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After the defeat of France, the Battle of Britain began in July 1940. From July to September, the Luftwaffe were pursuing a strategy of directly challenging the RAF in an attempt to gain ' air superiorityAir superiority is defined in the NATO Glossary as "That degree of dominance in the air battle of one force over another that permits the conduct of operations by the former and its related land, sea, and air forces at a given time and place without prohi' as a prelude to a planned seaborne and land invasion (see Operation SealionOperation Sealion Unternehmen Seelowe in German) was a World War II German plan to invade Britain. It was never carried out. Preparations began after the Fall of France, when the Germans felt they had already won the war. Britain, however, refused to star). On September 5September 5 is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years). There are 117 days remaining. Events 1666 Great Fire of London ended: A large fire in London burns out after three days. 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral were destroyed, but on HitlerAdolf Hitler ( April 20, 1889 April 30, 1945) was the Fuhrer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers' Party and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. In that capacity he was Chancellor of Germany, head of government, and head of state, ruling as a issued a directive stating a requirement ...for disruptive attacks on the population and air defences of major British cities, including London, by day and night. Germany consequently modified its previous strategy of attacking airfields in favour of the bombing of London and other cities. This change of tactics on the part of the Luftwaffe was fortunate for the RAF insofar as it reduced the unsustainable rate of attrition (of aircraft and pilots) the RAF was experiencing.
The first air raids on London were mainly aimed at the docklandsThe Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames in London, England. Technically the Port of London consists of all the tidal portion of the River Thames from Margate on the south coast, and Clacton-on-Sea on the north, through to Teddington, a in the East End of London. For several weeks the raids took place both by day and night. Eventually Germany switched to night time raids only because the Luftwaffe was losing too many bombers during the day. One reason for relatively heavy losses on the German side was that the UK had radar that allowed the early detection of German aircraft as they approached the British coast.
In November 1940 the Luftwaffe began bombing other towns and cities too, such as Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, Sheffield and, in 1941, Liverpool. They were major manufacturing areas, and the action was also aimed at causing fear among the workers. London continued to be bombed but the raids were less frequent. On June 22, 1941 Germany launched the invasion of the Soviet Union ( Operation Barbarossa) and air raids on London became infrequent as Germany moved the bulk of their war effort to the Eastern Front.
42,000 civilians are estimated to have died during the campaign, with over 50,000 injured, and around 130,000 houses destroyed.
A major objective of World War 2 bombing on both sides was the reduction of enemy morale, and the sustaining of home morale, but it is doubtful that the Blitz dented British morale. It is more likely that the attacks served to stiffen British resolve to confront the Nazis.
American radio journalist Edward R. Murrow was stationed in London at the time of the Blitz, and he provided live radio broadcasts to the United States as the bombings were taking place. This form of immediate live news broadcasting from a theatre of war had never been experienced by radio audiences before, and Murrow's London broadcasts made him a radio celebrity, launching his career.
See also: Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II