Free Essay

Battle of Britain

In:

Submitted By julia626
Words 807
Pages 4
Battle of Britain The Hollywood film I chose to study was the Battle of Britain, directed by Guy Hamilton. In 1940, the diabolical mind of Adolf Hitler was planning to bomb Britain into submission. There was only one problem, standing in between of Hitler’s warped ideas of “Fortress Europe” and Britain’s freedom was the Royal Air force. The R.A.F is a group of pilots who dedicated themselves to protecting Britain and facing the overwhelming number of enemy German planes. The Luftwaffe hesitated their attack on Britain which gave the Royal Air Force the much needed time to get reorganized and to figure out their plan of attack. The German army wanted to brutally bomb Britain so that when the time came for Germany to attack Britain across the English Channel, it would be much easier. The first time German airplanes attacked, Britain was prepared with radar, but the Germans soon found out and quickly got rid of it. When Germany first started bombing they focused on only bombing the British airfields, so that Britain would not be able to fight back at full strength. The Luftwaffe had many more pilots and planes than Britain did and as the battle progressed Britain started running low on pilots. In the film, one night German pilots were going bombing and got confused as to where they were, so they figured it would be a safe place to drop their remaining bombs. Little did they know they bombed London, a major political city in Britain. Britain retaliated by bombing Berlin. This caused Hitler to give a speech declaring to the world that they would continue to fight against Britain. Since Britain was running out of British was running out of their own pilots they started to use pilots from her colonies. Because the Luftwaffe stopped attacking the airfields and started attacking the cities, the British were able to use all of their planes and have more time to attack. Therefore, the British were able to shoot down more Germans. Finally, Britain wins a battle!
In the early 1940’s British Prime Minister said, “The battle of France is over. I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin.” The battle of Britain began because Hitler felt that the only way German could invade Britain was if they knocked the R.A.F. out completely. So, the German Luftwaffe started to bomb Britain. The battle was fought completely in the air and it was between German and Britain. The Battle of Britain was largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to date. The battle started out with the Luftwaffe viciously bombing the British airfields. Eventually they resorted to bombing politically significant places across Britain. Although Britain was largely outnumbered, Germany had 4000 aircrafts where Britain had 1660; the R.A.F. had time to reorganize due to Germany’s hesitation to start battle. This immensely helped Britain because they had time to plan what they were going to do and train new pilots their duties. The Battle of Britain took place in August and September of 1940. Hitler planned the attack on London because he wanted to get rid of Britain’s most central power. In return Britain demolished Berlin. Britain took victory in the battle and Hitler decided to call off Operation Sea Lion, his plan to attack Britain across the English Channel. The film Battle of Britain is very similar to the actual battle in many ways. In both the film and the actual battle many people were predicting that the Battle of Britain was going to begin shortly after the Battle of France. The film started with Britain retreating during the Battle of France and Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that the expected the Battle of Britain to begin. In both real life and in the movie Germany planned on bombing Britain so they could continue with Operation Sea Lion. The Luftwaffe had many more aircrafts and Britain was running out of pilots, but Britain persevered. They started getting pilots from their colonies to help in the fight of defeating Germany. Although in the film the German bombers physically mistook where they were supposed to drop their bombs, it was a huge mistake for Germany in real life. Germany had planned on the Luftwaffe bombing London so they could stir up the politics in London and make it more chaotic for everyone. But in return Britain bombarded Berlin, Germany’s most central area. The streets of Berlin are very close together, so as soon as one place caught fire, it spread extremely quickly and soon demolished the whole city. The bombing of Berlin was highly controversial because Britain was already winning so they did not really need to do it. Finally, in both the movie and real life Britain was victorious and Operation Sea Lion was called off.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Battle of Britain

...Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic were both imperative for the Allies during World War II. The victories from these battles gave the allied forces hope and more momentum during the war. Germany was a strong military force and had already captured Poland and was spreading throughout Europe. The Battles decisive victories put a halt to German operations and pushed pack the Germans from their original invasion plans. The Battle of Britain was definitely a turning point for the Second World War since it prevented Hitler from controlling Western Europe. Germany had already invaded France, Britain partner in the declaration of war, and if the British Isles had fallen, Germany might have won the war. However, as I will show in this article, Operation Sea lion, The Nazi plan for invasion of Britain, was not planned well, and would probably not have succeeded even if the RAF had not taken down the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. .A.F.'s victory in the Battle of Britain was the first nail the evil Nazi empire's coffin and ensured it's final defeat, it bought valuable time for Britain and the world. A free Britain slowly but surely built it's forces, worked hand in glove with the U.S.A., supplied the U.S.S.R. and brought the resources of it's vast Empire to bear on Herr Hitler and his Nazi hordes The Battle Of The Atlantic was the LONGEST battle of the entire war, and it ebbed and flowed for five...

