Battle of Britain

(Battle of Britain Historical Society) As Winston Churchill stated, the Battle of Britain would become a major influence to the outcome of World War II. Whether or not Germany conquered Great Britain was going to determine if Germany could become a world power. The Battle of Britain did not just save one country from Hitler’s rule, but ultimately kept the world from Germany’s reign.

As soon as they gained control of France, German generals began to plan how to defeat Great Britain. One of these generals was Hermann Goering, who had been a pilot during World War I and was now in charge of Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe. He proposed that the Luftwaffe would need to wipe out the Royal Air Force before Germany could successfully invade Great Britain. Goering also suggested they begin immediately, before Britain had time to recover from the Battle of France. However, Hitler told Goering to wait. (Franks 9) (Mosley 19-21)

The people of Great Britain were bracing themselves for attack. The Royal Air Force had lost about one thousand airplanes fighting in Norway and France, leaving them with only 470 aircraft in early June 1940. By the time the Battle of Britain began in July, the Royal Air Force was equipped with about 650 aircraft and had 1253 pilots, many of which had very little training. This was opposed to the Luftwaffe’s 2075 aircraft and pilots who had experienced war before. These numbers are one reason the British pilots were often referred to as “The Few”. (Franks 11-13)

Goering’s plan for the defeat of Britain consisted of three phases. First, the Luftwaffe would bomb the British Navy and any merchant ships crossing the English Channel. The goal of this was to cause a shortage of supplies and a weakened morale in Gre...

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...tegies, etc. that was rather confusing for me to read. It was harder to understand what the author of my references meant, so research was a bit more difficult than that of my paper for last quarter. Once I understood the story, it was a lot easier to write about, for obvious reasons. Next time before I pick a topic, I think I will check to see what the references for it are like first. The Battle of Britain itself is an extraordinary event in history, and I admire those pilots, but it was hard to write about because of the way books about it are written.

Works Cited

Battle of Britain Historical Society. Battle of Britain Historical Society. May 2010 .

Franks, Norman. Battle of Britain. New York City: Galahad Books, 1981.

Mosley, Leonard. The Battle of Britain. Morristown, New Jersey: Time-Life Books, Inc., 1977.