This led the British to develop countermeasures, which became known as the Battle of the Beams. Between 7 September 1940 and 21 May 1941 there were major aerial raids (attacks in which m Subjects: British History, Social Studies - History, World History Grades: A Gallup poll found only 3% of Britons expected to lose the war in May 1940. Children pull crackers under paper decorations while jubilant adults smile . To prevent the movement of large enemy ground forces to the decisive areas, by destroying railways and roads, particularly bridges and tunnels, which are indispensable for the movement and supply of forces. [121] Few anti-aircraft guns had fire-control systems, and the underpowered searchlights were usually ineffective against aircraft at altitudes above 12,000ft (3,700m). The London docks and railways communications had taken a heavy pounding, and much damage had been done to the railway system outside. London Blitz 1940: the first day's bomb attacks listed in full [83] Until September 1939, the RAF lacked specialist night-fighting aircraft and relied on anti-aircraft units, which were poorly equipped and lacking in numbers. At the beginning of the war in 1939, London was the largest city in the world, with 8.2 million inhabitants. 8200 tons (8,330t) of bombs were dropped that month, about 10 percent in daylight, over 5400 tons (5,490t) on London during the night. Browse 1,952 london blitz stock photos and images available, or search for the blitz or world war ii to find more great stock photos and pictures. [189] The "Communist threat" was deemed important enough for Herbert Morrison to order, with the support of the Cabinet, the cessation of activities of the Daily Worker, the Communist newspaper. [141][failed verification] Altogether, 130 German bombers destroyed the historical centre of London. Morale was not mentioned until the ninth wartime directive on 21 September 1940. [47] Up to nine special transmitters directed their signals at the beams in a manner that subtly widened their paths, making it harder for bomber crews to locate targets; confidence in the device was diminished by the time the Luftwaffe was ready to conduct big raids. He recognised the right of the public to seize tube stations and authorised plans to improve their condition and expand them by tunnelling. but even after the Blitz ended, danger remained. 11 Group RAF and No. Before getting into detail, an overview of the area around St. Paul's Cathedral will help set the scene. The shortage of bombers caused OKL to improvise. At least 3,363 Luftwaffe aircrew were killed, 2,641 missing and 2,117 wounded. Dozens of men, women and children celebrate a Christmas party at a London Underground station during the Blitz in 1940. The name "Blitz" comes from the word "blitzkrieg" which meant "lightning war". [161] Still, while heavily damaged, British ports continued to support war industry and supplies from North America continued to pass through them while the Royal Navy continued to operate in Plymouth, Southampton, and Portsmouth. An American witness wrote "By every test and measure I am able to apply, these people are staunch to the bone and won't quit the British are stronger and in a better position than they were at its beginning". [140] The first group to use these incendiaries was Kampfgruppe 100 which despatched 10 "pathfinder" He 111s. [187] Historians' critical response to this construction focused on what were seen as over-emphasised claims of patriotic nationalism and national unity. At this time, the Underground lines were mostly owned and run by separate companies, all of which were merged together with . London was then bombed for 57 consecutive nights, and often during daytime too. Added to the fact an interception relied on visual sighting, a kill was most unlikely even in the conditions of a moonlit sky. [25], When Hitler tried to intervene more in the running of the air force later in the war, he was faced with a political conflict of his own making between himself and Gring, which was not fully resolved until the war was almost over. [79] The Women's Voluntary Services for Civil Defence (WVS) was established in 1938 by the Home Secretary, Samuel Hoare, who considered it the female branch of the ARP. Civilians left for more remote areas of the country. Sperrle, commanding Luftflotte 3, was ordered to dispatch 250 sorties per night including 100 against the West Midlands. [17], The vital industries and transport centres that would be targeted for shutdown were valid military targets. [127] By the second month of the Blitz the defences were not performing well. The most intense series of these raids took place from September 1940 to May 1941 in a period that has become known as the Blitz. The official history volume British War Production (Postan, 1952) noted that the greatest effect on output of warlike stores was on the supply of components and dispersal of production rather than complete equipment. The primary