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History

The World Wars

Study the World Wars through five clusters: WWI, Ireland, inter-war Britain, WWII and wartime science.

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In this topic

What to be able to answer

  • Know WWI triggers, Allied Powers, Somme and the Armistice.
  • Place Irish Home Rule, Easter Rising, partition and republic facts.
  • Recall the WWII sequence from Hitler and Poland to Churchill, Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Blitz, D-Day and 1945.

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Two global conflicts, the partition of Ireland and the inter-war years

Topic 13 of 14

The early 20th century was a time of social progress. Financial help for the unemployed, old-age pensions and free school meals were introduced. Laws were passed to improve safety in the workplace, and a salary for Members of Parliament was introduced for the first time.

World Wars: what to recognise

Separate WWI, Ireland, the inter-war years, WWII and wartime science.

First World War

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on 28 June 1914.
  • Britain fought with the Allied Powers.
  • More than 1 million Indians fought for Britain.
  • The Somme caused about 60,000 British casualties on its first day.
  • WWI ended at 11.00 am on 11 November 1918.

Ireland

  • Home Rule was postponed by war.
  • The Easter Rising happened in Dublin in 1916.
  • Ireland was partitioned in 1922.
  • The Irish Free State became a republic in 1949.

Between wars

  • The Great Depression began in 1929.
  • Car ownership doubled between 1930 and 1939.
  • BBC radio began in 1922.
  • The world's first regular TV service began in 1936.

Second World War

  • Hitler came to power in 1933.
  • Germany invaded Poland in 1939.
  • Churchill became Prime Minister in 1940.
  • Dunkirk rescued more than 300,000 soldiers.
  • Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft won the Battle of Britain.

End of WWII

  • D-Day was 6 June 1944.
  • Germany was defeated in May 1945.
  • Japan was defeated in August 1945.

Science

  • Ernest Rutherford was the first to split the atom.
  • Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.
  • Fleming won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945.
The Cenotaph in Whitehall, London
The Cenotaph in Whitehall is a national focus for remembrance after the world wars. Credit: Mramorak, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

WWI and Ireland facts

1914

First World War begins

Triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

1918

Armistice

WWI ended at 11.00 am on 11 November.

1922

Ireland partitioned

Northern Ireland remained in the UK.

Churchill made many famous speeches, including: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat’; ‘We shall fight on the beaches… we shall never surrender’; and ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’ In 2002, he was voted the greatest Briton of all time by the public.

A Spitfire fighter plane in flight
Spitfire fighters helped the RAF win the Battle of Britain in 1940. Credit: SAC Scott Lewis, OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

WWII facts

1940

Churchill and Battle of Britain

Churchill became PM and the RAF resisted German air attack.

1944

D-Day

Allied forces landed in Normandy on 6 June.

1945

War ends

Germany was defeated in May; Japan in August.

Do not mix up

D-Day is 6 June 1944; the war ends in 1945.
Spitfire and Hurricane are Battle of Britain aircraft.
R. A. Butler and the NHS belong to Modern Britain.

Practise

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