UK during World War II. England's gold convoys in World War II

All connoisseurs of the history of the Second World War know the story of the English cruiser Edinburgh, which transported approximately 5.5 tons of gold in 1942. Now it is very often written that it was a payment for Lend-Lease supplies for which the USSR allegedly paid in gold.

Any unbiased specialist dealing with this issue knows that only pre-lend-lease deliveries in 1941 were paid in gold, and deliveries were not subject to payment for the rest of the years.

The USSR paid in gold for supplies before the conclusion of the Lend-Lease agreement, as well as for goods and materials purchased from the Allies other than Lend-Lease.

There were 465 gold bars on Edinburgh with a total weight of 5536 kilograms, loaded in Murmansk in April 1942, and they were the payment of the Soviet Union to England for weapons supplied in excess of the list stipulated by the lend-lease agreement.

But, and this gold did not reach England. The cruiser Edinburgh was damaged and scuttled. A, Soviet Union, even during the war years, received insurance in the amount of 32.32% of the value of gold, paid by the British War Risk Insurance Bureau. By the way, all the transported gold, the notorious 5.5 tons, at the prices of that time cost a little more than 100 million dollars. For comparison, the total cost of Lend-Lease delivered to the USSR is $11.3 billion.

However, the story of Edinburgh's gold did not end there. In 1981, the English treasure-hunting company Jesson Marine Recoveries entered into an agreement with the authorities of the USSR and Great Britain on the search for and recovery of gold. "Edinburgh" lay at a depth of 250 meters. In the most difficult conditions, divers managed to lift 5129 kg. According to the agreement, 2/3 of the gold was received by the USSR. Thus, not only was the gold transported by Edinburgh not a payment for lend-lease and that this gold never reached the allies, but a third of its value was reimbursed by the USSR during the war years So, forty years later, when this gold was raised, most of it was returned to the USSR.

We repeat once again that the USSR did not pay with gold for Lend-Lease supplies in 1942, since the Lend-Lease agreement assumed that logistical assistance would be supplied to the Soviet side with a deferred payment or even free of charge.

The USSR was subject to the US Lend-Lease Act based on following principles:
- all payments for the supplied materials are made after the end of the war
- materials that will be destroyed are not subject to any payment
- materials that will remain suitable for civilian needs,
paid no earlier than 5 years after the end of the war, in order
providing long-term loans
- the US share in Lend-Lease was - 96.4%.

Deliveries from the USA to the USSR can be divided into the following stages:
Pre-Lend-Lease - from June 22, 1941 to September 30, 1941 (paid in gold)
First protocol - from October 1, 1941 to June 30, 1942 (signed on October 1, 1941)
Second protocol - from July 1, 1942 to June 30, 1943 (signed on October 6, 1942)
Third protocol - from July 1, 1943 to June 30, 1944 (signed on October 19, 1943)
Fourth protocol - from July 1, 1944, (signed on April 17, 1944), formally
ended 12 May 1945, but deliveries were extended until the end of the war
with Japan, which the USSR undertook to join 90 days after the end of
war in Europe (ie August 8, 1945).

Many people know the history of Edinburgh, but few people know the history of another British cruiser Emerald. But this cruiser had to carry gold in comparable volumes than the Edinburgh. Only on its first voyage to Canada in 1939, the Emerald transported a cargo of $ 650 million in gold and securities, and he had several such flights.

The beginning of the Second World War for England was extremely unsuccessful, and after the evacuation of troops from the Continent, the fate of the island depended on the fleet and aviation, since only they could prevent the possible landing of the Germans. At the same time, in the event of the fall of England, the Churchill government planned to move to Canada and from there continue the fight against Germany. For this, the English gold reserves were sent to Canada, in total about 1,500 tons of gold and about 300 billion dollars in securities and currencies in modern prices.

Among this gold was also part of the gold of the former Russian Empire. Few people know how this gold got to England, and then to Canada.

Before the First World War, Russia's gold reserves were the largest in the world and amounted to 1 billion 695 million rubles (1311 tons of gold). At the beginning of the First World War, significant amounts of gold were sent to England as a guarantee of war loans. In 1914, 75 million gold rubles (8 million pounds) were sent via Arkhangelsk to London. On the way, the ships of the convoy (cruiser Drake and transport Mantois) were damaged by mines and this route was considered dangerous. In 1915-1916, 375 million gold rubles (40 million pounds) were sent by railway to Vladivostok, and then on Japanese warships transported to Canada and placed in the vaults of the Bank of England in Ottawa. In February 1917, another 187 million gold rubles (20 million pounds) were sent via the same route through Vladivostok. These gold sums became a guarantee of British loans to Russia for the purchase of military equipment in the amount of 300 and 150 million pounds, respectively. It is known that from the beginning of the war until October 1917, Russia transferred a total of 498 tons of gold to the Bank of England; 58 tons were soon sold, and the remaining 440 tons lay in the vaults of the Bank of England as collateral for loans.

In addition, part of the gold paid by the Bolsheviks to the Germans, after the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918, also came to England. Representatives Soviet Russia pledged to send 250 tons of gold to Germany as an indemnity and managed to send two echelons with 98 tons of gold. After the capitulation of Germany, all this gold went as an indemnity to the victorious countries of France, England and the USA.

With the outbreak of World War II, already in September 1939, the British government decided that depositors holding securities in UK banks must declare them to the Royal Treasury. In addition, all contributions from individuals and legal entities the countries of the opponents of Great Britain and the countries occupied by Germany and its allies were frozen.

Even before the operation of transporting valuables from the Bank of England to Canada, millions of pounds in gold and securities were transferred to buy weapons from the Americans.

One of the first ships to carry these valuables was the cruiser Emerald under the command of Augustus Willington Shelton Agar. On October 3, 1939, HMS Emerald anchored at Plymouth, England, where Agar was ordered to proceed to Halifax in Canada.

On October 7, 1939, the cruiser sailed from Plymouth with gold bars from the Bank of England bound for Montreal. Since this voyage was a closely guarded secret, the crew were dressed in tropical "white uniforms" to confuse German agents. As an escort. Emerald was escorted by the battleships HMS Revenge and HMS Resolution and, and the cruisers HMS Enterprise, HMS Caradoc.

