battle of britain
The battle received its name from a speech Winston Churchill delivered to the British House of Commons on June 18, 1940, in which he stated
The Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin.
German and British air forces came to blows in the skies over the United Kingdom, in the summer and fall of 1940, locked in the most sizably voluminous sustained bombing campaign to that date. A paramount turning point of World War II, the Battle of Britain ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe was unsuccessful to gain air preponderation over the Royal Air Force regardless of months of single outing Britain’s air bases, military posts and, eventually, its civilian population. Britain’s critical triumph preserved the country from a ground raid on and possible occupation by German forces while manifesting that air power alone could be acclimated to win a major battle.
On June 17, 1940, the vanquished French signed an armistice and quit World War II. Britain now stood alone against the puissance of Germany’s military forces, which had surmounted most of Western Europe in less than two months. But Prime Minister Winston Churchill rallied his obdurate people and outmaneuvered those politicians who wanted to negotiate with Adolf Hitler. But Britain’s prosperity in perpetuating the war would very much depend on the RAF Fighter Command’s ability to derail the Luftwaffe’s efforts to gain air preponderation. This then would be the first all-air battle in history.
In fact, Britain’s situation was more propitious than most of the world apperceived at the time. Britain possessed an efficacious air bulwark system, first-rate fighter pilots, and a great military bellwether in Air Marshal Hugh Dowding. On the other hand, the Germans had major quandaries: they had no navy left after the costly conquest of Norway, their army was extemporaneous for any form of amphibious operations, and the Luftwaffe had suffered cumbersomely hefty losses in the west (the first two factors made a seaborne attack on the British Isles infeasible from the first).
The Germans had poor intelligence and little idea of British vulnerabilities. They spent most of July waiting for the British to surrender, but then attacked in August. Although air strikes created substantial damage to radar sites, on August 13-15 the Luftwaffe soon abandoned that avenue and turned to attack RAF air bases. A battle of attrition ensnared both sides with heavy losses.
For a while advantages seemed to sway in favor of the Germans, but a combination of bad intelligence and British attacks on Berlin led the Luftwaffe to change operational approach. Such approaches were massive attacks on London. The first attack on London was on September 7, was successful; the second was on September 15, which failed not only with heavy losses but along with the collapse of morale among the German bomber crews when British fighters appeared in large numbers and shot down as many Germans as they could. As a result to that Hitler permanently postponed a landing on the British Isles and suspended the Battles of Britain.
In fact, Britain’s situation was more propitious than most of the world apperceived at the time. Britain possessed an efficacious air bulwark system, first-rate fighter pilots, and a great military bellwether in Air Marshal Hugh Dowding. On the other hand, the Germans had major quandaries: they had no navy left after the costly conquest of Norway, their army was extemporaneous for any form of amphibious operations, and the Luftwaffe had suffered cumbersomely hefty losses in the west (the first two factors made a seaborne attack on the British Isles infeasible from the first).
The Germans had poor intelligence and little idea of British vulnerabilities. They spent most of July waiting for the British to surrender, but then attacked in August. Although air strikes created substantial damage to radar sites, on August 13-15 the Luftwaffe soon abandoned that avenue and turned to attack RAF air bases. A battle of attrition ensnared both sides with heavy losses.
For a while advantages seemed to sway in favor of the Germans, but a combination of bad intelligence and British attacks on Berlin led the Luftwaffe to change operational approach. Such approaches were massive attacks on London. The first attack on London was on September 7, was successful; the second was on September 15, which failed not only with heavy losses but along with the collapse of morale among the German bomber crews when British fighters appeared in large numbers and shot down as many Germans as they could. As a result to that Hitler permanently postponed a landing on the British Isles and suspended the Battles of Britain.