goal of Bomber Command was to destroy the German industrial base (economic warfare) and in doing so reduce morale. The next night, a large force hit Coventry. But the great bulk of the traffic went on, and Londonersthough they glanced apprehensively each morning at the list of closed stretches of line displayed at their local station, or made strange detours round back streets in the busesstill got to work. The lack of bombing in the Phoney War contributed significantly to the return of people to the cities, but class conflict was not eased a year later when evacuation operations had to be put into effect again. [145] The shift from precision bombing to area attack is indicated in the tactical methods and weapons dropped. The air campaign soon got underway against London and other British cities. Much civil-defence preparation in the form of shelters was left in the hands of local authorities and many areas such as Birmingham, Coventry, Belfast and the East End of London did not have enough shelters. His hope wasfor reasons of political prestige within Germany itselfthat the German population would be protected from the Allied bombings. By the end of November, 1,100 bombers were available for night raids. London Blitz Facts | London Blitz WWII | DK Find Out [163] By the end of the air campaign over Britain, only eight percent of the German effort against British ports was made using mines. [116] On 7 November, St Pancras, Kensal and Bricklayers Arms stations were hit and several lines of Southern Rail were cut on 10 November. Hayward 2007, www.ltmrecordings.com/blitz1notes.html, Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 12:33, German strategic bombing during World War I, Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany, Women's Voluntary Services for Civil Defence, Bombing of Wiener Neustadt in World War II, "The Blitz: The Bombing of Britain in WWII", "Families pay tribute to Stoke Newington war dead", Forgotten Voices of the Blitz and the Battle for Britain, The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy, Parliament & The Blitz UK Parliament Living Heritage, "London Blitz 1940: the first day's bomb attacks listed in full", Archive recordings from The Blitz, 194041 (audiobook), The Blitz: Sorting the Myth from the Reality, Exploring 20th century London The Blitz, Oral history interview with Barry Fulford, recalling his childhood during the Blitz, Interactive bombing map of Buckinghamshire, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Blitz&oldid=1141315217. The first German attack on London actually occurred by accident. For the London-based American football team, see, Directive 23: Gring and the Kriegsmarine, This was caused by moisture ruining the electrical. Two aerials at ground stations were rotated so that their beams converged over the target. London's Royal Docks History - Official Timeline [156] The Luftwaffe attacks failed to knock out railways or port facilities for long, even in the Port of London, a target of many attacks. Throughout 193339 none of the 16 Western Air Plans drafted mentioned morale as a target. The London Blitz The Blitz is the term used to describe the German bombing campaign that took place from September 7, 1940, through May 11, 1941. [76], Despite the attacks, defeat in Norway and France, and the threat of invasion, overall morale remained high. [87], Because of the inaccuracy of celestial navigation for night navigation and target finding in a fast-moving aircraft, the Luftwaffe developed radio navigation devices and relied on three systems: Knickebein (Crooked leg), X-Gert (X-Device), and Y-Gert (Y-Device). But even in May, 67 percent of the sorties were visual cat's-eye missions. From 1916 to 1918, German raids had diminished against countermeasures which demonstrated defence against night air raids was possible. The OKL had not been informed that Britain was to be considered a potential opponent until early 1938. [124] Although the use of the guns improved civilian morale, with the knowledge the German bomber crews were facing the barrage, it is now believed that the anti-aircraft guns achieved little and in fact the falling shell fragments caused more British casualties on the ground. The maps help to contextualize the staggering statistics from the Blitz: in London alone, there were 57 consecutive nights of bombing. London Blitz took place during the World War 2. To start off, the idea of the London Underground as a bomb shelter wasn't a new one by 1940. [26], The deliberate separation of the Luftwaffe from the rest of the military structure encouraged the emergence of a major "communications gap" between Hitler and the Luftwaffe, which other factors helped to exacerbate. [156] Hitler now had his sights set on attacking the USSR with Operation Barbarossa, and the Blitz came to an end. The Blitz timeline | Timetoast timelines The bombing also helped to support the U-boat blockade by sinking some 58,000 long tons (58,900t) of