The Battle of Britain

The summary about battle of Britain The Most Important Battle of World War 2 The Battle of Britain was fought from July 10 to October 31, 1940 and was the first defeat for Hitler's forces. It was also the first battle waged entirely by opposing air forces - the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German Luftwaffe. It featured an intense bombing campaign by the Germans versus a robust defense by the British with squadrons of fighter aircraft deploying at a moment's notice to intercept the invading German bombers.

By the end of the battle, Germany had withdrawn its forces and Great Britain had achieved both an important military and psychological victory. Great Britain not only remained in the war, but rallied morale both at home and across the ocean in the United States. Would the United States have entered the war at all without its key ally? How would an Allied invasion of Europe have developed if deprived of a natural staging platform just across the English Channel from the continent? Would the Soviet Union been able to withstand an assault by a Germany unfettered by the need to defend France, Italy or North Africa?

With the defeat of Great Britain, Hitler would have succeeded in securing his western flank and the entire war might have had a much different outcome. The most decisive battle in World War 2 was the Battle of Britain

The background of battle In the spring of 1940, Hitler's armies smashed across the borders of the Netherlands and Belgium and streamed into the northern reaches of France. The German "Blitzkrieg" moved swiftly to the west and the south, splitting the British and French defenders, trapping the British army at Dunkirk and forcing its evacuation from continental Europe. The Germans entered Paris on June 14 and forced RAF Pilots, 1940

France's surrender on June 22. The British now stood alone, awaiting Hitler's inevitable attempt to invade and conquer their island.

The Battle of Britain started officially on 10 June 1940, when the Luftwaffe attacked a convoy of ships off Dover. But the real air war started on 12 August (when the Luftwaffe attacked the RAF), and lasted until 31 October.

Beginning July 10, and lasting until early August, the Germans made daily strikes against ship convoys. By the end of this period, the RAF was winning, at least in terms of pure numbers. The Luftwaffe had lost 248 fighters and bombers to the RAF's 148 fighters lost. While these numbers were encouraging to the RAF, it became clear that sustaining such a battle of attrition was impossible. This was not so much because of the loss of fighter craft, as the British fighter production was doing a relatively good job in maintaining fighter numbers. More importantly, the loss in qualified pilots was slowly crippling the RAF. The situation was looking grim, and the real onslaught had yet to materialize.

On August 1, Fuhrer Directive No.17 was issued from Hitler's headquarters. It read, in part, "I intend to intensify air and sea warfare against the English homeland...The Luftwaffe is to overpower the Royal Air Force...in the shortest possible time...The intensification of the air war may begin on or after 5 August. The exact time is to be decided by the Air Force after the completion of preparations and in light of the weather". The Nazi war machine was again gearing up for battle, Operation Sea Lion.

At first the Luftwaffe attacked radar stations and airfields. Although the Luftwaffe lost more planes than the RAF, by the 31 August the RAF was at its last gasp – in the previous fortnight the RAF had lost 295 planes destroyed and 170 damaged, 103 pilots killed and 128 wounded.

Flying five or more ‘sorties’ a day, the young British fighter pilots (nicknamed ‘Dowding’s chicks’) were becoming exhausted; more importantly, the RAF was not training new pilots as fast the pilots were being killed. The weekend August was the worst weekend of the battle for the RAF, with 65 fighters destroyed and 6 of the seven sector stations in the vital south-east Group out of action.

Just as Fighter Command was about to collapse, however, a miracle happened. On 24 August, by accident, some Luftwaffe bombers had dropped their bombs on London. The next few nights, the RAF replied by bombing Berlin. Hitler was angry. On 2 September he ordered his bombers to attack London.

On 7 September the Nazi bombing raid was so huge that a false alarm went round the south- east of England: code-word ‘Cromwell’ – invasion imminent. Church bells rang and the Home Guard mobilized. It was not known at the time but one section of coast identified by the Nazis as a landing ground was defended by a Home Guard platoon with just one machine-gun!

Hitler’s decision to stop attacking the RAF gave it time to recover. On 15 September, the Luftwaffe came by day in huge numbers. It expected to sweep the RAF from the skies. But the RAF fought them off.

At one point every British plane was in the sky – soon, some would have to come in to refuel and there were no reserves to protect them. But the Luftwaffe, too, was at the limit and – just in time – it turned back.

In the meantime, the RAF had been bombing the Nazi invasion fleet. On 17 September, Hitler ordered the postponement of Operation Sealion. Instead, the Luftwaffe concentrated on night-bombing London (the ‘blitz’).

In all, the RAF lost 1,173 planes and 510 pilots and gunners killed in the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe lost 1,733 planes and 3,368 airmen killed or captured. If the Luftwaffe had succeeded, Britain would have been invaded and conquered. But the RAF held out, and Britain survived.

The RAF defeated the Luftwaffe, preventing the Nazis from mounting an amphibious invasion of Britain, causing Hitler to turn his attention to Russia, and creating a secure staging area for the eventual invasion of Europe four years later.

While the bombing of London was painful for the British, it did give a much needed break to the RAF forces. Bases and factories could be repaired, plane inventory could be replaced. With their increasing strength, the RAF continued to deal the Germans horrendous losses, finally to the point that the Luftwaffe could no longer afford to absorb the punishment.

Eventually, all daylight bombing missions were cancelled, and Operation Sea Lion was indefinitely postponed. Night bombing raids would continue (The Blitz), but the Battle of Britain was over, the British had won. Thanks to one lone bomber, a successful "impossible" mission, and Hitler's ego, the last bastion of freedom in Europe had been saved.