A History of the Blitz

Podcast Transcript

From September 1940 until May 1941, the people of the United Kingdom experienced the horrors of war firsthand.

Hundreds of bombers ran thousands of missions over civilian areas of Great Britain.

The hardest hit of all the cities was the capital of London.

By the time the bombing campaign stopped, tens of thousands were killed, over a hundred thousand were injured, and thousands of buildings, including homes, factories, and historic landmarks, were destroyed.

Learn more about the Blitz, how and why it happened, and how Britain persevered on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

The eight-month period known as the Blitz, which is short for Blitzkrieg, was one of the defining moments of the war for Britain.

It was a period of strategic bombing which the Germans initiated against the British. The targets of the Blitz were mostly civilian targets, and the devastation which resulted was massive and widespread.

To understand why the Blitz took place, we have to go back to earlier, in 1940, when the Battle of Britain took place.

The Battle of Britain, which took place between July 10 and October 31, 1940, was a pivotal air campaign during World War II, in which the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by the German Luftwaffe.

It is considered the first large-scale air battle in world history.

Following the fall of France, Adolf Hitler sought to achieve air superiority as a precursor to a planned invasion of Britain, dubbed Operation Sea Lion, a topic I covered in a previous episode.

The battle featured intense dogfights and strategic bombing of British airfields, radar stations, and cities. Despite being outnumbered, the RAF, aided by radar technology and the resilience of its pilots, successfully resisted the onslaught of the Luftwaffe.

This victory marked Germany’s first major defeat in the war, thwarting Hitler’s invasion plans and solidifying Britain’s role as a key Allied power.

While the Battle of Britain was being fought over the skies of the UK, the British planned a counterattack.

On August 25, 1940, the RAF carried out its first bombing raid on Berlin, marking a significant escalation in the air war. The raid was conducted in response to a German bombing of London, which had mistakenly targeted civilians instead of military sites.

Ninety-five bombers were sent to bomb Templehof Airport in Berlin and other targets in the city. Eighty-one of the bombers actually managed to drop their payload.

Though the damage inflicted on Berlin was minimal, the attack had profound psychological and strategic repercussions. It shattered the perception of Berlin’s invulnerability.

The raid demonstrated Britain’s resolve to strike back and signaled the beginning of a broader Allied strategy of strategic bombing against German territory.

The raid, as you might suspect, infuriated Hitler.

Up to this point, the Battle of Britain had mostly been fought with fighters in an attempt to establish air supremacy. There had been some bombing raids, but it hadn’t been the focus of the battle.

Prior to the start of the Second World War, several military theorists, including Italian general Giulio Douhet and American general Billy Mitchell, had predicted the advent of strategic bombing.

Mitchell believed air forces could strike deep into enemy territory, targeting critical infrastructure such as factories, transportation networks, and military bases, thereby entirely crippling the enemy’s war-making capability.

Douhet advocated for strategic bombing aimed directly at civilian populations and industrial centers, arguing this would break enemy morale and force surrender without prolonged ground combat.

Douhet introduced the idea of a “strategic knockout blow,” suggesting that the first nation to seize air superiority and launch devastating bombings would achieve a quick victory.

Despite the size of the Battle of Britain, Mitchel and Douhet’s theories of strategic bombing hadn’t yet been put to the test.

Hitler decided to test the theory. He was going to engage in a massive strategic bombing campaign against Britain in an attempt to take them out of the war and, if possible, pave the way for Operation Sea Lion. He and Joseph Gobbels made public pronouncements about how they were going to retaliate against Britain.

Before the Blitz began in September, British intelligence had several clues indicating that a significant German air campaign against Britain was imminent. These indicators came from a combination of intelligence-gathering efforts, including codebreaking, observation, and analysis of German actions.

British cryptographers at Bletchley Park intercepted German communications indicating German plans to shift focus to urban centers and critical infrastructure, signaling a change in strategy after the Battle of Britain had stalled.

British radar stations and observers noted a significant increase in German reconnaissance flights over southern England, particularly around major cities like London, industrial hubs, and ports. These flights suggested detailed mapping for future bombing raids.

Furthermore, British military planners recognized that Germany’s failure to achieve air superiority in the Battle of Britain would likely push Hitler toward alternative strategies. A bombing campaign targeting civilians and infrastructure was consistent with Germany’s known tactics.

The Blitz began on the evening of September 7, 1940. This first night, often referred to as Black Saturday, represented a strategic shift in German tactics during the Battle of Britain, moving from attacks on RAF airfields and infrastructure to targeting civilian and industrial areas.

Around 5:00 PM, the Luftwaffe launched a major coordinated daylight raid involving 348 bombers, escorted by 617 fighter aircraft.

The initial targets included the East End docks, particularly the Royal Docks, a critical hub for London’s industrial and shipping activity.

German bombs caused catastrophic fires across the docklands, destroying warehouses, factories, and residential areas.

Large areas of Silvertown and Canning Town in East London were devastated. Thousands of tons of goods, including food and supplies vital for the war effort, were lost.

Civilians bore the brunt of the attack, with over 400 killed and more than 1,600 injured on the first day alone.

Thousands were displaced as their homes were destroyed, and fires raged uncontrollably throughout the night.

