battle of britain (july-september) 1940

7/29/2019 Battle of Britain (July-September) 1940

1/14

3/12/13

Battle of Britain (July-September) 1940

The Battle of Britain took place between August and September 1940.After the success of Blitzkrieg, the evacuation of Dunkirk and thesurrender of France, Britain was by herself. The Battle of Britainremains one of the most famous battles of World War Two.

The Germans needed to control the English Channel to launch herinvasion of Britain (which the Germans code-named Operation Sealion).

They needed this control of the Channel so that the British Navy wouldnot be able to attack her invasion barges which were scheduled to land

on the Kent and Sussex beaches.

To control the Channel the Germans needed control of the air. Thismeant that they had to take on Fighter Command, led by Sir HughDowding, of the Royal Air Force.


2/14

3/12/13

The battle started on July 10th 1940 whenthe Luftwaffe attempted to gain control of

the Straits of Dover. The aim of the Luftwaffe was to tempt the

RAF out for a full-scale battle. By the end

of July, the RAF had lost 150 aircraft whilethe Luftwaffe had lost 268. In August, theLuftwaffe started to attack FighterCommand's airfields, operation rooms andradar stations - the idea being that the RAFcould be destroyed on the ground so that theLuftwaffe need not fight them in the air.

Without radar the RAF would be seriousl


3/14

3/12/13

Advantage to Britain

From August 23rd to September6th, the Luftwaffe started nighttime bombing raids on cities.

The RAF was also badly hit with6 out of 7 main fighter bases insouth-eastern England being put

out of action. Biggen Hill waswrecked.

However, for all this apparent

success, the Luftwaffe was


4/14

3/12/13

The change to bombing the citiesalso gave Fighter Command time to

recover from its losses and for pilotsto recover from the many hours aday they operated which took many

to the brink of exhaustion. On September 15th came the last

major engagement of the battle. On

that day, the Luftwaffe lost 60 planeswhile the RAF lost 28. On September17th, Hitler postponed indefinitelythe invasion of Britain though the

night time raids and Germany was


5/14

3/12/13

The reason for Germanysdemise

The Germans fought too far awayfrom their bases so that refuellingand rearming were impossible. The

German fighters had a very limitedtime which they could spend overBritain before their fuel got too low.

British fighters could land, refuel andrearm and be in the air again veryquickly.

The change of targets was crucial. It


6/14

Click to edit Master subtitle style

3/12/13

Britain and USA lend lease

agreementMarch 1941


7/14

3/12/13

Why was it signed?

Lend-Lease was the program underwhich the United States of Americasupplied the United Kingdom, the

Soviet Union, China , France, andother Allied nations with materielbetween 1941 and 1945.

It was signed into law on March 11,1941, a year and a half after theoutbreak of war in Europe in

September 1939 but nine months


8/14

3/12/13

What did it say?

This act empowered the president to "sell,transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, orotherwise dispose of, to any such government

whose defence the President deems vital to thedefence of the United States any defencearticle.

In effect, it allowed Roosevelt to authorize thetransfer of military materials to Britain withthe understanding that they would ultimatelybe paid for or returned if they were not

destroyed. To administer the program,


9/14

3/12/13

Payback?

A critical program for winning thewar, Lend-Lease came to an abruptend with its conclusion.

As Britain needed to retain much ofthe Lend-Lease equipment for post-war use, the Anglo-American Loan

was signed through which the Britishagreed to purchase the items forapproximately ten cents on the

dollar. The total value of the loan was


10/14

3/12/13

June- 1941 OperationBarbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the namegiven to Nazi Germanys invasion ofRussia on June 22nd 1941.

Barbarossa the largest military attackof World War Two and was to haveappalling consequences for the

Russian people.


11/14

3/12/13

Russia starts the world

will hold its breath.The first version of the plan was doneby Marcks in August 1940. Heenvisaged a massive attack on

Moscow and a secondary one on Kiev Next version of the plan was

completed in December 1940 by

Halder. He changed Marcks plan byhaving three thrusts; a major oneagainst Moscow, a smaller attack on

Kiev and a major attack on


12/14

3/12/13

The third and final variant was Hitlers plan

which he codenamed Barbarossa. This planwas constructed in December 1940. For Hitler,the primary military activity would take placein the north. Hence Leningrad became a vital

target as did Moscow. His drive in the southwas confined to the occupation of the Ukraineto the west of Kiev.

The attack started at 03.00, Sunday morningJune 22nd 1941. In total the Germans and herallies used 3 million soldiers, 3580tanks, 7184 artillery guns, 1830 planes and750,000 horses.


13/14

3/12/13

By Day 17 of the attack, 300,000

Russians had been captured, 2,500 tanks,1,400 artillery guns and 250 aircraft

captured or destroyed. This was only in

the territory attacked by Army Group

Centre. To any military observer, the

Russian Army was on the verge of a total

collapse and Moscow seemed destined to


14/14

3/12/13

The end :d

battle of britain (july-september) 1940

Documents