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The United Kingdom , along with France , declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939 after the German Invasion Of Poland . Japan entered the war by attacking the United Kingdom's colonies in Asia. The Axis Powers were defeated by an alliance of the British Empire , the United States , the Soviet Union , and other allies in 1945. PRE-WAR TENSIONS Although the United Kingdom had increased military spending prior to 1939, because of the threat of Nazi Germany, its forces were still weak by comparison - especially the Army . Only the Royal Navy was of a greater strength than their German counterpart. THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR On September 3 , the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany, 24 hours after the UK had issued an ultimatum to Germany to withdraw from Poland. The army immediately began dispatching the British Expeditionary Force to support France. At first only regular troops from the pre-war Army made up its numbers. In 1940, however, men of the Territorial Army divisions being mobilised in the UK were sent. In the end, the BEF had I , II and III Corps under its command, controlling some 14 divisions. The Royal Air Force also sent significant forces to France at the start of hostilities. Some were Army cooperation squadrons to help with matters like reconnaissance for the Army. Others were Hawker Hurricane squadrons from Fighter Command . Separately, Bomber Command sent the Advanced Air Striking Force , comprised of squadrons flying the Fairey Battle and other machines that did not have the range to reach Germany. During the Phony War , the RAF carried out small bombing raids and a large number of propaganda leaflet raids (codenamed "Nickels") and the Royal Navy imposed a blockade on Germany. WESTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE, 1940 AND 1941 Norwegian Campaign Main article: Norwegian Campaign Norway was vital for Germany and the United Kingdom because of the great Iron Ore deposits in northern Sweden . Convinced that the United Kingdom might make a move against Norway to stop the flow of ore from Narvik , Hitler ordered a strike to begin on May 9, 1940. The Germans succeeded in their mission, landing a large force at vital strategic points in Norway. However, the landings proved expensive for the Germans who lost three Cruiser s. British land forces were quickly sent to Norway, landing in the centre at Åndalsnes and at Namsos and in the north of the country at Narvik. Landings further south were denied by German airpower. Further naval operations developed at Narvik, where German forces were well outside the range of the Luftwaffe and were therefore not as secure. Two Naval Battles happened in April at Narvik. In the first a British Destroyer flotilla with five destroyers attacked four German destroyers and escaped, with both sides losing two ships. In the second battle, three days later, a more powerful group of British destroyers and a battleship engaged the Germans. In central Norway, Royal Navy aircraft carriers and RAF fighter squadrons could not keep the established bases secure. The British had to evacuate them. In the north, the Germans were driven out of Narvik after they had captured it. However, as Luftwaffe aircraft came into range with the German advances, it was again found to be impossible to sustain bases in the face of that threat. British forces in Narvik were withdrawn as well. The Battle of France On 10 May the so called Phony War between Germany and the Franco-British alliance ended with a sweeping German invasion of the Benelux . German troops entered France through the Ardennes on 13 May . Most Allied forces were in Flanders , anticipating a re-run of the World War I Schlieffen Plan , and were cut off from the French heartland. As a result of this and superior German communications, the Battle Of France was shorter than virtually all prewar Allied thought could have conceived, with France surrendering after six weeks. The United Kingdom And Her Empire were left to stand alone. During the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, to be replaced by Winston Churchill , who had opposed negotiation with Hitler all along. Fall of France When France fell the position changed drastically. A combination of the French, German and Italian navies could potentially deny the United Kingdom command of the Atlantic and starve her into submission. Unable to discover whether the terms of the French surrender would permit Germany the use of French warships, it was decided that their use must be denied to the enemy. Those that had taken refuge in British ports were simply taken over (many volunteered to join the British). See below for details of how the British neutralised the French Mediterranean Fleet . Dunkirk ''Main article: '' Battle Of Dunkirk Fortunately for the United Kingdom, much of its army escaped capture from the northern French port of Dunkirk . In total, 330,000 troops were pulled off the beaches, of which 230,000 were British. However almost all the army's heavy equipment had been abandoned in France — many soldiers were unable to bring even their rifles. The Battle of Britain ''Main article: '' Battle Of Britain In preparation for a planned cross-channel land invasion which was to be called ''Operation Sea Lion'', the Luftwaffe began operations to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF) and to thus gain advance air superiority over its next intended conquest, Britain. This battle for the skies over Britain is referred to as the ''Battle of Britain''. Initially the Luftwaffe sought to bomb RAF ground installations and draw their fighters into airborne combat. In the Autumn of 1940, Hitler, having grown impatient with the failure to destroy the RAF, ordered a switch to bombing major British cities. Known as The Blitz , this was intended to demoralise the British people and destroy British industry. In May of 1941, only a few weeks after American president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease act, it became clear to German planners that the Luftwaffe was not likely to gain air superiority over Britain any time soon, and significant German forces in France were reassigned to the expanding German Eastern front which were soon to be used in Germany's imminent struggle with Russia. The German failure to achieve air superiority over Britain in the Battle of Britain marked a major turning point in the war. This failure ensured the survival of an independent Britain and marked the first major reverse in the German war effort of World War II. THE WAR AT SEA Opening Moves At the start of the war the British and French expected to have command of the seas, as they believed their navies were superior to those of Germany