Words: 1278 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Battle of Britain

...Battle of Britain Marie A Spicer HIS331 Professor Golding May 18, 2013 The Battle of Britain was the longest and bloodiest battle to date lasting five years. The Battle of Britain was not fought by the army or sailors or marines but by the Air force it is also the largest aerial bombing to this day. Portsmouth, was one of the main targets; a few weeks later Luftwaffe started on RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the weeks went on there were other targets as well. Luftwaffe started zoning in on other places of interest using terror bombing strategy Germany failed its plans to destroy inflight defenses, or get them to surrender. This ended the threat of Operation Sea Lion from coming into play. May 1940, German had gained control of Belgium, and northern France and the Neverlands Hitler started to eye the British, using their bombers and fighters, first against shipping, airfields, and on the villages, Luftwaffe was not doing well at all, and it was noticeable to say the least. The Luftwaffe’s turning point was that it did not have the equipment or training it so needed This created a lose lose situation from the start. The fighting experience on the two sides was incomparable to one another. The RAF’s had better planes than the Germans and that was that. The RAF during the fight was happy to have the advantage of defending against attacks. This was because of the Radar system. British luck came as Luftwaffe didn’t use strategic bombing. On September,15 84...

Words: 592 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Battle of Britain

...The Battle of Britain I. DEFINE THE SUBJECT The Battle of Britain began shortly after the fall of France was emanate and would eventually sign an armistice with Germany. This would allow Germany to focus squarely on Great Britain. In late May, 1941 Prime Minister Winston Churchill disregarded calls for peace talks with Hitler and said that Britain “would fight on” (“Churchill decides toll,” 2012). The Battle of Britain was during the time period of June, 1940 to May, 1941 with the heaviest fighting occurring from June to October, 1940. The Battle of Britain was a fierce air battle between the Germans and the British over Great Britain’s airspace which was important as Germany wished to invade by land. As a precursor to the invasion of England, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) would attack the British coastal defenses, radar stations and shipping ports. This caused almost all of Britain’s Expeditionary Force to become penned in a tiny pocket around the French Channel port of Dunkirk along with a large number of the French Army as well. This caused the British to attempt to rescue over 330,000 men from the Dunkirk coastal line in attempt to fight another day. Of that 330,000+ number approximately 224,000 of them were Britain’s Expeditionary Force which represented about 85 percent Britain’s Army (Macdonal, 1997). After the fall of France, Germany was very confident and planned very little for this battle. They believed they would first take over airspace and...

Words: 2511 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

The Pros And Cons Of The Battle Of Britain

..."[Adolf Hitler] had been waiting a long time for August 15" (Skipper 14). The Battle of Britain was an air battle between Germany and Britain. Before Germany invaded Britain, it had taken over eight other countries including France, Austria, and Belgium. Britain was the last country Adolf Hitler needed to take over before attacking the United States. On August 15, 1940, Germany attacked Britain for the first time. From that day to November 7, bombs and gunfire could be heard in both countries. In the three month period, many soldier and civilian lives were lost. By September, Royal Air Force and German soldiers were exhausted. When the war was over, the land of Germany and Britain was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. Despite the fact that Germany had more soldiers and aircraft, Britain was able to win the battle using radar networks and fighting on familiar land. When looking back on the Battle of Britain, there are reasons that support the ideas that it was horrible yet beneficial battle. The book Battle of Britain by G. C. Skipper supports the idea that the battle was controversial....

Words: 1161 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Battle of Britian

...next move would be to attack Britain. In order to successfully invade Britain, Hitler’s army would have to attack by air. Hitler knew that Britain’s Royal Navy would be too strong for Germany to conquer, so Hitler and his military leaders came up with Operation Sea Lion. This Operation was supposed to give Germany control of the English Channel. Before the main plan could go into effect however, Germany first had to take down Britain’s Royal Air Force (R.A.F) Hitler would send around 2700 fighter planes to attack and destroy the R.A.F. The Battle of Britain marked the first time a major battle was fought completely by air. This grave mistake to underestimate Winston Churchill’s leadership ability and Britain’s Aerial strength proved to be the first major turning point for World War 2. Invading Britain was a tough decision for Hitler, because he had to decide whether it would be smarter to invade Russia or Britain first. Before the Battle took place, Hitler believed that Britain would be too scared to fight and that they would try to negotiate a peace offer. He figured that without any European allies left, Britain would quickly succumb to his will. Winston Churchill had others plans however, he hated Hitler and would never make a peace treaty with someone he believed to be evil. Instead he rallied the people of Britain and began to prepare his country for a long and disastrous war. Meanwhile, Hitler himself was preparing his Luftwaffe for battle, he believed by outnumbering...

