A. Why were so many people killed?
More than 8 million people were killed in World War I, and more than 40 million
people were killed in World War II. Why were so many people killed?
Study Sources A, B and C
Source A
The following describes some new weapons used during World War I.
Huge artillery guns were used to bombard enemy trenches
before an attack……. In April 1915, the Germans fired
poisonous gas into enemy trenches. Soon, however, the use of
gas masks restricted the effectiveness of this new weapon. In
April 1916, the British launched a new weapon – the
tank……. By the end of the war, by using airplanes, both
sides were able to carry out air bombing raids on enemy
cities.
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Source B
The following describes some powerful weapons and tactics used during World War
II.
By the time that the Second World War (1939-45) broke out,
weapons had become so advanced that the static warfare of
1914-18 could not be repeated. By 1939, tanks could easily crash
through barbed wire and enemy trenches. The new tactic, first
used by the Germans in their attack on Poland in September,
1939, was ‘Blitzkrieg’. This involved surprise attacks on the
enemy using artillery and dive bombers, followed by the advance
of tanks and paratroopers and then the infantry foot soldiers. As
the war developed, aircraft were used to attack enemy cities. In
the autumn of 1940, the Germans decided to launch a massive
bombing raid on Britain’s cities. There had been some bombing
in the First World War, but Hitler’s Blitz was on a far bigger
scale. By 1941, 43,000 British civilians had been killed and 2
million made homeless. From 1942, the Allies bombed German
cities. The effect of these bombing was horrific. For example, on
13 February 1945, up to 135,000 people were killed in a bombing
raid on Dresden (a German city), which destroyed 80% of the
city.
Refer to the following website for the damage caused by the bombing of Dresden by
the Allies.
<http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II>
Source C
The table below shows the armies of Europe in 1914.
Countries
Germany
Austria-Hungary
France
Russia
Britain
Size of armies
2,300,000
1,200,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
600,000
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Refer to Sources A and B
1.
Identify the new weapons used in World War I and World War II, as shown in
Sources A and B.
Sources
New Weapons and Tactics
Huge artillery guns, poisonous gas, tanks and airplanes
A
B
More powerful tanks that could easily crash through barbed wire
and enemy trenches were used.
New tactics were used. For example, Blitzkrieg, it involved surprise
attacks on the enemy using artillery and dive-bombers, followed by
the advance of tanks and paratroopers and then the infantry foot
soldiers.
Refer to Sources A, B and C
2.
What do Sources A, B and C tell you about the reasons that explained why so
many people were killed in 20th century warfare?
Suggested answer:
New powerful weapons were used in various wars.
The use of new tactics, like bombing enemy cities, led to heavy civilian casualties.
Many civilians were recruited into the army, leaded to heavy casualties.
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B. Were only the soldiers killed?
Study Sources A, B and C.
Source A
The following is extracted from N. Kelly’s ‘The Second World War’, 1989.
Throughout history, warfare has led to the mistreatment of those
civilians unfortunate enough to live within the areas of fighting.
Often villages were destroyed and civilians slaughtered;
sometimes the fighting disrupted food production and the
civilians starved to death. The Second World War, however,
brought changes in the way that warfare was conducted. From
now on, civilians would increasingly become targets for attack.
The Blitz, the Allied bombing of Germany and the US air raids
on Japan, took a terrible toll in human lives.
Source B
The following describes the effects brought by the dropping of atomic bombs on
Japan in World War II and its aftermath.
In 1945 came the most important development in the history of
warfare – the atomic bomb. The Japanese refused to surrender
throughout July 1945. On 6 August the Americans dropped an
atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Almost 80,000 Japanese
men, women and children died immediately. The atomic bomb
carried with it a deadly after effect. Radiation sickness followed the
explosion, causing many more deaths than the bomb itself. A
second bomb was dropped three days later on Nagasaki causing
around 40,000 deaths, which were later matched by deaths from the
after effects. Even today the grandchildren of the survivors of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki can suffer birth defects.
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Source C
The table below shows the number of women involved in uniformed services during
World War II.
Uniformed services
Number of women involved
1. Auxiliary Territorial Service
198,000
2. Land Army
30,000
3. Civil Defence
375,000
4. Armed Forces
470,000
Refer to Sources A, B and C.
Do you think the soldiers were the only ones killed in 20th century warfare? Support
your answer with evidence from Sources A, B and C.
Were only the soldiers killed?
answer.)
Yes /
No (Circle the correct
Evidence Villages were destroyed and civilians being slaughtered
from Source
happened very often. Sometimes the fighting disrupted food
A
production and the civilians were starved to death. New tactics
like Blitz and bombing of enemy countries were used in World
War II, civilians increasingly become targets for attacks.
Evidence Atomic bombs were dropped on two Japan cities, leading to
from Source
heavy civilian casualties. The after effects of the atomic bombs
B
also led to the similar number of deaths.
Evidence During World War II, women were mobilized to join some
from Source
uniformed services. Heavy casualties were reported.
C
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C.
What happened to the children when the world was at
war?
When World War II broke out, the British government evacuated children from the
danger areas of the major cities to the countryside. Parents did not know where their
children were going. The government told the parents that their children would be
well looked after.
Study Sources A, B and C.
Sources A, B and C are extracted from the memoirs of several Second World War
evacuees.
Source A
Everything was so clean in the room. We were given face flannels and
tooth brushes. We’d never cleaned our teeth until then. And hot water
from a tap. And there was a lavatory upstairs. And carpets…… And
clean sheets. This was all very odd. I didn’t like it. It was scary.
Source B
The woman said, ‘Here’s your meal’ and gave us some bread and
water. Now we’d been in a rich woman’s house……. What we later
found out was that the woman hated kids and was doing it for the extra
money.
Source C
I thought it was a Sunday school outing down to the sea-side. And I
looked out of the bus window and I saw my mother crying outside. I
said to my brother, ‘What’s mummy crying for?’ and my brother said,
‘Shut up!’
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Source D
Refer to the following websites for the information on daily life of British children
and letters during World War II.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2children/index.shtml>
<http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/homefront/evacuation/>
Using Sources A, B, C and D, write a paragraph about how evacuees felt about what
was happening to them.
Students should reflect in their answer the negative psychological feeling of
evacuees towards the following circumstances, e.g.
1.
fear of the current situation, feeling uncertain and uneasy towards the future
2.
the very difficult situation at that moment
Reference:
Alan Brooks-Tyreman, Jane Shuter & Kate Smith. Digger Deeper 4: The Twentieth
Century World. Spain: Heinemann, 2000.
Steven Waugh. Essential Modern World History. UK: Nelson Thornes, 2001.
Nigel Kelly & Martyn Whittock. The Twentieth Century World. HK: Heinemann,
1995.
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