Were the british prepared for war?

Answer 1

As much as half of the Royal Navy and Royal airforce were based in the North of Britain, even with air superiority in the south any invasion would have faced powerful attacks by an airforce and navy that were technologically a match for their german equivalent. A german invasion would have needed to occur prior to 1941 to have any chance of success due to the huge military build up in the UK over the period of that year. British factories were actually out producing their german counter parts by the end of 1940. Although beech defences were not as extensive as in German held Normandy there were gun emplacements on every beech, barbed wire, mines, tank traps, obsticles, hundreds of miles of trenches, flooded fields....... Unlike many European countries who were taken unawares, the British were careful to prepare civilians for war. Each village and community had a chain of command and dutys given to every civilian to be carried out in the event of invasion..... Often involving slowing the germans down. Extra defences were put in places incredibly quickly, infact the difference between war time Britain in June 1940 and July 1940 is striking. Modern tv and programmes give an unrealistic impression of a sleepy nation not expecting invasion but as you might expect, the reaction to the defeat of the French was frantic 1.5 million men volunteered for the home guard, initially armed with rifles and homemade incendiary devices, later in 1941 with anti tank guns and machine guns. More volenteers were put aside for the reserve force. I certainly think if the germans had attacked in july 1940 (assuming they had magically defeated the RAF and hurt the Royal Navy, had double the number of Luftwaffe they actually had and triple the number of transport ships and support ships) they could have gained a decent sized bridge head, perhaps relying on some initially panic with Dads army distracted by Mrs Miggins pie shop and the latest Soccor scores to realize what Hun was upto..... However at the time in the UK, there was a huge amount of solidarity, London being bombed actually made people more determined and prepared the nations psychy for invasion. Personally I think there would have been far more civilian resistance in the Uk than in France and the geography of the country would make it impossible for the germans to enact the huge enveloping manourvres they performed in france and Russia. London was primed to be another Stalingrad and there was a natural bottle neck between London and Bristol. Lines of anti tank defences were placed all the way through the countryside upto London. The regular british army in 1940 had 22 divisions of infantry and the equivalent of 4 panzer divisions of armour. Meaning that the Germans needed to land large formations of tanks very quickly to have any chance of success. For the british to capitulate would have required a blitzkrieg style attack (shock and awe) which was highly unlikely given the difficulties of landing tanks and troops

Realistically given the disposition of German forces in 1940 it would have required another year of preparation atleast before the germans were in a position to mount a decent sized invasion and by that time the British would have also prepared. Success of invasion was always very unlikely which is why Hitler moved on

Answer 2

The US was already geared for war, that's what the cold war was all about. However, US tactics and machines of war had to be modified somewhat for the Vietnam War.

Examples:

1. The cold war M14 US Service Rifle had to be replaced with a light-weight rapid firing jungle rifle; the M16.

2. The M113 Armored Personnel Carriers had to be modified into ACAVs (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles).

3. The US cold war jet interceptors: F-100 Super Sabre, F-101 Voodoo, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-104 Starfighter, F-4 Phantom II, F-8 Crusader, A-4 Skyhawk, A-7 Corsair II, had to be modified into the FIGHTER BOMBER role. Another words, these cold war interceptors had to become tactical bombers. Attacking ground positions as well as shooting down enemy aircraft in air to air combat. The F-105 Thunderchief was the only US jet that was designed and built as an original fighter-bomber. And it paid a price for that role; nearly a 50% loss rate over North Vietnam of the 833 built.

4. The B52 Stratofortress SAC bomber (Strategic Air Command) was intended to drop nuclear weapons over the USSR. It never did. Instead it had to be modified to carry 108 750 lb general purpose HE bombs (High Explosive); both inside and attached to hard points on the wings exterior, and then to lay waste to North Vietnam instead of the former Soviet Union.

5. The USN had been building nuclear powered warships and developing missiles during the cold war. With the advent of the Vietnam War, the US Navy had to re-activate the battleship USS New Jersey and put her on the gunline, to shoot WWII style 16" inch projectles (she expended nearly 6,000 of those shells from the gunline in Vietnam). Not since the American Civil War (US Civil War) has the USN been called upon to fight a riverine war; now in South Vietnam, the USN had to officially re-create another "Brown Water Navy", consisting of a riverine force of: Swift Boats (PCF); Patrol Boat River (PBR); Alpha Boats (ASPB); and Monitors (Riverine Battleships).

Answer 3

It didn't. When war was declared in September 1939, Britain was completely unprepared, even though it was clear that war was coming.

This answer is total rubbish. Britain introduced conscription (the first time in peacetime), built thousands of air-raid shelters, converted hundreds of factories to a

war footing, and all this well ahead of September 1939. I lived through it.

Answer 4

They did prepare but very little compared to Germany.

They conscripted soldiers and began re-building their armed forces. Airplanes, tanks, vehicles, and other military equipement went under construction.

Answer 5

They prepared by digging up parks and planting vegetables there so they would have more food alongside the rations.