British History from the Beginnings to 1945 Dr. A Velich ELTE DETE 2003/2004/I.

Course Description The goal of this course on British History is to provide essential background information concerning the political, social, economic and cultural history of Britain to help your British Civilisation and English Literature studies and get a better understanding of English culture. Students are expected to attend the 45-minute lectures each week. Week 1: Introduction, course description Week 2: From the Beginnings to the Norman Conquest Week 3 : Anglo-Norman England Week 4: High Medieval England Week 5: Late Medieval England Week 6: Tudor England Week 7: Stuart England Week 8: 18th century England Week 9: England in the 19th century Week 1o: England in World War I Week 11: England in World War II Week 12: Question-time, Revision Evaluation: The course is followed by a written exam (a Multiple Choice Test and brief questions) to be taken at 10am on either 5 Jan, 2004 or 19 Jan, 2004. DO REGISTER FOR THE EXAM BEFORE 17 Dec, 2003 with the Department Secretary ONLY ONE RETAKE ALLOWED ON 26 JANUARY, 2004. Compulsory Reading: D. McDowall: An Illustrated HIstory of Britain (Longman, 1995) Further Sources: Tibor Frank, Tams Magyarics: Handouts for British History (Nemzeti Tanknyvkiado, 1994) Enjoy your work! Andrea Velich /a_velich@yahoo.de/

BRITISH HISTORY / A. VELICH HANDOUTS ANGLO-NORMAN ENGLAND Dubious succession of Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwin vs. Harold Hardrada William the Bastard the Battle of Hastings /14 Oct,1066/, London capitulated --- William the Conqureror crowned as William I /1066-87/ Anti-Norman rebellions --- cc. 200 Norman barons replace Anglo-Saxon nobility

--- systematic feudalisation /subinfeudation, aids & incidents, relief, wardship, primogeniture/ --- the Domesday Book Norman abbots appointed & introduce continental church reforms -- elaboration of the territorial structure of the church: diocese, parish, chapter -- bishop-nomination debated William I dies /1087/ : his domain split: Normandy for Robert England for William II /1087-1100/ third son, Henry played both sides in brothers' struggle, after William II' s hunting accident crowned as Henry II /1100-35/ --- by 1106 /Tenchebrai/ reunites England and Normandy --- compromise with Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury over conferring spiritual offices --- ''Lion of Justice'', ie. the government's judicial & administrative power expands, Roger of Salisbury & the Exchequer Norman Castles for defence /motte & bailey/ Norman style churches & cathedrals, new monastic fervor /eg. Fountain Abbey/ 12th century Renaissance /John of Salisbury/ Henry II' s problems with the succession, son drowned, Matilda to succeed, but Stephen /1135-54/ seized the thrown & crowned civil war : Stephen vs. Matilda & Geoffrey of Anjou, succession settled by 1153 Henry II /1154-89/ -- m. Eleanor of Aquitaine --- the Angevin/Plantagenet/ Empire --- end of civil war --- effective royal administration /Glanville/, Common Law, itinerant assizes /Grand & Petty Assize/ and the jury --- debate with the church, with Thomas Becket /the Constitution of Clarendon of 1164/, after Becket's murder had to compromise Richard I /1189-1199/ -- brave & successful crusader, '' Lion Heart'', but ransomed -- attacked by Philip II/Augustus/ John /Sans Terre, 1199--1216/ -- swore fealty to Philip II, but alienated the Norman barons by killing Arthur of Britanny, so lost their support & Normandy /1204/ Further Reading: M.T. Clanchy. England and its Rulers 1066-1272. /Fontana, 1983/

