modern history help conflict in europe (1 Viewer)

[kevin321]

Evaluate the view that the air war determined the outcome of the European war.(2008)
I obviously talk about the battle of Britain and bombing of Germany, but do I have to talk about the reasons why Germany lost the battle of Britain or do I the just talk about the effects of the battle of Britain towards the outcome of euro war

 

[enoilgam]

*Moved to Modern History Forum*

Evaluate the view that the air war determined the outcome of the European war.(2008)
I obviously talk about the battle of Britain and bombing of Germany, but do I have to talk about the reasons why Germany lost the battle of Britain or do I the just talk about the effects of the battle of Britain towards the outcome of euro war

Definitely this, describing why Germany lost isnt really answering the question and will only get you a band 4.

 

[kevin321]

So should I not talk about factors that led to the loss of battle of Britain completely and just dive straight into the implications of the battle? I've only got 45 mins so should I mention the context at the beginning of paragraph?
Cheers!!

 

[cem]

You need to discuss all aspects of the air war - not just the Battle of Britain and the bombing of Germany but the ongoing air war from beginning to end including the impact the air war had in the east.

You do need the context otherwise you analysis is meaningless (it often costs kids marks).

The question also asks you to 'evaluate' the idea that the air war determined the outcome of the war - so you also have to discuss other factors that contributed to the outcome of the war.

One of the biggest mistakes that kids make with this type of question is that they concentrate on the given topic - in this case 'the air war' - without looking at the rest of the question - which is the 'outcome of the war' - so what else contributed to the outcome of the war. About half the essay should be on the air war and the other half on other factors before you make you final judgement.

You can argue that the air war did or didn't determine the outcome of the war but either way you do have to discuss other factors to support or refute your argument.

 

[enoilgam]

So should I not talk about factors that led to the loss of battle of Britain completely and just dive straight into the implications of the battle? I've only got 45 mins so should I mention the context at the beginning of paragraph?
Cheers!!

The Battle of Britain isnt the only aspect of the air war which had an impact on the outcome of WW2. You should also look at the Impact of the Allied bombing of Germany. Also, as cem said you need to look at other factors which contributed to the end of the war (i.e. The Russian front, D-Day maybe). Overall, you will need to make a judgement regarding whether the Air war determined the outcome of the war. I would probably set it out like this maybe:

Intro - Air war was important, but other factors played a greater role.
Battle of Britain - Impact on the outcome of the war
Allied Bombing of Germany - Impact on the outcome of the war
Russian Front - Much more important than air war because it crippled Germany logistically and strategically
D-Day - Forced Germany to fight war on two fronts, was also instrumental in Germanys demise
Conclusion.

Obviously, your thesis can be whatever you like, but thats how I would argue it out.

 

[kevin321]

well i was gonna do it like this
intro
battle of britain/blitz(last phase of BoB) - context, mention technology of aircrafts in a sentence, implications the battle had
bombing of germany - a sentence on context, implications
use of air war on russian front/ blitzkreig in low countries, maybe use of air tactics in the landing of d-day then go on how it was instrumental in the outcome
conclusion

i dont think i can do 4 body paragraphs cause i write really slow and too much too talk about in 45 mins

also the question is actually to what extent instead of evaluate but since i looked at the past paper questions it was almost identical so i figured its the same criteria cause evaluate and to what extent you both have to make a judgement
on the boardofstudies comments and marking comments it says
stronger responses analysed the various aspects of air war and argued the case for its impact on the outcome of the war. Such responses discussed the battle of britain, the bombing of germany and use of air power in various theatres of war. However, weaker responses dismissed the airwar in a few paragraphs then proceeded to write a prepared response on the reasons for the defeat of the axis, often with lengthy sections on the eastern front.

so then i did some further research on the marking guidelines it says students may discuss
- air war and its effects - battle of britain and the blitz, bombing of germany
- reasons on allied victory
- significance of other battles

now both the guidelines and comments contradict each other sort of so basically my structure above covers other the use of air in other significant battles and the implications it had.
thoughts please?

ps since it says outcome of the war should i cut out the use of air warfare in the fall of the low countries cause that was german victory instead of allied?
thanks so much

 

[enoilgam]

Well, there is a difference between the questions "Evaluate the view that the air war determined the outcome of the European war." and "To what extent did the air war determine the outcome of WW2". For the first question, its asking you whether or not it was the most significant factor, whereas question two is asking you to look at the air war's overall impact. I dont think you can use the exact same approach for these two questions.

