Ironside had only 170 2-pounder anti-tank guns but these were supplemented by 100 Hotchkiss 6-pounder guns dating from the First World War,[98] improvised into the anti-tank role by the provision of solid shot. Hitler's invasions of Poland, Holland and Belgium were greatly helped by the fact that the civilian population was taken by surprise. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland; two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany, launching the Second World War. Many of these fortifications were specified by the Air Ministry and defensive designs were unique to airfields – these would not be expected to face heavy weapons so the degree of protection was less and there was more emphasis on all-round visibility and sweeping fields of fire. [30] They were fitted with whatever guns were available, which mainly came from naval vessels scrapped since the end of the First World War. As planning was underway for the WWII Allied invasion of Normandy, a means to supply fuel was addressed. [111] Initially ambitious plans were cut back to cover just a few miles of beaches. [149], The question of whether the defences would have been effective in invasion is vexed. British propaganda during World War II ... Media in category "World War II posters from the United Kingdom" The following 200 files are in this category, out of 864 total. The first comprised vertical lengths of railway line placed in sockets in the road and was known as hedgehog. WWII. The BEF was pinned by a German diversionary attack through Belgium and then isolated by the main attack that came through the Ardennes forest. [59], There were two types of socket roadblocks. For the British, the year concluded with the bloody First Battle of Ypres in Flanders where they sustained over 50,000 casualties. They were typically 18 feet (5.5 m) wide and 11 feet (3.4 m) deep and could be either trapezoidal or triangular in section with the defended side being especially steep and revetted with whatever material was available. Default sorting. British tanks on an assembly line. The beaches themselves were overlooked by pillboxes of various types. If the German air force had prevailed and attempted a landing, a much-reduced Royal Air Force would have been obliged to operate from airfields well away from the southeast of England. By 1 October, Poland had been completely overrun. British & Russian Please find below our selection of WW2 British Uniform, Insignia, Equipment and more. Born in Hong Kong in 1906, Churchill joined the military in 1926, but soon left to, obviously, become a professional bagpiper and represent Britain in the World Archery Championship in 1939 — two skills he would bring back with him when recalled to service as World War II broke out. A Depth Charge Crater was a site in a road (usually at a junction) prepared with buried explosives that could be detonated to instantly form a deep crater as an anti-tank obstacle. [24] In addition to these major units, by the beginning of September the Royal Navy had stationed along the south coast of England between Plymouth and Harwich, 4 light cruisers and 57 destroyers tasked with repelling any invasion attempt, a force many times larger than the naval escorts that the Germans had available.[25]. Later in 1941, more sophisticated weapons were made available such as the Blacker Bombard anti-tank weapon, the Northover Projector (a black-powder mortar), and the Smith Gun (a small artillery gun that could be towed by a private motorcar). The exploits of the British special forces in World War II are legendary. Further out to sea, Inchmickery, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) north of Edinburgh, was similarly fortified. The British engaged upon an extensive programme of field fortification. [45][46], Elsewhere, anti-tank barriers were made of massive reinforced concrete obstacles, either cubic, pyramidal or cylindrical. Inside they found a shocking letter to a British officer in Tunisia outlining a secret Allied scheme to stage a… [107][108] 50,000 flame fougasse barrels were installed at 7,000 sites mostly in southern England and at a further 2,000 sites in Scotland. Filter — Add to cart. There was some fierce fighting, however being dwarfed by the German land forces most of the BEF withdrew to a small area around the French port of Dunkirk. Although much larger in size and with many more ships, the Royal Navy, unlike the Kriegsmarine, had many commitments, including against Japan and guarding Scotland and Northern England. Category 'A' nodal points and anti-tank islands usually had a garrison of regular troops. Showing 1–12 of 1189 results. An i… Rating. Nodes were designated 'A', 'B' or 'C' depending upon how long they were expected to hold out. The green line continued to Avening then down the valley to Framilode, protecting the strategic areas of Bristol, Avonmouth, and Sharpness. [80], In May 1940, the Directorate of Fortifications and Works (FW3) was set up at the War Office. Churchill stated "in the last half of September we were able to bring into action on the south coast front sixteen divisions of high quality of which three were armoured divisions or their equivalent in brigades". [112][113], It seems likely the British would have