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The Battle of Britain was a crucial air campaign during World War II, where the Royal Air Force defended the UK against the German Luftwaffe from July to October 1940, ultimately preventing a German invasion.
Overview
The Battle of Britain was fought primarily between the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German Luftwaffe. It marked the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces and was a pivotal moment in World War II. The battle began after the fall of France, with Germany seeking to gain air superiority over Britain to facilitate a planned invasion, known as Operation Sea Lion.
Timeline: The battle officially lasted from July 10 to October 31, 1940, although some historians consider it to extend until May 1941, including the Blitz.
2
Initial Attacks: The Luftwaffe initially targeted British shipping and coastal defenses before shifting focus to RAF airfields and infrastructure.
2
Turning Point: A significant turning point occurred on September 15, 1940, when the RAF successfully repelled a massive Luftwaffe assault, inflicting heavy losses on German forces.
Significance
The successful defense by the RAF not only thwarted the German invasion plans but also boosted British morale and solidified the resolve to continue fighting against Nazi Germany. Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously stated, "This was their finest hour," highlighting the battle's importance in the broader context of the war.
Conclusion
The Battle of Britain was a defining moment in World War II, showcasing the effectiveness of air power and the resilience of the British people. It prevented a potential invasion and laid the groundwork for future Allied victories in the war. The battle remains a symbol of courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds.
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The Battle of Britain was a crucial air campaign during World War II, where the Royal Air Force defended the UK against the German Luftwaffe from July to October 1940, ultimately preventing a German invasion.
Overview
The Battle of Britain was fought primarily between the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German Luftwaffe. It marked the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces and was a pivotal moment in World War II. The battle began after the fall of France, with Germany seeking to gain air superiority over Britain to facilitate a planned invasion, known as Operation Sea Lion.
Timeline: The battle officially lasted from July 10 to October 31, 1940, although some historians consider it to extend until May 1941, including the Blitz.
2
Initial Attacks: The Luftwaffe initially targeted British shipping and coastal defenses before shifting focus to RAF airfields and infrastructure.
2
Turning Point: A significant turning point occurred on September 15, 1940, when the RAF successfully repelled a massive Luftwaffe assault, inflicting heavy losses on German forces.
Significance
The successful defense by the RAF not only thwarted the German invasion plans but also boosted British morale and solidified the resolve to continue fighting against Nazi Germany. Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously stated, "This was their finest hour," highlighting the battle's importance in the broader context of the war.
Conclusion
The Battle of Britain was a defining moment in World War II, showcasing the effectiveness of air power and the resilience of the British people. It prevented a potential invasion and laid the groundwork for future Allied victories in the war. The battle remains a symbol of courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The End
00:30The conquering German armies covered Western Europe, the self-styled mastering high.
01:00The conquering German armies covered in the German armies covered, down the top and down the top.
01:11The conquering左 smarter than the army.
01:17Now Adolf Hitler stood just as Napoleon had stood more than a hundred years before and
01:39looked across the English Channel to the one fighting obstacle that stood between him and
01:44world domination. The trough cliffs of Britain rose sheer and white out of the
01:51choppy waters
01:56and beyond a little island smaller than the state of Wyoming crushed that little
02:01island and its stubborn people and the way was open for world conquest. The fall
02:07of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, France had given
02:18him more than 100 million slaves to work for him or starve. The preliminaries were
02:24over. It was time for the main event, the Battle of Britain.
02:31Hitler and his generals feverishly drafted their plans for the conquest of Britain. Every detail must be anticipated. A slip now might wreck the whole timetable of world conquest.
02:38Hitler and his generals feverishly drafted their plans for the conquest of Britain. Every detail must be anticipated. A slip now might wreck the whole timetable of world conquest.
02:45Hitler and his generals feverishly drafted their plans for the conquest of Britain.
02:52Hitler and his generals feverishly drafted their plans for the conquest of Britain. Every detail must be anticipated. A slip now might wreck the whole timetable of world conquest.
03:00Six weeks of final preparation went into those plans. Six weeks to determine the history of a thousand years. The thing was foolproof. See for yourselves how simple the whole operation was to be.
03:08Look.
03:16German plan for invasion of England. Phase one. Knock out the Royal Air Force and its bases. Get control of the air and the sea lanes across the channel. Follow the flitz plan that had wiped out Poland, the Low Countries and France. Destroy communication and transport lines.
03:35Above all, get command of the air. Phase two. Pulverize the coastline with dive bombers. Drop parachute troops to take over the airfields and establish beachheads. Phase three. Actual invasion.
04:01Pour the German panzer divisions across in high-speed barges under an umbrella of protecting fighter planes.
04:08Then send spearheads of armed might to divide, surround, destroy all opposition. That's all there was to it.
