Why were the major cities of Britain bombed by the Germans in 1940-1941?

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Claire Javeleau 11KJH

WHY WERE THE MAJOR CITIES OF BRITAIN BOMBED BY THE GERMANS IN 1940-1941?

     Hitler’s original plan before the outbreak of the Second World War was to form an alliance with Britain against communist Russia. However, his actions in the 1930’s turned Britain against him, forcing him to abandon this idea. On 3rd September 1939 Britain and France declared war on Hitler because of he broke his promise to Chamberlain, about not invading any more countries. He invaded Poland, and Britain and France honoured their promise to Poland, therefore declaring war. The period of six months that followed became known as the ‘Phoney War’. No actual fighting took place until the invasion of France in may 1940. Hitler successfully conquered France in a matter of months. Now all of Europe was under Nazi power except for Britain, and they just had to sit and wait for his next move.

     Operation ‘Sealion’ was an attack on the British Navy aiming to destroy as many ships as possible. The Luftwaffe and the German Navy attacked Britain, resulting in a disastrous loss. Hitler’s largest attack came in July 1940, when the German airforce began its large-scale bombing attacks on British radar stations, aircraft factories and fighter airfields. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not allowed to have military aircraft, but when Hitler came to power it became clear that he was unwilling to keep these terms. In the next three months after the first German attack, the  lost 792 planes and over 500 pilots were killed. This period became known as the .

     On the 7th September 1940 the German airforce, the Luftwaffe, changed its strategy and began to concentrate on bombing . This was because the British RAF kept fighting back, and the attack was not having the desired effect. By changing his strategy, Hitler thought that the morale of the British people would be lowered by the attack of their cities. On the first day of the Blitz killed 430 citizens and 1,600 were severely injured. The German bombers returned the next day and a further 412 died (www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk). However, Hitler did not realise that he was actually helping Britain by changing the Luftwaffe’s tactics. If he had continued bombing the radar stations and RAF bases, the British Air Force would have been wiped out, with no facilities to produce more planes, and Hitler would have conquered Britain.

     Hitler thought that by bombing British cities, he would be able to force them to surrender. He believed this because of the response of the French government. When threatened with a Blitzkrieg attack, the French rapidly surrendered because they did not want their beautiful city harmed. But the pride of Britain would not let them be conquered. If anything, it made the British public more determined to fight Hitler, and not be defeated as easily as the French were. The blitzkrieg attack was one threat was used in many European countries including Denmark, Poland, Norway and the Sudetenland. To the Germans this appeared to be an effective means of invasion, and they presumed that it would have the desired effect on Britain.

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DESCRIBE THE EFFECTS OF THE BLITZ ON EVERYDAY LIFE IN BRITAIN.

     On the 7th September, 1940 the Luftwaffe changed its strategy and began to concentrate on bombing . On the first day of the Blitz killed 430 citizens and 1,600 were severely injured. The German bombers returned the next day and a further 412 died. Between September 1940 and May 1941, the  made 127 large-scale night raids. Of these, 71 were targeted on . The main targets outside ...

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