THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

Arjun KumarJack SimpsonMacky Morin

Ian Camal SadoTristan Lagron

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I wants you.

I surrender pls don’t cut off my

moustachio

June 1940: France surrenders to Germany after six weeks of German blitzkrieg.

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I wants you too.

Fite me irl

However, Britain wasn’t going to go down without a serious fight. A

ThesisThe Third Reich’s Operation Sea Lion attempted to force a British surrender; due to poor execution, however, the Operation quickly wound down into the aerial war of attrition known as the Battle of Britain. Though smaller in size, the Royal Air Force used its faster fighters and radar to fight the endless German bomber groups to a near-stalemate. Hitler’s emotional decision-making allowed the Royal Air Force to regroup and inflict heavy losses on the Luftwaffe, eventually leading to the cancellation of Operation Sea Lion. The successful defense of Britain was the first time that Adolf Hitler’s seemingly invincible advance had been brought to a halt, boosting Allied morale everywhere while forcing Hitler to lose his one-front Blitzkrieg advantage.

Tl;dr Germany bomb Britain, Britain won’t die, Hitler gives up and Allies happy.

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How will Hitler try to invade Britain?

Trick question: He doesn’t even plan on trying. Blitzkrieg doesn’t work when you have a

channel between you and the enemy Use the Luftwaffe to reduce Britain to rubble Use U-boats to starve Britain into submission

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Operation Sea Lion

In case this doesn’t work: Use the Luftwaffe to knock out air

bases Knock out naval bases to stop the

Royal Navy from hindering landing Invade using occupied France and

Belgium as launchpads Landing points around Southern

EnglandT

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwpTj_Z9v-c

The German Side

Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of Germany Originally wanted to make peace with Britain Later decided to conquer and destroy them

Led by Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering Supreme Marshal of the German Luftwaffe Many failures; eventually fell out of Hitler’s favor Executed for war crimes at the Nuremburg Trials

General Adolf Galland Commander of the German Fighting Arm One of the best pilots in the Luftwaffe

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Luftwaffe Organization

Luftflotte 2: based in Belgium Commanded by Feldmarschall Albert Kesselring 1206 aircraft (over half were fighters)

Luftflotte 3: based in France Commanded by General Hugo Sperrle 1042 aircraft

Luftflotte 5: based in Norway Commanded by Feldmarschall Hans-Jurgen

Stumpff 155 defensive aircraft

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Luftwaffe Aircraft

Heavy and medium bombers Heinkel He 111 Dornier Do 17 Junkers Ju 88

Escorted by fighters and fighter-bombers: Messerschmitt Bf 109E Messerschmitt Bf 110C Junkers Ju-87 Stuka

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The British Side Prime Minister

Winston Churchill: helped prepare Britain for war Evacuated children

from the cities to the countryside

Set up early warning and alarm systems

Fantastic orator who kept popular morale high

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Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding: in charge of major strategy and decision making for Britain Commander-in-Chief

of the RAF Fighter Command

Maxwell Aitken: Minister of Aircraft Production Increased the

production and repair of aircraft

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The Royal Air Force

Four RAF fighter groups, each commanded by an Air Vice Marshal 10 Group: Southwestern United Kingdom 11 Group: Southeastern United Kingdom

Commanded by AVM Keith Park 12 Group: Midlands

Commanded by AVM Trafford Leigh-Mallory 13 Group: northern England and ScotlandTotal of 754 single-seat fighters defending the United Kingdom

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British Advantages 2x higher factory output of

aircraft More highly trained and skilled

pilots Radar, developed by Robert

Watson-Watt, provided Britain with a key early warning system to coordinate fighter defenses

Fighting over British soil meant that RAF pilots could eject and survive, while German airmen were captured upon landing.

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British Advantages (cont.) The cornerstone of the British

defenses was their small, fast, highly maneuverable single-seat fighters like the Supermarine Spitfire Mk I and the Hawker Hurricane Mk I.

Germany was fighting an offensive war, using slower bombers that could be easily shredded by the Spitfire’s 20mm cannons.

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Kanalkampf

First phase of the Battle of Britain July 10 – Mid-August, 1940 Bombed British domestic shipping in

the English Channel Lured out the RAF from their bases to be

attacked by Luftwaffe fighters Britain winning by numbers (248 vs

148 aircraft), but war of attrition clearly impossible for Britain to win

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Aldertag August 13, 1940; translates to “Eagle

Day” Germans heavily bombed British

airfields and the Radar Defense System (RDS); appeared highly successful but failure in reality

Britain quickly restores all but one of its radar installations, giving UK early warning again

Air bases hit belonged to different branch of RAF; fighters relatively unscathed

All this time, Germans continue to lose aircraft

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Hitler’s Mistake

German plane bombs London Against German orders Enrages Britain because civilians

targeted Allies bomb Berlin in retaliation

Goering ‘insulted’: “If a raid of Berlin ever happens, you can call me Meyer.”

Hitler enraged, immediately orders a concentrated bombing campaign of London instead

Allowed RAF to regroup and recover

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CANCELLED

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Timeline of the Battle

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Casualties

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Why This “Battle” Mattered Gave hope for victory to the occupied

Europeans Fed partisan resistance against German

occupation forces Convinced many members of the

American public to support assisting Britain Helped secure passage of the 1941 Lend-

Lease Act Luftwaffe never recovered from the

loss Forced Germany to spread its

resources in three different directions: West, South, and East

No longer a quick Blitzkrieg victory for Germany

This was the first time

that Adolf Hitler’s world takeover was

stopped.

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Lesson Learned:

It’s not the size of your air force that matters, it’s how you use it.

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Works Cited

“Great Air Battles: The Battle of Britain.” Great Air Battles: The Battle of Britain. Polish Academic Information Center, University at Buffalo, 2000. Web. 14 May 2014. http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/britain/airbattle.html.

Keegan, John. “Chapter 4.” The Second World War. New York: Viking, 1990. N. pag. Print.

“Leaders and Commanders.” Leaders and Commanders. Battle of Britain Historical Society, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/00002.html.

Miller, Donald L., and Henry Steele Commager. The Story of World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Print.

Tucker, Spencer, and Priscilla Mary. Roberts. "Britain, Battle of." Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. N. pag. Print.

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