Cambridge IGCSE World History: Depth Study E, The Second World War 1939-c.1945 (0470)

Depth Study E is the newest 0470 Depth Study: the Second World War in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, 1939 to about 1945. You need to explain how the war in Europe developed to Stalingrad, how the Pacific war developed to Midway, how bombing and occupation affected civilians, and how the Allies won and consolidated victory over Germany and Japan. Cambridge rewards answers that explain turning points and weigh several reasons, not campaign narrative.

Where this fits in 0470

Depth Study E was added for the 2024-2026 syllabus. Like the other four, it is examined in Paper 1 Section B (two questions per Depth Study; answer one, parts (a), (b), (c)) and can support Component 3 Coursework or Paper 4. It begins where Core Content key question 2.3 (Hitler’s foreign policy and the outbreak of war in 1939) ends. Related: Depth Studies revision notes, Depth Studies practice questions.

Syllabus coverage

CAMBRIDGE IGCSE HISTORY (0470), 2024-2026 – DEPTH STUDY E: THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE AND THE ASIA-PACIFIC, 1939-c.1945

• Key question 1: How did the Second World War in Europe develop? German control of Europe in 1940; why Germany could not conquer Britain; why Hitler invaded the USSR in 1941; why Stalingrad was a turning point.
• Key question 2: How did the war in the Asia-Pacific develop? Deteriorating US-Japanese relations; the success of the Pearl Harbor attack; early Japanese successes (case study: Malaya and Singapore); why Midway was a turning point.
• Key question 3: What was the impact of war on civilians? The bombing of Britain (1940-41) and Germany (1943-45); Japanese control (case study: Malaya and Singapore); occupied Europe (case study: Poland, including the Holocaust); resistance in Malaya and France.
• Key question 4: How did the Allies achieve victory? The Italian campaign; Germany’s collapse by April 1945; victory over Japan; the occupations and the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials.

To what extent had Nazi Germany gained control of Europe in 1940?

After conquering Poland in September 1939 and Denmark and Norway in April 1940, Germany attacked the Netherlands, Belgium and France on 10 May 1940. Armoured forces broke through the Ardennes and reached the Channel. British and French troops were evacuated from Dunkirk (late May-early June 1940), saving over 300,000 men but leaving their equipment. France signed an armistice on 22 June: the north and west were occupied, and a collaborating Vichy government under Marshal Pétain ran the south. By mid-1940 Germany dominated western and central Europe, but Britain remained undefeated.

Why was Germany unable to conquer Britain?

Invasion (Operation Sea Lion) required control of the air over the Channel. In the Battle of Britain (July-October 1940) the RAF, helped by radar, its fighter-control system and Hurricane and Spitfire fighters, inflicted unsustainable losses on the Luftwaffe. In September Germany switched to bombing London, which relieved pressure on airfields, and Hitler postponed Sea Lion. The Royal Navy’s strength and the Channel itself were further obstacles.

Why did Hitler invade the Soviet Union in 1941?

Operation Barbarossa began on 22 June 1941. Reasons: Hitler’s long-held aim of Lebensraum in the east; his hatred of communism and his racial view of Slavs; the grain of Ukraine and the oil of the Caucasus; and his belief that the Red Army, weakened by Stalin’s purges, would collapse quickly. Germany advanced hundreds of miles and captured millions of prisoners, but was stopped before Moscow in December 1941.

Why was Stalingrad a turning point?

Germany’s 1942 offensive aimed at the Caucasus oilfields and Stalingrad. Soviet defenders fought street by street, then in November 1942 a counter-offensive encircled the German Sixth Army, which surrendered in early February 1943. Germany lost an entire army, the initiative passed to the Red Army, and German propaganda could no longer hide defeat.

How did US-Japanese relations deteriorate, and how successful was Pearl Harbor?

Japan had seized Manchuria (1931) and invaded China (1937). It joined Germany and Italy in the Tripartite Pact (1940) and moved into French Indochina; in 1941 the USA froze Japanese assets and cut oil exports. Facing a choice between withdrawing from China or seizing the oil of the Dutch East Indies, Japan chose war.

The attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 sank or damaged eight US battleships and many aircraft. It was a short-term success, but the US aircraft carriers were at sea, and the fuel tanks and repair yards were left intact. It brought a united USA into the war; Germany declared war on the USA days later.

