The Battle of Britain History Paper
The Battle of Britain History Paper
The Battle of Britain was a battle between the German air force, the Luftwaffe, and the British air force, the Royal Air Force (RAF). This battle took place over the skies of the United Kingdom in the summer and autumn of 1940. In order for Hitler to execute “Operation Sealion”, a planned invasion, successfully, he had to get rid of the British air force fearing that they will stop the operation if he tried to execute it. The first attack occurred in the August of 1940. Hitler decided to bomb the British airfields and then eventually cities. The British cities were bombed to bring out the RAF so the Luftwaffe could take them down. But Hitler underestimated the RAF, because the British had RADAR technology. The British were able to decode the German’s radio transmissions that warned them when the German’s were about to attack. The Luftwaffe suffered more losses than the RAF. Comparing losses in August, the Luftwaffe lost 669 units while the RAF lost 366 units. On September 17, 1940, Hitler cancelled the planned invasion, thereby accepting defeat in the Battle of Britain but continued bombing. This was an important event because it changed the course of World War II, weakening Germany’s air force and changing Hitler’s mind of invading Britain. The Battle of Britain changed the course of the twentieth because of the advanced technology used in that battle by Britain.
First off, the Battle of Britain changed the course of World War II because it weakened the German air force, the Luftwaffe, which stunted Germany’s hopes of a swift victory. Germany underestimated the RAF and lost many of their fighters. But if Germany didn’t try to weaken the RAF, then there was a chance that the RAF might have attacked Germany. And if they did attack, Germany wouldn’t be able to defend itself as the British did even though the Luftwaffe outnumbered the RAF. Germany was so confident on taking over Britain that the commander of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Goering, told Hitler that his planes would be able to drive away the RAF so Hitler would be able to take over Britain. When the Luftwaffe failed, Hitler reconsidered invading Britain.
Secondly, the Battle of Britain was the most important event that changed the course of Britain’s twentieth century history because the Luftwaffe outnumbered the RAF. The...