This Day in History: 7 September 2020
7 September 1940
80 years ago, today, the Blitz began as 300 German bombers raided London. This would continue until May 1941. After Germany's successful occupation of France, it was only a matter of time before they set their sights to England. Hitler wanted Britain to be submissive and neutralised so that he could concentrate on the East, more specifically, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Since June, England and Germany had been fighting in aerial battles, in an attempt from Germany to wear down the Royal Air Force. However, this was failing, so instead of perusing an unrealistic land invasion, he instead chose terror as his weapon.
By the end of the first day of the Blitz, 337 tons of bombs had been dropped by German planes on London. Even though civilians were not the primary target that day, the poorest area of London, the East, felt the fallout heavily, as they faced direct hits from bombs and fires that broke out and quickly spread. That afternoon and evening, 448 civilians were killed. A state of emergency was declared in England once British military units were alerted that the invasion had begun, and home defence units were put to the ready. A key strategy of Hitler's was to underestimate the will and courage of the British people, but instead they did not run or submit to his tyranny and fought hard.
Want to find out more about the Blitz? Click here for more information, or here for a video about life during the Blitz.
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