Battle of Britain
AND
Operation Sea Lion
Alix Pletcher, Julia Hills, Maddy Calvert, Emilee
Kaminski, Golda Ferraz
Thesis
The Battle of Britain, a completely air-based
conflict, represented the first time the Nazi
Empire didn’t easily succeed, damaging
German self-esteem. This led Germany to turn
away from Britain and target the Soviet Union.
Timeline
https://prezi.com/jptf9zxu3-rd/edit/
Important Figures
ALLIES:
●
●
Winston Churchill
Hugh Dowding
Winston Churchill
○ Prime Minister of
England
Air Chief Marshal Hugh
Dowding
○ Commander in
Chief RAF Fighter
Command
AXIS:
●
Adolf Hitler
○ Leader of Germany
●
Reichsmarschall Hermann
Goering
○ Supreme
commander of the
German Luftwaffe
Churchill honored the pilots of Fighter Command
when he said, "Never in the field of human conflict
was so much owed by so many to so few." “And
for so little” cracked an RAF pilot who felt
underpaid” (Moody).
Adolf Hitler
Hermann Goering
WE NEED 6 VOLUNTEERS!
The Planes
BRITISH:
GERMANS:
● Spitfire
● Hurricane
●
●
●
●
●
●
Heinkel HeIII
Junkers Ju 88A
Messerschmitt Bf 109E
Dornier Do 17
Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka"
Messerschmitt Bf 110
Map
Phase One: The Channel Attacks
The Luftwaffe begins attacking
British convoys (groups of
warships) in the English
Channel
Inflicted massive damage on the
warships and the British stop
using the Channel for their navy
Phase Two: Eagle Attack
● The Luftwaffe attacks RAF airfields in order
to gain air supremacy.
● The RAF RADAR warning system coupled
with the tight fighter control systems detected
the incoming German planes.
●
Accidental German attack on London-Hitler
responds with full-out bombings in London,
resulting in the Blitz.
Phase Three: The Blitz
● September 7, 1940: Luftwaffe begin air
raids against London.
● September 15: Luftwaffe conducts two
massive bombings-ends with 60
German planes shot down and 20 RAF
planes.
● Hitler decides to postpone Operation
Sea Lion two days later.
Phase Three: The Blitz
● After Hitler realized a land invasion of Britain was not
going to happen, he shifted his focus to invading the
Soviet Union.
● However, Winston Churchill had other ideas...
-
brought the war to Germany, bombed historical town Dresden
Hitler gets mad and decides to bomb, or “blitz” historical towns in
England, such as Bath.
Phase Four: The End of the Battle
● Hitler realized
Germany wouldn’t win
the war of attrition
with Britain: losses
were exceeding British
losses.
● October 31, 1940:
Battle of Britain ends.
The Importance
- The first time Nazi
Germany didn’t win
- The British forced Hitler
to cancel Operation Sea
Lion
- Germany focused on USSR
Works Cited Page
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2015.
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"Battle of Britain." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
Biesinger, Joseph A. "Battle of Britain." Germany. New York: Facts On File, 2006. Modern World History Online. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
"German bombers over burning targets during Battle of Britain." Photos/Illustrations. AP Photo. World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web.
16 Mar. 2015.
"Hermann Goering." Photos/Illustrations. The Illustrated London News Picture Library. World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO,
2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
"Hermann Goering." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 20 June 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
"Leaders and Commanders of the R.A.F. and the Luftwaffe." Leaders and Commanders. Battle of Britain Historical Society, 2007. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Moody, Sidney C. War in Europe. Novato, CA: Presidio, 1993. Print.
Winston Churchill." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.