The+Blitz+1940

Karin Hoonjan

The Blitz (Lightning Warfare)

In July 1940, Nazi Germany planned a strategic bombing warfare on Britain during WW2. Hitler sent in troops to destroy the Royal Airforce and take control of the English Channel. The Luftwaffe (German Airforce) bombed London for 76 consecutive nights, and raided ships, ports, radar stations, airfields and aircraft factories. The Blitz, or more commonly known as Lightning in German, was definately one of the most destructive raids in Europe. When the RAF attacked back, over the English Channel, the Gremans began losing more planes than the Brits, so Hitler decided on a new strategy to take over. He started to target civilians in the attempt to get Britain to surrender, then began his daily bombing raids. After a while, the daily raids changed to nightly ones to intimidate people and increase the "fear factor".

Blackout

Because of the nightly raids, people had to sleep in underground stations or shelters for protection. People also built Anderson shelters in their backyards in case they couldn't get to the public shelters. These shelters were very strong because they were made of corrugated iron, so many people built these. Because the air raids were done at night, the British government enforced a "Blackout", where all the lights in the city had to be turned off. This confused the Germans, but also made it dangerous for the people outside. A lot of people fell off bridges and cars crashed into each other, causing many accidents. After May 1941, Hitler focused more on Russia, and the bombing raids became less frequent. But the effects were devastating.

Damage

Over a million houses were damaged and destroyed in London and towns across the country A significant amount of buildings and cities were destoyed, making them unhabitable for people Over 60,000 casualties 87,000 seriously injured