BATTLE OF ENGLAND: BACKGROUND, DEVELOPMENT, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The Battle of Britain was the confrontation between Germany and Great Britain that took place during World War II. It was, in fact, a series of aerial combats that took place between July and October 1940, although the bombardments on British cities continued until the following year.

Having managed, in just a few months, to control most of continental Europe, only Great Britain stood in the way of the Nazi troops. At first, Hitler thought that the English would end up surrendering, but in the face of their refusal, he planned an invasion of the islands: Operation Sea Lion.

Damage in London after a German bombing - Source: US Government via Wikimedia Commons

In order to carry it out, he must first destroy its powerful air force and sea defenses. Beginning in July 1940, the Germans began bombing British targets. They first limited themselves to attacking over the English Channel, but soon expanded their bombardment to the mainland, including cities full of civilians.

Finally, the English resistance capacity forced Hitler to abandon the idea of ​​invasion. This was the first major defeat of the Nazi army and, after the invasion of the Soviet Union, it forced the Germans to fight on two fronts.

Background

Within a few months of starting World War II, the German army had managed to conquer much of Europe. Thus, in the summer of 1940, Hitler's troops had in their power Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Belgium, Denmark and Norway. In addition, they had defeated one of their great rivals, France.

Dunkirk

By the end of May 1940, French troops had already been defeated by the Germans and a large number of British (200,000) and French (100,000) soldiers had been trapped in the town of Dunkerque, in France. Given this, the British high command organized a maneuver to try to rescue them.

Although the evacuation was successful, it also meant that all of France was left in German hands. At that time, only Great Britain resisted the power of the Nazi army.

Hitler thought that this loneliness would force the English to surrender, but they continued to refuse.

Preparations

In Britain, as early as June 1940, the atmosphere was one of concern. In addition to the French defeat, the British had failed in their attempt to defend Norway from German invasion, prompting the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, the prime minister. His replacement was Winston Churchill.

For his part, Hitler knew that Britain could pose a threat to his intentions. One of their fears was that the United States would go to war to help its ally, although, at the time, the Americans remained neutral.

To try to end any possible English resistance, Hitler began to prepare an invasion of the islands. The first scheduled date was August 1.

However, despite German military might, the occupation of Britain presented great difficulty. The English Channel was heavily controlled by the British navy and the air forces were prepared to resist.

Development

With the German troops ready, Hitler was still waiting for the British to decide to surrender. Yet Churchill was determined to resist at all costs. It was the British Prime Minister himself who named these confrontations. In June 1940, he spoke the following words during a speech he gave in Parliament:

What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I suppose the Battle of Britain is about to begin »

Operation Sea Lion

The first German invasion plan was called Operation Sea Lion. This, which in the end was not put into practice, had to be preceded by air operations to wear down the British defenses.

Among the most fervent supporters of the invasion was Hermann Göring, the military chief of the German air forces called the Luftwaffe. The victories achieved up to that point made the confidence in his strength absolute and Göring was convinced that he would defeat the English easily.

The plan was, broadly speaking, to totally destroy the RAF, the British air forces, so that German troops could enter the islands without problems. At the time, the Nazis had around 3,600 aircraft, while the English only had 871.

Air strikes

That superiority led Hitler to give the go-ahead for the invasion. At first, the German planes had to bombard without rest for three days and, once the defenses were destroyed, paratrooper units had to launch on Dover to make way for the rest of the troops.

At the beginning of the operation, everything indicated that the plan would be successful. In July, the attacks began on the English sea convoys crossing the English Channel. It was a maneuver to prevent goods from arriving and to check what the British response capacity was.

Those first bombings also targeted the anti-aircraft defenses that the English had placed on its shores, as well as any industrial buildings and military infrastructures.

Shelling on British soil

Despite the numerical superiority of the German air forces, the British had a tool that made it much easier for them to defend their territory: radar. The tactical advantage provided by this technology allowed it to react more quickly to German attacks.

The Nazi planes succeeded, however, that the British had to stop the navigation of their convoys through the English Channel. In addition, the English pilots had orders to try to avoid direct confrontation with the Germans, since their planes were less efficient in fuel consumption.

Göring, in the second half of August, changed the German tactic. Instead of continuing to attack over the English Channel, he ordered a direct bombardment on British soil. Aerodromes, transport infrastructures and radars became the main targets.

Operation Day of the Eagle

The new tactic devised by Göring began on August 15 and was called Eagle Day. On that day alone, the Germans conducted more than 2,000 raids on British soil. Although these managed to bring down forty Luftwaffe aircraft, the damage suffered by the RAF was truly remarkable.

Civil population

Those massive bombings continued to unfold during the following days. On the 24th there was the first attack that directly affected the civilian population of London. The Germans blamed a mistake, but the numerous fatalities prompted the British to prepare a response.

Churchill, together with his high command, gave the order to start an operation in retaliation for the attack on civilians. The consequence was the British bombardment of Berlin, targeting several factories.

After this attack, the RAF continued bombing other German towns, such as Hannover. Similarly, some Italian cities, such as Milan or Turin, were the object of these bombings.

