World War II - Britain's Involvement

World War II-Britain's Involvement

In World War II, the Battle of Britain was a pivotal period in the war. The battle was a heartbeat away from failure; a breathtaking moment in history, loosing could plunge mankind into a new dark age. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill the Prime Mister of the United Kingdom stated at the height of the war, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few". Churchill's speeches were a great inspiration to the embattled British and like one of his most memorable speeches, "Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say", 'This was their finest hour'. The Battle of Britain was like a modern day David and Goliath and won by small undermanned, courageous few against the superb fighter bombers who felt invincible. Britain's resolve, preparation, volunteerism and communication made them successful in their war strategies.

In June 1940, while the Battle of France was still being fought the Luftwaffe began to launch small-scale attacks on ‘fringe' targets on the east coast of the United Kingdom. These attacks lasted for about eight weeks and caused little damage. The significant purpose was to provide Germany's Luftwaffe crew operational and navigational experience in air readiness over Britain. France formally surrendered to Germany, on June 21st, 1940, and the Battle of Britain loomed ominously in the shadows. On July 10th, the Battle of Britain and arguably, "the survival of the Christian civilization", as Churchill stated in his speech, officially began (Churchill).

During the battle and for the remainder of the war, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II continued living in London to keep public morale high. Britain faced certain defeat, fighting against an insurmountable force; the battle itself was a miracle in the making. The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by the air, and was the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign until that date (The Battle Britain."Wikipedia").

The first ten months of World War II, Germany had declared war on Poland, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg and then Britain. Netherlands and Belgium were overrun using blitzkrieg tactics an all-mechanized force concentration. Tanks, infantry, artillery and air power, concentrated on overwhelming force and rapid speed to break through German's enemy lines and once the latter were broken; they proceeded without regard to what stood in their way. The only alternative to gain air superiority and operate effectively was to use the German Luftwaffe's dive bomber and torpedo bomber planes. For Britain it had been a long hard summer and if Germany had gained air superiority, Adolf Hitler might have launched