The Battle of Britain (Turning Points of WWII)

120 Pages·1984·12.561 MB·English

by  Julia Markl

KING COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
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SHOR
TURNING POINTS OF
WORLD WAR
II
THE BATTLE
OF BRITAIN
BY JULIA MARKL
May 1940. The Germans had forced
500,000 British, Frenchand.Belgiantroops
to retreat to Dunkirk, France. At their
backs lay the English Channel. In an
amazingrescue operation, involving hun-
dreds ofsmall craft, from fishing boats to
rafts, the troops were ferried across the
Channel to England. But Winston Chur-
chill, the British prime minister, warned
the world that the "miracle" of Dunkirk
was not a victory On June 18, following
the surrender by the French to the Ger-
mans, he said: "The Battle of France is
over. The Battle of Britain is about to
begin Hitler knows he will have to
break u. s. .m this island or lose the war" If
the Germans could destroy the primary
British defense, the Royal Air Force, they
could invade England. With the British
defeat, the German conquest of Europe
wouldbecomplete.
In this exciting book, Julia Markl out-
lines the strategy and tactics used by
both the Royal Air Force and the Luft-
waffe in the first sustained air battle in
history anddescribestheheroiceffortsof
the young RAF fliers and ground crews.
She shows how the valiant efforts of the
British people prevented a German inva-
sion, weakened the Luftwaffe and ex-
posed its shortcomings, convinced the
UnitedStatesthat Britainwasastrongally
and secured Britain as a vital ah and
naval base, and launching point for the
AlliedcounterattackonD-Day
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THE BATTLE
OF BRITAIN
WORLD
_
_
TURNING
POINTS OF
THE
BATTLE
OF
BRITAIN
MARKL
JULIA
*GWOUEflCOMPANY
FRANKLIN WATTS 1984
NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY
Photographs courtesy of:
Culver Pictures, Inc.: pp. 11, 14, 86, 91, 96;
AP/Wide World: pp. 33, 83; UPI: p. 45;
Air Ministry, London: p. 55;
Imperial War Museum: pp. 61, 68;
TheBettmann Archive: p. 71.
Map courtesy ofVantage Art, Inc.
Library ofCongress Cataloging in Publication Data
Markl, Julia.
The Battle ofBritain
(Turning points ofWorld War II)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: Traces the events that led to the attempted
German invasion ofGreat Britain in 1940 describing the
prolonged bombing ofLondon by theLuftwaffe, the tactical
errors made by the Germans, and how the outcome ofthe
battle affected the course ofthewar.
1. Britain, Battle of, 1940—Juvenile literature.
[1. Britain, Battle of, 1940- 2. World War,
1939-1945—Great Britain] I. Title. II. Series.
D756.5.B7M28 1984 940.54'21 84-7396
ISBN 0-531-04861-6
Copyright © 1984 byJulia Markl
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE
The Opponents 7
CHAPTER TWO
The Rehearsals 21
CHAPTER THREE
The Beginning 37
CHAPTER FOUR
The Defenses 49
CHAPTER FIVE
The Weapons 59
CHAPTER SIX
The Commanders 65
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Battle 73
CHAPTER EIGHT
The People at War 89
CHAPTER NINE
The Turning Point 99
For Further Reading 102
Index 104
To one who taught me to fly
and one who taught me to
believe in myself.