Many sought refuge in Underground stations, which would become iconic symbols of civilian resilience during the Blitz.

The bombing continued into the night, with waves of bombers dropping incendiary and high-explosive bombs on residential areas.

The constant raids lasted until dawn, amplifying the psychological toll on the population.

What happened on September 7 was not a one-off attack. It was just the beginning. For the next fifty-seven consecutive nights, Britain was hit by waves of bombers dropping tons of bombs on civilian and industrial targets.

The Blitz necessitated several major changes to the British defense strategy and to how civilians were organized.

Despite being outnumbered, the RAF remained active throughout the Blitz, intercepting German bombers where possible. Night fighters, such as the Bristol Beaufighter equipped with radar, played a crucial role in countering nighttime raids.

The British Chain Home radar system provided early warnings of incoming Luftwaffe raids, enabling fighter planes to intercept German bombers before they reached their targets.

The Ack-Ack or anti-aircraft artillery system targeted German bombers, with guns stationed around major cities and industrial sites.

Searchlights were used to illuminate enemy planes at night, assisting both anti-aircraft gunners and RAF night fighters.

Finally, large tethered balloons were deployed over key targets to obstruct low-flying aircraft and deter dive-bombing.

Key industries were relocated from London and other major cities to less vulnerable rural areas to safeguard production capabilities.

Factories that remained in targeted cities adopted camouflage techniques and reinforced structures to minimize damage.

One of the biggest efforts was taken to protect the civilian population. Perhaps the most important groups was the Air Raid Precautions Organization or ARP.

The ARP coordinated civilian defenses, including blackout enforcement, firewatching, and bomb shelter management.

ARP wardens patrolled neighborhoods, ensuring compliance with blackout rules and helping people stay safe during raids.

Operation Pied Piper evacuated over 3 million people, primarily children, from cities to rural areas, reducing casualties and easing the strain on urban resources.

Families hosted evacuees, fostering a sense of shared national effort.

Physically protecting people from bombs became a high priority as well. The government provided communal shelters, such as Anderson shelters, which were designed for gardens, and Morrison shelters, which were indoor table-like shelters for homes.

Many Londoners took refuge in the London Underground, turning train platforms into makeshift communities during bombing raids. Some purpose-built deep shelters were constructed beneath London, designed to withstand heavy bombardment.

Firefighters worked tirelessly to extinguish incendiary bomb fires, often at great personal risk. Hospitals expanded capacity, and volunteer groups, such as the Women’s Voluntary Service provided first aid and support to the injured and homeless.

While London bore the brunt of the attacks, other cities like Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, and Southampton also experienced devastating raids. Coventry, for instance, suffered catastrophic destruction in November 1940 during what became known as the “Coventry Blitz.”

After 57 consecutive nights of bombing, the frequency of raids was scaled back, but they continued until May 1941.

The toll of eight months of constant bombing was staggering. Approximately 43,000 civilians were killed, and 139,000 were injured during the Blitz. On top of the human losses, thousands of buildings were destroyed, including homes, factories, and historic landmarks.

The Germans had dropped over 40,000 tons of bombs on Britain, yet despite the damage, they failed in their goals and, in the process, disproved the pre-war theories regarding the effectiveness of strategic bombing.

The Blitz did not destroy the British armaments industry. If anything, it simply spread out manufacturing to more of the country.

The Germans didn’t weaken the British resolve to fight. If anything, they brought the country together and stiffened their resolve. This was the impetus behind the famous phrase, “Keep Calm and Carry On.”

Perhaps more importantly, the Blitz may have actually worked against the Germans.

The Luftwaffe suffered major losses during the air campaigns over Britain, which rendered them less effective for the rest of the war.

Moreover, the British were able to analyze exactly what worked and what didn’t in all of the German attacks. They used this data when they began their own strategic bombing campaign against Germany later in the war.

Allied bombing of Germany was largely more targeted against specific industrial targets. When the Allies bombed cities, they took the lessons learned from the Blitz and were far more lethal than the Germans were.

For example, when the Allies bombed Hamburg, as many civilians died in just that one city as did during the entirety of the Blitz.

Ultimate, the Biltz was ended because the Germans were preparing for Operation Barbarosa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. They couldn’t afford expend resources on Britain that were needed in the East.

While the Blitz ended in May 1941, it was hardly the end of attack on Britain during the war.

Beginning in 1944, another wave of attacks took place, but this time, instead of bombers, Britain was hit with waves of rocket attacks from V1 and V2 rockets.

This became known as the “Second Blitz.” While it wasn’t as lethal as the first Blitz, an additional 15,000 people lost their lives from rocket attacks, which represented a whole new type of warfare.

The Second Blitz and the V1 and V2 rockets will be the subject of a future episode.

The Blitz holds significant historical importance as one of the first large-scale, sustained aerial bombing campaigns targeting civilian populations, marking a dramatic shift in the nature of modern warfare. It demonstrated the devastating potential of strategic bombing to disrupt urban life, destroy infrastructure, and test civilian morale, setting a precedent for total war where entire nations—not just military forces—were involved in the conflict.

Yet the Blitz ultimately failed and disproved the idea the wars could be won by air power alone. This was largely due to the resolve shown by the British people and their refusal to let it destroy their morale.