battle of britain

Battle of Britain For residents of Southern England, 1940 was a horrific year. “ Citizens of London lived through the Blitz ” as the British Royal Air force (RAF) did their best to defend their country (Wawro, par. 1). The “ Germans had defeated France, Poland, and Czechoslovakia leaving the United Kingdom as the only country in their way of winning the war in Western Europe ” (Wawro par. 1). The Battle of Britain began on “July 10, 1940” (Wawro par. 1). This Battle was “an air conflict or war between the British and German air forces” (Wawro, par. 1). The Battle of Britain affected Britain socially, economically, and politically. Socially Britain was affected by the horrific loss of life and the wholesale destruction of communities. Economically Britain was in economic ruin. Politically, British people depended on other countries to help out with war costs and damage. Communities were destroyed and families were torn apart during the Battle of Britain, German bombings were the most prevalent causes. “ The blackout began two days before the war, everyone had to cover up their windows with black material, street lamps were turned off, and car headlights had to be blacked out ” (Life, par. 1). Deadly traffic accidents were common during the blackout. The battle began with “ 60 German aircrafts attacking the shipping in the English Channel ” (Wawro, par. 3). During the early months of the war there were not many bombs dropped, the Germans “ mainly attacked the RAF air bases ” (Life par. 1). “ In September of 1940 the German’s started to bomb Britain’s cities hoping the British would panic and surrender, this period is

known as The Blitz ” (Life, par. 1). Blitz was short for “ Blitzkrieg or lightning wars ” (Mr. Knox). The Blitz was a “ series of German aerial attacks during the Battle of Britain ” (Lewis, par. 2). Germany’s objective was to “ quickly gain air superiority prior to the invasion ” (Lewis, par. 2). “ German warplanes bombed