Why were the Japanese successful at first? Case study: Malaya and Singapore

Japan landed in northern Malaya on 8 December 1941. Its troops were experienced and moved fast through jungle and along roads, often on bicycles; it had air superiority; and the battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk on 10 December. British commanders had underestimated Japan, and Singapore’s defences had been planned against an attack from the sea. Singapore surrendered on 15 February 1942, and tens of thousands of British, Australian and Indian troops became prisoners – a severe blow to British prestige in Asia.

Why was Midway a turning point?

At Midway (June 1942) US codebreakers had warned commanders of the Japanese plan. American aircraft sank four Japanese aircraft carriers for the loss of one US carrier. Japan lost experienced pilots and carrier strength it could not replace, and the USA, with far greater industrial capacity, took the initiative.

What was the impact of war on civilians?

Case	Key points
The Blitz, 1940-41	Night raids on London and cities such as Coventry; tens of thousands killed; evacuation, shelters, blackout; morale strained but did not collapse
Bombing of Germany, 1943-45	RAF night area bombing and US daylight raids; firestorms in Hamburg (July 1943) and Dresden (February 1945); heavy civilian deaths; disputed effect on morale and output
Japanese control of Malaya and Singapore	Massacres of Chinese civilians (the Sook Ching), the Kempeitai military police, food shortages and forced labour, including on the Burma-Thailand railway
Nazi-occupied Poland	Divided with the USSR in 1939; Polish elites killed; Jews forced into ghettos such as Warsaw; mass shootings after June 1941; death camps including Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka and Sobibor in the Holocaust, in which about six million Jews were murdered

How effective were resistance movements?

In France, resistance ranged from intelligence gathering and escape lines to sabotage by Maquis groups, supported by Britain’s Special Operations Executive and de Gaulle’s Free French; it gave valuable help around D-Day but provoked brutal reprisals. In Malaya, the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army, mainly ethnic Chinese and communist-led, fought a guerrilla war from the jungle with some British support. In both cases resistance alone could not defeat the occupier, but it tied down troops and shaped post-war politics.

How did the Allies achieve victory?

• Italy: the Allies invaded Sicily in July 1943; Mussolini was overthrown and Italy surrendered in September, but German forces fought on, holding defensive lines such as Monte Cassino. Rome fell in June 1944. The campaign knocked Italy out of the war and tied down German divisions.
• Germany’s collapse by April 1945: the D-Day landings in Normandy (6 June 1944) opened a western front; the Red Army’s advance from the east was even larger; Allied bombing hit oil and transport; Germany was short of fuel and men. Hitler killed himself on 30 April 1945, and Germany surrendered on 7-8 May.
• Victory over Japan: after Guadalcanal (1942-43) the USA used island-hopping, bypassing strong points to take bases closer to Japan. Okinawa (April-June 1945) was costly. US bombers fire-bombed Japanese cities. The atomic bombs on Hiroshima (6 August 1945) and Nagasaki (9 August), with the Soviet declaration of war on 8 August, led Japan to surrender, announced on 15 August and signed on 2 September 1945. The decision to use the bomb remains debated: to end the war quickly and avoid an invasion, or also to impress the USSR.
• Consolidation: Germany was divided into four occupation zones; Japan was occupied under General MacArthur and given a new constitution. Leading Nazis were tried at Nuremberg (1945-46) and Japanese leaders, including Tojo, at the Tokyo trials (1946-48).

Worked example: a (c) plan

“Stalingrad was more important than Midway as a turning point in the war.” How far do you agree? [10]

Argue each side with specific consequences (Stalingrad: loss of the Sixth Army, Soviet initiative on the main land front; Midway: loss of four carriers, end of Japanese expansion), then judge – for example, that each was decisive in its own theatre but Stalingrad affected the larger German war machine.

Common mistakes

• Writing Dunkirk as a victory without explaining what was lost.
• Saying Pearl Harbor destroyed the US Pacific fleet.
• Ignoring the Eastern Front when explaining Germany’s collapse.
• Treating the Holocaust only as numbers, without linking it to Nazi control of Poland as the syllabus requires.

Frequently asked questions

Are both theatres equally important? Yes. Each key question draws on Europe, the Asia-Pacific or both, so revise them in balance.

What case studies are named? Malaya and Singapore (Japanese success and control), Poland (Nazi occupation and the Holocaust), and France and Malaya (resistance).

Is the atomic bomb debate examinable? Yes, under “the decision to use the atomic bomb and its consequences”.

Official syllabus

Cambridge IGCSE History (0470) syllabus for examination in 2024, 2025 and 2026 – cambridgeinternational.org (Depth study E, focus points and specified content). Always check the current syllabus before an exam.