1. Phoney War
By: Tasha and Aspen

2. Despite Britain’s and France’s declaration of war on Germany, the Phoney War demonstrated the ineptness of the war as no significant military event occurred in the entire span of seven months.
Thesis

3. "There is something phoney about this war."
No major hostilities taking place From October 1939 to April 1940 (7 months 4 days)
Overview
"There is something phoney about this war."
Term was coined by US senator William Borah because nothing of military importance took place in Western Europe

4. TIMELINE Oct 14 1939 Nov 30 1939 Dec 13 1939 Dec 14 1939 Dec 15 1939
The British battleship Royal Oak is sunk by Germans (death toll of 833 men)
Nov
The USSR/Soviets attack Finland
Dec
The Royal Navy Sinks German battleship Admiral Graf Spee
Dec
Soviet Union expelled from League of Nations
Dec
The French build up forces behind the Maginot Line
Feb
The British capture the Altmark from the Germans
Mar
Finland signs a peace treaty with USSR/Soviets
Mar
The Winter War ends
Apr
Germany invades Denmark and Norway
Apr
German lose 13 warships in the Battle of Narvik
May
Chamberlain resigns, Churchill becomes PM
TIMELINE

5. Map
Jo, and Lydia. The Phoney War. Digital image. Wikispaces. Jspivey, n.d. Web. 17 Mar

6. Background: Poland Poland was occupied by Germany at the time
Allies didn’t do much to help
No land operations were undertaken by the Allies or the Germans after the German conquest of Poland in September 1939
Background: Poland

7. September 3- first casualty after Britain and France’s declaration of war on Germany
British passenger liner bound for Canada
Sunk by U-30 (German submarine)
Lemp, the German submarine commander claimed he thought “Athenia” was a naval boat
Sailing in zigzag manner
Dark
Hitler claimed Winston Churchill ordered the British intelligence to place a bomb on the ship
Athenia

8. More time for government to protect Britain from an attack
Britain Protections
Barrage balloons were deployed to force the Luftwafe to fly higher
Pillar boxes were painted with yellow gas-sensitive paint
38 million gas masks were handed out

9. Britain Protections (continued)
More time for government to protect Britain from an attack
Britain Protections (continued)
400 million sandbags were piled around the entrances to shops and public buildings
Windows were taped- prevented glass from flying if bombed

10. Result: Germans stepped up their anti-aircraft protection
British engaged in “bombing” raids in Germany Dropped propaganda leaflets instead of bombs
“Bombing” Raids
Two purposes
Germans would read about evils of Germany
Show leaders of Germany how vulnerable their country was to bombing raids
Result: Germans stepped up their anti-aircraft protection
In September 3rd alone, 6 million copies of “Note to the German People were dropped in just one night (13 tons of paper!)

11. “Bombing” Raids (continued)
Politicians believed the raids served an important purpose
Members of military did not
‘BOMBER’ Harris writing at the end General Spears
of the war
“Bombing” Raids (continued)
My personal view is that the only thing achieved was largely to supply the continent’s requirements of toilet paper for the five long years of the war.
It is ignominious to wage a confetti war against an utterly ruthless enemy.

12. Regulations Public faced a torrent of prohibitions
Blackouts were regulated- low street lighting was allowed but no night time lighting of any description was allowed within 12 miles of the south-east coast
Public was unhappy
As nothing happened, things went back to normal
Regulations

13. Hartley, June. "The Phoney War. " BBC News- WW2 Memories
Hartley, June. "The Phoney War." BBC News- WW2 Memories. BBC, 2 June Web. 17 Mar History.com. "Britain and France Declare War on Germany." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 17 Mar Jo, and Lydia. The Phoney War. Digital image. Wikispaces. Jspivey, n.d. Web. 17 Mar "Phony War." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Web. 13 Mar "The Phoney War". HistoryLearningSite.co.uk Web.
Works Cited