DefinePK

Description

The Blitz : German bombing campaign against Britain in 1940

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:02 The Blitz
1:44 Phase 1
4:04 Phase 2
5:26 Final Attacks
6:09 THE LAST RAID
6:47 Aftermath

In May and June 1940, Holland, Belgium, Norway, and France fell one by one to Germany, and Adolf Hitler started turning its target across the English Channel to Britain to deactivate Britain - a formidable obstacle in the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Despite being known as the strongest and best-trained air force in the world at that time, the German Luftwaffe failed to cripple Britain’s Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain, forcing Hitler to change his strategy.

That’s when a heavy bombing campaign known as “the Blitz” particularly targeting British cities, ports, and industrial areas, was ordered in an attempt to force Britain to surrender and decimate the morale of the British people.

What is Blitz?
The name Blitz, a short form of the German word “Blitzkrieg”, meaning “lightning war” was a sustained campaign of air bombardment on civilian targets conducted by the Luftwaffe - the German Air Force.

The Blitz began on the 7th of September, 1940 when the German air force decided to change its bombing target from the British air force to London.

Although London was the main target, other British cities and towns, namely Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Clydebank, Greenock, Sheffield, Swansea, Liverpool, Hull, Manchester, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Nottingham, Southampton, and especially Coventry were also subjected to heavy bombing raids.

#blitz #ww2