Author: Becky Brown

Year 6 History
Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was an important battle in World War II. After Germany and Hitler had conquered most of Europe, including France, the only major country left to fight them was Great Britain. Germany wanted to invade Great Britain, but first they needed to destroy Great Britain's Royal Air Force. The Battle of Britain was when Germany bombed Great Britain in order to try and destroy their air force and prepare for invasion.

Key Events in WWII

1939	Germany invades Poland and Poland surrenders.
April 1940	Germany invades Norway.
May 1940	Germany takes control of Luxembourg, Belgium and The Netherlands.
May-June 1940	Germany invades France and Operation Dynamo rescues allied forces from Dunkirk.
June 1940	France surrenders to Germany
July—Oct 1940	Battle of Britain.
Dec 1941	Japan attacks Pearl Harbour and USA enters war
July 1943	Allied forces invade Italy and Italy surrender.
June 1944	D-Day
May 1945	Germany surrenders (VE Day)
Aug-Sept 1945	USA drops atomic bomb on Japan, Japan surrenders and the war ends.

Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain took place in the skies above Britain from July to October 1940. Adolf Hitler was planning a land attack on Britain but first had to control the skies to prevent British air attacks. The superior British planes and their organised air-defence system overcame the German Luftwaffe. This was a turning point in the war as Adolf Hitler could not continue with his land invasion plan.

W Churchill Hugh Dowding Adolf Hitler H Goering

Key Events in Battle of Britain

26th June—16 July 1940	Luftwaffe targets British ships and costal areas (ports and towns with aircraft factories)
17th July—12th Aug 1940	Luftwaffe increases day raids against ports, ships and airfields on the coast.
12th August—6th Sept 1940	The Battle of Britain begins in earnest. The Luftwaffe carries out concentrated and large-scale attacks during the day on RAF Fighter Command airfields in south-east England along with radar stations. The aim was to destroy the RAF as a credible fighting force.
7th Sept—2nd Oct 1940	Luftwaffe starts to attack London
3rd—31st Oct 1940	Night attacks continue against London. The Battle of Britain is said to have ended on 31st October

Year 6 History
Battle of Britain

Key Vocabulary

Battle of Britain	Defence of UK against air raids from the German air force.
World War II	The second world war. A global war from 1939 to 1945
Hitler	Leader of the Nazi party and Chancellor of Germany. He initiated WWII by invading Poland.
Evacuated	Remove someone from a place of danger to a safer place.
Luftwaffe	German air force
RAF	Royal Air Force (British)
Blitz	German air raids on Britain
Invasion	Attack by land/air or sea.
D-Day	The day in WWII when allied forces invaded Northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy.
Commander	Officer in charge
Churchhill	Prime minister of the United Kingdom.

Sticky learning: Can you answer any of these questions?
Why was the Battle of Britain so important?
Why did Britain win the Battle of Britain?
Why is it called the Battle of Britain?
What ended the Battle of Britain?
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