1.) The Phoney War 2.) Battle of Britain 3.) Clip of Battle of Britain Today… 1.) The Phoney War 2.) Battle of Britain 3.) Clip of Battle of Britain

The Phoney War This was also called the ‘Sitzkrieg’ After Germany’s invasion of Poland there wasn’t any fighting until the spring of 1940 Both sides were preparing defensively The people of Britain were also preparing movie theatres would not let people in without a gas mask 400 million sandbags were put around homes and shops the London Zoo put down all posioness snakes there was a wedding boom women were urged to support the men and the home front

But Unfortunately the Phoney War Ended… In April 1940 the Nazis launched their blitzkrieg against Denmark and Norway On May 10 Holland and Belgium were attacked and the invasion of France began

The Battle of Britain

On July 10, 1940 Hitler let loose a savage air attack on Britain The Royal Air Force (RAF) was only half the size of the German Luftwaffe The future of the British people depended on the success of just a few fighter pilots

But then the Luftwaffe blundered… Throughout the summer of 1940, the RAF fought fiercely against the Luftwaffe At first the Luftwaffe was successful by knocking out airfields and supply factories But then the Luftwaffe blundered… Two pilots mistakenly dropped bombs on London and Churchill ordered bombing raids on Berlin The bombing raids on Berlin pushed Hitler to change their successful strategies and attack London But now the RAF knew where the Luftwaffe was going to attack and were prepared

1000 Luftwaffe bombers and 700 fighters flew over London on September 15 in a daylight raid RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes attacked back The Luftwaffe losses that day were enough to convince Germany to cancel their attacks

PHASE ONE – JULY 10th to AUGUST 7th

PHASE TWO –AUGUST 8th to SEPTEMBER 6th - The Pressure Grows

PHASE THREE – SEPTEMBER 7th to OCTOBER 5th – The Blitz

PHASE FOUR – OCTOBER 6th to OCTOBER 31st

The German Luftwaffe lost to the RAF – 1,733 planes to 915 This was the first battle that was completely in the air Canadian pilots were part of the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.” ~ Winston Churchill

Why did Britain win the Battle of Britain? The British had developed a radar system to help warn them of approaching enemy aircraft – this allowed them time to get their own fighter aircraft into the air When Churchill ordered a bomber raid on Berlin, Hitler was outraged and began daylight bombings on London – this allowed the RAF to regroup

The Spitfire...

The Hurricane...

Messerschmitt BF 110

Time for the movie clip…