04:24Conquer Britain. Force the surrender of the British fleet. Then, with the combined sea power of Germany, Britain, Italy, France, and Japan, he could control the seas and tell us where to head in.
04:43The torch of freedom flickered low.
04:52On the channel invasion coasts, more than a hundred fully equipped German divisions were singing the Nazi theme song,
04:58We are sailing against England, as they awaited the word from Hitler.
05:10Here, for weeks, all the supplies and weapons of the Nazi war machine had been turned toward Britain.
05:16The jaws of the Nazi whale were set to swallow Jonah.
05:31And what about Jonah? How was he doing?
05:35Well, Britain also had an army. But it was an army dragged from the sea at Dunkirk.
05:42An army without weapons. These had been left behind on the roads of France. Tanks. Guns.
06:11Motorized equipment. All abandoned to save the one priceless item. Men.
06:25In all of Britain, there was not enough equipment for one modern division.
06:30Only one tank for every thousand square miles of territory.
06:34Only one machine gun for every fifteen hundred yards of beach.
06:40Britain had a navy, too. But it was scattered all over the globe, guarding vital food and supply lines.
06:47And the British knew it would be suicide to use their fleet in the narrow waters of the English Channel,
06:54with the German Air Force in control of the air.
06:58Britain also had an air force. An air force outnumbered ten to one by the enemy, both in men and machines.
07:08And then there was Britain herself. The people of Britain. The people who were to be terrorized and forced to surrender.
07:17They knew that every man, woman and child, in uniform or out, would be Hitler's target in the onslaught that might come at any moment.
07:26They knew they had a job to do. And not much time to do it in.
07:30The young, the not so young, and the old. The clerk, the butcher, the farmer, the member of parliament.
07:40They formed the civilian army, Britain's home guard. They started from scratch.
07:45Experience. Equipment. Supplies. All were scarce. Only one shell to fire at each practice.
08:07The women of Britain refused to be left out.
08:13We'll enlist, too. We'll put up the barrage balloons.
08:25Man the AK-AK guns.
08:30We'll run the railroads and get the trains through on time.
08:37Vury the planes. Carry the dispatches.
08:43Drive the ambulances and run the buses.
08:46And we'll see that our men are fed and don't go hungry.
08:51Others work. Men and women alike.
09:01They work full time. Overtime. Double time. 40 hours a week. 50. 60. 70.
09:08Hours meant nothing. Fatigue meant nothing. Until the government forced them to cut down hours because over fatigue was hurting production.
09:25And when they weren't working, the men patrolled the moors for parachutes.
09:28Blocked the roads.
09:29Blocked the roads.
09:30Rehearsed invasion defences.
09:32Rehearsed invasion defences.
09:33Rehearsed invasion defences.
09:34For something had happened.
09:40Others work.
09:42Low temuers.
09:57They were in Maine.
10:01For something had happened here the Germans could never understand.
10:06In a democracy, it is not the government that makes war.
10:10It is the people.
10:23To lead them, the people had chosen Winston Churchill as their prime minister.
10:28And he spoke the words in every British heart when he said,
10:33We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.
10:39We shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets, and on the hills.
10:48We shall never surrender.
10:53This was Britain in its darkest hour.
10:56The people knew they were in for the worst the Nazi mine could invent.
11:00Yet they didn't panic or run away.
11:03They patrolled and waited.
11:05They drilled and waited.
11:07They worked and waited.
11:09Waited for the terror they knew was coming.
11:12Then it came.
11:17That's the sound that became part of the life of every man, woman, and child in Britain.
11:22That's the sound that became part of the life of every man, woman, and child in Britain.
11:34August 8th, 1940.
11:37And the battle for Britain is on.
11:40Thirty enemy aircraft over the channel.
11:42Flying due west.
11:43Here comes the Luftwaffe.
11:56In dozens of flights.
11:58Hundreds of planes.
12:00Bombers.
12:02Bombers.
12:03Fighters.
12:04Dive bombers.
12:05Across that 21 miles of channel.
12:09That eight short minutes of water.
12:11Their first tactics were to bomb convoys in the channel.
12:15Convoys loaded with food and munitions bound for the great port of London.
12:20Spot.
12:21Stand breaths.
12:22Standuchs.
12:23Gunders.
12:24Or...
12:25enae.
12:25Or...
12:26�...
12:27...in ஆ.
12:28Master.
12:29Stand林.
12:30Let's go.
12:31Take a look.
12:32Get ready.
12:34Now let's go.
12:36Shoot.
12:37Do you not have anybody.
12:38It's gone.
12:39Draw him.
12:40Theolee.
12:41Don't worry.
12:43ここ
12:44Waits.
12:45How is it?
12:45He did.
12:47Wait.
12:47Let's go.
12:48Do you not?
12:49Get run.
