Battle of Britain: July 10 - September 15, 1940
July 10-Sept. 15, 1940:
July 10, 1940, Hitler ordered a savage air attack on British ships in the English Channel, the first act of the Battle of Britain. The British forces were only half the size of that of the Germans. At first the German Luftwaffe¡¦s (air force) attacks were devastating. It all turned on August 24, when two German pilots mistakenly dropped a bomb on London, a city Hitler had said was off-limits to attacks. Churchill ordered an attack on Berlin in retaliation. Hitler was furious about that attack on Berlin, here he made another major mistake. In his rage, Hitler left his original plans of concentrated bombing of British airfields and factories. Instead, the Luftwaffe started targeting cities, especially London. The RAF now had an idea of where the Germans were going to attack and could defend better. On Sept. 15, the Germans attacks were peaked. More than 1000 bombers and nearly 700 fighters flew over London in broad daylight. The RAF Spitfires and hurricanes were deployed to engage. That day, the sky over London was streaked with vapour trails from aerial combat. The German casualties were so high that day that it convinced them the strategy was not working. The Germans failed to seize air supremacy over the English Channel. Operation Sea Lion was abandoned.
