No words sum up this battle than Winston Churchill'r, " Never in the field of human conflict was so much over by so many to so few".
After the conquest of France, Adolf Hitler began planning Operation Sealion the invasion of Britain, In order to land invasion force against Britain's superior navy, Germany would require complete supremacy in the air, and so it was the battle of Britain was fought entirely in the skies. The battle began in earnest on August 13, 1940 code-name Eagle Day by Germans when the Luftwaffe (German air force) , under the command of Herman Goering, began the large-scale bombing of British airfields and aircraft factories in an effort to destroy the RAF.
But the Germans had not counted on the skill, determination and stamina of British pilots, the maneuverability of the British Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft, of the advantage provided bu Britain's secrete chain of south-coast radar stations, the first in the world. At first the Germans consistently lost more aircraft than the British, but in late August Goering changed tactics, concentrating greater firepower on a smaller number of targets, and the RAF began to lose planes and pilots faster than it could replace them. Then Goering made a decision that would cost him the battle : On September 7 he began bombing London.
But the Germans had not counted on the skill, determination and stamina of British pilots, the maneuverability of the British Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft, of the advantage provided bu Britain's secrete chain of south-coast radar stations, the first in the world. At first the Germans consistently lost more aircraft than the British, but in late August Goering changed tactics, concentrating greater firepower on a smaller number of targets, and the RAF began to lose planes and pilots faster than it could replace them. Then Goering made a decision that would cost him the battle : On September 7 he began bombing London.
 |
| Herman Goering |
Historians disagree to whether Goering made this decision in order to achieve a breakthrough, not realizing how close the RAF was to capitulation or whether it was a misguided retaliation for RAF raids on Berlin. Whatever the reason, it was the break the RAF needed. The bombing of London marked the start of the Blitz, which was disastroius for London, but by taking Luftwaffe resources away from bombing Britain's airfields, it allowed the RAF to regroup. On September 15 came the decisive raid on London - the Luftwaffe lost nearly three times as many aircraft as the RAF, and the Germans had to accept that far from being defeated, the RAF was gaining strength. Two days later Hitler postponed Operation Sealion "until further order," abandoning it altogether on October 12. The battle of Britain had been won and lost, and September 15 is celebrated annually as Battle of Britain Day in memory of the pilots of the RAF - " the Few" to whom so much is wed by so many.
No comments:
Post a Comment