Just as a side note, this is a good example of why you SHOULD NOT memorise essays for modern. These questions are taken from the same syllabus dot point and are very similar, yet a memorise response for one wouldnt work for the other.

 

[kevin321]

so basically i should focus on the air war so would my structure be good for this essay?

and i dont have to talk about why the germans lost the battle of britain right just about the implications?

 

[enoilgam]

so basically i should focus on the air war so would my structure be good for this essay?

and i dont have to talk about why the germans lost the battle of britain right just about the implications?

You need to discuss the implications and follow the advice given by the markers..

 

[cem]

No student would have done really well if all they did was the air war - but the excellent responses would have linked the air war to the context e.g. Battle of Britian - after success of Blitzkrieg - Britain fighting for survival with land war being fought in North Africa, Blitz and the continual Germany bombing of British cities which continued will into 1944 with the context of Germany being tied down landwise on the Eastern Front but where they also lost control of the air making it easier for the Soviets to defeat them, then the Allied bombing campaign of Germany with the context of the failure of the Battle of the Atlantic (I know not on the syllabus specifically but important to Britain's Home Front) and preparation for D-Day, with the final part being the control of the air of the Allies from D-Day onwards. Whether it is 'To What Extent' or 'Evaluate' you can't successfully do either if you only use the air war with no mention of anything else.

The worst thing you can do is memorise essays in Modern as they tend to stand out like a sore thumb.

With the question you have given you are being asked to discuss the importance of the air war to the eventual result of the war but you can't do that without mentioning the other factors - but you also need to link them to the air war.

The weak responses were ones that went - air war...other reasons for outcome with no linking between the two.

 

[enoilgam]

I wrote an essay on the question "Evaluate the importance of Aerial warfare in the outcome of WW2" for an assessment and I think its pretty similar to the To what extent... question. This is how I set it out

Intro: Air war played a vital role

Battle of Britain: Significant because Germany's defeat was a key reason why Hitler abandoned Operation Sealion (Invasion of Britain). Also significant because Germany lost many pilots and planes - this hurt them in the later stages of the war (Operation Barbarossa and Allied bombings). In hindsight I think I should probably have discussed the impact which the campaign had on British morale as well

Operation Barbarossa: Germanys failure to attain air superiority over Soviet airforce had a signifcant impact, as Germany was unable to counter the huge amounts of ground attack aircraft which the Soviets possessed. These ground attack aircraft decimated German armour which was a significant factor behind Germanys defeat on the Eastern front. Furthermore, Germanys failure to attain air superiority meant that they could not re-supply the German army at stalingrad. This led to Germanys defeat in the battle, which was a key turning point in the Russian campaign

Allied Bombing of Germany: Bombing greatly diminished the morale of the German people. Also reduced their productive capacity towards the end of the war.

I also did a paragraph on the Battle of the atlantic, but I didnt do too much on it as it wasnt in the syllabus. Nonethless I thought it was a good point which added to the essay. Just remember to link aerial warfare into the outcome of the war.

 

[stressedadfff]

The Battle of Britain isnt the only aspect of the air war which had an impact on the outcome of WW2. You should also look at the Impact of the Allied bombing of Germany. Also, as cem said you need to look at other factors which contributed to the end of the war (i.e. The Russian front, D-Day maybe). Overall, you will need to make a judgement regarding whether the Air war determined the outcome of the war. I would probably set it out like this maybe:

Intro - Air war was important, but other factors played a greater role.
Battle of Britain - Impact on the outcome of the war
Allied Bombing of Germany - Impact on the outcome of the war
Russian Front - Much more important than air war because it crippled Germany logistically and strategically
D-Day - Forced Germany to fight war on two fronts, was also instrumental in Germanys demise
Conclusion.

Obviously, your thesis can be whatever you like, but thats how I would argue it out.

for this question am i allowed to do 5 paragraphs or is that too many/risky

e.g.
1. failure of luftwaffe at bob
2. economic impact of allied bombing of germany
3. impact on morale of allied bombing of germany
4. Barbarossa was more important
5. the outcome was more significantly determined by the russian counteroffensives which caused direct collapse of the wehrmacht
?