BRITISH HISTORY I / Velich / 2. HIGH MEDIEVAL ENGLAND Under John /Sans Terre/ the loss of Normandy & its consequences; first royal fleet organised Steven Langton' s efforts for reconciliation, but after the battle of Bouvines --- rebellion result in Magna Carta /Runnymede/ the significance of Magna Carta as the forerunner of future constitutional /though not uninterrupted!/ progress, reissued several times John succeeded by minor HENRY III /1216--1272/, regency of earl of Pembroke of Hubert de Burgh growing foreign interference by the Pope foreigners flood high offices Henry III' s unrealistic foreign policy Simon de Montfort to lead opposition 1258 Mad Parliament at Oxford the Provisions of Oxford still civil war -- Montfort summons burgesses to Parliament /would be House of Commons/ but defeated & killed at Evesham /1265/ EDWARD I /1272--1307/ -- in Sicily when succeeds to the throne ! --- codifying feudal laws --- to levy export duty on wool --- subdued Wales: the Statute of Wales; his son' s the first Prince of Wales --- war against France, the Scottish alliance with France under Baliol --- Scotland defeated & subdued by 1295 Edward I had to agree to summoning the Model Parliament & to the separate convocations to tax the clergy EDWARD II /1307--1327/ foreign favourites like Piers Gaveston, the Despensers problems of Scotland & Gascony defeated at Bannockburn by Robert Bruce his wife Isabella & Roger Mortimer make him abdicate by 1327, his son crowned as EDWARD III /1327--1377/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------from the 12th century intellectual revival, renaissance by Moslem intermediaries, St Thomas Aquinas to ''baptize'' Aristotle --universities at Oxford & Cambridge, Oxford as first centre of scientific study: Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon & John Duns Scotus --Pope Innocent III --- Franciscan & Dominican friars recognised --the Romanesque /Norman/ architecture vs. the Gothic /pointed arch, fan vaulting/ --during the 13th century economic growth, the 3-field system --chartered boroughs as trade centres; the wards of the boroughs & their aldermen guild merchant & craft guilds, guildhalls

BRITISH HISTORY I. /Velich / 3. LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND /cc. 1327--1485/ EDWARD III /1327-- 1377/ -- started the Hundred Years' War /1337--1453/ the Salic Law & Philip VI of Valois, his determination to subordinate Edward' s ducal authority in Acquitaine; victory at Sluys, Grecy & Poitiers; the longbow after 1377 military gains evaporate, Bertrand de Guesclin, Joan d' Arc; by 1453 only Calais left on English hands -- no rebellion against him, principles of chivalry, the Order of the Garter, -- Parliament' s increasing role because of taxation /House of Commons; their Speaker vs House of Lords/ -- the Black Death of 1348-49 & its impact on the population; the Statute of Labourers of 1351 -- John of Gaunt vs the Black Prince the Good Parliament of 1376 /impeachment as a precedent/ RICHARD II /1377--1399/ -- John Wycliffe & the Lollards /Statute Heretico Comburendo/ -- Chaucer, Langland & the revival of English letters -- the Peasants' Rising of 1381, Wat Tyler -- centralizing efforts /JPs/ vs the Lords Appellant of the Merciless Parliament John of Gaunt's son, Henry Bolinbroke in exile, his Lancastrian lands confiscated seized the crown, made Richard II abdicate, crowned as HENRY IV /1399--1413/ -- used parliamentary support to keep his crown & to tax people for the war /excluding the Clarence line/ -- lost battles in France though feud of Orleanists & Burgundians his son to make use of the feud for an offensive, grabbed power HENRY V /1413--1422/ -- victory at Agincourt in 1415 -- allied to Burgundy, the Treaty of Troyes, but dies before the French king HENRY VI /1422--1461/ -- long minority & illness: weak king & anarchy -- Burgundy changing side, losses in France, only Calais left by 1453 -- economic depression -- Clarence & York union vs Lancaster -- the Wars of the Roses /1455--1487/ /St Albans, Mortimer Cross, Towton,Tewkesbury,Bosworth, Stroke/ EDWARD IV /1461--1483/ -- Yorkist victory -- intends to restore law & order, no foreign wars (except for the short French campaign in 1475, Treaty of Picquigny) -- Parliament summoned less frequently, no need for tax (royal lands, new estate management, tradeboom) -- land policy fails, in 1470-71 Warwick & Clarence remove Edward IV, but returns RICHARD III /1483--85/ -- regent of Edward V but seized the crown, had Edward IV's sons murdered -- this prompted resistance & rebellions, deposed & killed by Henry Tudor at Bosworth /1485/ THE TUDORS

