Battle Of Britain Turning Point Essay

The Air War was a pivotal turning point in the Conflict in Europe, as the Allied success in gaining air superiority facilitated the support needed for crucial operations such as the D-Day landing at Normandy. It occurred during 1939-1945, notably shaping the trajectory of the conflict, catalysed by the collapse of France, where Britain found itself at serious risk of a German invasion. The Allied success in the Battle of Britain (BOB) was a significant turning point because the shift in German tactics and technological advances of Britain prevented a German invasion. The ‘Blitz’ was a relative turning point of the Conflict in Europe because the resistance of Britain represented a psychological victory that strengthened morale on the homefront.

The Allied success in the BOB was a significant turning point because the shift in German tactics and the technological advances of Britain prevented a German invasion. The BOB, spanning from July-Oct 1940, was an offensive initiated by Germany, aimed to gain undisputed control of colonial networks, sea ports and naval resources. This pragmatic attack, led by Luftwaffe commander Goering, relinquished the Lebensraum ideology to “overpower the English air force with all the forces at its command in the shortest possible time”. The major turning point in the BOB occurred in September 1940 when the Luftwaffe shifted their attack to London when Fighter Command was under heavy pressure. As a result, the Germans had further to fly to reach their target, which allowed the RAF (British royal air force) more opportunities to intercept and shoot down German aircraft. The change also meant that RAF fighters from the 12 Group, stationed north of London, could be more heavily involved, enabling them to regroup and provide more effective defence of the skies. Thus, it is a substantial turning point as Hitler’s tactical mistake began to shift in favour of the RAF, reinforced in the deaths of 1542 British compared to

After the initial failure of the Luftwaffe to defeat the RAF, the Nazis turned to a new tactic to force Britain out of the war between Sept 1940-May 1941. It was based on the aim that Germans could break British morale by annihilating cities and causing civilians deaths via heavy bombing for 57 consecutive nights. The success of German bombing was through the strategic V1 and V2 rockets, saturation and incendiary bombing. This was particularly evident in the bombing raids at Coventry on 14-15th Nov 1940, which resulted in over 500 civilians killed and 60,000 homes destroyed when incendiary bombes triggered a firestorm. Thus, this exemplifies the defining turning point of the Blitz due to its mass destruction and annihilation of Coventry. Due to the success of the German bombing, Britain devised strategies to protect its civilian population, which included evacuation, relocation of key personnel and industry. About 1.5 million evacuees left the cities based on the simple theory that Germany would target the cities and had no reason to bomb the countryside. For civilians who could not travel or afford the relocation, communal shelters were provided, which could accommodate up to 50 people. For example, ‘The Tube’ in London provided solid protection from the bombing above whilst supplying gas masks,