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• 1 2018-12-03T03:56:24-08:00 The British Experience of the War: The Battle of Britain and the Blitz 4 plain 2018-12-03T04:01:13-08:00 On September 1939, the German armed forces thundered into Poland, making their way east, bringing tanks and guns and bombs, marking the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. After the invasion of Poland, there was relatively little activity on the western front for the next several months. It was as if the world was holding its breath, waiting. In the spring of 1940, the waiting ended abruptly, as the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. But it was not until that July that the dangers of the war came home to Britain in perhaps the most celebrated air battle in British history. During the Battle of Britain, the Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German Luftwaffe vied for control of the skies over the English Channel, British Spitfires and German Messerschmitts clashing in a shower of sparks and gunfire. At this point in the war, Hitler intended to invade Britain, and thus in order for the invasion to take place, Germany first needed to control the skies over the Channel. The Luftwaffe dropped bombs over southern England, targeting RAF airfields, while the RAF fought to stop them.
  
  Once it became clear that Germany could not achieve air superiority over the English Channel and southern England, Hitler tried another tactic. On September 7, 1940, the Luftwaffe launched its first nighttime attack on London. The wail of the air raid sounded across the city, driving Londoners to bomb shelters. What would follow was more or less nightly attacks all the way until May 1941 in what became known as the Blitz. Thought the Germans soon abandoned plans for an invasion of Britain, they did aim to disrupt manufacturing, transport, and administration systems in London, while also striving to break civilian morale and to encourage the British government to seek peace terms. In London alone, the bombing killed tens of thousands of civilians and destroyed more than two million homes. In addition to in London, the Germans launched devastating air raids on Coventry and along the southern coast of England.
  
  Once it became clear that Germany could not achieve air superiority over the English Channel and southern England, Hitler tried another tactic. On September 7, 1940, the Luftwaffe launched its first nighttime attack on London. The wail of the air raid sounded across the city, driving Londoners to bomb shelters. What would follow was more or less nightly attacks all the way until May 1941. Thought the Germans soon abandoned plans for an invasion of Britain, they did aim to disrupt manufacturing, transport, and administration systems in London, while also striving to break civilian morale and to encourage the British government to seek peace terms. In London alone, the bombing killed tens of thousands of civilians and destroyed more than two million homes. In addition to in London, the Germans launched devastating air raids on Coventry and along the southern coast of England.