shipping and damaging 450,000 long tons (457,000t) more. Over a period of nine months, over 43,500 civilians were killed in the raids, which focused on major cities and industrial centres. Curiously, while 43 percent of the contacts in May 1941 were by visual sightings, they accounted for 61 percent of the combats. Dowding agreed air defence would require some offensive action and that fighters could not defend Britain alone. [92], German beacons operated on the medium-frequency band and the signals involved a two-letter Morse identifier followed by a lengthy time-lapse which enabled the Luftwaffe crews to determine the signal's bearing. He told OKL in 1939 that ruthless employment of the Luftwaffe against the heart of the British will to resist would follow when the moment was right. The lightning attack was infamously called "Black Saturday". Its explosive sound describes the Luftwaffe's almost continual aerial bombardment of the British Isles from. Timeline of the United Kingdom home front during World War II 'Blitz' is an abbreviation of the German word 'blitzkrieg', meaning 'lightning war'. BBC - WW2 People's War - Timeline Fact File : The Blitz 25 August 1940 to 16 May 1941 Theatre: United Kingdom Area: London and other major cities Players: Britain: RAF Fighter Command under. Many houses and commercial centres were heavily damaged, the electrical supply was knocked out, and five oil tanks and two magazines exploded. Much damage was done. [131] Whitehall's disquiet at the failures of the RAF led to the replacement of Dowding (who was already due for retirement) with Sholto Douglas on 25 November. [94], On 9 September the OKL appeared to be backing two strategies. In recent years a large number of wartime recordings relating to the Blitz have been made available on audiobooks such as The Blitz, The Home Front and British War Broadcasting. [122][123] In July 1940, only 1,200 heavy and 549 light guns were deployed in the whole of Britain. The History Place - World War II in Europe Timeline: London During the Blitz London during the Blitz A view of Big Ben through barbed wire entanglement. Bombsite rubble from Birmingham was used to make runways on US Air Force bases in Kent and Essex in southeast England. [170] On 19 November, John Cunningham of No. [150] The OKL had always regarded the interdiction of sea communications of less importance than bombing land-based aircraft industries. As the mere threat of it had produced diplomatic results in the 1930s, he expected that the threat of German retaliation would persuade the Allies to adopt a policy of moderation and not to begin a policy of unrestricted bombing. [145] Captured German aircrews also indicated the homes of industrial workers were deliberately targeted. Anti-Semitic attitudes became widespread, particularly in London. The details of the conversation were passed to an RAF Air Staff technical advisor, Dr. R. V. Jones, who started a search which discovered that Luftwaffe Lorenz receivers were more than blind-landing devices. The Metropolitan-Vickers works in Manchester was hit by 12 long tons (12.2t) of bombs. This had important implications. German planners had to decide whether the Luftwaffe should deliver the weight of its attacks against a specific segment of British industry such as aircraft factories, or against a system of interrelated industries such as Britain's import and distribution network, or even in a blow aimed at breaking the morale of the British population. Attacking ports, shipping and imports as well as disrupting rail traffic in the surrounding areas, especially the distribution of coal, an important fuel in all industrial economies of the Second World War, would net a positive result. The Blitz referred to the bombing of most major British cities by the Germans in World War II. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. [37], Regardless of the ability of the Luftwaffe to win air superiority, Hitler was frustrated it was not happening quickly enough. [135] In particular, the West Midlands were targeted. The Battle of Britain: Timeline | Military History Matters Rapid frequency changes were introduced for X-Gert, whose wider band of frequencies and greater tactical flexibility ensured it remained effective at a time when British selective jamming was degrading the effectiveness of Y-Gert. The Cruel Cost Of The Blitz: How Did Britons Rebuild Their Lives [149], A further line in the directive stressed the need to inflict the heaviest losses possible, but also to intensify the air war in order to create the impression an amphibious assault on Britain was planned for 1941. [167] The Bristol Blenheim F.1 carried four .303in (7.7mm) machine guns which lacked the firepower to easily shoot down a Do 17, Ju 88 or Heinkel He 111. [23], Ultimately, Hitler was trapped within his own vision of bombing as a terror weapon, formed in the 1930s when he threatened smaller nations into accepting German rule rather than submit to