Hansen
World History
The Battle of Britain
•
Hitler’s Attack on Britain
–
Hitler made an offer of ____________
–
When Britain refused, Hitler planned to __________
_____________. He cannot allow an anti-Nazi
Britain…
•
•
•
•
(why not?) ___________________________
___________________________________________
The Advantage of Being _________ with Superior ________
___________________
–
Churchill talks about the incredible advantage of
superior sea power- _________________________.
• Enemy might be able to ________ across, but
even then, how can it defend _____________?
–
Necessities of __________________for a good
invasion… high tide, half moon, clear weather… the
problem is that the enemy ____________________
_________________as well… can be prepared…
–
For this reason, he argues that Britain has always
been safe… even more so in WWI when __________
took away the ability of the aggressor to wait for
_____________________ to help them but drive the
defender away.
–
However, there was a new intangible in WWII
• … _______________________.
Basic German Invasion Plan… _______________________
–
Construct a Naval ________________
• cordon off the ______________________
between France and Britain
• line it with _____________and ____________,
and ferry the German army across…
–
Churchill claims that Britain could have ___________
_______________________________, destroyed the
subs, and __________________________________
–
he also says that this was the most ______________
____________section of the British coast…
•
1940-41
Name _____________________
Period _________
Note-Taking Guide
The Odds
–
Churchill estimated that at the beginning of the Battle of Britain
the Luftwaffe forces ________________________
_____________________, but there was considerable home
field advantage for the British
• Partly this is because of ________… Luftwaffe only
had about ________________of fighting time over
England before having to _____________________.
• Also, Enigma (bigger story here) and radar : _______
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
–
Churchill describes the need to defend a long coastline in
Britain meant to set up forces on the perimeter that would
_____________________________ and then the largest
possible ________________for quick counterattack… (what
he accused ___________________________in the Battle of
France )
Churchill’s _________________
–
Air battles between the Luftwaffe and the RAF occurred
through the _______________________________________
–
Operation Sea Lion would have to be launched by _______
____________________or it would have to wait _______
_____________ winter…would the RAF __________?
–
RAF started ________________ because of damage to its
fighter command….
• I’ve read one historian who claims England came
________________ of permanently losing the air war
–
Churchill, in desperation, _______the Germans by ________
______________________
• Hitler had promised _________________________if
German cities were _________________________
• Goering (head of Luftwaffe) had promised that
_______________________________________
•
The London ________________
–
The bombing of Berlin caused _______________
• The Germans altered their focus from an attack on
British air power to an attack on
__________________________________
• tried to bomb the Brits into submission through
___________________________
–
London was bombed after this for ___ consecutive
________________
–
Problem of underground shelters during incendiary
bombings?- ___________________
_____________________________________
• Solution? – _______________________
–
Thus, the Battle of Britain had two phases
• The attack on ____________
– And
• The attack on London, known as the
__________________
Record Two Interesting Facts from the London Blitz
Readings
1)________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
2) ________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
•
The Bombings of London Were _______________ to Churchill
–
–
–
–
“London can _________________”
RAF is being _________________________
By October, Hitler ______________the bombing of Britain
•
Too late to launch Sea Lion
Instead, Hitler decided to deal with England via the _______
________________________________________ (__________)
•
____________the British out
“Never in the field of human
conflict was so much owed by so
many to so few.”
So much? __________________
So many? ___________________
So few? _____________________
Hitler’s Attack on Britain
 Hitler made an offer of peace
 When Britain refused, Hitler planned to subdue Britain. He cannot allow
an anti-Nazi Britain…(why not?)
The Advantage of Being An Island with Superior Naval Power
 Churchill talks about the incredible
advantage of superior sea powervery hard to invade.
