The Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain By June of 1940, the Germans had occupied most of Europe and began to set their sights on Britain. Their plan was to first have their Air Force destroy the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and then, once they had air superiority, to have their Army actually invade Britain if the British did not sign a surrender agreement.
The attempt by the Germans to destroy the RAF was known as the "Battle of Britain". It began in early July, 1940 with attacks on Allied shipping in the English Channel. These early attacks gave the Germans a chance to become familiar with RAF air defenses.
In early August the Germans began extensive attacks on British air fields and these attacks continued with increasing intensity until early September, with the Germans still unable to defeat the RAF. There were a number of reasons why the Germans were unable to defeat the RAF, among them being:
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Videos:
Below is a 5-part video that tells the story of the Battle of Britain:
- Part 1: Preparation for battle -- (28.0 MB wmv file)
- Part 2: Germans attack shipping in the English Channel -- (27.1 MB wmv file)
- Part 3: Germans begin attacking British air fields -- (26.7 MB wmv file)
- Part 4: German attacks against British air fields intensify -- (27.5 MB wmv file)
- Part 5: The Germans change tactics and attack London -- (24.8 MB wmv file)
- View some RAF gun camera footage from the Battle of Britain -- (7.5 MB wmv file)