Fearing a German landing in England, Churchill's government devised a plan to allow Britain to continue the war even if the island was captured. To do this, all the gold reserves and securities were transferred to Canada. By using your authority to war time Churchill's government confiscated all securities held in the banks of England and moved them under the cloak of secrecy to the port of Greenock in Scotland.

Within ten days, one of the participants in this operation recalled, all the deposits in the banks of the United Kingdom selected for transfer were collected, stacked in thousands of boxes the size of boxes of oranges and taken to regional collection centers. All these were riches brought to Great Britain by generations of its merchants and seafarers. Now, together with the accumulated tons of gold of the British Empire, they had to cross the ocean.

The cruiser Emerald, now commanded by Captain Francis Cyril Flynn, was again chosen to transport the first batch of secret cargo, and was supposed to leave Greenock Harbor in Scotland on June 24.

On June 23, four of the best financial experts from the Bank of England left London by train for Glasgow, with Alexander Craig at their head. Meanwhile, a heavily guarded special train brought the last batch of gold and securities to Greenock to be loaded onto a cruiser stationed in the Clyde Bay. During the night, the destroyer Kossak arrived to join the Emeralda's escort.

By six o'clock in the evening of the 24th, the cruiser was loaded with valuables like no other ship before it. His artillery cellars were filled with 2229 heavy boxes, each containing four gold bars. (The cargo of gold turned out to be so heavy that at the end of the voyage, the corners of the floors of these cellars were found to be bent.) There were also boxes of securities, there were 488 of them totaling more than 400 million dollars.

Thus, already in the first transportation there were valuables worth more than half a billion dollars. The ship left port on 24 June 1940 and, escorted by several destroyers, sailed for Canada.

The weather was not very conducive to swimming. As the storm intensified, the speed of the escorting destroyers began to drop, and Captain Vaillant, in command of the escort, signaled to Captain Flynn to go in an anti-submarine zigzag so that the Emerald would maintain its higher and, therefore, safer speed. But the ocean raged harder and harder, and in the end the destroyers fell behind so that Captain Flynn decided to continue sailing alone. On the fourth day, the weather improved, and soon, on July 1, somewhere after 5 o'clock in the morning, the coast of Nova Scotia appeared on the horizon. Now, on calm water, the Emerald was sailing towards Halifax, making 28 knots, and at 7.35 on July 1, she safely docked.

In Halifax, the cargo was transferred to a special train, which was already waiting and on the railway line approaching the dock. There were also representatives of the Bank of Canada and the Canadian National Express railway company. Prior to unloading, extraordinary precautions were taken, the berth was carefully blocked. Each crate, when taken out of the cruiser, was registered as handed over, after which it was entered into the list when loaded onto the wagon, and all this happened at an accelerated pace. At seven o'clock in the evening the train with gold left.

On July 2, 1940, at 5 pm, the train arrived at Bonaventure station in Montreal. In Montreal, the securities wagons were uncoupled, and the gold moved on to Ottawa. David Mansour, acting Governor of the Bank of Canada, and Sidney Perkins, from the Foreign Exchange Department, met the cargo on the platform. Both of these people were aware that the train was carrying a secret cargo codenamed "Fish". But only Mansour knew that they were about to take part in the largest financial transaction ever carried out by states in peacetime or wartime.
As soon as the train stopped, armed guards got out of the cars and cordoned it off. Mansour and Perkins were ushered into one of the carriages, where a thin, short, bespectacled man, Alexander Craig of the Bank of England, was waiting for them, accompanied by three assistants.

Now the valuables passed under their responsibility, and they had to put these thousands of packages somewhere. David Mansour has already figured out where.
The 24-story granite building of the Sun Life insurance company, which occupied an entire block in Montreal, was the most convenient for these purposes. It had three underground floors, and the lowest of them in wartime was supposed to be taken away just as a storehouse of valuables such as this "Valuable Deposit". papers of the United Kingdom," as it was called.

Shortly after 1:00 a.m., when the traffic on the streets of Montreal had died down, the police cordoned off several blocks between marshalling yard and San Life. After that, trucks began to ply between the cars and the rear entrance to the building, accompanied by armed guards from the Canadian National Express. When the last box rested in its place - which was duly recorded - Craig, who was responsible for the deposit, on behalf of the Bank of England, took from David Mansour a receipt on behalf of the Canada Bank.

Now it was necessary to quickly equip a reliable storage. But making a chamber 60 feet long and wide and 11 feet high required an enormous amount of steel. Where can I get it in wartime? Someone remembered an unused, abandoned railway line, two miles of track with 870 rails. It was from these that the walls and ceiling were made, three feet thick. Ultra-sensitive microphones of sound pickup devices were installed in the ceiling, fixing even the faintest clicks of drawers pulled out of the iron cabinet. In order to open the doors of the vault, it was necessary to dial two different number combinations on the locking device. Two bank employees were told one combination, two others - the second. “The other combination was unknown to me,” one of them recalled, “and every time it was required to enter the cell, we had to gather in pairs.”

The campaign "Emeralda" was only the first in a series of "golden" transatlantic crossings of British ships. On July 8, five ships left UK ports carrying the largest combined cargo of valuables ever transported by water or land. At midnight, the battleship Ravenge and the cruiser Bonaventure left the Clyde. At dawn in the North Strait, they were joined by three former liners Monarch Bermuda, Sobieski and Bathory (the last two were Free Poland ships). The escort consisted of four destroyers. This convoy, commanded by Admiral Sir Ernest Russell Archer, was carrying approximately $773 million worth of gold bars and 229 boxes of securities, with a total value of approximately $1,750,000,000.

Throughout the passage across the Atlantic, eight 15-inch and twelve 6-inch guns and batteries of 4-inch anti-aircraft guns were in constant combat readiness. On July 13, the first three ships entered Halifax harbor. Shortly thereafter, the Bonaventure appeared, and then the Bathory. It took five special trains to transport the gold bars to Ottawa. The load was so heavy that no more than 200 boxes were stacked in each car to support the floor. Each train carried from 10 to 14 such freight cars. Two guards were locked in each car, who replaced each other every four hours.

