Military History Matters. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Dunkirk is a small town on the coast of France that was the scene of a massive military campaign during World War II. General Douglas The battle is infamous as one of the largest, longest and bloodiest engagements in modern warfare: From August through February The Battle of Midway was an epic clash between the U.
The U. Army and U. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa The instability created in Europe by the First World War set the stage for another international conflict—World War II—which broke out two decades later and would prove even more devastating. Rising to power in an economically and politically unstable Germany, Adolf It made the prospect of American intervention in the war more likely.
There are many reasons for the victory. Those Luftwaffe pilots shot down over England were captured and could not fly again; those Allied pilots that were shot down, assuming they were uninjured could, and often were, flying again the next day.
The Luftwaffe also made a number of strategic errors. Then there was the inspired leadership of Dowding, the superb defensive system that stuck together under the greatest stress, and, of course, the heroic courage and valour of the RAF airmen that Churchill so memorably paid tribute to in his speech of 20 August Churchill said, in the heat of the battle, as the RAF were repulsing wave after wave of aircraft, that:.
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. The pilots were not just British; many were from other countries such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, South Africa, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and the RAF Benevolent Fund feel that it is important to recognise the contribution that everybody made to the immense effort involved to protect Britain from invasion and carry the fight against the evils of Nazism.
Website design by Headscape. As a result, they never really had a clear picture of how the battle was going. But when, in early September, they switched their sights to British cities, they did so at just the wrong time. They believed Fighter Command was on its last legs. They were wrong.
When large numbers of RAF fighters inflicted heavy losses on the raids of 15 September, it was a devastating blow to Luftwaffe morale. In fact, of the almost 3, pilots that flew during the Battle of Britain, fewer than were public-school educated. The rest came from a wide variety of backgrounds — bank clerks, shop assistants and factory workers all served as fighter pilots. What they did have in common was their youth. At the time, you had to be 21 to vote so many of these young men were risking their lives in defence of a democracy they were not yet old enough to participate in.
Vital contributions were also made by pilots from Nazi-occupied countries — Poles, Czechoslovakians, Belgians, Frenchmen and Austrians all flew in the Battle. Many of them were experienced fighters, often motivated by an intense hatred of the country that was oppressing their own. Although it was only operational for six weeks, the Polish No Squadron shot down more German planes than any other unit.
Historian Sean Lang argues that this clash of aerial supremacy is among the nine most overrated battles in history — alongside Bannockburn , Bosworth and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. At this time, all German aircrew had to undergo at least six months of basic training; British pilots rarely got more than a month. Fighter planes normally had only enough ammunition for about ten seconds of sustained firing, and so often the best tactic was to get your plane as close as possible to an enemy — ideally without him seeing you — fire off a short burst of one or two seconds and then quickly move on.
Such deadly encounters often lasted moments and in these circumstances strong nerves, quick reactions and good eyesight were as important as technical flying ability. Many worked in factories building the aircraft that actually did the fighting while one out of every eight of the pilots in the Air Transport Auxiliary ATA , which delivered planes to stations across the country, were female.
One of these was the accomplished Amy Johnson, who died in when the aircraft she was flying crashed into the Thames estuary.
Some served at radar stations while others famously worked as plotters in the various Fighter Command operations rooms mapping friendly and enemy aircraft positions and helping to direct fighter planes.
Explanation: With the fall of France in June , German's remaining enemy was Great Britain, which was largely unassailable behind the English Channel -- a great anti-tank ditch!
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