The Blitz Events

1940 May 13 Winston Churchill Gives 'Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat' Speech
"I hope that any of my friends and colleagues, or former colleagues, who are affected by the political reconstruction, will make allowance, all allowance, for any lack of ceremony with whi..." —Winston Churchill
1940 Jun 4 Winston Churchill Gives 'We Shall Fight on the Beaches' Speech
We Shall Fight On The Beaches is a common title given to a speech delivered by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the British Parliament on the 4 June 1940. The speech was g...
1940 Jun 18 Winston Churchill Gives 'This Was Their Finest Hour' Speech
"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest..." —Winston Churchill
1940 Jul 6 First German Bombs Fall on the English City of Plymouth
The Plymouth Blitz was a series of bombing raids carried out by the Nazi German Luftwaffe on the English city of Plymouth in the Second World War. The bombings launched on numerous Britis...
1940 Aug First German Bomb Falls on Swindon
With the declaration of war and the onset of World War II, Evacuees arrived in Swindon in 1939. Troops were stationed in churches and school halls throughout town with a contingent of ...
1940 Aug 9 Germany Begins Heavy Bombing of Birmingham
Situated in the Midlands, Birmingham is an important industrial and manufacturing location and is also heavily populated, being the UK's second largest city. 2,241 people were killed, and...
1940 Aug 24 Edward R. Murrow and Paul White Create 'London After Dark'
The show began on August 24, 1940 when CBS News Chief Paul White and CBS European Events Director Edward R. Murrow began to arrange the show by cable and short wave conference. Murrow lin...
1940 Aug 24 German Luftwaffe Begins Air Raids on the English City of Portsmouth
The city [of Portsmouth] was bombed extensively during WW2. Nazi German Luftwaffe night-time air raids began on August 24 1940 when 1,320 of high explosive bombs, 38,000 incendiary device...
1940 Sep 7 Germany Begins Air Raids on the Port of London
The first intentional air raids on London were mainly aimed at the Port of London, causing severe damage. Late in the afternoon of 7 September, 364 bombers attacked, escorted by 515 fight...
1940 Sep 7 London Blitz Begins
The Blitz (from German, "lightning") was the sustained strategic bombing of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (collectively the United Kingdom) by Germany during the Second World War. Be...
1940 Sep 24 King George VI Creates the George Cross to Honor Civilian Bravery During the Battle of Britain and the Blitz
The GC was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, during the height of The Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage. The exis...
1940 Nov Luftwaffe Begins Heavy Bombing of British Cities
From November 1940 to February 1941, the Luftwaffe attacked industrial and port cities. Targets included Coventry, Southampton, Birmingham, Liverpool, Clydebank, Bristol, Swindon, Plymout...
1940 Nov 14 English City of Coventry Sustains Devastating Bombing from German Luftwaffe
The raid that began on the evening of 14 November 1940 was the most severe to hit Coventry during the war. It was carried out by 515 German bombers, two thirds from Luftflotte 3 and the r...
1940 Nov 23 German Luftwaffe Commences Main Air Raid on English City of Southampton
Southampton Blitz The Second World War hit Southampton particularly hard. Pockets of Georgian architecture remain, but much of the city was leveled during the Blitz of November 1940. 476 ...
1940 Nov 24 Luftwaffe Commences Heavy Bombing of Bristol
Hitler's propaganda claimed that Bristol had been completely destroyed in a night raid on November 2, 1940 in which 5,000 incendiary and 10,000 high explosive bombs were dropped on the ol...
1940 Dec 12
to 1940 Dec 15
 Sheffield Blitz
The Sheffield Blitz is the name given to the worst nights of German Luftwaffe bombing in Sheffield, England during the Second World War. It took place over the nights of 12 December and 1...
1940 Dec 20
to 1940 Dec 22
 The Christmas Blitz of Liverpool
The first major air raids began towards the end of 1940 against Liverpool and Wirral, with over 300 casualties sustained to air raids by the end of the year. 365 people were killed betwee...
1940 Dec 22
to 1940 Dec 23
 Heaviest Bombing of the Manchester Blitz, known as the 'Christmas Blitz'
The Manchester Blitz (also known as 'the Christmas Blitz') was the heavy bombing of the city of Manchester and its surrounding areas in England during the Second World War by the Nazi Ger...
1941 Jan 2 Llandaff Cathedral is Badly Damaged by a German Bomb During the Cardiff Blitz
On the evening of 2 January 1941 during World War II the cathedral was severely damaged when a landmine was dropped near it during the Cardiff Blitz, blowing the roof off the nave, south ...
1941 Feb 19
to 1941 Feb 20
 Swansea Blitz
The Swansea Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of Swansea by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany on 19 February-21 February 1941. Swansea was selected as a legitimate target due to it...
1941 Mar 13
to 1941 Mar 14
 Clydebank Blitz
On 13th March, 1941, 236 Luftwaffe bombers attacked targets in the Clydebank area. These included the shipyards, Dalnottar tank farm and large factories which were involved in making m...
1941 Mar 20
to 1941 Mar 21
 The English City of Plymouth Sustains Heavy Bombing from German Luftwaffe in the 'March Raids'
At just after 8.30pm the alert was sounded and at 8.39 the attack started. First came a group of Heinkel III bombers flying at between 9,900 and 11,500 feet. Included in the load of bom...
1941 Apr 15 Belfast Blitz
William Joyce (known as "Lord Haw-Haw") announced in radio broadcasts from Hamburg that there will be “Easter eggs for Belfast”. On Easter Tuesday, April 15, 1941, spectators watching ...
1941 Apr 21
to 1941 Apr 30
 The English City of Plymouth Sustains Heavy Bombing from German Luftwaffe in the 'April Raids'
Unknown to the people of Plymouth at the beginning of April 1941, the Plymouth Blitz had three more nights to run. After the air raids of the nights of March 20th and 21st, many thought...
1941 May 1 First Bomb of the May Blitz of Liverpool Lands on Wallasey
The May Blitz on Merseyside was one of the last series of big raids on Britain before the German invasion of Russia. It involved 681 bombers in all. They dropped about 870 tonnes of high ...
1942 Apr 23
to 1942 Apr 24
 German Luftwaffe Bombs Exeter as Part of the Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe ("retaliatory raids") by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanse...
1942 Apr 25
to 1942 Apr 26
 German Luftwaffe Bombs English City of Bath as Part of the Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe ("retaliatory raids") by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanse...
1942 Apr 27
to 1942 Apr 29
 German Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich as Part of the Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe ("retaliatory raids") by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanse...
1942 Apr 28 German Luftwaffe Bombs York as Part of the Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe ("retaliatory raids") by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanse...
1944 Jan 21
to 1944 Jan 22
 First Attack of Operation Steinbock, or 'Baby Blitz'
Operation Steinbock was a late war German operation carried out by the Luftwaffe between January and May 1944 against targets in southern England, mainly in and around the London area dur...
1944 Jun 12 First V-1 Flying Bomb Attack on London as Part of Germany's Vergeltungswaffe Offensive
On 12 June 1944, the first V-1 flying bomb attack was carried out on London. A total of 9,251 V-1s were fired at Britain, with the vast majority aimed at London; 2,515 reached the city, k...
1944 Sep 8 First Use of V-2 Rocket on London by German Forces through the Vergeltungswaffe Offensive
Vergeltungswaffen (English: retaliatory weapons, reprisal weapons, vengeance weapons) was a particular set of Wunderwaffen (English: superweapons) of Nazi Germany designed for long-range ...