and Italy. The British and French immediately began a blockade of Germany, which had little effect on German industry. The German Navy began to attack British shipping with both surface ships and U-boat s, sinking the S. S. Athenia within hours of the declaration of war. The German Panzerschiff (a heavy cruiser) ''Admiral Graf Spee'' was sunk in the Battle Of The River Plate by the British and New Zealand navies. Battle of the Atlantic Main article see Second Battle Of The Atlantic First Happy Time With the fall of France, ports such as Brest were quickly turned into large submarine bases from which British trade could be attacked. This resulted in a huge rise in sinkings of British shipping. The period between the fall of France and the British containment of the threat was referred to as the first happy time by the U Boat commanders. By 1941 the United States was taking an increasing part in the war. British forces had occupied Iceland when Denmark fell to the Germans in 1940, the US was persuaded to provide forces to relieve British troops on the island. American warships began escorting convoys to Iceland, and had several hostile encounters with U-boats. The United States Navy also helped escort the main Atlantic convoys. More American help came in the form of the destroyers for bases agreement. Fifty old American destroyers were handed over to the Royal Navy in exchange for 99 year leases on certain British bases in the western hemisphere. In addition, personnel training in the RN improved as the realities of the battle became obvious. For instance, the training regime of Vice Admiral Gilbert O. Stephenson is credited in improving personnel standards to a significant degree. Second Happy Time The Attack On Pearl Harbor and the subsequent German declaration of war on the United States had an immediate effect on the campaign against the U Boats, with German ships conducting a campaign against American coastal traffic. The British paradoxically benefited from the attacks on American coastal shipping as a large decrease in attacks on Atlantic convoy ships occurred. German sailors called this the " Second Happy Time ". Success Against the U Boats The institution of an interlocking convoy system on the American coast and in the Caribbean Sea in mid-1942 created an enormous drop in attacks in those areas. Attention shifted back to the Atlantic convoys. Matters were serious, but not critical throughout much of 1942. The winter weather provided a respite in early 1943, but in the spring large Wolf Pack s of U-boat s attacked convoys and scored big successes without taking large losses in return. However, in May 1943 a sudden turnaround happened. Two convoys were attacked by large wolf packs and suffered losses. Yet unlike earlier in the year the attacking submarines were also mauled. After those battles merchant ship losses plummeted and U-boat losses rocketed, forcing Dönitz to withdraw his forces from the Atlantic. They were never again to pose the same threat. What had changed was a sudden convergence of technologies. The large gap in the middle of the Atlantic that had been unreachable by aircraft was closed by long range B-24 Liberator aircraft. Centimetric Radar came into service, greatly improving detection and nullifying German radar warning equipment. The introduction of the Leigh Light enabled accurate attacks on U-boats re-charging their batteries on the surface at night. With convoys securely protected there were enough resources to allow escort carrier groups to aggressively hunt U-boats. Arctic Convoys Main article see Arctic Convoys Of World War II The Arctic convoys travelled from the USA and the United Kingdom to the northern ports of the USSR - Archangel and Murmansk . 85 merchant vessels and 16 Royal Navy warships were lost. The Germans lost several vessels, including one battlecruiser and at least 30 U-boats, as well as a large number of aircraft. The material significance of the supplies was probably not as great as the symbolic value - hence the continuation, at Stalin 's insistence, of these convoys long after the Russians had turned the German land offensive. The Mediterranean :''Main article Battle Of The Mediterranean Outside of the two commanders, Admirals Godfroy and Cunningham, were on good personal terms. The bulk of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir in North Africa was destroyed on July 3 1940 by the British after refusing to surrender. The Vichy French government broke off all ties with the British as a result. See Destruction Of The French Fleet At Mers-el-Kebir . Battle of Taranto On November 11 1940 , the Royal Navy crippled or destroyed three Italian Battleships in the Battle Of Taranto . Battle of Matapan The Battle Of Cape Matapan was a decisive Allied victory, fought off the Peloponnesus coast of Greece from March 27 to March 29 , 1941 in which British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces under the command of the British Admiral Andrew Cunningham intercepted those of the Italian '' Regia Marina '', under Admiral Angelo Iachino . The Allies sank the Heavy Cruiser s ''Fiume'' , ''Zara'' and ''Pola'' and the Destroyer s ''Vittorio Alfieri'' and ''Giosue Carducci'', and damaged the Battleship ''Vittorio Veneto'' . The British lost one torpedo plane and suffered light damage to some ships. Crete The evacuation of the British Army after their defeat by German paratroops in the Battle Of Crete cost the Royal Navy a number of ships. During the evacuation Admiral Cunningham was determined that the "''navy must not let the army down''", when army generals feared he would lose too many ships Cunningham said that "''It takes three years to build a ship, it takes three centuries to build a tradition''". Malta Malta lies in the middle of the Mediterranean south of Italy. It was in the perfect strategic position to interdict Axis supplies destined for north Africa. For a time it looked as if Malta would be starved into submission by the use of Axis aircraft flying from bases in Italy. The turning point in the siege came in August 1942, when the British sent a very heavily defended convoy codenamed Operation Pedestal . Once Malta had byeen supplied with Spitfire fighters carried to the Island by HMS Furious during Operation Pedestal, these fighters along with the other vital supplies of materiel lifted the siege of Malta. The British re-established a creditable air garrison on the island. With the aid of Ultra Malta garrison was able to decimate the Axis supplies to North Africa immediately before the Second Battle Of El Alamein . For the fortitude and courage of the Maltese during the siege, Malta was awarded the George Cross . Great Invasions Aegean Sweep Operation Overlord and the Normandy Landings
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