi ng
played a major role i n Second World
War?
The Germans transmi tted critical war
ti me i nformation i n secret code generat
ed by thei r Eni gma machi nes. The Ger
mans bel i eved that the Eni gma's coded
messages were unbreakabl e. However,
unknown to them, the Bri ti sh had broken
it. They uncovered the top secret German
si gnal s encoded on the Eni gma ma
chi nes.
One of the Eni gma machi nes had found
i ts way i nto British hands i n 1 939. They
unl ocked the secret by matchi ng el ectro
mechanical computers to the electric fi ri ng
of the Eni gma machi ne. I n thi s way, the
Bri ti sh decoders di scovered the Eni gma
keys, the setti ngs of whi ch were changed
three times a day. Eventually, many eni gma
si gnal s were bei ng read atthe samespeed
by the British as the Germans!
I nformation from the deci phered Eni g
ma si gnal s was codenamed Ul tra. I t
ranged from routi ne orders to detai l ed
battle pl ans. Ultra was surrounded by the
greatest secrecy to prevent the Germans
from di scoveri ng that the code had been
broken. The British shared i nformation
from Ul tra with the Americans. Their So
viet al l i es were given only summaries of
the i nformati on.
However, the Soviets got a detai l ed
pi cture of Ul tra. They had a spy at Bl etch
ley named John Cai rncross!
93
Who were the promi nent
leaders of the war?
produced di sastrous results. As
the war progressed, Stal i n
reigned i n hi s dictatori al ten
dencies. He heeded the advice
of his bri l l i ant mi l itary officer
Zhukov and staf oficer An
tonov. Neverthel ess, Stal i n ruled
by fear and remai ned i n com
mand from the first to the last.
Four men hel d the keys of the
war - Adol f Hitl er, Joseph Stal i n,
Frankl i n D. Roosevelt, and Wi n
ston Churchi l l . Hitler and Stal i n
were di ctators. They showed
stri ki ng si mi larities though they
were on opposite sides. Both
were workaholics, who often Hitl er took personal control of
Roosevelt Eisenhower Stalin Churchill
Who were the leading commanders duri ng Sec
ond World War?
Commanders pl ayed a l eadi ng role i n Worl d War I I .
They made hi story with thei r di feri ng command
styles and thei r col ourful personal ities. General
Dwight D. Ei senhower was a shi ni ng exampl e. He was
the Supreme Commander of the Al l ied Forces from
December 1 943. He was no fighti ng general , but hi s
di pl omatic abi l ity hel d together volati l e general s l i ke
Paton and Montgomery under hi m. Paton and Mont
gomery sometimes seemed to be more at war with
each other than with the enemy! However, both were i nspi rational
l eaders. Fi el d Marshal , Erwi n Rommel l i ked to l ead from the front.
The outstandi ng commander on the German side was von Man
stei n. He was Russia's powerful enemy on the Eastern Front.
94
Tell Me Why
operati ons i n December, 1 941 .
It was a task for whi ch he was
not wel l suited. The majority of
his general s urged cauti on, but
Hitl er i gnored their practi cal
advi ce. Those who stood up to
hi m were di smissed. From 1 943,
he fol l owed a strategy of hol d
i ng on to every i nch of ground.
Thi s strategy left hi s command-
Paton Rommel
Three Out standi ng
Commanders
The Japanese Yamamoto,
the American MacArthur
and the Russian Zhukov
were the three outsatnding
commanders. Admiral
Yamamoto masterminded
the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbour. He foresaw that
the Japanese Emperor Hi ro
hito would have only six
months of victory to enjoy.
His fears came true. General
Douglas MacArhur was
World Wars
ers with l ittle room for tactical
moves. Churchi l l al so showed
an al armi ng tendency to med
dle in the dai l y war operations,
but Field Marshal Brooke coolly
di rected hi s energi es elsewhere.
Roosevelt di d not meddl e i n
war affai rs. He lef the conduct
of the war to hi s abl e Chief of
Staf, General Marshal l .
Montgomer Yamamoto
proud and tactless, but he
was a brilliant commander.
His career began with the
loss of the Phili ppines, but
he proved himself during
combined war operations in
the Pacific. Georgi Zhukov,
was the Deputy Supreme
Commander-in-Chief of the
SovietUnion,wassecondonly
to Stalin in military afairs.
Zhukov was Stalin's batle
winner. He won batles at
Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk
and the battle for Berlin.
Star of David
The Star of
David is a sym
bol of Judaism.
Many Jews were
required to do
forced labour
for the Ger
mans.The Nazis
forced the Jews
to wear a white
armband with
the StarofDavid
embroidered in
blue. This was
meant to hu
mil iate them
and to make
them feel utter
ly worthless.
I woJi ma
T [@(
What was the Nazi pri nci ple behi nd the
holocaust?
The hol ocaust was a chi l l i ng exhi bi ti on of
Hitl er's cruelty. In 1 933, approxi matel y ni ne
mi l l i on Jews l ived i n the 21 countries of Europe
that were later occupied by Germany. By 1 945,
six mi l l ion of them had been ki l l ed. This was the
holocaust - the state sponsored ki l l i ng and de
struction of European Jews by Nazi Germany.
The gypsies cal led Roma, the handi capped,
and the Poles were al so ki l l ed. Others ki l led
themsel ves. Accordi ng to records, 1 ,600 Jews
took thei r l ives between 1 938 and 1 945. The
i nhuman condi ti ons were too much for them.
The Nazi s bel i eved that the Germans were a
' superi or race,' and that there was a struggl e
between them and the 'inferior races'. Thi s was
the lie that fuel l ed the HolocaustJews, gypsies,
_ and the handicapped were seen as threats to
the pure German race. Mi l l i ons of Soviet pris
oners died or were ki l l ed. Death occurred due
to hunger, di sease, and forced l abour. Jews
and others bel ongi ng to the i nferi or races were
ensl aved in concentration camps.
I n February 1 945, US ma
rines stormed Iwo Jima, a '
tiny island south of Japan.
only216weretaken prisoner.
The rest died fighting. After
suffering heavy losses at Iwo
Jima and on Oki nawa, the US
started bombing mainland
Japanese cities, and later
dropped atomic bombs, on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
TheJapanesedefended
the island tothe
bitter end.
21,000
l d i er s ,
Srinivasa Rao
Tel l Me Why
b k |U
T
The End of a Dictator
The end of the war brought
about the end of Adolf Hitler.
The German army surren
dered on MayS, 1 945. Hitler
fled from his headquarers in
East Prussia to Berl in. There,
he took shelter in an under
ground bunker. When the
Soviet troops were on the
verge of entering his under
ground bunker, Hitler and his
wife Eva Braun took cyanide
tablets. Hitler also shot him
self in the head. According to
another version, Hitler shot
himself, but did not consume
cyanide. His body was cre
mated, and his ashes were
hidden on the Chancellery
grounds.
US military News paper
' The Star and Stripes'