All this gold was transported without insurance. Who could or even wanted to insure hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bullion, especially in wartime? The gold cargo delivered by the Ravenge convoy led to another record: the costs of the Canadian National Express for its transportation turned out to be the highest in its history - something like a million dollars.

In Ottawa, the Canadian National Railroad arranged for special trains to arrive so that they could be unloaded and transported to the Canada Bank on Wellington Street at night. Who would have thought until quite recently that this five-story building that housed the bank, only 140 feet high, would become like Fort Knox, the largest vault of valuables in the world? For three days the cargo of the Ravenge convoy flowed like gold into the bank vault, which measured 60 feet by 100 feet. The trucks were unloaded, and the 27-pound pigs, like large bars of yellow soap in wire wraps, were neatly stacked in the vault, row by row, layer by layer, into a huge, ceiling-high pile of tens of thousands of bars of heavy gold.
During the three summer months, three dozen shipments of securities arrived by rail in Montreal.

It took almost 900 four-door cabinets to accommodate all the certificates. The valuables hidden underground were guarded around the clock by 24 police officers who ate and slept there.

A spacious high room next to a vault full of securities was equipped as an office for working with deposits. Mansour invited 120 people to the staff - former bank employees, professionals from brokerage firms and stenographers from investment banks - who took an oath of secrecy.

The office, of course, was exceptional. Only one elevator descended to the third floor, and each employee had to present a special pass (which changed every month) - first before entering it, and then downstairs - to the guards from the Mounted Police and sign daily in his arrival and departure. The desks of the guards had buttons that turned on the alarm right in the departments of the Montreal and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as in the Dominion Electrical Protection Service. Throughout the summer, during which the total number of boxes of securities reached almost two thousand, Craig's employees worked ten hours a day with one day off a week. All these securities, owned by thousands of different owners, had to be unpacked, sorted and sorted. As a result, it was found that there were about two thousand different types stocks and bonds, including all separately listed stocks of companies paying high dividends. By September, Craig, who was responsible for the deposit, who knew everything he was supposed to have, knew that he really had it all. Each certificate was taken into account and entered into a file cabinet.

Gold, as well as securities, arrived continuously. According to documents available at the Admiralty, between June and August, British ships (together with several Canadian and Polish ships) transported more than $2,556,000,000 worth of gold to Canada and the United States.

In total, over 1,500 tons of gold were transported during the Fish operation, and considering the gold received by England from Russia during the First World War, every third gold bar stored in Ottawa was of Russian origin.
In today's gold prices, the shipped treasure is about $230. billion dollars and the value of the securities stored in the Sun Life building, is estimated at more than 300 billion in today's prices.

Despite the fact that thousands of people were involved in the transfer, the Axis intelligence agencies never learned about this operation. It says absolutely incredible fact that during these three months during which transportation was carried out, 134 allied and neutral ships were sunk in the North Atlantic - and among them not a single one carrying a gold cargo.

Their gold was stored in Canada by such countries as occupied by Germany, Belgium, Holland, France, Norway and Poland.

According to information published by the Central Bank of Canada on November 27, 1997, in total during the Second World War, between 1938 and 1945, 2586 tons of gold were sent to Canada for storage by various states and individuals.

It is interesting that at present, Canada has generally sold off all of its gold reserves, and not at all because of an urgent need for money.

For many decades, Canada has been in the top ten countries with highest level life and even somehow was in the first place. The government explained this step by the fact that the liquidity of securities is much higher than gold and gold has long been no longer a guarantor of the stability of the national currency, since the volume of gold reserves, in monetary terms, even the most significant, account for only an insignificant share in the total volume of circulating money supply in the commodity turnover of developed countries.

1. The beginning of the Second World War and England. "Strange War" "Battle for England".

2. The role of Great Britain in the victory over the Nazi coalition during the war.

1. Great Britain can be considered one of the initiators of the Second World War. Firstly, this is due to the fact that already in the mid-30s. the struggle for dominance in the world revives again between Great Britain and France, on the one hand, and Germany, Italy and Japan, on the other. Secondly, Great Britain at the same time passively watches how Germany violates the terms of the Versailles Peace. The ruling circles of Great Britain, like those of some other Western countries, hoped that Germany's aggression would be directed against the USSR. This is evidenced by the participation of Great Britain, together with France, Germany and Italy, in the Munich Conference of 1938, at which an agreement was signed aimed at dismembering Czechoslovakia by Germany. And only after Germany violated this treaty in the spring of 1939, the ruling circles of Great Britain were forced to negotiate with the USSR on the creation of an anti-Hitler alliance. But the position of both the leadership of the USSR and Great Britain did not allow this task to be completed.

On September 1, 1939, World War II began with the German attack on Poland. Great Britain was an ally of Poland and the latter, of course, expected her help. But the British government was still trying to solve the problem with Germany through diplomacy. And only on September 3, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Following her, her dominions Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Union of South Africa did the same.

Despite the fact that Great Britain and France at that moment could curb the aggressor, they did not go further than declaring war. Until the spring of 1940, there were practically no military operations on this front, so these events were called "strange war" in historiography. At this time, mobilization was only taking place, expeditionary troops were being transferred to France.

In April 1940, Germany launched an offensive in Western Europe, and in May, German troops entered French territory. The offensive was swift and the British troops after the defeat at Dunkirk were forced to evacuate to the British Isles.

From this moment begins the so-called "Battle for England". In Germany, the landing operation on the British Isles ("Zeele") was developed, but it was never carried out. The reason for this can be considered that Great Britain was in more favorable conditions than France: its geographical position, the presence of a strong navy, high resistance ability. In addition, the new government of W. Churchill took decisive measures to organize the defense of the country: the volume of military production increased, volunteer civil defense detachments were created, which were later transformed into a people's militia.

