| Dr
Chris Bellamy examines what happened, and explodes some enduring
myths concerning this crucial conflict.
The
Battle of Britain 1940
In the summer of 1940, the German Luftwaffe attempted to win air
superiority over southern Britain and the English Channel by destroying
the Royal Air Force and the British aircraft industry. This attempt
came to be known as the Battle of Britain, and victory over the
RAF was seen by the Germans as absolutely essential if they were
eventually to mount an invasion of the British Isles.
The Germans
had overrun Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France in May
1940, using the Blitzkrieg ('Lightning War') technique that relied,
among other things, on close coordination between ground troops
and the air force. Although the Luftwaffe proved very competent
in this role, it was not trained or equipped for the longer-range
operations that became part of the Battle of Britain.
It is widely
believed that had the Germans succeeded in their aim of destroying
the RAF, they would have been able to invade Britain relatively
easily. This was, after all, at a time when the country was the
only European power resisting Nazi Germany, even though she did
enjoy massive support from her Commonwealth partners.
Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed
by so many to so few. |
The
Soviet Union did not enter the war against Germany until June 1941,
and the United States didn't get involved until December of that
year. It was this state of affairs that lay behind Winston Churchill's
famous speech to Parliament on 20 August, right in the middle of
the concerted German air attacks on southern Britain, in which he
said, 'Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed
by so many to so few.'
Although the
fear of a German invasion was real, it was perhaps unfounded, however,
as German plans were in fact somewhat amateurish - when planning
the air attacks they made the mistake of regarding the Channel as
a relatively minor obstacle, little more than a wide river crossing.
In addition even if Hitler had achieved his aim of destroying the
RAF, Germany might still have failed to establish a foothold after
any invasion, because the British Royal Navy was enormously strong,
and very capable of repulsing German troop ships.
Suppression
of the British air force would have been the first difficult step
to a German victory, but it was not the only factor, and the British
would have found they had plenty more tricks up their sleeve. There
was nothing to stop them from withdrawing their aircraft northwards,
out of range of the German fighters, if they started to lose the
air battle, keeping the aircraft in reserve to counter an attempted
German invasion.
More
on the history of the Battle of Britain from the BBC
History World War Two website.
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