The Battle of Great Britain of 1940: London Bombing
London bombardment
At the beginning of September 1940, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to change his approach to the main British cities, including London . The attacks began on September 7 and continued until May of the following year. Sometimes, they continued day and night for weeks in a row without truce. Tens of thousands of Londoners lost their lives during this time, along with thousands of residents from other British cities. Meanwhile, however, British bombers also made night air attacks in the center of Berlin .
Although this bombing of London continued, Hitler decided on September 17, 1940, to put his plan for an invasion of Britain indefinitely waiting. It was clear that aerial superiority on England would be difficult to achieve. Instead, Hitler directed his attention to Russia.
The first turning point
The Battle of Great Britain marked the first turning point in the war, since it was the first time that the German forces did not achieve an important goal. The strong and effective resistance of the Royal Air Force caused Hitler to abandon the idea of invading Britain and directed his attention to Russia. Although Blitz continued to terrorize London and other cities during the next months, Great Britain no longer faced the threat of a land invasion. He showed the world that with sufficient stubborn resistance, Hitler could be forced to retreat.
The importance of aerial power
The battle of Great Britain was also the first time in history in which air power only decided the result of a great battle. Hitler knew that there was no way he could invade Britain on the ground without first obtaining aerial superiority. Churchill and British military leadership also knew that stopping the Luftwaffe would be the key to their survival. German air attacks against Great Britain were massive, but their initial intensity could not be maintained if the Germans constantly lost twice the aircraft that the British. In fact, at the end of the battle, Germany had lost 1,700 airplanes in front of 900 British planes.
The value of the new radar technology was also effectively demonstrated for the first time. The British had built a network of radar stations throughout their coast before the battle, and this system was invaluable, since British drivers could see the enemy approach and hurry the fighters in the right place at the right time. The radar also avoided the loss of a large number of aircraft on land, as happened during the first days of the invasion of France. Although the Germans made an effort to bombard the radar stations from the beginning, in mid -August they abandoned this strategy to consider it ineffective. It was a big mistake.
In addition, British pilots had a considerable advantage in the fight for their own territory. While the German pilots had a limited time in their target areas before having to return home to replace, the British pilots could remain in the air longer and even return to the base, refuel and then resume the fight.
Therefore, the mere act of attacking German aircraft, forcing them to spend fuel diverting them from their course, meant that less bombs would achieve the planned objectives. For both Britain and Germany, this air combat was a new type of war, and the strategies of each side were of an experimental nature.
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