Essay on The Battle of Britain in 1940 - 1245 Words

The Battle of Britain in 1940 In the summer of 1940, the German Luftwaffe attempted to win air superiority over southern Britain and the English Channel by destroying the Royal Air Force and the British aircraft industry. This attempt came to be known as the Battle of Britain, and victory over the RAF was seen by the Germans as absolutely essential if they were eventually to mount an invasion of the British Isles. The Germans had overrun Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France in May 1940, using the Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) technique that relied, among other things, on close coordination between ground troops and the air force. Although the Luftwaffe proved very competent in this†¦show more content†¦In addition even if Hitler had achieved his aim of destroying the RAF, Germany might still have failed to establish a foothold after any invasion, because the British Royal Navy was enormously strong, and very capable of repulsing German troop ships. Suppression of the British air force would have been the first difficult step to a German victory, but it was not the only factor, and the British would have found they had plenty more tricks up their sleeve. There was nothing to stop them from withdrawing their aircraft northwards, out of range of the German fighters, if they started to lose the air battle, keeping the aircraft in reserve to counter an attempted German invasion. The combatants There were plenty of indications that the Luftwaffe might face real problems in accomplishing their initial step towards the conquest of Britain. The first came during the evacuation of Allied troops from the Dunkirk beaches at the end of May. The Luftwaffes principal modern fighter, the Messerschmitt Bf109E (Me-109), had limited range and was operating from bases some way from Dunkirk, making the German bombers very vulnerable to the most modern RAF fighters. This was a foretaste of the problems that they would soon face over Britain itself, and during the operation they lost 240Show MoreRelatedChurchill and the Battle of Brittain839 Words   |  3 Pages18, 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was speaking to the British House of Commons when he said â€Å"The Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin.† Just the day before, the French signed a peace treaty and were no longer involved with World War II. The Battle of Britain was the air battle between Germany and Britain for control over Great Britain’s air space. This happened during July 1940 to May 1941, with the heaviest fighting from July to October 1940. WinstonRead MoreHistory Notes on Ww21625 Words   |  7 Pages19.1 NOTES European Aggressors on the March In 1935, Mussolini attacks Ethiopia to build a colonial empire. League of Nations does not stop aggression. In 1935 Hitler begins rebuilding the German army. In 1936 Germany occupies Rhineland. 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The failure of Nazi Germany to destroy Britains air force or to break the spirit of the British governmentRead MoreEssay about The Battle of Dunkirk: A Tactical Defeat1616 Words   |  7 PagesThe Battle of Dunkirk happened in Northern France between May 26 and June 4 1940 and was a major battle of the Second World War which occurred between 1939-1945. The Second World War was very different to the first with rapid movement covering huge amounts of land in very little time. This was due to the German Army’s speed which used â€Å"Blitzkrieg† or â€Å"Lightning war† tactics. Prior to the invasion of France there had been 7 months of â€Å"Phoney war†; However the French had anticipated the attack andRead MoreGermany And The World War II1553 Words   |  7 Pagesfront line. The German forces were quickly pushing through the lowlands of Europe causing the French and British troops to flee into Great Britain or face the German army. â€Å"More than 300,000 French and British troops were evacuated from the beaches near Dunkirk across the English Channel to Great Britain† (â€Å"German Invasion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). From May 28 through the 31 in 1940 there were 40,000 men remaining of the once formidable French army. These troops fought to delay the German armies who were trying to stop