The Blitz

On the 70th anniversary of The Blitz, it is worth taking a look at the marvellous American propaganda film "London Can Take It" designed to garner support for Britain in the USA.

The French Revolution

One of the most momentous events in modern history, the French Revolution was caused by the interaction of long-term, structural problems associated with the Ancien Regime, new Enlightment ideas that challenged the old order and a short term financial and economic crisis that were exacerbated by an hesitant and politically inept king (Louis XVI.

For a good introduction to the topic try looking at the following videos from a History Channel documentary on the subject on You Tube. Parts 2, 3 and 4 are the ones to watch for events up to the storming of the Bastille.

And for an outline of events try looking at the Spark Notes site on the Revolution.

The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was one of the most important conflicts of the Cold War era. Take a look at the following sites for an overview of the war and some thoughts on its significance.

Overview and index of key figures and events from Spartacus

The History Learning Site

BBC Web pages on the war

The Vietnam War in pictures

The National Archives
Was Vietnam a turning point in the Cold War?

Battle of Britain 70th anniversary

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain when the German Luftwaffe began a campaign to gain air superiority over Britain in order to mount an invasion of the British Isles. The Battle, which began in the summer of 1940, is remembered for the clashes between the British Spitfires and Hurricanes and the German fighters and bombers over southern England and the channel. Here are some resources which will help you find out more about the conflict and enable you to distinguish the myths from the realities.

A handy introduction is provided by Dr Chris Bellamy for the BBC and in the lengthy American wartime propaganda film shown below:



You can listen to Churchill's pre Battle of Britain speech here:




And you can hear his famous "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" speech here.

Follow these links for further information on the Battle of Britain:

The BBC Archive (an excellent resource)
The Cost
Why Germany Lost
The Few


And finally here is a nice video of BBC Radio presenter Evan Davis experiencing what it is like to fly in a Spitfire.

The Normans

To mark the BBC series on the legacy of the Normans, they have set up a new web page on the Norman Conquest. Click on the link to find some great material that will be really useful for Year 7 students and anyone else interested in the Medieval period.

The English Civil War

Take a look at this great Prezi produced by one of our Year 8 students. It gives a very nice summary of the events of the English Civil War.

History: The English Civil War on Prezi

The Cuban Missile Crisis

The world was brought to the brink of nuclear war as the two superpowers stared each other out during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Take a look at some of these resources to get a more in-depth view of this Cold War showdown.

John Clare provides a good introduction to the Crisis on his site, while the BBC looks at events in a bit more depth.
Also worth trying out is this BBC Podcast on the Crisis, while if you want to do some real historical research, take a look at the National Security Archive documents.

You can see Kennedy's address to the nation after the discovery of the missiles below:



Here is an introduction to the Crisis from an American documentary about the Crisis:



For a Soviet perspective on the Crisis from Khrushchev's son Sergei, follow this link on You Tube.

Revision
Finally, you might want to try out this date-matching exercise from School History for a bit of revision or the Bitesize section on Cuba from the BBC. The National Archive has its usual high quality take on events.

Weapons of the First World War

There were a number of new weapons that came into use in the First World War including the first tanks.

Take a look at this video to get an idea of what these early tanks were really like.



And here is one on the use of U-boats in the First World War:


The First World War website has an excellent section on weaponry and this article on Zeppelins, while History on the Net is also worth checking out.

The Early Cold War

Here are a range of resources which might help you understand the early Cold War period.

A good introduction is School History’s page on the Origins of the Cold War.


You can gain a similar overview from the History Learning site and its comprehensive index page that covers almost every event in the Cold War.

The BBC has a good page examining the role of Truman in the early Cold War, while its Bitesize section is perfect for revision. Give the podcast on this page a listen to as well.

It is also worth taking the time to listen to Winston Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech made in Fulton, Missouri in the United States in March 1946:

More on the Causes of World War Two

One final post on the Causes of World War Two.
Take a look at this tongue-in-cheek Summary of the Causes of the Second World War from the BBC Bitesize revision site.

You could then try out the revision activities on the same site to check your knowledge and understanding of the topic.