The "Battle of England" took on the character of massive bomb attacks. At first they were directed to naval bases and airfields, and from September 1940 to the cities: London, Coventry, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, etc. Germany's goal was to destroy or significantly weaken the British navy and aviation, disorganize the military industry, suppress desire for resistance. But this goal was not achieved. German air Force suffered heavy losses. Failed to destroy British industry and undermine the morale of the population. On November 3, 1940, the intensity of the raids began to weaken. The last massive air strikes on London were delivered in late April - early May 1941. At the same time, Germany began reorienting military production and distributing material resources for the war against the USSR, i.e. to the development of their armed forces in the "land" and not in the "sea" version, which meant the rejection of the invasion of the British Isles.

At the same time, Great Britain conducted military operations in Africa and other areas. The campaign in Africa (against Italy) was held with varying success, but nevertheless, by the spring of 1941, the British managed not only to drive the Italians out of their colonies, but also to oust the Italians from Ethiopia. Only in North Africa, where Germany assisted Italy, the British troops retreated, the northwestern part of Egypt was occupied by the enemy.

2. The situation during World War II changed radically after the German attack on the USSR on June 22, 1941. From that time on, the main events of the war took place on the Soviet-German front. Invasion German armies the British Isles were no longer threatened by Great Britain. Air raids have also been drastically reduced.

Great Britain switched to the path of cooperation with the Soviet Union. Already on June 22, 1941, British Prime Minister W. Churchill made a statement about his readiness to provide "Russia and the Russian people with all the help that we are capable of." In other words, the British government agreed to an alliance with the USSR, which was formalized in Moscow on July 12, 1941. This was the beginning of the creation anti-Hitler coalition.

Almost immediately, the Soviet Union began to insist on opening a second front in Western Europe, but this problem was solved only in 1944. Until that time, North Africa had been the main theater of operations for the British troops. Until the autumn of 1942, events here took place with varying degrees of success. After the American-British landing was landed in Morocco and Algeria on November 8, 1942, the situation changed in favor of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, which led to the surrender of the enemy in Africa on May 13, 1943. In July 1943, the American-British troops landed on the island of Sicily and launched an offensive in Italy, which led to Italy's withdrawal from the war on the side of Germany. And on June 6, 1944, a second front was finally opened in Europe by landing allied forces in Normandy (France).

British troops also took part in the war against Japan. After the Japanese attack on the American base of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, in a short time it captured many territories, among which were British possessions: Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaya, Burma. Approaching the borders of India, Japan created a threat to this "pearl of the British crown." Therefore, the British command concentrated a large group of troops in the northeastern part of India. For more than two years it was inactive, and only in the summer of 1944, when Japan's position was shaken due to the successes of the anti-Hitler coalition, British troops invaded Burma and by the spring of 1945 cleared it of Japanese troops.

In Europe, the offensive of the allies from the west and from the east in 1944-1945. led to the defeat of Nazi Germany, and on September 2, 1945, the Second World War ended with the surrender of Japan.

So the UK has Active participation in the creation of the anti-Hitler coalition, in hostilities and emerged from the war as one of the winners, and Prime Minister W. Churchill, who led the country during the war years, was recognized as a national hero.

By the beginning of the XX century. England lost its first place in terms of industrial production, but remained the strongest maritime, colonial power and financial center of the world. In political life, the restriction of monarchical power and the strengthening of the role of parliament continued.

Economic development

In the 50-70s. Britain's economic position in the world was stronger than ever. In subsequent decades, the growth of industrial production continued, but much more slowly. In terms of the pace of development, British industry lagged behind American and German. The reason for this lag was that the factory equipment installed in the middle of the 19th century was outdated. Its renewal required large capitals, but it was more profitable for banks to invest in other countries than in the national economy. As a result, England ceased to be the "factory of the world" and at the beginning of the 20th century. in terms of industrial production was in third place - after the United States and Germany.

As in others European countries, by the beginning of the 20th century. a number of large monopolies arose in England: the Vickers and Armstrong trust in military production, tobacco and salt trusts, etc. There were about 60 of them in total.

Agriculture at the end of the 19th century experienced a crisis caused by the import of cheap American grain and falling prices for local agricultural products. The landowners had to reduce the area under crops, and many farmers went bankrupt.

Despite the loss of industrial superiority and the agricultural crisis, England remained one of the richest countries peace. She owned enormous capital, had the most large fleet, dominated sea ​​routes remained the largest colonial power.

Political system

At this time it happened further development parliamentary systems. The role of the Cabinet of Ministers and its head increased, and the rights of the monarch and the House of Lords were even more limited. Since 1911, the decisive word in passing laws belonged to the House of Commons. The lords could only delay the approval of the bills, but were not able to fail them altogether.

In the middle of the XIX century. In England, a two-party system was finally formed. The country was alternately ruled by two large bourgeois parties, which changed their names and strengthened the organs of leadership. The Tories became known as the Conservatives, while the Whigs adopted the name of the Liberal Party. Despite differences in political orientation, both parties vigorously defended and strengthened the existing order.

For a long time, the leader of the conservative party was one of its founders, the flexible and intelligent politician B. Disraeli (1804-1881). Coming from a bourgeois-intellectual family, he nevertheless showed respect for the aristocracy and traditions. However, Disraeli was not a defender of all traditions and an opponent of all reforms. As head of the cabinet, he passed several laws in favor of trade unions and workers.

A prominent figure in the liberal party, who headed four cabinets, was W. Gladstone (1809-1898). Your political talent and oratory he put them at the service of the party, justifying even the most unseemly actions of the government, especially in the colonies.

Domestic politics of liberals and conservatives

The ruling circles felt strong pressure from the working class and the petty bourgeoisie, who sought to improve economic situation and political empowerment. In order to prevent major upheavals and maintain power, liberals and conservatives were forced to carry out a series of reforms.

As a result of their implementation, the number of voters greatly increased, although women and poor men did not receive the right to vote (until 1918). The right of workers to strike was reaffirmed. From 1911 workers were paid sickness, disability and unemployment benefits.

A feature of the political development of England was the expansion of democracy through peaceful reforms, and not as a result of revolutions, as in France and the United States.

But even in bourgeois-democratic England, far from all problems were solved. The national liberation struggle of the Irish did not stop. The liberals were ready to give autonomy to the Irish Catholics, but they ran into such fierce resistance from conservatives and Protestant circles that they were forced to abandon this intention. Only in 1921 Ireland (with the exception of Ulster) received autonomy.