DEAD
uehr c of CP, mmon oUto SO_;
Doen;lr ot Helm, Vow Wtr Will Continue
It is our policy to correct errors,
and present dif ering views and
clarifcations about the conten

s
in previous issues. Please send In
your feedback, mentioning the
title and page number.
Suraj V., a student from Oxford
Senior secondary School, Ban
gal ore points out a mistake i n
the January issue ofTel l Me Why,
POLAR REGIONS. On page 8 & 9,
captions for the i mages - Arctic
& Antarctic, are i nterchanged.
Mr. Anupam Shastri from Mum
bai has an add-on information
to our February issue, l OOGREAT
PAI NTERS. Mumbai was al most
a second home for the great
painter Raja Ravi Varma. He pa
.

tronized the theatres of Mumbal,

Parsi, Gujarathi, Marathi and
Engl ish. I t was often duri ng such
outings that Ravi Varma was i n
spired by the l ife i n Maharashtra
and deeply i mpressed by the
costumesofMaharashtrians.Also,
he often modelled Hindu goddess
es more on Maharashtrian wom
en than South I ndian women.
Thank you readers for your valua
ble feedback.
- Editor
97
lY
wh
? The question
on er *
of the month
Aren't there many little things you have wondered about, but didn't know whom to
ask? Send us your questions, and we witt give you the fascinating reasons behind the
incredible mysteries of life.
Why is a boxing square called a 'ri ng' ?
The sport of boxing dates back
to Ancient Greeks. But then, there
was no ri ng or square for the box
ers. Anci ent Greek fighters re
mai ned seated, face-to-face, and
pummel l ed each other unti l one
or the other was knocked uncon
scious!
Duri ng the Roman era, combat
ants started to wear brass knuck-
l0
h h0O0
0h S1C|S|
les and, later, spi ked cl ubs. To
make the sport more i nterest
i ng, the Romans al so al l owed
the men to fight standi ng up
withi n a ci rcul ar area i nstead
of sitting down. Thus was the
first boxing 'ri ng' born!
Many fighters died i n these
boxing bouts. The Romans
banned boxi ng around 30
B.C. The sport was revived in
Engl and in the early 1 700. The
boxers woul d then fight, bare
fisted, with a crowd of specta
tors formi ng a loose ci rcl e or
'ring' around them.
Wi th the i ntroduction of
the Marquis of Queensbury
Rules (1 867), the practice of
fighti ng withi n a roped-off
square became common, but
the term 'ring' stuck with the
sport.
Jacob George
MANORAMA TELL ` - WORLD WARS
Editor: Ammu Mathew Editor-in-Charge: N.M. Mohanan*
Printed and Published by . Sajeev George, on behalf of MM. Publications Ltd,
P. B. No. 226,Kottaya - 68600I at MM. Publications Ltd, P.B. No. 226,Konaya " 68600I
and Malayala Manorama Press, Kottaya - 686039and published fm
M.M. Publications Ltd, P.B. No. 226,Kottaya - 68600I .
* Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act