62 GERMANY TRIUMPHANT 1939 –1941
Even before France’s surrender, the British
government was making plans for the
possibility of an invasion by Germany.
On May 14, 1940, Anthony Eden, Prime
Minister Winston Churchill’s new
Secretary of State for War, broadcast an
appeal for part-time volunteers to fight
alongside the army in the event of such an
incursion. The response was immediate.
Within 24 hours, some 250,000 men had
enlisted in the Local Defense Volunteers;
by the end of June, numbers had increased
to nearly 1,500,000. In July, on the orders
of Churchill, they were given the more
martial-sounding title of the Home Guard.An all-out effort
The country was preparing itself for total war. British factories
and shipyards churned day and night manufacturing guns,
tanks, aircraft, and warships. Gasoline had been rationed since
the beginning of the war, and food rationing, which had begun
in January 1940, was tightened. Butter, sugar, bacon, and ham
were the first foods to be rationed, followed by preserves, syrup,
golden syrup, cheese, tea, margarine, and cooking fats. Clothes were
also rationed, and the government issued a pamphlet popularizing
the slogan “Make Do and Mend.”
The most significant shortage was that of manpower. In December
1941, the call-up age limits for men were reduced to 18 and raised to 51.
Most revolutionary of all, women were conscripted. By the end of 1942,
10 million British women aged between 19 and 50 were registered for
war work, many taking the place of men in the armed forces.THE HOME GUARD AT WAR
BRITAIN AT BAY
After France capitulated to Hitler in June 1940, the British
Empire was the only major power fighting the Germans
and Italians. While the Royal Air Force readied itself to
battle the Luftwaffe for control of the skies, the British
people prepared themselves for a German invasion.
The Home Guard were
trained in small arms and
anti-tank weapons to be
used against an invading
force; German orders
were to shoot them out
of hand. Some saw action
in the Battle of Britain
(see pp.58–59) manning
anti-aircraft guns. Secret
“Auxiliary Units” were
trained in guerrilla warfare
and sabotage.△ Digging for victory
This poster was part of a campaign
to encourage the British to grow
their own food. Garden plots sprang
up in open spaces everywhere.US_062-063_F_Britain_at_Bay.indd 62 04/03/19 10:47 AM