The Blitz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Blitz, from the German word 'Blitzkrieg' meaning 'lightning war', was the name borrowed by the British press and applied to the heavy and frequent bombing raids carried out over Britain in 1. Second World War. This concentrated, direct bombing of industrial targets and civilian centres began with heavy raids on London on 7 September 1. Battle of Britain. Adolf Hitler's and Hermann Goering's plans to destroy the Royal Air Force to allow an invasion of Britain were failing, and in response to an RAF raid on Berlin, which itself was prompted by an accidental German bombing of London, they changed their tactics to the sustained bombing of civilian targets. Between 7 September 1. May 1. 94. 1, 1. 6 British cities suffered aerial raids with at least 1. Over a period of 2. London was attacked 7. Birmingham, Liverpool and Plymouth eight times, Bristol six, Glasgow five, Southampton four, Portsmouth and Hull three and a minimum of one large raid on eight other cities. This was a result of a rapid escalation starting on 2. August 1. 94. 0, when night bombers aiming for RAF airfields drifted off course and accidentally destroyed several London homes, killing civilians, combined with the UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill's retaliatory bombing of Berlin on the following night. The main Atlantic sea port of Liverpool was bombed, causing nearly 4,0. Merseyside area during the war. Birmingham and Coventry were chosen because of the Spitfire and tank factories in Birmingham and the many munitions factories in Coventry. The city centre of Coventry was almost destroyed, as was Coventry Cathedral. The bombing failed to demoralise the British into surrender or significantly damage the war economy. By May 1. 94. 1, the threat of an invasion of Britain had ended, and Hitler's attention turned to Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. In comparison to the later Allied bombing campaign against Germany, the Blitz resulted in relatively few casualties; the British bombing of Hamburg in July 1. Blitz. Several reasons have been suggested for the failure of the German air offensive. The Luftwaffe High Command (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe, OKL) did not develop a strategy for destroying British war industry; instead of maintaining pressure on any of them, it frequently switched from one type of industry to another. Neither was the Luftwaffe equipped to carry out strategic bombing; the lack of a heavy bomber and poor intelligence on British industry denied it the ability to prevail. Background. The Luftwaffe and strategic bombing. In the 1. 92. 0s and 1. Giulio Douhet and Billy Mitchell espoused the idea that air forces could win wars by themselves, without a need for land and sea fighting. Enemy industry, their seats of government, factories and communications could be destroyed, effectively taking away their means to resist. It was also thought the bombing of residential centres would cause a collapse of civilian will, which might have led to the collapse of production and civil life. Democracies, where the populace was allowed to show overt disapproval of the ruling government, were thought particularly vulnerable. Maximize your site's performance with Blitz - An easy solution to load and performance testing from the Cloud. Test scaliability on websites, mobile, web apps and.The delightfully addictive gem-matching puzzle game that started it all is. Play Bejeweled Blitz Now. This thinking was prevalent in both the RAF and what was then known as the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) between the two world wars. RAF Bomber Command's policy in particular would attempt to achieve victory through the destruction of civilian will, communications and industry. The OKL did not oppose the strategic bombardment of enemy industries and or cities, and believed it could greatly affect the balance of power on the battlefield in Germany's favour by disrupting production and damaging civilian morale, but they did not believe that air power alone could be decisive. Contrary to popular belief, the Luftwaffe did not have a systematic policy of what became known as . Evidence suggests that the Luftwaffe did not adopt an official bombing policy in which civilians became the primary target until 1. It could be claimed civilians were not to be targeted directly, but the breakdown of production would affect their morale and will to fight. NFL Blitz from EA SPORTS. The all-new NFL Blitz combines the arcade-style gameplay from the original with the deep, immersive game modes of today. Bejeweled Blitz Loading. German legal scholars of the 1. While direct attacks against civilians were ruled out as . Some argued along the lines of the British and Americans. Wever outlined five key points to air strategy: To destroy the enemy air force by bombing its bases and aircraft factories, and defeating enemy air forces attacking German targets. To prevent the movement of large enemy ground forces to the decisive areas by destroying railways and roads, particularly bridges and tunnels, which are indispensable for the movement and supply of forces. Blitz (2011) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Blitz definition, an overwhelming all-out attack, especially a swift ground attack using armored units and air support. Welcome to the Blitz Research Homepage. Featured Products Monkey X - create games for iOS, Android, Xbox 360, PS Vita and more! Great Blitz Games Super Gerball Platypus. The Blitz sales automation and lead management software automates sales