Foreign and colonial policy

Leaders, both conservatives and liberals, sought to expand the British Empire (this is how Great Britain was called together with the colonies since the 70s of the 19th century).

One of the most staunch supporters of the expansion of the empire (they called themselves imperialists) Cecil Rode stated: "What a pity that we can not reach the stars ... I would annex (i.e., capture) the planets if I could."

In North Africa, England occupied Egypt and captured the Sudan. V South Africa the main goal of the British was to capture the republics of Transvaal and Orange, founded by the descendants of Dutch settlers - the Boers. As a result of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), the 250,000-strong British army won, and the Boer republics became British colonies. In Asia, England occupied Upper Burma, the Malay Peninsula, and strengthened its position in China. The wars of the British were accompanied by the ruthless extermination of the local inhabitants, who offered stubborn resistance to the colonialists.

On the eve of the First World War, the British Empire occupied an area of ​​35 million square meters. km with a population of over 400 million people, which accounted for more than a fifth of the earth's land area and a fourth of the world's population. (Think about these numbers and draw your own conclusions.)

The exploitation of the colonies gave England huge profits, which made it possible to raise the wages of workers and thereby alleviate political tensions. S. Rode directly said: “If you do not want civil war you must become imperialists."

Colonial conquests led to a clash between England and other countries, also striving to seize more foreign lands. Germany became the most serious enemy of the British. This forced the British government to conclude alliance treaties with France and Russia.

Unions. Formation of the Labor Party

The economic opportunities of entrepreneurs and the state made it possible to increase the material well-being of a significant part of the population of England. Wages for the period from 1840 to 1900 increased by 50%, housing conditions and nutrition of the population improved. But wealth was distributed extremely unevenly. Poverty has persisted, although on a smaller scale than before, unemployment has not disappeared. Half of the London workers did not even have money for a decent funeral. Hundreds of thousands of Englishmen in search a better life sailed across the ocean.

All this created the ground for the labor movement, the growth in the number and influence of trade unions. In 1868, the most massive trade union organization was founded - the British Congress of Trade Unions (TUC), which exists to this day. It included highly paid skilled workers. The BKT peacefully sought from entrepreneurs to increase wages and reduce working hours, and from Parliament to pass laws in favor of workers.

In 1900, on the initiative of the BKT, the first (after the Chartist) mass political organization of workers, the Labor (i.e., workers) party, was founded. It included not only workers, but also representatives of the petty bourgeoisie and intelligentsia, who played a leading role in the party. The Labor Party is still an influential political force today. Then she declared herself the defender of the interests of the workers and directed her main efforts to winning seats in parliament and carrying out peaceful reforms. At the beginning of the XX century. its population reached 1 million people.

THIS IS INTERESTING TO KNOW

In 1880 Irish tenants for the first time used boycott (disobedience, termination of work) as a way to fight for the improvement of their position against the English manager Boycott. Since then, the word has become widespread.

The English General Raglan died of cholera in the Crimea during the war of 1853-1856. The style of the coat is named after him, in which the sleeves are one with the shoulder. The general wore just such a coat, as it did not hurt his wound.

References:
V. S. Koshelev, I. V. Orzhehovsky, V. I. Sinitsa / The World History New time XIX - early. XX century., 1998.

Great Britain during the Second World War was not occupied by Germany, but this did not save the country from destruction, loss of population and resources. The aircraft and fleet of the Third Reich regularly attacked the cities of the British Isles, sank ships and submarines, land military equipment. The British also died on the fronts of World War II, as the country's government sent its soldiers to the Middle and Far East, Japan, Asia, the Balkan and Apennine peninsulas, the Atlantic, Scandinavia, India, North Africa. The British took part in the invasion of Germany in the last months of the war, the capture and occupation of Berlin. Therefore, the consequences, results and results of the Second World War were difficult for Great Britain in economic, social and political terms. The government of the country declared war on Hitler and Germany already on September 3, 1939, immediately after the capture of Poland, and until September 2, Britain was at war with the Third Reich. Only after the surrender of Japan, the war for the British state and its population was over.

Economic and political state in the late 1930s.

Before entering the war, Great Britain plunged into a protracted crisis that paralyzed the economy, foreign markets, trade, and the work of enterprises. As a result, workers constantly took to the streets with demonstrations, refused to go to work, enterprises stopped, British products did not enter the markets. Because of this, capitalists lost huge sums and positions in the world economy every day.

At the head of the government was Neville Chamberlain, who sought to create strong country capable of competing with Germany, as well as cooperating with it. Such a foreign policy course was supported by monopolists who had their own enterprises in many English colonies. Plans to get closer to Germany are evidenced by the fact that already at the beginning of 1930, representatives of the political forces of England and large industrialists regularly gathered in the house of the Astor family (British millionaires) to develop a plan for cooperation with Hitler. The secret society was called the Cleveland circle, the existence of which only a select few knew. The citizens of the country did not support the plans of the government, so rapprochement with Germany was to become a fait accompli for them.

In the 1930s England, like its ally France, tried to adhere to the policy of "appeasement", in fact turning a blind eye to Hitler's actions in Central Europe. By signing the Munich Agreement in 1938, N. Chamberlain, like E. Daladier, hoped that Germany would continue to seize Eastern Europe.

After that, declarations of non-aggression were signed and commitments were made that England would support Germany in the event of a war.

Chamberlain, under pressure from British society, was forced to start anti-German negotiations with the Soviet Union and France. Representatives of the political circles of England, France and the USA gathered separately. Such actions did not end with anything specific, which is why Hitler began the invasion of Poland.

Britain at War: Initial Period

Having declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, Neville Chamberlain tried to keep the country from direct participation in hostilities. Until May 1940, a "strange war" was waged, which ended with the capture of Belgium, Holland and France. After that, the Chamberlain government began to prepare for war. To prevent Hitler from using the French fleet to attack Britain, the British attacked first. The target was the harbor of Mers-el-Kebir, located in Algiers. Having destroyed a huge number of ships, England captured many ships that were in British ports. In addition, there was a complete block of the French fleet in the port of Alexandria (Egypt).

