Battle of Britain timeline
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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,... Read more
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Germany Begins Air Assaults on Convoys in the English Channel
The Kanalkampf comprised a series of running fights over convoys in the English Channel and occasional attacks on the convoys by Stuka dive... Read more
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Hitler Issues Directive No. 16, Calling for a Plan to Invade Britain, Code Named 'Operation Sealion'
Concerning preparations for an amphibious operation against England. Since Britain still shows no sign of willingness to come to an agreement in... Read more
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Germany Begins Main Assault on English Coastal Airfields
The main attack upon the RAF's defences was code-named Adlerangriff ("Eagle Attack"). Weather, which proved an important feature of the... Read more
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The 'Greatest Day' of the Battle of Britain
Adlertag opened with a series of attacks, led again by Epro 210, on coastal airfields used as forward landing grounds for the RAF fighters, as well... Read more
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The 'Hardest Day' of the Battle of Britain
18 August, which had the greatest number of casualties to both sides, has been dubbed "The Hardest Day". Following the grinding battles of 18... Read more
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The Luftwaffe Begins Attacks on British Airfields
Göring ordered attacks on aircraft factories on 19 August 1940; on 23 August 1940 he ordered that RAF airfields be attacked. That evening an attack... Read more
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Major RAF Victory, Later Commemorated as Battle of Britain Day
15 September was a day of heavy and sustained fighting. The Luftwaffe had flown over 1,000 sorties. Euphoric British pilots and anti-aircraft... Read more
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Following German Defeats in the Battle of Britain, Hitler Cancels Operation Sealion
On 17 September 1940, Hitler held a meeting with Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. Hitler became convinced that... Read more
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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... Read more
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Operation Sealion is Cancelled a Second Time, Never to be Resumed
Although difficult on the civilian population, the Blitz gave the RAF a much-needed break. Air bases and factories could be repaired and plane... Read more