Part two The Blitz
By the end of the lesson you will Understand what we mean by the blitz Understand the aims of objectives of the blitz and to evaluate the extent of its success or failure Evaluate how the people of Britain reacted to the bombing of the major cities
1st September 1939 – war declared Feared air and gas attack – 38 million gas masks issued Shelters build in major cities Blackout after dusk Many children evaluated from the major towns to the countryside Battle of Britain – won by summer 1940
Hitler aimed to get the British people to surrender by bombing the major cities He aimed to cripple Britain’s industry and to force her political leaders to the negotiating table To concentrate on London where the effect on morale would be greatest
From September 1940 London was bombed for 76 consecutive nights 1st raid – 7th September 436 civilians killed 1600 injured Morale was not effected too badly and it helped to bring people together
Other cites were also targeted by the Germans Coventry suffered more than most Morale almost cracked as the city was turned to ruins The beautiful medieval Cathedral was completely wrecked
Hartlepool was targeted by the Germans because of the docks and its industry Many civilians were killed especially in the Middleton Grange area The Victoria Ground was almost destroyed
Ended in the summer of 1941 40 000 civilians had been killed 2 000 000 homeless But Hitler had failed to destroy British industry or break morale
In 1944 Hitler started to send unmanned rocket bombs to drop on London These caused thousands of casualties They made a buzzing noise – once it stopped the bomb would plunge to the ground
The V2 rocket travelled at supersonic speeds Victims knew nothing of it until the explosion A very worrying weapon – Hitler could not produce them quickly enough Stopped by the RAF bombing the launch sites in Holland and Belgium