At this time, Hitler began to concentrate troops on the banks of the English Channel, preparing for the invasion of the British Isles. The first blow was delivered not from the sea, but from the air. In August 1940, German aviation launched a series of attacks on military factories, enterprises, and airfields in Great Britain. suffered and big cities. The raids were carried out mainly at night, which led to the death of a significant number of civilians. Streets, residential buildings, cathedrals, churches, stadiums, factories became the targets of the bombing.

British aircraft, backed by Canada and the United States, retaliated. As a result, in September 1940, both Germany and Britain were exhausted by constant raids, many people died, equipment was damaged, which made the planned German invasion of the British Isles impossible. Carefully thought out operation Sea lion”was postponed by Hitler because there were not enough planes to break the resistance of Britain, which fought the Third Reich alone. The United States did not provide military assistance, but only gave warships from which British planes took off.

British army forces

The basis of the power of Great Britain was the fleet, which was one of the strongest in Europe. In 1939, the number of servicemen of different ranks in the army was about 900 thousand people, and another 350-360 thousand soldiers were stationed in the colonies. The main forces of the state were concentrated on the British Isles - regular divisions and brigades - territorial, infantry, cavalry, tank. In reserve were seven regular divisions and many separate brigades formed on the basis of the British and Indians.

Before the war, the number of units of aviation equipment, which was transferred to the balance of the army, increased sharply. Aviation was reinforced with bombers, and the fleet was reinforced with battleships and aircraft carriers.

Events 1941-1944

Hitler's attention was diverted from Britain in the summer of 1941, in connection with the attack on the Soviet Union. The position of Germany became much more complicated after the entry of the United States into the Second world war. Hitler could not conduct military operations on two fronts, therefore he threw all his efforts into the fight against the USSR and the resistance movements that arose in the occupied territories. While Germany was seizing the USSR and establishing its own rules there, Britain and the United States agreed to cooperate, as a result of which secret German documents and radio communications were intercepted, and supplies of food and raw materials to the British Isles were established.

British troops in 1941 lost several battles on the Asian front, only the British colonies in India survived. The British also suffered losses in North Africa, but the strengthening of the army by the Americans made it possible in 1942 to turn the tide in favor of the Allies. Hitler in 1943 withdrew troops from Africa. Further, the Italian islands were gradually conquered, including Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, which forced Mussolini to capitulate.

In November 1943, it opened with the work of the first anti-Hitler coalition, which was held in Tehran. It was attended by Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, who agreed on the liberation of France and the opening of a second front. In June 1944, the allied troops began to gradually liberate Belgium and France, ousting the Germans from the occupied territories. The Third Reich was losing battle after battle. The situation was aggravated by the offensive Soviet troops on the fronts of the war.

Surrender of Germany

In 1945, Anglo-American troops began to advance in the direction of Germany. German cities and enterprises turned into ruins, as bombers constantly attacked various objects, many of which were unique monuments of history, culture and architecture. Civilians also became numerous victims of the strikes.

At the end of winter - beginning of March 1945, British troops, as part of the Allied forces, contributed to the pushing of German troops across the Rhine. The offensive took place in all directions:

• In April, the German army in Italy capitulated;
• In early May, hostilities intensified on the northern flank of the Allied front, which contributed to the liberation of Denmark, Mecklenburg, Schleswig-Holstein;
• On May 7, Germany's surrender was signed in Reims, which was signed by General A. Jodl.

The Soviet side opposed such actions, since the document was drawn up unilaterally at the American headquarters of D. Eisenhower. Therefore, the next day, all the allies - the Soviet Union, Britain, the USA and France - were gathered on the outskirts of Berlin, and the act of surrender was signed again. At the end of May 1945, the British, under pressure from the United States and the USSR, arrested the German generals who commanded in the British zone of occupation.

In 1945, the British Army took an active part in the hostilities in South-East Asia, freeing Burma from Japanese troops. The British did not ignore the Far East, where the offensive was carried out by the Pacific Fleet, formed by Britain in the autumn of 1944.

Thus, the British army took an active part in all the important operations of the final period of World War II, supporting the actions of the allies and individual states.

Outcomes and consequences of the war for Britain

Historians evaluate the results of the Second World War for England ambiguously. Some believe that the country lost, while others - came out the winner. The main outcomes of the conflict for the British Isles include:

• Loss of superpower status;
• She ended up in the camp of the winners, although at the beginning of the war she was on the verge of being occupied by the Third Reich;
• It retained its independence, avoiding occupation, like many European states. The economy was in ruins, the country was in ruins, but the internal situation was strikingly different from Poland, France, Denmark, Holland;
• Almost all trading markets were lost;
• The colonies of the former British Empire embarked on the path to independence, but most of them continued to maintain economic, commercial and cultural relations with London. This became the core of the formation of the future Commonwealth of Nations;
• Production fell several times, which was returned to the pre-war level only in the late 1940s. The same was true for the economic situation. The crisis phenomena were overcome gradually, only in 1953 the card system was finally abolished in Britain;
• The area under crops and agricultural land has been halved, so in the British Isles almost one and a half million hectares of land have not been cultivated for several years;
• The deficit of the payment part of the British state budget has increased several times.

England in the Second World War lost, according to various estimates, from 245 thousand to 300 thousand killed, and about 280 thousand maimed and wounded. The size of the merchant fleet was reduced by one third, because of which Britain lost 30% of foreign investment. At the same time, the military industry was actively developing in the country, which was associated with the need to ensure the mass production of tanks, aircraft, weapons and weapons for the needs of the army, as well as with the significant impact of technological progress.

Given the current situation, Britain was forced to continue to use the Lend-Lease program. Equipment, food, and weapons were imported from the United States into the country. For this, the States received full control trading markets in the region of Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

This internal and external position of Britain caused concern among the population and the government. Therefore, political circles took a course on strict regulation of the economy, which included the creation of a mixed economic system. It was built on two components - private property and state entrepreneurship.

Nationalization of enterprises, banks, important industries - gas, metallurgical, coal mining, aviation, etc. - allowed already in 1948 to reach pre-war indicators in production. The old industries were never able to take the key positions they had before the war. Instead, new directions and sectors began to appear in the economy, industry and production. This made it possible to start solving the food problem, attract investment to Britain, and create jobs.

