The Battle

After the fall of France in 1940, Hitler turned his attention to Great Britain. His invasion plans depended on securing control of air space. In July, the Luftwaffe German air force, began its attempt to bomb Britain into submission - the resulting conflict was known as the Battle of Britain.

During what is referred to as the first phase in July, German bombers began to attack convoys off the south coast of Britain and raids started on the ports of Dover and Plymouth. The RAF's Spitfire and Hurricane fighters were greatly outnumbered but Britain had several advantages. The British radar was the most advanced early warning system in the world and gave the British Fighter Command adequate notice of where and when to direct its forces to repel German bombing raids. Also the Spitfire was arguably the best intercepting fighter in the world and British industry had the capability to replenish aircraft with great speed.

In August the second phase of the Battle of Britain began. The Luftwaffe attacked focusing on Britain's coastal radar installations and airfields which were forward landing bases for RAF fighters. Some of the radar installations were temporarily knocked out but were within a matter of a few hours back up and running. The tough to destroy radar installations soon forced the Luftwaffe to change focus.

During the last two weeks of August, the Luftwaffe attack shifted to the RAF's main inland airfields. The RAF sustained heavy losses but the German losses were greater. The short range of the Luftwaffe fighters meant that their time over British soil was limited and their bombers were often left without support at the mercy of the RAF fighters. But the loss of experienced RAF pilots and the bombing damage done on air installations had left Britain vulnerable. If the attacks had continued then the eventual outcome could have been very different - but Hitler soon shifted the focus of his attacks.

At the beginning of September the British retaliated with a bombing raid on Berlin which targeted industrial and manufacturing infrastructure but also reportedly caused civilian causalities. The air raids on Germany are said to have angered Hitler so much that he ordered the third phase of the attack with the Luftwaffe starting to bomb British cities. The change in tactics shifted attacks away from air defence installations and focused on major population centres to strike fear into the hearts of the British people, especially London and its docks. It was the beginning of the blitz.

On the 15th September two massive waves of German attacks were repelled by RAF fighters during a day and night attack on London - it was a day of very heavy fighting and later became commemorated as Battle of Britain day. During this battle the RAF announced that they had shot down 175 enemy aircraft, the figure was inaccurate and the Germans lost closer to around 60, but the inflated numbers reflected propaganda media battle that was also taking place. The German defeat caused Hitler to postpone preparations for the invasion of Britain.

During the day raids the Luftwaffe found that they were consistently pushed back by the interception of RAF fighters. Finding the day-time attacks to be ineffective, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to concentrate their declining resources on night-time raids which marked the fourth and final phase of the Battle of Britain.
The attacks on British cities caused widespread damage and loss of life. If German forces continued to concentrate their attacks on British air bases they might soon have overwhelmed Fighter Command. But Hitler needed summer weather for his channel invasion and as winter approached with no breakthrough, the threat of invasion receded.

Towards the end of October Hitler ordered his invasion fleet dispersed. The battle was over and Britain was safe. About 1,700 Luftwaffe bombers and fighters had been shot down in just a few months and Britain had lost more than 900 fighter planes. Nearly 500 British pilots and aircrew had also been killed. The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill memorably said: "Never... was so much owed by so many to so few."

The British triumph in the Battle of Britain was won at a heavy cost but the end of the battle allowed the UK to rebuild its military forces and establish itself as an Allied stronghold. Britain later served as a base from which the Liberation of Western Europe was launched