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The Battle of Britain
Background After Dunkirk, 1940
Germany turned her attention to Britain who was the only country in Europe left resisting Germany
Both countries had suffered large losses, particularly Britain Britain given a chance to prepare
‘Phoney War’ Worked to improve air force (had seen aerial bombings of
Guernica) Britain’s loss seemed inevitable
GB: 640 fighters Germany: 2600 bombers and fighters
Aims and Objectives
Needed to eradicate the opposition so that she could concentrate on Russia
Germany didn’t want to fight on two fronts
Wanted to gain air superiority Operation Sea Lion
Beginning of the War
July 1940 (to last autumn and summer) Targeting convoy, shipping, military and industrial
centres Southampton, Newcastle, Manchester, Cardiff,
Swansea, Aberdeen, Belfast, etc. Most of the Southern Coast was bombed
Picture of Southampton after bombing
The Situation Changed
24th August 1940 ‘Accidental’ bombing of London
Bombers were only supposed to bomb the docks 1000 civilians killed
Seemed like a personal attack Change in attitude. Were now seeking vengeance. “We will launch an absolutely devastating exterminating
attack by very heavy bombers upon the Nazi homeland” –Winston Churchill
Bombing of Berlin Sent fighter pilots to Berlin one day after London attack Principle targets were armament centres and Tempelhof Airport Ferocious German anti-aircraft fire meant that the RAF had to fly
to high which ensured that bombs missed their targets Only slight damage to the city, no deaths “The concentration of anti-aircraft fire was the greatest I’ve ever
witnessed. It provided a magnificent, a terrible sight. And it was strangely ineffective. Not a plane was brought down.”- William Shirer (American journalist)
Further raids on Berlin caused light damage
Hitler’s Reaction
Hitler was incensed “When the British air force drops two or three or four
thousand kilograms of bombs, then we will in one night drop 150, 230, 300 or 400 thousand kilograms- we will raze their cities to the ground.”- Adolf Hitler
Bombing of Coastal Convoys
Germans expected a surrender ‘Kanalkampf’ of the Battle of the Channel Started to target ships bringing supplies to Britain
Britain just re-routed the ships
Little damage was done
‘Eagle Attack’
Change in tactics Began to target radar stations 15th August, 1940
Luftwaffe wanted to completely destroy RAF ‘Black Thursday’ (where the attempted to achieve this
aim)
Significant German losses Lost 76 aircraft to the RAF’s 35
Goering changes tactics
RAF suffering unsustainable losses 112 RAF pilots and 256 planes lost Night raids made it impossible to recover from
losses
THEN Goering changes tactics
Bombings on London Hitler's orders after Berlin bombings Wanted to save face after ‘Black Thursday’
The Luftwaffe bomb London
Hitler had vowed to destroy London and the spirit of the British people
Britain was on High Alert September 7th, 900 German aircraft crossed the channel
unexpectedly Dog Fights over Thames Estuary Bombing continued for 77 days “The Blitz”
15th September Luftwaffe launched two large raids on London Fighter Command had time to prepare Launched double attack Battle began German planes were not as good as RAF planes and could only
stay over England for 10-20 minutes before having to return home
Attempted to intercept Luftwaffe over the Channel (some were destroyed, others scattered)
Luftwaffe defeated Hitler had turned his attention to the Soviet Union Operation Sea Lion was postponed and then abandoned Battle of Britain was over
Results
The Battle of Britain was the longest and largest unrelenting bombing campaign attempted by any government.
It was a failure for both the Germans and the British, but it raised the confidence of the Allied forces
The Luftwaffe’s numbers were not powerful enough to beat the British.British forces were being replaced faster than the Germans. The RAF kept its strength as the Luftwaffe declined.
Significance It was the first time the Nazis were stopped. The Luftwaffe never recovered from the loss of
experienced pilots and aircraft.Even though the British won, the civilian losses were high.
23,002 died and 32,138 were wounded. 1,547 allied aircraft were lost during the battle. Winston Churchill states “Never in the field of
human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
September 15 is celebrated in England as the “Battle of Britain Day.”