Why were the major cities of Britain bombed by the Germans in 1940-41? The Blitz (shortened from the German word Blitzkrieg meaning lightning war)

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Coursework-Question 1

Why were the major cities of Britain bombed by the Germans in 1940-41?

The Blitz (shortened from the German word Blitzkrieg meaning lightning war) was a period of time when Germany carried out air raids on major cities in Britain.

The main reason for the Blitz was that Hitler wanted to invade.

The Blitz began on the 7th September 1940 with London being the first city attacked. London was bombed for 56 consecutive nights after that. This was because London is a densely populated area & the Germans knew that it would cause destruction & upset on a huge scale.

In particular the bombers focused on the East End as it was home to docks and factories. Other places in London were also hit such as Buckingham Palace and St Paul's Cathedral. This would have made some people very distraught as these buildings were part of Britain's history and what had been destroyed of them could not be replaced.
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As well as London, towns in the south of England such as Southampton, Bristol and Portsmouth were targeted and attacked because of their dockyards. Without docks England would be unable to send or receive anything in ships overseas. This would have caused havoc with the economy, as vital resources would have been restricted.

Hitler also set out for infrastructure and factories to be bombed because if roads, railways, buildings and factories had been ruined. Britain's industry would suffer immensely. Materials to make weapons and military vehicles would be scarce and s this would have a knock- on ...

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