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Old 10-01-2015, 06:48 AM   #19
xoxoxoBruce
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Join Date: Oct 2002
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Battle of Britain

Why Hitler thought they could win, and why they didn't.

It started in July of 1940, and was intense, but wasn't non-stop. On one day, September 7, nearly 1,000 bombers struck at London. The planes filled a 20 mile wide(32 km), 40 mile long(64 km), 2 mile thick(3 km), hunk of sky. That attack on London resulted in 300 civilians dead, and another 1,300 injured. That's because the Brits were cowering in bomb shelters, instead of coming out with their faces painted half blue, and shaking their fists at the sky, while cursing the bombers, like real heroes.

Quote:
There’s no official end-date to the Battle of Britain, but many historians say it occurred in late October 1940 when German planes switched from day raids to night raids over the cities and Midland factories. This switch in tactics signified that the RAF was winning the battle and was very much in control of the skies.

In total the RAF lost about 1,500 aircraft, the Luftwaffe over 2,000. Compared what was to come, however, it proved to be a rather small affair. The Blitz resulted in over 90,000 civilian casualties, of which 40,000 were fatal.

In the end however, the Blitz changed the complexion of the war, and the resolve of British citizens who saw it as a moral victory. What’s more, it justified the British bombing of Germany and did much to sway the opinion of the war in the United States.
That little dust up changed the face of war forever, now air power was crucial and civilians were not just fair game, but basic strategy. Brutal, but looking at the WW I trench warfare, sending waves of cannon fodder while the folks at home were only following the action in the newspapers, it might have been for the better.
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