Within weeks of the first bombing raid executed on London, the attacks turned to night time bombing raids, increasing the fear and unpredictability. The East End of London was now a main target for incoming Luftwaffe attacks, resulting in many children across the capital being evacuated to homes around the country in a bid to protect them from the dangers of the Blitz. The intention was to completely destabilise the economic backbone of London which included docks, factories, warehouses and railway lines, in a bid to destroy and weaken the infrastructure. Nearly 350 German bombers (escorted by over 600 fighters) dropped explosives on East London, targeting the docks in particular.
From this moment onwards, the capital city would be forced to become shrouded in darkness as the German bombers launched a sustained attack for consecutive months. In just one night, London suffered approximately 450 fatalities and around 1,500 injured. Around 350 German bombers executed their plan and dropped explosives on the city below, particularly targeting the East End of London. The lightning war began on what became known as “Black Saturday”, 7th September 1940 when the Luftwaffe launched its attack on London, which was to be the first of many. Germany instead turned to night-time bombing attacks in a tragic episode of history called the Blitz. Instead, Adolf Hitler had been preparing Operation Sea Lion as part of a dual attack by sea and air which was subsequently foiled by RAF Bomber Command. Within this context, Britain was facing a threat of invasion, although seaborne attacks seemed unlikely as the German high command had assessed the difficulties of such an assault. In the meantime the Germans had been successfully marching through Europe, overpowering the Low Countries as well as France. The battle itself was a military campaign fought in the air whereby the Royal Air Force successfully defended the United Kingdom from Nazi air attacks. The planned campaign emerged from the failures of the German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain which played out in July 1940.
The attacks were carried out by the Luftwaffe and made up a larger campaign of attempting to destroy British infrastructure, cause devastation, destruction and lower morale.Īcross the UK, towns and cities were subjected to the German bomber raids which, over the course of eight months resulted in 43,500 deaths of innocent civilians. The Blitz as it became known in the British press was a sustained aerial attack, sending waves of bombs raining down onto British towns and cities. Blitzkrieg – the lightning war – was the name given to the devastating German bombing attacks to which the United Kingdom was subjected from September 1940 until May 1941.
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