BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC & BATTLE OF BRITAIN GERMANY HAS ENGLAND IN ITS SIGHT

WITH…. Most of Europe under Nazi control, Germany now turns its attention towards England. The Germans attack & attempt to defeat England 2 ways: #1 - Destroying them by sea via The Battle of the Atlantic. #2 – Destroying them by air aka The Battle of Britain.

THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC

Germany throws the ‘rules’ out the window. They have Poland & France. The Russians won’t attack them, so their biggest issue is taking out England. England is known for one thing... Being the supreme ruler of the seas. England is dependent on imports (via boat) for supplies & have the largest navy in the world.

WHY WAS THE U-BOAT SUCH A MENACE? Germany sends out submarines, U-boats, to sink anything that floats. This is great for Germany, but bad for everyone else because sonar had not been invented yet.

THIS IS EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL FOR GERMANY

German U-boats hunt in ‘wolf packs’ (just like wolves, who also hunt in packs) all along the Atlantic Ocean & try to sink anything that floats – especially ships heading for England.

HOW DO THE ALLIES FIGHT BACK AGAINST SUBMARINE ATTACKS?

THE CONVOY SYSTEM In an attempt to protect themselves, allied ships started travelled in large groups to Britain to get them necessary supplies.

HOW DID THE ROLE OF GERMAN U-BOATS EVOLVE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF WWII? At the beginning, U Boats were a serious threat because they caused great damage, however they were unsuccessful in crippling England. The invention of sonar eventually allowed the Allies to ‘see’ underwater & destroy the U Boats with depth charges – so the beginning being the captain of a U boat was a good thing….however by the end of the war being assigned to a U boat meant certain death.

THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN AKA THE BLITZ

WHAT WAS IT? "The Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin...” Lasted from July 10 to October 31, The Nazi air force – called the Luftwaffe – flew over the English channel & attempt to bomb England into surrender. The Nazi’s felt with Britain surrounded at sea, that if they bombed them from the sky the Nazi’s would surely win. Britain, under the leadership of Winston Churchill, understood Britain could not surrender to this threat.

THE FIGHTERS IN THE SKY X4474, a late production Mk I Spitfire. September Messerschmitt Bf 109E

GERMAN HEINKEL HE 111 BOMBERS OVER THE ENGLISH CHANNEL 1940

WHAT THE NAZI’S SAW FROM THE AIR

LONDON’S BIG BEN & PARLIAMENT

HOW DID BRITAIN RESPOND TO THESE ATTACKS? The citizens of England evacuated & lived in the countryside – because the urban areas were attacked. Those that remained in the big city were forced to sleep in the subway stations overnight. The night time was when the Nazi’s often tried to bomb them (because it was harder to see their planes at night in the dark)...so the British responded by turning out all their lights in the evening so the Nazi’s couldn’t see anything either.

CONTINUED In the evening search lights would patrol the British skies looking for German bombers – once they were seen sirens would sound & the British would attempt to shoot the bombers down from the ground or pilots would go up in their Spitfires to shoot them down.

BRITISH PILOTS WERE ALWAYS ON THE READY They had to jump into actions at a moments notice Simply waiting for an attack – while playing checkers.

SLEEPING IN ‘THE TUBE’

MOST URBAN AREAS WHERE FILLED WITH MILITARY WEAPONRY Hyde Park in downtown London with anti-aircraft guns.

MANY WERE LEFT HOMELESS

THE BRITISH DID THEIR BEST TO HIDE THEMSELVES

CANADA’S ROLE IN THE BLITZ Canadians provided 25% of the pilots in the RAF (Royal Air Force). After nearly a year of bombing the British were able to repel the Germans – although Britain had sustained heavy causalities & much of the infrastructure had been destroy – Britain had refused to surrender. So the Nazi’s were unsuccessful of starving England into surrender.

WHAT WAS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT THIS BATTLE? It was unsuccessful because all the bombing only made the English tougher – they steadfastly refused to accept defeat. Churchill’s ability to unite an entire nation - despite the tremendous threat.

NEXT Read through Kathleen’s story (a primary source) & answer the one question – be prepared to discuss next class.