The modernization program was led by the 1st Lord of the Admiralty W. Churchill. Germany responded by making ironclads. The British feared a violation of the parity of the Navy.

In 1912, the British Navy from all over the world is concentrated in the North Sea. In 1914, an attempt to regulate Anglo-German relations failed.

The Irish problem in the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries. There were 2 main problems in Ireland:

Economic. Landlords constantly raised the price for renting land, the peasants went bankrupt. The Liberal and Conservative governments in England took a number of measures to reduce the rent for land (part of it was paid by the state). The events were held during the years of the Great Depression, when the landlords themselves tried to sell the land. Thanks to these measures, the economic problem was partially resolved, many Irish received land and became farmers.

The problem of political autonomy from Britain. The struggle for the so-called "gom wheel". For the first time, a bill on it was submitted to a meeting of parliament in 1886. The initiator was the Liberal Party and Prime Minister W. Gladstone. According to the project:

The creation of a 2-chamber parliament in Dublin was envisaged;

The transfer of part of the administrative functions into the hands of the Irish themselves. military, finance, foreign policy should be concentrated in London.

The project failed because he was not supported by conservatives. At the second hearing in 1892, the project was also not adopted.

Irish organizations:

Irish league home helm. Leader - Parnel. It was believed that Ireland needed to concentrate all efforts in order to legally pass a bill of self-government for Ireland. The League waged a legal struggle, actively promoting their ideas among Irish voters.

Irish Republican Brotherhood. It was believed that the only way to achieve the independence of Ireland was by armed means. Leader - Devit. It was actively financed from the United States (military instructors from America taught street fighting, organizing terrorist attacks, and provided weapons).

Shinfeners ("shin-fein" - we ourselves). It was believed that Ireland should be independent, but should maintain a close relationship with Britain. The tactic of the struggle is non-violent resistance: not paying taxes, recalling their representatives from the British Parliament, and so on. force England to give Ireland independence.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, another attempt is made to pass a bill of self-government. The inhabitants of Ulster were worried, believing that if Ireland received self-government, then their social status would be lowered.

In 1912, for the 3rd time, the Liberal Party submits a bill on the self-government of Ireland for a hearing in Parliament (the conditions are the same). There was an open conflict between the Ulsters and the Irish. The Ulsters, in case of recognition of the self-government of Ireland, threatened to declare a union with Britain. They formed their own armed forces. Germany actively helped the Ulstermen (aviation, artillery). Already in 1912, the inhabitants of Ulster had 100,000 well-armed troops. Residents of Ireland from among the volunteers created their own armed forces. Ireland was on the brink of civil war.

Britain sends troops to Ireland, but the officers refuse to suppress the inhabitants of Ulster. August 1, 1914. The Irish Governance Act was passed, but delayed until after the outbreak of the First World War.

Labor movement. In late Victorian England, more than 10 million workers and members of their families made up the bulk of the country's population. The material situation of the British workers, in comparison with the standard of living of the workers of other countries, has always been higher. Nevertheless, real wages that did not keep up with the rise in the cost of living, long working hours of 10 or more hours, exhausting intensification of labor - all this was a manifestation of a high degree of exploitation of hired workers. The life of the workers was marked by the seal of poverty, disorder, unsanitary conditions.

However, the working class was not homogeneous. The elite, highly skilled craftsmen (in the terminology of the era - “the best and enlightened workers”, “higher class”, “working aristocracy”) separated from its broad masses.

Mechanics, machine builders, steelworkers and other workers in those industries where professionally complex, highly skilled labor was used, were in a privileged position: shortened to 9 hours, and sometimes less an average of 20 shillings), and 28 and even 40-50 shillings. However, the "Great Depression" significantly worsened the situation of all categories of workers. The main scourge of unemployment - then did not spare either highly paid or other workers.

The most common forms of organization of workers in England were all kinds of economic societies - mutual funds, insurance, loan partnerships, cooperatives. The most influential - organizationally and ideologically - remained the trade unions, strictly centralized narrow professional powerful unions, as a rule, covering workers on a national scale. True-believing trade unionists professed apathy, a rejection of all forms of struggle, even strikes, recognized only compromises and arbitration in the relationship between labor and capital. The trade unions were united by the British Congress of Trade Unions (TUC) established in 1868, which has been meeting every year since then at its conferences.

70-90s of the XIX century. were marked by an important phenomenon with the emergence of the "new unionism". The hard times of the "Great Depression" led low-paid workers to the need to create their own professional organizations. Then the unions of agricultural workers, stokers, workers of gas production, the match industry, dockers, the Federation of Miners and others were formed. Women were admitted to the new trade unions. They also began to form independent trade unions.

"New Unionism" significantly expanded the scope of the trade union movement: before it began, the number of members of trade unions was about 900 thousand, at the end of the century it reached almost 2 million workers. "New Unionism" opened the mass stage of the trade union movement. The new trade unions were characterized by openness, accessibility, and democracy.

The mass movement of the unemployed, their rallies, demonstrations, unorganized speeches demanding bread and work often ended in clashes with the police. They were especially intense in 1886-1887. and in 1892-1893. On February 8, 1886, the protest of the desperate unemployed in London was brutally suppressed ("Black Monday"). November 13, 1887 went down in the history of the labor movement in England as "Bloody Sunday": on this day, the police violently dispersed the rally, there were wounded. In the 1990s, the unemployed came out under openly political and even revolutionary slogans: “Three cheers for the social revolution!”, “Socialism is a threat to the rich and hope to the poor!”

Workers' strikes then became a constant factor in English life. Numerous stubborn strikes, especially organized by new trade unions, marked the year 1889: Great strike of dock workers in London. The requirements of the "great dockers' strike" were modest: pay - not less than indicated here, hiring - not less than 4 hours, the abandonment of the contract system. The number of its participants reached about 100 thousand people. The main result - the strike gave impetus to the movement of new unionism.