HENRY VII /1485--1509/ --the Battle of Bosworth, the Tudors' legitimacy --the Pretenders/Lincoln, Simnel & Warbeck/ --the centralization, active legislation, diplomacy & commerce --the Scottish & the Spanish royal marriages, but Arthur's unexpected death HENRY VIII /1509--1547/ --the English Renaissance /Erasmus, Linacre, Thomas More/ --chivalry and the French & the Scottish wars --Wolsey, Thomas More & Thomas Cromwell to reform administration /Prof. Elton/ --the marriage & succession issue /Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard & Catherine Parr/ --' the Defender of Faith' to reform the English church; the Acts of Supremacy & Succession, the dissolution of the monasteries -- H VIII crowned King of Ireland -- the Statute of Wales EDWARD VI /1547--1553/ --the protectorate first of Hereford, Duke of Somerset and of Warwick, Duke of Northumberland --the Book of Common Prayers prescribed by the Act of Uniformity, the Cornwall Rising & Kett's Rising for religious & economic grievances -- the desperate bid for protestant succession /Lady Jane Grey/ fails MARY I /1553--1558/ --a devout Roman Catholic, previous protestant laws repealed, Cardinal Pole's mission --religious persecution, protestants burnt /Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley/ --an inner, privy council set up under Stephen Gardiner --married Philip II of Spain, Wyatt's Rising --Calais lost ELIZABETH I /1558--1603/ --pirates & discoveries, search for new markets /Chancellor, Willoughby, Drake, Raleigh, Hawkins/ --active commerce, the first joint-stock companies /the Muscovy & the East India Company/ --William Cecil, Lord Burghley; Walsingham & Robert Cecil service /the secretary of state & the privy council --a new Book of Common Prayers, Grindal --the Scottish issue, Mary Stuart --the Statute of Artificers of 1563, attack on monopolies, the Poor Laws of 1601 --the Spanish issue & the victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588

THE STUARTS THE EARLY STUARTS -- The Road to the English Revolution JAMES I /1603--1625/ 1604 -- The Hampton Court Conference 1605 -- The Gunpowder Plot /Guy Fawkes 1611 -- The King James Bible; the colonisation of Ulster /Thomas Wentworth/ -- the king's favourites: Robert Carr & George Villiers -- Francis Bacon, the Lord Chancellor -- England as a peacemaker in the Thirty Years War /1618--1648/ -- the Mayflower & the Pilgrim Fathers, first settlers in America CHARLES I /1625--1649/ -- the war with Spain -- The Petition of Rights & the assassination of Buckingham -- '' the personal rule '' without Parliament /1629--1640/, illegal taxation, the ship money -- the conflict with Scotland, the summoning of Parliament in 1640; the Short & the Long Parliaments; the impeachment of Strafford & Laud; the abolition of the Star Chamber, Court of High Commission & the Council of the North; the Grand Remonstrance passed -- 1642 : the First Civil War started; the Roundheads & the Royalists /Cavaliers/ -- 1644 : Marston Moor, the first decisive battle of the war -- 1645: the New Model Army organised; the Ironsides -- 1648: the Second Civil War started; Presbyterians vs Independents/Noncomformists/ -- 1649: Charles I tried & executed, England declared a Commonwealth -- 1651: the First Dutch War -- 1653: the expulsion of the Rump, Cromwell's protectorate, the Humble Petition & Advice; Cromwell's rejection of the Crown -- 1659--1660: the restoration prepared RESTORATION ENGLAND /1660--1688/ CHARLES II /1660--1685/ --the Act of Indemnity; all lands restored to the Crown, the persecution of the noncomformists; the Clarendon Code -- 1666: the Great Fire of London -- 1667: the fall of Clarendon, the CABAL Ministry formed /Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Shaftesbury, Lauderdale/, heavy taxation -- the Triple Alliance/England, Holland & Sweden/, the fear of popery, of France & arbitrary government; the row over the Dutch war -- 1673: the Test Act passed -- 1678: mass hysteria, the Popish Plot -- 1679: the Habeas Corpus Act JAMES II /1685--1688/ --the Catholic dominance in high offices; the Declaration of Indulgence