 Enemy might be able to sneak
across, but even then, how can it
defend its supply lines?
 Necessities of perfect weather for a
good invasion… high tide, half moon,
clear weather… the problem is that
the enemy can calculate these dates
as well… can be prepared…
 For this reason, he argues that Britain
has always been safe… even more
so in WWI when steam power took
away the ability of the aggressor to
wait for favorable winds to help them
but drive the defender away.
 However, there was a new intangible
in WWII
 … air power.
Basic German Invasion Plan…
Operation Sea Lion
 Construct a Naval corridor
 cordon off the shortest
straight line between
France and Britain
 line it with minefields and
subs, and ferry the
German army across…
 Churchill claims that
Britain could have torn
this minefield up,
destroyed the subs, and
crushed this invasion
 he also says that this was
the most heavily fortified
section of the British
coast…
The Odds
 Churchill estimated that at the beginning of the Battle of Britain the
Luftwaffe forces outnumbered the RAF 3-1, but there was considerable
home field advantage for the British
 Partly this is because of fuel… Luftwaffe only had about 10 minutes of
fighting time over England before having to head back to refuel.
 Also, Enigma (bigger story here) and radar
 Churchill describes the need to defend a long coastline in Britain meant to
set up forces on the perimeter that would stall the enemy and then the
largest possible reserve for quick counterattack… (what he accused the
French of not doing in the Battle of France… )
RAF Planes
 Hurricane… first RAF plane with a top speed
of over 300 mph…
 8 machine guns in the wings… (gets rid of
synchronizing gear)
 1,715 Hurricanes flew with Fighter Command
during the period of the Battle
 It is estimated that its pilots were credited with
four-fifths of all enemy aircraft destroyed in
the period July-October 1940.
Hurricane…
Hurricane…
Spitfire
Spitfire
 “The Spitfire has always attracted more
attention than the Hurricane, and is
undoubtedly one of the most famous aircraft
ever built. Its graceful lines combined with
outstanding handling qualities to produce a
"dream plane" extremely fast, and in
comparison to contemporary types was
second to none.”
 8 machine guns in wings
Luftwaffe
 Messerchmitt 109
 2 machine guns in the nose and two in the
wings
 The various strengths and shortcomings of
the Messerschmitt, the Hurricane, and the
Spitfire largely cancelled out in combat.
Stuka Dive Bomber
 Won great success in battles of Poland and
France, but in the Battle of Britain proved to
be almost helpless without fighter cover
“The Hurricane's comparative weakness in
acceleration was offset by its extreme strength
and ruggedness. There was little to choose
between the Spitfire and the Me109 between
12,000 and 17,000 feet, but above 20,000 feet
the Messerschmitt was undoubtedly the better
machine. It dived faster than its opponents, but
required much more physical effort to fly. The
weak, narrow undercarriage caused many
accidents, but despite this and the cramped
cockpit, the aircraft was popular with its pilots.”
Churchill’s
Gamble
 Air battles between the Luftwaffe and the RAF occurred
through the late summer and fall (1940)
 Operation Sea Lion would have to be launched by late
September or it would have to wait through the
winter…would the RAF hold out
 RAF started to crack because of damage to its fighter
command….

I’ve read one historian who claims England came within
one week of permanently losing the air war
 Churchill, in desperation, bated the Germans by
bombing Berlin


Hitler had promised never to bomb London if German
cities were not bombed
Goering (head of Luftwaffe) had promised that German
cities would never be bombed
The London Blitz
 The bombing of Berlin caused a change in
tactics


The Germans altered their focus from an attack
on British air power to an attack on England’s
civilian population
tried to bomb the Brits into submission through
terror bombing of London ..
 London was bombed after this for 57
consecutive nights…
 Problem of underground shelters during
incendiary bombings?

Solution? – To the roof!
 Thus, the Battle of Britain had two phases

The attack on the RAF


And
The attack on London, known as the London
Blitz
Primary Source Readings…
The Bombing of London were a
‘Relief’ to Churchill
 “London can take it.”
 RAF is being reconstituted
 By October, Hitler gave up on the bombing of
Britain

Too late to launch Sea Lion
 Instead, Hitler decided to deal with England
via the War in the Atlantic (Wolf Packs)

Starve the British out
 “Never in the field
of human conflict
was so much owed
by so many to so
few.”
Look at Churchill
Speeches from the
Invasion of France and
the Battle of Britain