PRESENTATION OUTLINE
In the events leading up to the Blitz, Germany had accidentally bombed some London homes on the way back to Germany. London thought that the bombings were intentional so they bombed Germany back 363 times.
After the bombings on Germany stopped, Hitler made London an offer to join forces with them June 4,1940 before they attacked. Churchill denied him saying " We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall never surrender!"
Britain prepared for the blitz by clearing hospitals, giving out gas masks, and by making thousands of cardboard coffins.
The London Blitz started on September 7,1940. This day was known as Black Saturday.
The first bombs were dropped at 4:00 p.m. On Black Saturday the Luftwaffe targeted the docks because they wanted to cut off London's war time supplies from the U.S.
One thing that the military used to stop planes were barrage balloons.
Barrage balloons were giant balloons that looked like blimps tethered to the ground. Barrage balloons could be as high as 5,000 feet. If a plane flew into one it would be destroyed.
The military made barrage balloons to make German planes fly higher so that their aim was not as good. They were also used to distract planes and to stop the planes that the military could not.
The Luftwaffe was the German Air force. The Luftwaffe often missed their targets and hit homes. They thought that England would fall just like Poland.
One type of bomb that was used was the V-1. The V-1 made a specific sound. It was rarely shot down but was not very precise. Another bomb, used, the V-2, was almost the same but it had a bigger explosion.
Another type of bomb that was used was the incendiary bomb.
On December 29, 1940, 100,000 incendiary bombs were dropped. This was the largest bombing throughout the blitz. The main river was at its lowest point and there was not enough water to put out all the fires.
Throughout the city of London there were air raid sirens. The siren altered from a high pitch to a low pitch. If the siren stayed at the same pitch for two minutes it was clear.
Before and throughout the blitz, the government held blackout drills to prepare families for when there was an air raid. Families would have to turn off lights, televisions, and they would have to close curtains so that no light could be seen from the outside.
Shelters were probably the most important part of safety during the blitz. Schools, underground stations, and Anderson shelters were all used as protection from bombs. Underground shelters could hold up to 177,000 people.
To protect homes and buildings people put sandbags up. People also blacked out their windows and closed blinds so planes could not identify homes.
Children were evacuated from London to the country side but mothers were rarely allowed to go with them. Children stayed there until the end of the war.
The London Blitz ended on May 10,1941. 32,000 civilians had died and 87,000 were seriously injured.
Many other cities were bombed by Germany including Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton, Plymouth, Birmingham, Coventry, and Liverpool. These cities were not nearly as prepared as London was and suffered majorly.
Britain won the blitz and defeated Germany. Like Winston Churchill said, "We shall never surrender!" and they didn't.