FROM THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION TO THE 20TH CENTURY THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION OF WILLIAM III /of Orange/ and MARY /1689-1702/ -- the Bill of Rights -- the Bank of England founded in 1694 -- the 1701 Act of Settlement -- a separate civil service founded -- the royal mail and the first newspapers QUEEN ANNE /1702-14/ -- England and Scotland united in 1707 GEORGIAN ENGLAND /1714-1830/ GEORGE I /1714-1727/, GEORGE II /1727-1760/, GEORGE III /1760-1820/, GEORGE IV /1820-1830/ -- the Industrial Revolution -- the Jacobites, the Old Pretender and the Young Pretender -- Sir Robert Walpole, the first English P.M. and his cabinet /1721-42/ -- John Wesley, William Wilkes -- the balance of power principle, Britain a sea power and colonial gains in --the Nine Years War/1688-1697/ --the War of the Spanish Succession /1702-1713/-- the Duke of Marlborough --the War of the Austrian Succession /1740-1748/ --the Seven Years War /1756-1763/ -- the American War of Independence -- Britain and Ireland united in 1801 -- the wars with France /1793-1815/ Nelson and Trafalgar, Wellington and Waterloo -- the Vienna Settlement, the Holy Alliance -- the Catholic Emancipation Act /1829/ WILLIAM IV /1830-37/ -- the First Reform Bill of 1832 -- the First Factory Act /1833/ QUEEN VICTORIA /1837-1901/ -- the People's Charter /1838, 1842, 1847/ -- the first Opium War/1839-42/ -- Peel's Ministry -- the repeal of the Corn Law /1845/ -- the Irish potato famine of 1845-46 -- the Great Exhibition of 1851 -- the Crimean War /1854-56/ -- the Second Reform Bill of 1867 -- the Education Act of 1870 -- the Ballot Act of 1872 -- Britain gets the Suez Canal /1875/ -- the Third Reform Bill of 1884 -- the Boer War /1899-1902/ -- the foundation of the Labour Party in 1900

-- Gladstone vs Disraeli BRITISH HISTORY PREWAR BRITAIN 1900--14 Queen Victoria succeeded by Edward VII in 1901 & by George V in 1910 till 1906 conservative government by Salisbury, then by Balfour as PM -- Fisher' s navy reforms /Dreadnoughts/ -- economic debate on tariff reform vs. free trade supported by J. Chamberlain's vs. Balfour' s speeches resigns and forms the Tariff Reform League split the Conservative Party reunited the split Liberals

Balfour lost Labour support because of the scandal ''indentured Chinese labour to South Africa'' & the Taff Vale decision --- Britain steps out of her splendid isolation by 1902 Anglo-- Japanese treaty by 1904 Anglo-- French ENTENTE by 1907 Anglo-- Russian Convention while supports conferences to pacify Europe & Anglo-German naval talks till 1911 /2nd Hague conference, London conferences as well as Imperial ones/ 1906 elections --- Liberal victory --- Campbell-Bannermann PM till 1908, then Asquith PM -''new liberalism'' -- social bills /Old Age Pension/, Haldane' s army reform 1909 People' s Budget by Lloyd George land tax to result a constitutional crisis new elections: Liberal, Labour & Irish coalition set up to limit the veto of the Lords Parliament Bill passed in 1911 budgets & social bills could now pass accept Irish partition -- weakening Turkey results 2 Balkan Wars /1912, 1913/ & discontent on the Balkan -- agressive German foreign policy: Moroccon crisis /1906,1911/ by 1913 Germany wants war but awaits ideal timing -- British peace conference offer turned down, hesitation by Grey finally Britain enters World War I because of the violation of the Belgian neutrality & the Entente obligations prewar Europe: split the Conservative fail because of Ulster & English Unionists /Carson & Bonar Law/ John Redmond too weak to to give Home Rule for Ireland

