Bombing During World War Two Background Lesson

Background

• In the summer of 1940, Hitler decided to invade Britain. His plan was to take control of the English Channel by destroying the Royal Airforce and then to send German troops into Britain to take control.

• In July 1940, Hitler put his plan into operation. The German airforce (Luftwaffe) began making daily bombing raids on British ships, ports, radar stations, airfields and aircraft factories. This became known as the Battle of Britain.

Switch to bombing cities….

• The Blitz (from German, "lightning") was the sustained strategic bombing of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (collectively the United Kingdom) by Germany during the Second World War. Between 7 September 1940 and 16 May 1941 there were major raids (attacks in which more than 100 tonnes of high explosives were dropped) on 16 British cities: the capital, London, was attacked 71 times, Birmingham, Liverpool and Plymouth eight times, Bristol six, Glasgow five, Southampton four, Portsmouth three, and there was also at least one large raid on another eight cities.[1]

• London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 57 consecutive nights.[7] More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged, and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, almost half of them in London.[4] Ports and industrial centres outside London were also heavily attacked; the major Atlantic sea port of Liverpool was the most heavily bombed city outside London, suffering nearly 4,000 dead.[8][9] Other ports including Bristol, Cardiff, Hull, Plymouth, Southampton and Swansea were also targeted, as were the industrial cities of Birmingham,Belfast, Coventry, Glasgow and Manchester. Birmingham and Coventry were heavily targeted because of the Spitfire and tank factories in Birmingham and the many munitions factories in Coventry; the city centre of Coventry was almost destroyed.

Switch to the bombing of cities… • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RysIGjGVG0&feature=rel

ated (Day One)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b22TqvB0he4&feature=relmfu (Day Two)

Churchill’s Island

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNLUmjlNu1s

Bombing Raids • Hitler believed that by targeting civilians he could force the

British to surrender and on 7th September 1940 began his daily bombing campaign. London was the main target but other major cities were also bombed. Casualties were high. On the first day of bombing 430 people were killed and 1,600 badly injured.

The Blitz

• Tribute Video – The Blitz

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw8BpcWgET8

Impact of the Blitz – Private Film • Amateur colour film shot and edited by Rosie Newman, of the

impact of the Blitz on wealthy parts of West London. In addition to scenes of the devastation wrought on buildings by aerial bombing, there is coverage of firemen and ARP men putting out fires, clearing the rubble and digging for survivors. Rosie Newman was a wealthy and well-connected woman who consequently had gained a high level of access to create a valuable film record of Britain at war. This section of the film includes many of her human observations of life carrying on despite the Blitz - such as women and children queuing for shopping, a flower seller and a milkman delivering his round. Among the locations identified in Newmans film are Bond Street, Piccadilly, Hyde Park

Rosie Newman’s Film

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coFum6hqaME&feature=related

The Blitz: Sorting the Myth from the Reality • An Excellent BBC Resource on the Blitz

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwtwo/blitz_01.shtml

The Blitz September 1940-May 1941 • In July, 1940 the German airforce began its mass bomber attacks on British radar stations,

aircraft factories and fighter airfields. During the next three months the Royal Air Force lost 792 planes and over 500 pilots were killed. This period became known as the Battle of Britain.

• On the 7th September, 1940 the German airforce changed its strategy and began to concentrate on bombing London. 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 Luftwaffe made 127 large-scale night raids. Of these, 71 were targeted on London. The main targets outside the capital were Liverpool, Birmingham, Plymouth, Bristol,Glasgow, Southampton, Coventry, Hull, Portsmouth, Manchester, Belfast, Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottinghamand Cardiff.

• During the Blitz some two million houses (60 per cent of these in London) were destroyed and 60,000 civilians were killed and 87,000 were seriously injured. Of those killed, the majority lived in London. Until half-way through the Second World War, more women and children in Britain had been killed than soldiers.

• http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWblitz.htm

• Excellent link for primary sources about the Blitz

The London Blitz, 1940

• Eyewitness to History.Com

• http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/blitz.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmbKpiGoKOw • A short audio clip from the oral history of Violet Joan Watson

Hyde - recorded in 2005 - David R. Homer - Homer Audio Histories

• Produced by the British Government in October 1940, 'London Can Take It' is narrated by American journalist Quentin Reynolds and pays tribute to London and its people during the Blitz on the capital.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLgfSDtHFt8&feature=related

Black Outs

• Basic Overview….

• 4,500 Brits were killed before the bombing even started in accidents.

• http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/war/blackout.htm

• Air Raid Wardens

• http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/war/wardens.htm

Shelters • There were public shelters in most towns, but many people built

Anderson shelters in their gardens so that they had protection if they were unable to get to the public shelter. Anderson shelters were made out of corrugated iron and were very strong. A hole was dug in the garden, then the shelter was placed in the hole and it was covered with earth. An air-raid siren warned people when a raid was about to begin.

• The government tried to confuse the German bombers by enforcing a 'blackout'. Street lamps were switched off, car headlights had to be covered and people had to hang black material in their windows at night so that house lights could not be seen. Going out at night could be dangerous during the blackout; cars crashed into each other and pedestrians, people walked into each other, fell off bridges or fell into ponds.

• After May 1941, the bombing raids became less frequent as Hitler turned his attention to Russia. Nevertheless, the effects of the Blitz were devastating. 60,000 people lost their lives, 87,000 were seriously injured and 2 million homes were destroyed. (http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW2/blitz.htm)

Evacuation • Why were children evacuated?

• People expected cities to be bombed, as enemy planes tried to destroy factories. But bombs would hit homes and schools too, so children would be in danger. The government tried at the start of the war to 'empty the cities' of children and mothers, This was 'evacuation', to protect them from air raids.

• The plan was put into action in September 1939. About 800,000 children left their homes. However, many returned home after a few weeks. Others stayed in the countryside for the rest of the war.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/categories/c1162/

Outstanding Photo Link Site

• http://news.uk.msn.com/photos/special-photo-galleries/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=154609895&page=2