and marketing follow-up, allowing you to convert more leads into sales. Blitz Paintball, the jewel of the Rocky Mountain region! With incredible playzones including a Castle, and one of the Worlds finest tournament zones! We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. To support the operations of the army formations, independent of railways, i. To support naval operations by attacking naval bases, protecting Germany's naval bases and participating directly in naval battles. To paralyse the enemy armed forces by stopping production in the armaments factories. He argued they should be educated in grand strategy, war economics, armament production, and the mentality of potential opponents (also known as mirror imaging). Wever's vision was not realised; the General Staff studies in those subjects fell by the wayside, and the Air Academies focused on tactics, technology, and operational planning, rather than on independent strategic air offensives. The failure to implement his vision for the new Luftwaffe was largely attributable to his immediate successors. Ex- Army personnel Albert Kesselring and Hans- J. However, it would seem the two most prominent enthusiasts for the focus on ground- support operations (direct or indirect) were actually Hugo Sperrle and Hans Jeschonnek. These men were long- time professional airmen involved in German air services since early in their careers. The Luftwaffe was not pressured into ground support operations because of pressure from the army, or because it was led by ex- army personnel. It was instead a mission that suited the Luftwaffe's existing approach to warfare; a culture of joint inter- service operations, rather than independent strategic air campaigns. He told the OKL in 1. Luftwaffe against the heart of the British will to resist could and would follow when the moment was right; however, he quickly developed a lively scepticism toward strategic bombing, confirmed by the results of the Blitz. He frequently complained of the Luftwaffe's inability to damage industries sufficiently, saying, . The amount of firm operational and tactical preparation for a bombing campaign was minimal, largely because of the failure by Hitler as supreme commander to insist upon such a commitment. This fact had important implications. It showed the extent to which Hitler personally mistook Allied strategy for one of morale breaking instead of one of economic warfare, with the collapse of morale as an additional bonus. As the mere threat of it had produced diplomatic results in the 1. German retaliation would persuade the Allies to adopt a policy of moderation and not to begin a policy of unrestricted bombing. When this proved impossible, he began to fear that popular feeling would turn against his regime, and he redoubled efforts to mount a similar . Hitler believed the Luftwaffe was . When Hitler tried to intervene more in the running of the air force later in the war, he was faced with a political conflict of his own making between himself and G. Thereafter bombing operations were against ports and shipping and propaganda leaflet drops. Operations were planned to minimize civilian casualties. Operations were carried out every night thereafter. Although not specifically prepared to conduct independent strategic air operations against an opponent, the Luftwaffe was expected to do so over Britain. From July until September 1. Luftwaffe attacked RAF Fighter Command to gain air superiority as a prelude to invasion. This involved the bombing of English Channel convoys, ports, and RAF airfields and supporting industries. Destroying RAF Fighter Command would allow the Germans to gain control of the skies over the invasion area. It was supposed that Bomber Command, RAF Coastal Command and the Royal Navy could not operate under conditions of German air superiority. British fighter aircraft production continued at a rate surpassing Germany's by 2 to 1. Both the RAF and Luftwaffe struggled to replace manpower losses, though the Germans had larger reserves of trained aircrew. The circumstances affected the Germans more than the British. Operating over home territory, British flyers could fly again if they survived being shot down. German crews, even if they survived, faced capture. Moreover, bombers had four to five crewmen on board, representing a greater loss of manpower. German intelligence suggested Fighter Command was weakening, and an attack on London would force it into a final battle of annihilation while compelling the British Government to surrender. It is argued that persisting with attacks on RAF airfields might have won air superiority for the Luftwaffe. With no sign of the RAF weakening, and Luftwaffe air fleets (Luftflotten) taking punishing losses, the OKL was keen for a change in strategy. To reduce losses further, a change in strategy was also favoured to take place at night, to give the bombers greater protection under cover of darkness. And should they declare they will greatly increase their attacks on our cities, then we will erase their cities. The main focus of the bombing operations was against the city of London. The first major raid in this regard took place on 7 September. On 1. 5 September, on a date known as the Battle of Britain Day, a large- scale raid was launched in daylight, but suffered significant loss for no lasting gain. Although there were a few large air battles fought in daylight later in the month and into October, the Luftwaffe switched its main effort to night attacks in order to reduce losses. This became official policy on 7 October.
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