Ribbentrop and Molotov

On the very day that the RAF bombed Berlin, Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov was in the city to meet with his German counterpart.

According to some chroniclers, at the beginning of the attack the two politicians had to seek refuge. At the insistence of the German minister, Ribbentrop, that Britain was very weakened, the Soviet replied "if the British are defeated, who is bombing us?"

The Blitz

Hitler's reaction to the British attacks was ruthless. The Führer ordered to redouble the bombardments on England and that these took place against the cities.

Since that time, although German planes continued to attack British civil and military industry, most of the targets were located in cities, especially London.

This new phase of the war was called the Blitz: a continuous bombardment of English towns that lasted from September 7, 1940 to mid-May of the following year. It was about, in addition to seeking to destroy the infrastructures, to demoralize and frighten the civilian population of those cities.

The Blitz was particularly intense in September and November. Not only London received daily attacks, but also cities like Bristol, Birmingham or Bath were bombed.

The British, meanwhile, held out under the bombs, buying time to reinforce their air forces. In the end, they achieved that goal and were able to outperform the Germans in aircraft manufacturing.

September 7th

One of the worst days for the people of London was September 7. The Germans sent 300 bombers and more than 600 fighters to attack the city that day. The result was the destruction of the docks and various residential neighborhoods in the town.

The result of the bombings that day was tragic for the British. Although they managed to shoot down 41 enemy aircraft, the RAF lost 28 of their own. In addition, there were some 3,000 victims, the majority civilians.

Two days later, the Luftwaffe returned to British skies to continue their attacks. On this occasion, the British planes were able to repel the bulk of the German forces.

At the time, despite the resistance the British were putting up, Hitler still thought that Churchill was going to call for a ceasefire.

Battle of Britain Day

Another of the days when London suffered the most intense attacks was September 15. The magnitude of the bombings has caused the date to be commemorated with the name "Battle of Britain Day".

During the early hours of the morning, the Germans sent 150 fighters, which were met by 250 British aircraft. In the afternoon, the Luftwaffe added up to 340 aircraft. With the help of pilots from occupied Poland, the RAF was able to shoot down more than 60 enemy aircraft.

The result of this raid convinced Hitler that Operation Sea Lion was going to be impossible. Instead, the Nazi leader ordered to start bombing at night, indiscriminately.

Between November 1940 and February 1941, these night attacks were quite frequent. In addition to London, the bombings affected Coventry, Liverpool, Manchester and many other British cities, including Belfast in Ireland.

End of attacks

Although they are no longer considered part of the Battle of Britain, the intensive Luftwaffe attacks continued until the last days of May 1941. Despite this, the United Kingdom showed no signs of weakness and even increased its aircraft production.

Eventually the Germans were forced to vary their tactics. The invasion had been out of the question for some time, and its bombers and fighters were needed in other parts of Europe. This need was increased when, on June 22, Germany began Operation Barbarossa, the attempt to invade the Soviet Union.

Consequences

Most historians think that the final outcome of the Battle of Britain was very important to the final outcome and Nazi defeat. To begin with, at that time only England was standing up to the powerful German army, which had to devote multiple resources trying to defeat it.

However, there is no consensus as to whether the invasion could have occurred even if the bombings had been as successful as expected. Experts who deny that the Germans could have taken Britain, point out that British naval superiority would have slowed Nazi ships from landing, even without air support.

Material losses

A good example of the resistance of the RAF against the Luftwaffe is the number of planes shot down by both sides. Thus, while the British lost 915 aircraft, the Germans nearly doubled that amount, with 1,733 aircraft shot down.

Although as of November 17, 1940, the possibility of an invasion had practically disappeared, the Germans continued to hit British soil for the rest of the conflict.

Second battle front

Hitler had waited for the surrender or conquest of Great Britain to make the next war move. Although that plan failed, the Nazi leader proceeded to launch the invasion of the Soviet Union.

German troops entered Soviet soil in 1941 and although they advanced at full speed, over time it meant having to attend to two war fronts at the same time. When the United States joined the conflict and the Soviets went on the offensive, the dispersal of troops led to German inferiority.

Similarly, Great Britain became the general base for the Allies to reclaim the continent. From there the troops that participated in the Normandy landings left on June 6, 1944. After the success of D-Day, the end of the war was only a matter of time.

References

1. EcuRed. Battle of Britain (World War II). Obtained from ecured.cu
2. Lozano Cámara, Jorge Juan. The Battle of Britain (1940). Obtained from classeshistoria.com
3. Cardona, Pere. The start of the Battle of Britain. Obtained from talessegundaguerramundial.com
4. History.com Editors. Battle of Britain. Retrieved from history.com
5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Battle of Britain. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. Nelson, Ken. The Battle of Britain. Retrieved from ducksters.com
7. IWM Staff. 8 Things You Need to Know about the Battle of Britain. Retrieved from iwm.org.uk
8. March, William. Battle of Britain. Retrieved from thecanadianencyclopedia.ca