used poison gas against troops on beaches. It was difficult to defend large open areas without creating impediments to the movement of friendly aircraft. The rate of construction was frenetic: by the end of September 1940, 18,000 pillboxes and countless other preparations had been completed. The War Cabinet and the Chiefs of Staff Committee were not content to sit and wait for the Germans to make the first move; considerable efforts were to attack, by air and sea, the enemy shipping which had been assembled in occupied ports between The Hague and Cherbourg, starting in July 1940. [93] He later recorded how he intended to use the slogan "You can always take one with you. Bridges and other key points were prepared for demolition at short notice by preparing chambers filled with explosives. Mad Jack won his first Military Cross during the British retreat to Dunkirk. World War 2 was a battle between two groups of countries. Military thinking shifted rapidly. By the end of 1940 thousands of pillboxes, anti-tank stop-lines, coastal defences, heavy-gun emplacements and anti-aircraft batteries had sprung up all over the British Isles. When the United Kingdom declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939 at the start of World War II, the UK controlled to varying degrees numerous crown colonies, protectorates and the Indian Empire. The areas most vulnerable to an invasion were the south and east coasts of England. ... INF3-104 Food Production Lend a hand on the land Whatever your front line job Artist Showell.jpg 2,661 × … This was known as the Bison and consisted of a lorry with a concrete armoured cabin and a small concrete pillbox on the flat bed. If they do so they will be driven out by our Navy, our Army and our Air Force. These were sometimes placed low down to get maximum advantage from enfilading fire, whereas others were placed high up making them much harder to capture. More detailed instructions will be given you when the danger comes nearer. There was little, however, the Anglo-French alliance could do or did do to help Poland. World War II home defence of the United Kingdom, British anti-invasion preparations of World War II, Cross-Channel guns in the Second World War, British hardened field defences of World War II, Petroleum Warfare Department § Burning seas, surprise air attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, the 1974 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst war game, Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II, War crimes trial judgement on the invasion of Norway, "1940: Dunkirk rescue is over – Churchill defiant", "Operation Aerial, the evacuation from north western France, 15–25 June 1940", "Colour movie of Home Guard training including a Harvey flamethrower", "Undergroundkent.co.uk – Swingate Chain Home Station", "Service Histories of Royal Warships in World War 2 – HMS Revenge – Royal Sovereign-class 15in gun Battleship", "Froward Point Team, Kingswear, Devon – site history", "Arson fear as Brighton pier burns again", "Restored Coastal Artillery Searchlight, Weymouth", "Overview of Inchgarvie from Edinburgh University Geography Department's Gazetteer for Scotland", "Satellite link to gun emplacements on the south bank of the Firth of Forth", Image of concrete anti-vehicle posts near Donyatt, Image of wooden anti-vehicle post at Crookham Wharf. Some of the tanks are being repaired following the evacuation of Dunkirk. Over 50 defensive lines were constructed across the country. This was dug into the roadside with a substantial overburden and camouflaged. After the coastal defences, the GHQ Line was the longest and most important, designed to protect London and the industrial heart of Britain, and was considered to be the last chance of defence. The German Threat to Britain in World War Two. Any airfield that was in danger of being captured would have been made inoperable and there were plans to remove all portable equipment from vulnerable radar bases and completely destroy anything that could not be moved. The British Army had abandoned most of its equipment in France after the Dunkirk evacuation. The extant remains of such systems superficially resemble those of hedgehog or hairpin, but the pits are shallow: just deep enough to take an anti-tank mine. In 1944, the British Army retained an "abnormally large force of over 100,000 men for defence of the United Kingdom and other contingencies which could have been used in Normandy" according to American historian Carlo d'Este.[148]. Early Renault tanks built for combat in World War I in a factory in France. [47][52], Cubes, cylinders and pimples were deployed in long rows, often several rows deep, to form anti-tank barriers at beaches and inland. The reserve would only have been expected to report for duty in an invasion. [33] The wire would also demarcate extensive minefields, with both anti-tank and anti-personnel mines on and behind the beaches. The rapid construction of field fortifications transformed much of the United Kingdom, especially southern England, into a prepared battlefield. Stavros Atlamazoglou. Usually, gravity sufficed but in a few cases a pump assisted in spraying the mixture of oil and petrol. 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