Words: 867 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Winston Churchill Communication

...Intro Communication 1013 Mid-Term Paper | Jerry JesseauCO 1013October 22, 2013 | Intro to Communications Mid-Term Paper Winston Churchill was a British politician who became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 which is during most of the second World War, and also again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill is very commonly known for his memorable addresses to the British people at the beginning of World War II, speeches such as; We Shall Fight on the Beaches; Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat and Their Finest Hour are some of his more well-known speeches given in 1940. In this essay, how Winston Churchill kept Great Britain’s morale afloat during the dim times of World War II will be examined with the use of some of his more famous speeches. Poland, France and the majority of Europe had fallen to Hitler and Germany and Churchill was vastly responsible for keeping his nation calm. Winston Churchill’s first speech as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom came on May 13th, 1940. When speaking for the first time to the house of commons he had this to say regarding his entrance; "I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many long months of toil and struggle.” Churchill reveals that his takeover of the British government will not solve the massive struggle they have ahead, however...

Words: 1529 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

How to Right a Term Paper

...can’t cover six years of global warfare in fifteen pages of text. Let’s see...I’m more interested in the War in Europe than in the Pacific, so that narrows that down some, but I need something tighter. I like airplanes, so something about the air war would be interesting, and there was this documentary on the History Channel about the Battle of Britain last month...but even the Battle of Britain is too big for twelve pages. Right, have to narrow it down some more here...do a little preliminary research and reading. Ah, here it is: the German Air Force started out trying to destroy the Royal Air Force by bombing RAF airfields, but then switched to targeting British cities. This decision cost them the battle, because it let the RAF rebuild its fighter strength and shoot down enough German bombers to force the Germans to call off the offensive. Wait a minute. That would just be a report. Got it! WHY did the Germans decide to change targets? There’s a thesis. And so you would write your paper on “Why did the Germans decide to change targets during the Battle of Britain and what effect did this decision have on the outcome of the battle?” II. Writing an Abstract: Once you have a topic and a thesis, you need to work that question into a...

Words: 4172 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Summary Of 1940: A Large Scale Bombing Campaign Against Germany

...In the year 1940 began a large scale bombing campaign against Germany, with major destruction of both German soldiers and civilians. Although it began with attempted precision bombing of specific targets, only 20% of the bombs were found to hit within 5 miles of the target, so Britain decided to switch to a form of bombing known as Area bombing. In area bombing, the RAF attempted to destroy as much of the buildings and population of a city or region through the use of large quantities of bombs, fire bombs, and gas in waves to maximize destruction. It was this area bombing that has created controversy between historians as to whether or not the RAF’s actions could be considered war crimes. However the fact that the RAF’s bombing of the...

Words: 769 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

London Blitz Research Paper

...London public began buying tickets to ride the Underground system but went down there only to shelter overnight. Thousands more turn the tube stations into vast dormitories every night because their houses had been bombed out, people adjusted to horrific circumstances. There are lot of eye witness of that blitz one of them was “Tom Harrison, who was there at the time directing the Mass-Observation surveys of wartime behaviour, writes in his history Living Through the Blitz” (Solnit). She shares her experience of 55 nights of being bombed. A young Missouri-born warrior with a degree of human science, Charles E. Fritz, was in Britain aimed the war “As a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, I was stationed at several different air bases and command canters throughout England from 1943 to 1946,” (104). When he arrived, Britain was five years into a war; there where endless deficiency of food, clothing, nourishment, under those conditions he did god job and save numerous mases life. Toward the finish of the war, Fritz was allocated to the U.S. Key Bombing Survey, which arranged a stupendous report on the adequacy of the airborne besieging of Germany's civilians. Ritz noticed that their overviews uncovered that "individuals living in intensely shelled urban areas had altogether higher assurance than individuals in the softly bombarded urban communities" and that "neither natural neurologic sickness nor mental clutters can be ascribed to nor are they molded...

