The Battle of Britain
Britain’s desperate defence against a much larger, better-prepared military machine was a costly victory.
1940
King George VI 1936-1952
Britain’s desperate defence against a much larger, better-prepared military machine was a costly victory.
1940
King George VI 1936-1952
The Battle of Britain took place in the summer of 1940, when the German Luftwaffe launched a frenzied attack first on the RAF, and then on civilians in London. In targeting London, however, Adolf Hitler allowed the overstretched RAF time to rebuild, a shift in policy that ultimately cost him dearly.
BY the summer of 1940, Nazi Germany had acquired control over most of Western Europe and Scandinavia, and Adolf Hitler confidently attacked RAF bases in southern England in August that year.
The stinging rebuff he received surprised him, so he ordered a sustained aerial assault on the civilians of London. His plan was to undermine public morale, and pave the way for ‘Operation Sea Lion’, the invasion of Britain.
The attacks began on the 7th of September, and reached a crisis on Sunday 15th, when 630 British fighter planes battled almost twice as many German aircraft.
After that, the relentless bombing began to ease, and although the air raids on London, dubbed ‘the Blitz’, continued until May the following year, Hitler now knew that Britain’s small but plucky RAF was a match for his Luftwaffe. As Prime Minister Winston Churchill had said, back on 20th August, ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few’.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
How did German policy in the Battle of Britain change on September 7th, 1940?
The bombing campaigns began targeting London’s civilians.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
The Luftwaffe bombed civilian targets in London. Hitler expected to undermine morale. He was wrong.