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

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

Following the fall of France in May 1940, Britain was the only major power left in World War II. Norway, Denmark, Holland and Belgium had all fallen to Germany, and complete domination of Europe seemed imminent for Adolf Hitler. It was necessary for Britain to be defeated, however, before this could happen. The Germans were attempting to do this in 1940 and 1941 during their bombing of Britain.

Beginning in July 1940, the Luftwaffe carried out an aerial assault on Britain's radar stations, aircraft factories and fighter bases in order to destroy the RAF so that an invasion could be attempted. Hitler believed that any invasion would be unsuccessful if the RAF were still operating as the ships carrying troops would be destroyed before reaching England. However, by September victory over the Air Force had still not been obtained. Incensed by the retaliatory British bombing of Berlin and impatient with the length of time it was taking to gain complete air superiority, Hitler ordered a change in tactics: from now on civilian, not industrial, targets would be the main focus of attack and on the