BRITISH HISTORY BRITAIN IN WORLD WAR I 1914 -- 1918 : shift from an old to a new Britain --- the theories of the War Book vs. the Schlieffen Plan and the reality: the western front halts on the Aisne --- trench warfare /the battles of Ypres, Newe Chapelle & Aubers Ridge bring no change in 1915, the 1916 offensive on the Somme fails, too/ the eastern front: Russia & the Monarchy face each other when Japan, Italy & Romania join the Entente, while Turkey & Bulgaria join the Dual Alliance, the Entente fail to take Gallipoli to open a backdoor on the sea the Battle of Jutland was followed by an unrestricted submarine war /cause shortages, but make the U.S. enter the war/ In Britain national unity required to solve the problems of --- conscription : after volunteers conscription for single men after Jan, 1916, then from April, 1916 for men aged 18-41 --- supply : dilution introduced in factories, while also better work conditions, wage talks, war socialism --- centralisation & good command : debate of/among the generals /Sir John French, Robertson, Haig, Jellico/ vs secretary for war /Kitchener, then Lloyd George/ on power & tactics, Asquith resigns, Lloyd George' s War Cabinet include Conservative and Labour MPs in Britain & Supreme War Council with France at Versailles --- internal peace : the Easter Rising of 1916 in Ireland, question of coercion vs Home Rule reoccurs, by 1918 Irish MPs leave Westminster, alienated for good, de Valera becomes their acknowledged leader --- financial problems : money shortage, huge debt heaped up to finance war & replace sunk ships the Liberals gradually split over free trade, conscription, Home Rule, the Maurice debate, have only victory left to fight for 1917 : the worst year of the war : offensive on the western front fails /Passchendaele/ the Monarchy breaks through the Italian line at Caporetto Russia signs an armistice after Lenin' s revolution free trade breaks down, war socialism does not work properly in Britain /only Palestine & the oil fall into British hands, promise to the Jews/ 1918: last German offensive fails to break through the Marne, Germany appeal to President Wilson for peace, the 14 points by 9 November, 1918 : William II abdicate, Republic in Berlin 11 November, 1918 : final armistice, Britain celebrates victory, decide on new elections

BRITISH HISTORY INTERWAR BRITAIN --- 1918: after the armistice new /coupon/ elections in Britain to keep up the coalition the Treaty of Paris & Versailles vs Wilson's 14 points & the League of Nations Lloyd George: against too soft or too harsh terms for Germany, preoccupied with the fleets & with Belgium ---the question of war compensation --- whether to accept compensation only for civilian damages or to include war pensions as well, Anglo-French debate, final agreement on 6.6 billion pounds, decreased by the Dawes plan in 1924 1918-21 reconstruction boom /though staple industries never to fully recover/ & higher standard of living widespread landsales & their social consequences During the reconstruction: --- 1918: Fisher' s Education Act passed /in spite of public hostility towards education/ --- 1919: Ministry of Health set up by Addison after 1921 slump /partly due to the monetary policy of the Bank of England/ gradually rising unemployment & strikes for higher wages, shorter work hours, while miners for nationalization /Black Friday/ disagreement about economic policy: free trade vs tariffs capital levy & the welfare costs 1920 : Home Rule finally passed for Ireland but with a limited autonomy --- order broke down, fights /IRA vs Black & Tans/ by 1921 Bonar Law retired, Lloyd George's promising peace talks, agreement signed in 1921/the Irish Free State of 26 counties with dominion status/, however excluding de Valera, who denounced the agreement --- civil war --- trouble in India: General Dyer's use of arms in 1919 alienate population Gandhi's rise & programme of civil disobedience the 1922 elections in Britain end the coalition, conservative victory: Bonar Law PM /1922-23/ -- attempts to arrange better terms for the U.S. loans & solve housing shortage Baldwin PM /1923-24/ --- the Ruhr conflict & high unemployment in Britain, 1924 new elections: first Labour victory : Ramsay McDonald PM -- ''free breakfast table'', higher unemployment benefit, Wheatley' s Housing Act -- successful & less secret diplomacy however fails within a year, Baldwin PM again -- duties reimposed, British export more expensive, wage cuts & strikes /1926/ follow, but also further building & welfare programme Lloyd George' s 1926 new national development programme fails to convince people 1929 elections Labour victory again, McDonald PM again talks with Russia continued, pacifying policy in Egypt & in India at home rationalization & public works crippled by the Depression

Mosley's suggestions not considered, by May, 1931 world trade collapsed, British interestrates to be increased, expenditure to be cut --- Labour did not want to take responsibility, National Government formed