Words: 675 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Battle Of Britain Timeline

...Battle of Britain: A brief timeline It’s been 75 years since the Battle of Britain and in honor of that here is a timeline. On 3rd September 1939 Britain and France declared war on Germany after Poland was taken under their possession and over stepped their deal. Chamberlain announced the British deadline for the withdrawal of German troops from Poland expired. The declaration of war was met with cheers. On the 10 July 1940 Luftwaffe launched the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe had a series of attacks on the south-east coast of England. It was the first major attack by the Luftwaffe and was seen as the beginning of the Battle of Britain. Although the British fighter pilots were outnumbered, they put up a good fight and succeeded in driving...

Words: 341 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of Britain

...Biological Weapons: Threat of the 21st Century Michele Tallman Ashford University Principle & Theory of Security Issues CRJ433 Alicia Dembowski January 12, 2014 Biological Weapons: Threat of the 21st Century Biological Warfare is morally and inhumanely wrong, it is the wrongful killing of men, women, and children and it should be stopped no matter what the circumstances are. For the past 50 years or so the world has lived under the shadow of atomic weapons, threatening a “nuclear nightmare” that would bomb us back to the Stone Age. Now in the 21st Century, there is a new nightmare, called Biological Weapons. These types of weapons deliver toxins and microorganisms, such as viruses and bacteria, so as to deliberately infect disease among people, animals, as well as the destruction of crops leading to food shortages. The way that a biological weapon is used depends on several factors, these include the agent, its preparation; its durability in the environment, and route of infection. Some agents can be disbursed as an aerosol, which can be inhaled or can infect a susceptible spot on the skin, like a cut or wound. With the recent revolution in molecular biology, this may have incidentally unleashed a new threat to a peaceful night’s sleep. Even though there has been talk concerning the disarming of certain countries from nuclear weapons, terrorist factions and "nations of concern" have sought ways to continue their wars, by using biological weapons. Asymmetric...

Words: 2848 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Battle Of Bunker Hill Summary

...The Revolutionary War was a war the colonies raged on their homeland of Britain, searching for freedom. The war lasted eight years, from 1775 to 1783. Although it seemed from the beginning of the war that Great Britain had the upper hand, in the end Americans won the revolution. 1775 presented three very important battles at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. During the battle of Lexington, British generals had around seven hundred soldiers, while the Americans got together a small army of minutemen. Both armies fought, and the British won. Following their victory, the British decided to send more men to Concord to protect the remaining supplies there. However, when the British got there, American soldiers were waiting for them. This began the Battle at...

Words: 665 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

War Of 1812 Dbq Analysis

...Americans know the Revolutionary War as the war that declared independence against Britain. Few people know the importance of the War of 1812 or the “second American war of independence.” Before the War of 1812, Britain and France were in conflict. They finally confirmed war against each other. America was deciding what side they should defend, the French or the British. America didn’t want to choose which side they should fight on so, they stayed neutral and refused to fight in the war. Because of this action, Britain restricted trade access with France and, France restricted trade access with Britain. Britain came to tae this too far and kidnaped sailors and forced them to fight in the war against France. America and the United Kingdom...

Words: 813 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

War Of 1812 DBQ

...The War of 1812 causes and consequences were Britain arming the Native Americans with weapons but the reason for this is because America was in the process of developing so they kept pushing the Native towards West. Native Americans resistance started to weaken from joining British war which conflicted with the Americans. The British imprisoned American sailors to work for them in their navy by kidnapping them from Americans ship. Also, Britain placed a blockade on France because America and France needed to get through Britain in order to trade amongst each other. But for their actions there is always a reaction, the USS Constitution defeated British ship on the 19th of August in 1812. America's Commodore, Oliver Hazard Perry, lead the...

Words: 926 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Freedom And Liberty: The Revolutionary War

...Freedom and Liberty Although our nation’s history is made up of an endless amount of significant events, unarguably one of the most influential events was the American Revolution. The kingdom of Britain ruled by King George the third had control of thirteen colonies located on the North American continent. Being tired of unjust treatment, people of the British thirteen colonies decided it was time to not only fight for their human rights but it was also time to forever escape England’s control. With courage and pride, the colonists defended what they believed in and showed everyone worldwide that there will soon be a new great global power. The causes, battles, and effects of the Revolutionary war is what made this event so historically...

Words: 1241 - Pages: 5