air bombardment. [45] This method condemned the offensive over Britain to failure before it began. Eventually, it would become a success. An unknown number of bombs fell on these diversionary ("Starfish") targets. It was during the Second World War. German intelligence suggested Fighter Command was weakening, and an attack on London would force it into a final battle of annihilation while compelling the British Government to surrender. From July until September 1940 the Luftwaffe attacked Fighter Command to gain air superiority as a prelude to invasion. London: A History - HISTORY In late 1943, just before the Battle of Berlin, Harris declared the power of Bomber Command would enable it to achieve "a state of devastation in which surrender is inevitable". [38][a], It was decided to focus on bombing Britain's industrial cities, in daylight to begin with. It showed the extent to which Hitler mistook Allied strategy for one of morale breaking instead of one of economic warfare, with the collapse of morale as a bonus. IWM C 5424 1. [44] Disputes among OKL staff revolved more around tactics than strategy. In the following month, 22 German bombers were lost with 13 confirmed to have been shot down by night fighters. Blitz WW2 - The Battle of London | Military History Matters Between September 1940 and May 1941 the German Luftwaffe attacked the city on over 70 separate occasions, with around 1 million homes being destroyed and killing over 20,000 civilians. The Blitz holds a special place in British history for the light which it supposedly sheds on . American observer Ralph Ingersoll reported the bombing was inaccurate and did not hit targets of military value, but destroyed the surrounding areas. Tawny Pipit (1944) While the likes of Welcome Mr. Washington (1944), Great Day (1945) and I Live in Grosvenor Square (1945) extended British hospitality to visiting Americans, Anthony Asquith's The Demi-Paradise (1943) was alone in offering the hand of friendship to our Soviet allies. This philosophy proved impractical, as Bomber Command lacked the technology and equipment for mass night operations, since resources were diverted to Fighter Command in the mid-1930s and it took until 1943 to catch up. Underground officials were ordered to lock station entrances during raids but by the second week of heavy bombing, the government relented and ordered the stations to be opened. [175], Between 20 June 1940, when the first German air operations began over Britain, and 31 March 1941, OKL recorded the loss of 2,265 aircraft over the British Isles, a quarter of them fighters and one-third bombers. Why TikTok is being banned on gov't phones in US and beyond In July 1939, Gring arranged a display of the Luftwaffe's most advanced equipment at Rechlin, to give the impression the air force was more prepared for a strategic air war than was actually the case. 219 Squadron RAF at RAF Kenley). When Gring decided against continuing Wever's original heavy bomber programme in 1937, the Reichsmarschall's own explanation was that Hitler wanted to know only how many bombers there were, not how many engines each had. [66], Public demand caused the government in October 1940 to build new deep shelters within the Underground to hold 80,000 people but the period of heaviest bombing had passed before they were finished. It hoped to destroy morale by destroying the enemy's factories and public utilities as well as its food stocks (by attacking shipping). The Second Great Fire Of London - 29th December 1940 [131], Nevertheless, it was radar that proved to be the critical weapon in the night battles over Britain from this point onward. [191] In other cities, class divisions became more evident. Timeline: London's Explosive History : NPR In Wartime One Girls Journey From The Blitz To Sadlers Wells is understandable in our digital library an online permission to it is set as public . It was decided to recreate normal residential street lighting, and in non-essential areas, lighting to recreate heavy industrial targets. At a London railway station, arriving troops pass by children who are being evacuated to the countryside. Hitler quickly developed scepticism toward strategic bombing, confirmed by the results of the Blitz. [10] Bombing failed to demoralise the British into surrender or do much damage to the war economy; eight months of bombing never seriously hampered British war production, which continued to increase. [50] The unexpected delay to civilian bombing during the Phoney War meant that the shelter programme finished in June 1940, before the Blitz. The bombings left parts of London in ruins, and when the war ended in 1945 much of the city had to be rebuilt. [128] London's defences were rapidly reorganised by General Pile, the Commander-in-Chief of Anti-Aircraft Command. 604 Squadron RAF shot down a bomber flying an AI-equipped Beaufighter, the first air victory for the airborne radar.
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