The strike movement expanded in breadth, drawing in new detachments of workers. In the first half of the 1970s, the so-called "rebellion of the fields" took place - a mass action of the rural proletariat. Women's participation in the strike movement has become the norm.

In 1875, the workers achieved a partial victory: the Factories Act came into force, establishing a working week of 56.5 hours for all workers (instead of 54 hours, as the workers demanded). In 1894, a 48-hour work week was introduced for dock workers and workers in military factories. In 1872

As a result of the mass activity of workers, the laws "On the regulation of coal mines", "On the regulation of mines" were adopted, which for the first time in the history of the country's mining industry limited the exploitation of miners to a certain extent. Laws 1875, 1880, 1893 established the responsibility of the entrepreneur for industrial injuries. In 1887, the issuance of wages in goods was legally prohibited.

The desire of the proletariat to achieve political goals found its expression in the struggle for the election of workers' deputies to the parliament. Starting after the adoption of the electoral reform of 1867, it led to the creation of the League of Labor Representation and the Parliamentary Committee (1869) as the executive body of the BKT. The struggle intensified in the 1870s, and in the elections of 1874 two deputies from the workers were elected. However, the workers' parliamentarians did not become policymakers in the interests of their "own workers' party", but in fact took the position of the left wing of the liberal faction.

In the elections of 1892, three workers got into parliament. For the first time they declared themselves independent deputies, but only one of them, J. Keir Hardy, remained true to the interests of his class, without turning into a "labor liberal".

The struggle of the English in the workers v early XX. v. intensified and acquired a more pronounced political character. At the same time, economic reasons lay at the basis of the new upsurge of the labor movement: the frequent crisis state of the country's economy and invariably accompanied it; unemployment, high exploitation v conditions for the establishment of monopoly capitalism.

A wave of workers' protest v the form of strikes has already been designated v first years of the century. In 1906-1914. the strike struggle of the "great commotion", as contemporaries defined it, was more powerful in England than in any of the Western countries. It reached its highest point in 1910-1913. (impressive strike dockers in 1911, general strike of miners in 1912, etc.). workers led the struggle also for universal suffrage: the property qualification and the residency qualification deprived the right to elect v parliament of almost 4 million men, women remained excluded from voting. A significant role in the workers' movement was played by trade unions, which were more actively involved in political activities than before. On the eve of the world war v their ranks numbered more than 4 million members. The reaction of the employers to the vigorous activity of the trade unions was not long in coming. The offensive against the trade unions was most eloquently manifested by the Axis in organizing lawsuits against them.

"The Case of the Tuff Valley" (1900-1906) arose in connection with the strike of railway workers in South Wales (workers demanded the reinstatement of dismissed comrades, to reduce the duration of shifts and increase wages). The owners of the railway company brought legal action against the workers demanding compensation for the losses caused to them during the strike, but in fact with the aim of restricting the rights of workers to strike and organize trade unions. The highest court - the House of Lords - upheld the claim of entrepreneurs. The decision of the Lords set a precedent that extended to all trade unions. The bourgeois press launched a campaign against the "aggressiveness" of the trade unions as a "national mafia". The event stirred the whole working-class England against the legal oppression of the trade unions. It took more than six years of struggle to return to the trade unions their rights to full-blooded activities within the law and to hold strikes.

This was followed by a lawsuit in the "Osborne Case". William Osborne, a member of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Employees, sued his trade union to stop the union from collecting contributions to the fund of a political party (meaning the Labor Party). The House of Lords in 1909 decided against the trade union in favor of Osborne. This decision severely restricted the rights of trade unions. It forbade trade unions to deduct cash in favor of the party and engage in political activities. The legal proceedings and the workers' counter-struggle lasted for five years. The Trade Unions Act of 1913 confirmed, albeit with great reservations, the right of trade union organizations to engage in political activity.

An event of great importance in the history of the British labor movement was formation of the Labor Party. In 1900, at a conference in London, the workers' and socialist organizations founded the Workers' Representation Committee (CWP) in order to find "means to get a larger number of workers' deputies into the next parliament." Its founders and members were most of the trade unions, the Fabian Society, the Independent Labor Party, the Social Democratic Federation.

In 1906 the Committee was transformed into the Labor Party. The party considered itself socialist and set itself the task of "achieving the common goal of liberating the vast mass of the people of this country from existing conditions." The fact of its creation reflected the desire of the workers to pursue an independent, independent policy. A feature of the organizational structure of the party was that it took shape on the basis of collective membership. Participation in its composition of trade unions provided a mass base for the party. By 1910 it had almost 1.5 million members. The annual national conference, which elected the executive committee, was recognized as the highest body of the party. His main activity was the leadership of election campaigns and local organizations of the party. The party rose to prominence after largely succeeding in overturning the Tuff Valley case.

socialist movement. Attention to socialism in England intensified at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, when the Great Depression hit the working people hard, and the reform potential of Gladstone and Disraeli was exhausted. V 1884 arose Social Democratic Federation, who announced that she shared the ideas of Marx. It united intellectuals close to Marxism and workers, anarchists. It was headed by lawyer and journalist Henry Hydman. The SDF was waiting for a revolution and believed that society was already ready for it. They underestimated organizational work, trade unions and rejected reforms. An attempt to get into the Parliament of England failed, because. Hydman asked for campaign money from the Conservatives. This became a stigma on the SDF.

Some members of the SDF (workers Tom Mann, Harry Quelch) did not agree with Hyndman's position and already in December 1884 seceded from the SDF, forming the Socialist League. She adhered to internationalism, condemned the colonial expansion of England. The League rejected parliamentary activity, engaging in the propaganda of "pure and honest socialism."

In 1884, the Fabian Society arose. Its founders were young intellectuals who came from a petty-bourgeois milieu. They saw the achievement of the goal through evolution. Its prominent figures were B. Shaw and the spouses of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, prominent historians of the English labor movement. The Fabians proceeded from the recognition that in England the transition to socialism was gradually taking place. The main role was assigned to the state, considered as a supra-class body. In their activities, they adhered to the tactics of "impregnation". To this end, the Fabians were part of political clubs, societies, primarily liberal and radical.

In general, the SDF, the Socialist League and the Fabian Society were far from the labor movement.