BRITISH HISTORY INTERWAR BRITAIN/2 the 1929 Hague Conference restored Germany to equality McDonald /Labour PM 1929-31, then head of the National Government till 1935/ signed a naval agreement with the U.S. & Japan, while pacifier in Europe /Anglo-French, Anglo-Russian talks/ in the Commonwealth 1931 -- watershed of interwar period : 1920s free trade & gold standard vs 1930s planning, repudiated war-debts, cut bank rates 1930s successive international failures: 1931 -- Japan invades Manchuria 1933 -- world economic conference fail because of dollar devalued /New Deal/ -- Hitler elected Chancellor of Germany 1935 -- Abyssinian crisis --- Britain to choose between the League of Nations or the Streza Front British wavering between appeasement /Neville Chamberlain/ and rearmament /Churchill/ allowed Hitler to take the Rhineland absorb Austria /Anschluss/ to support Franco in Spain to occupy the Sudetenland /Munich settlement/ But in March, 1939 a guarantee was given to Poland, Greece, Romania & to Turkey against Germany, though Anglo-Russian talks too slow, the Soviet Union signs a treaty with Germany English economy losing ground: --- new industries of South England & of the Midlands not fast-growing enough to replace old staple ones /--- high unemployment : permanent & also cyclical, 10-22%/ --- acc. to Keynes overvalued pound made export too expensive, while agriculture was too much subsidized, instead of relying on cheap food import --- lack of investment in new plants --- third generation of proprietors spend too much time buying honours & becoming gentlemen, --- trade unions also opposed it --- education system is also blamed Social Changes: longer life expectations & improving living standards for the majority vs surviving primary poverty, in spite of smaller families, redistribution, insurance, pension & better housing conditions --- surveys by Seebohm Rowntree & by Sir Boyd Orr

BRITISH HISTORY BRITAIN IN WORLD WAR II British Parliament unanimous about the war declaration on 3 Sept, 1939 / the support of the colonies, except for the neutral Ireland/ Anglo-French warplans /'' knocking down the props''/ fail on Italian non-belligerence, expectations & failures of the blockade, and its impact on British economy Meanwhile Russian entry into Poland, the 3 Baltic states & Finland --- reaction of the League of Nations & within Britain Denmark & the Norwegian ports taken by Hitler --- panic in Britain --- Amery's attack on Chamberlain when Holland & Belgium also invaded, Chamberlain resigns --- Churchill PM Churchill' s '' bloood, toil, sweat & tears'' for victory, new war cabinet, Churchill to run the military, Chamberlain to run the civilian side of the war wants a backdoor when Belgium capitulates, ''operation Dynamo'' to rescue the Expeditionary Force France alone fails to hold the Somme, by 22 June, 1940 Reynaud signs an armistice Britain left alone, while Italy joins Hitler -- still Hitler' s peace-proposal refused, German invasion imminent -- Home Guard & diff. measures for precaution -- Beaverbrook to achieve air-superiority -- the French fleet destroyed -- alienates France -- European governments in Britain to organise resistance -- but Churchill cannot persuade Stalin or Roosevelt to enter the war, though Anglo-American lend-lease agreement signed the Battle of Britain starts on 10 July/13 August?/, 1940 However the Germans could not have air-superiority, the fighter bases in Kent saved by London' s bombardment from 7 Sept, 1940 /signal Cromwell also sent out/ By 17 Sept, 1940 Hitler postponed the invasion the Battle of the Atlantic /March-july, 1941/ -- shortages in Briain, war-socialism also fights in North Africa, Rommel's Africa Corps vs. Wavell's ''Battleaxe'', then Auchinlek postpones the desert offensine due to the invasion on Soviet Russia in June 9 December, 1941: the U.S. enters the war /after Pearl Harbour/ the Anglo-American Arcadia Conference determines military aims, first Italy to be defeated, /different priorities by British parties/ spring, 1942 :-- Singapore, Burma fell, British fears to lose India, /Gandhi, Nehru imprisoned/-- German & British cities bombed summer, 1942: -- Rommel's offensive in North Africa, but Eisenhower's & Montgomery's victory at Alamein on 23 October, 1942 Jan, 1943 Casablanca conference: '' unconditional surrender'', security for Stalin Nov, 1943 -- Teheran: second landing in Italy, D day agreed /Sicily's slow conquest, the Germans overrun Rome, delays D-day till 6 June,1944 By July, 1944 : the Americans broke the German lines, still unexpected German rocket-attacks on London Sept, 1944 -- Quebec : Britain promises to fight in the Pacific & receives further loans Febr, 1945 -- Yalta : agreement to end the war quickly 7 May, 1945 : Germany surrendered, Churchill resigns, caretaker government, then the July elections bring Labour victory, Attlee PM. to attend the Potsdam conference