Britain's Finest Hour: The Battle Of Britain

The Germans were losing aircraft and pilots fast; Hitler postponed Operation Sea Lion. Germany had lost. The fighter pilots of the battle of Britain had saved Britain from invasion, but many of its major cities were severely bombed. German U boats and surface vessels also began a new campaign.

This battle is important to World War II because it was the first war to be fought almost completely out of aircraft. “Recent research indicates that Hitler’s heart was not in an attack on Britain but that he wanted to so concentrate his country’s strength on an attack on communist Russia” (“History Learning Site-Battle of Britain”). The Battle of Britain still effects us to this day.

The Luftwaffe - Germany’s air force - used bombs to kill over 40,000 Britain people. This was not a German victory - the Royal Air Force’s response prevented Germany from totally dominating Britain - but it had large effects on British morale and it symbolized Hitler’s ambitious goals for Nazi expansionism. 2. D-Day (625) D-Day refers to an Allied attack on June 6, 1944 where Britain and America defeated Germany at Normandy. This mattered because along with the Soviets attacking on the eastern front, Germany was quickly losing momentum and its ability to resist.

By the time the Germans launched their air offensive against Fighter Britain 1940 Command had planes ready for immediate action. During the Battle of Britain these figures remained roughly constant as increased aircraft production made good high losses. These 700 or so planes were really all that stood between Hitler and complete victory insofar as all of continental Europe by this time was either Nazi- occupied, neutral or allied with Hitler's Germany. If the RAF failed to deny the Luftwaffe control of the skies, then 'Operation Sealion', the proposed Nazi invasion of Britain, could proceed and there's no doubt that had Hitler's armies crossed the Channel, then Britain would have been knocked out of the war. The fact that the Battle of Britain

     In the fall of 1931, the Atlantic Ocean was the boiling point of a criminal battle between the British and Germans. Most people think that the Battle of the Atlantic may have decided World War II’s outcome. This battle was the dominating factor throughout the war. The Battle of the Atlantic was a violent and destructive battle. Many people lost their lives fighting in this battle. New technology was one of the major factors in the Allies winning the long and crucial Battle of the Atlantic.

Allied shipping from North America to Britain needed to supply at least a million tonnes of goods to allow Britain to survive and fight against the Axis . Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain for the duration of the Second World War, called the Battle of the Atlantic “the [most] dominating factor all through the war. Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air depended ultimately on its outcome” . Therefore, whoever held the upper hand in the Battle of the Atlantic held the advantage in supplies for the war. Germany decided to employ their U-boats to try to delay and strike

On May 19, 1940, he did his first broadcast as Prime Minister. He then explained how the English forces were collapsing because of the brutal German army, and that this was a very solemn hour. Suddenly, he declared that they must conquer, and that they shall. He told the House of Commons that their goal was victory, victory, victory, no matter how dark or rough the road to victory may be. This erased the House of Common’s fears, and raised its confidence. His words encouraged the British. They cheered. They fiercely rallied. They would strive for victory! Winston Churchill, who was the English Prime Minister, used radio broadcasts to comfort and encourage the British when Germany

Warfare has been apart of British history for many centries. During the 1700’s, battles such as The Battle of Quebec, The Battle of Yorktown, The Battle of Bunker Hill, and The Battle of Ticonderoga helped show the strength and weakness of the British Army. During the 1800’s, battles such as The Battle of Lake Erie, The Battle of Waterloo, and The Battle of Rorke’s Drift helped demonstrate and give examples of alliances, national pride, and victories. During the 1900s, battles such as The Battle of Mons, The Battle of Britain, and The Battle of Singapore demonstrated positivity and defense. From the early 1700s to the late 1900s, numerous British battles took place that influenced great change in Britain’s society or government.

Britain was able to defeat Germany in the Battle of Britain due to British resilience and poor judgement from German high command. Germany’s air force outnumbered the British significantly; by August, the Luftwaffe had gathered 2669 operational aircraft, which consisted of 1015 bombers, 346 dive-bombers, 933 fighters, and 375 heavy fighters (Churchill 323). The German planes were faster, but British planes were more manoeuvrable which gave the British an advantage during aerial combat. Moreover, the British had the strategic advantage of fighting on their home land; German planes could not fly for very long before having to return back to base to refuel, in contrast the British could make rapid stops to refuel and return to battle much quicker than the Germans.

The battle started in July, 1940 when Hitler gave orders for the preparation of a seaborne invasion of Britain, called “Operation Sealion”. Germany thought that it would be better to destroy the British in the air, than to stop them from sinking ships with German men on them. So about 60 German aircraft

In early July of 1940, the Germans wanted to submit Britain into attack to take them down. Germany was a powerhouse at this point taking over much of Europe. Cargo boats shipping supplies to the mainland of the United Kingdom and etcetera parts of the area through the main channel were getting attacked by German aircraft making supplies not reach its destination and draw Britain into the battle that Germany wanted. Later in August 1940, the Germans would switch airfield attacks on coast guards and raiders that detect communications and inbound attacks. These strikes were fixed extremely quick due to the importance of the situation a hand and the vital need for their supplies to properly work. Due to the poor intelligence from britain obtained by Germany,

Shortly after the Battle of Britain Sir Winston Churchill, the prime minister of Great Britain, is quoted as exclaiming, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." The few that Churchill was referring to were the brave aircrew that undertook the daunting task of repelling the massive offensive by the dreaded German air corps, the Luftwaffe. In the year 1940 Adolf Hitler ordered an offensive in coordination with an attempted invasion of the isle of Britain. The only way Hitler was going to accomplish this great feat was the assert the power of his Air Force. In November of 1940 after months of constant bombardment of the English coastal cities, the

The Battle of Britain was the battle in which hitler province had planned to invade Britain, who were surrounded by the nazi occupation all seemed lost for Britain at the time but when the Battle of Britain had started the British RAF (Royal Air Force) has a clear advantage over the German Luftwaffe (German Air Force) the Nazis were out numbered and a quick scramble to train

The Battle of Britain in 1940 In the summer of 1940, the German Luftwaffe attempted to win air superiority over southern Britain and the English Channel by destroying the Royal Air Force and the British aircraft industry. This attempt came to be known as the Battle of Britain, and victory over the RAF was seen by the Germans as absolutely essential if they were eventually to mount an invasion of the British Isles. The Germans had overrun Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France in May 1940, using the Blitzkrieg ('Lightning War') technique that relied, among other things, on close coordination between ground troops and the air force.

During the Battle of Britain, Germany wanted to achieve air superiority but ultimately failed to defeat the Royal Air Force (RAF). Hitler ordered the Lufwaffe to destroy the RAF in preparation for Operation Sealion which was Germany’s invasion plan for Britain. Although numerous factors contributed to Hitler’s decision to attack Britain, in keeping with his “one front at a time” war methodology, Hitler wanted to secure the Western Front prior to invading the Soviet Union. Initially, directed by Hermann Goering (commander-in-chief of the Lufwaffe) Germany targeted Britain’s coastal areas and convoys, airports, and vital British air warning and radar