On 13 August-17 September 1940, the Battle of Britain was fought between the British under Hugh Dowding and the Germans under Herman Goring during the Second World War.
Why did it happen?
In 1918, the First World War ended with the Allies victorious. While it was described as the “war to end all wars”, the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 left room for further conflict. Germany held deep resentment for being blamed for the war, which left it vulnerable to the influence of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party. After becoming Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Hitler conquered much of Europe. By 1940, after the conquest of Poland and France, he set his sights on the invasion of Britain. German aircraft began by targeting British maritime convoys in the English Channel as well as several ports on Britain’s south coast throughout July. By 13 August, Hitler ordered his Luftwaffe to engage the Royal Air Force directly, beginning the Battle of Britain.
Who was involved?
The British Royal Air Force at the Battle of Britain numbered 900 aircraft. Despite being outnumbered, The RAF had three significant advantages over the German Luftwaffe. First, newly installed radar stations gave the British a good picture of where the Germans would attack, allowing the British Hurricane and Spitfire fighters to vector in on enemy bomber formations. Second, because the RAF was fighting on its home front, British pilots whose planes had been shot down in battle could parachute to safety and be back in a new plane that same day. Thirdly, Dowding was able to maintain a calm state of mind, allocate resources when needed and respond flexibly to changes in German tactics. The German Luftwaffe at the Battle of Britain numbered 2,844 aircraft: 1,464 fighters and 1,380 bombers.
What happened?
To lure the RAF into combat, the Germans began attacking British airfields and radar stations on 13 August, but little was achieved due to bad weather. In response, RAF fighters engaged German bombers and their fighter escorts over southern Britain on 15 August. In the ensuing air battle, 75 German aircraft and 34 British aircraft were lost. On 24 August, after a stray German bomber accidentally bombed a part of London, the RAF sent bombers to attack Berlin on 25-26 August. In response, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to start bombing London on 7 September. On 15 September, the Luftwaffe launched a major daylight attack on London with 500 bombers and fighters. In the ensuing air battle, 60 German aircraft were shot down, while only 26 British aircraft were lost. Due to these heavy losses, Hitler postponed indefinitely the invasion of Britain on 17 September. Throughout the campaign, the British lost 788 aircraft, while the Germans lost 1,294 aircraft.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Britain was a decisive British victory. In the aftermath of Hitler’s decision to postpone the invasion of Britain, the Germans concentrated on night-time raids against London and other British cities. This period of bombing, known as the Blitz, led to the deaths of 43,000 British civilians but did not break the resolve of Britain’s population. The night raids lasted until May 1941, when Hitler ordered his Luftwaffe to be transferred to the Eastern Front as part of Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Bibliography
Grant, R.G. 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. London, Cassell Illustrated, 2011.
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Harwood, Jeremy. Atlas of History’s Greatest Military Victories. London, Quantum Publishing, 2013.
Swanston, Malcolm. & Swanston, Alexander. History of Air Warfare. London, Amber Books, 2019.
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