The Battle of Britain

1. Who was Hitler?

Purton tells us Hitler was German and wanted to rue over a lot of other countries in addition. He marched his armies into countries that were notstrong enough to resist. The reason the British went to war with him was to stop him taking over any more countries. Obviosuly that leaves out a whole lot but it is a good enough short summary, I guess.

2. What was the Battle of Britain?

The Battle of Britain (Luftschlacht um England, 'air battle for England') was a WWII military campaign in which the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm of the Navy defended the UK against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force (the Luftwaffe). It was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. It takes its name from the speech given by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June, 1940: "What General Weygand called the 'Battle of France' is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."

The Germans had rapidly overwhelmed France and the Low Countries in the Battle of France, leaving Britain to face the threat of invasion by sea. The German high command recognised the difficulties of a seaborne attack while the Royal Navy controlled the English Channel and the North Sea. The primary objective of the German forces was to compel Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement.

The British officially recognise the battle's duration as being from 10 July-31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, that lasted 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. German historians do not follow this subdivision and regard the battle as a single campaign lasting from July 1940 to May 1941, including the Blitz.

In July 1940, the air and sea blockade began, with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal-shipping convoys, as well as ports and shipping centres such as Portsmouth. On 16 July, Hitler ordered the preparation of Operation Sea Lion as a potential amphibious and airborne assault on Britain, to follow once the Luftwaffe had air superiority over the Channel. On 1 August, the Luftwaffe was directed to achieve air superiority over the RAF, with the aim of incapacitating RAF Fighter Command; 12 days later, it shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted factories involved in aircraft production and strategic infrastructure. Eventually, it employed terror bombing on areas of political significance and on civilians. In September, RAF Bomber Command night raids disrupted the German preparation of converted barges, and the Luftwaffe's failure to overwhelm the RAF forced Hitler to postpone and eventually cancel Operation Sea Lion. The Luftwaffe proved unable to sustain daylight raids, but their continued night-bombing operations on Britain became known as the Blitz.

Germanys air opower was far suoerior but their failure to destroy Britain's air defences and force it out of the conflict was the first major German defeat in the Second World War.

3. Draw one of the British aeroplanes of that time.