12:50German fighters waited overhead for the defending planes of the Royal Air Force, the RAF, to
13:01appear. They didn't have long to wait.
13:31The RAF came, facing odds of six, eight, ten to one, and dove in, shouting the old hunting
13:57cry, Tally Ho!
14:27Phase one of the Nazi plan called for the RAF to be knocked out of the air, but the men
14:33of the RAF hadn't read the Nazi plan.
14:57In the first four days, the RAF knocked 182 German planes out of the sky. For the next week,
15:14the Germans attacked the coast cities from the Thames River to Weyman.
15:44So, Jetty, take cover.
16:14Hitler paid off with 180 more planes. Then the Luftwaffe battered the great port towns
16:22of Southampton, Plymouth. Trying for a knockout before the flow of supplies from overseas,
16:29the ports took a terrible pounding, but they couldn't be knocked out. Cargos went on being
16:37unloaded with the protection of the RAF overhead. Battling the spitfires and hurricanes in the
16:43air wasn't panning out. So Goering switched his main attacks to the fighter airfields,
16:48Dover, Deal, Hawking. Maybe he could destroy the planes on the ground. He bombed the airfields,
16:57and the fields were hit. But the planes were saved. For Britain, unlike Poland and the Low
17:04Countries, didn't make the mistake of bunching its planes on the runways. The planes of the RAF
17:09were scattered and hidden. Only a few on any one field, and those in the far corners. The Spitfire
17:17still went up to meet the enemy. In the first 10 days of the Battle of Britain,
17:24Goering launched 26 major attacks to get command of the air, and lost 697 aircraft. The British
17:30lost 153, and 60 British pilots bailed out.
18:00Valuable trained men were saved and ready to fight again. But the crews of Goering's planes
18:13were lost to him forever.
18:15The pace was too hot. Something was going haywire. The Nazis had to call time out. On a 2,000-mile
18:32front, from Norway to France, the whole Nazi blitz program was being stalled because the RAF was still in the air. The shock troops were getting hoarse from singing, we are sailing against England.
18:44The long-range German guns were getting hot from throwing shells across the channel. In public, Hitler assured the Germans, Mr. Churchill tells his people that England will win, but I tell you that victory will belong to Germany.
19:13But in private, he sent for Goering, the boss of the Luftwaffe, and put him on the hot seat.
19:22Goering was told to do something and do it quick.
19:25So on August 30th, he ordered all-out attacks on inland air drones and industrial centers. Maybe he could knock out the RAF on the assembly line.
19:37And he adopted new tactics, too. More fighters and fewer bombers. Or maybe he just had fewer bombers to send. Anyway, those he did send were well protected. Fighters above at high altitudes. Fighters on both sides. Fighters in the front and in the rear. Fighters weaving in and out of the bomber formations.
20:02Britain, winner of the first round, was ready with higher morale and sharper defense. Improved listening posts were set up all along the coast and warned of the enemy's approach before he left the continent.
20:18A quick flash from the control station to the fighter station. And pilots were on their way to meet the enemy while he was still over the channel.
20:25Day after day, out of sight, and almost out of sound of the watchers on the cliffs. Four, five, and six miles above, the battles raged over the Dover area.
20:44The Dover area became known as Hell's Corner. By sheer weight of numbers, the enemy again and again broke through the coastal defenses.
20:57And reached inland to the air drop. Aircraft plants.
21:16Munition factories and machine shops.
21:28Hello, gunfire in the southeast.
21:30Right.
21:46But the workers kept on working. And the RAF kept on flying.
22:07These two men with wings, alone in the sky, behind their motors and machine guns, were shooting down more than the Luftwaffe.
22:24They were smashing the whole Nazi plan of world conquest.
22:50Any claims, Johnny?
22:51Uh, a 109 destroyed, Freddy, yes.
22:54Oh, good show.
22:57How'd you get on, sir?
22:58Oh, I had a wonderful party, thanks.
23:03Are you all right?
23:04You get any of the batteries?
23:05Yes, I got a measurement 109 and a Dornia.
23:08Between August 24th and September 5th, 35 major attacks were launched.
23:13They cost the Germans 562 planes, while the British lost only 219 planes and saved 132 pilots.
23:26Invasion plans were going completely haywire.
23:28The Nazis were blind with rage.
23:31The German mind has never understood why free people fight on against overwhelming odds.
23:40Hitler now knew he was superior in every weapon except the weapon of spirit.
23:45So he told Goering, break that spirit, crush the people, crush the spirit of democratic life itself.
23:53Invasion now would have to wait.
23:56The Nazis would avoid the RAF and smash the great city of London into the rubble heap they had made of Warsaw and Rotterdam.
24:03Could London take it?
24:06Even the people themselves didn't know the answer.
24:09The defenses they trusted in were London's hastily assembled anti-aircraft.
24:14The ACAC guns.
24:16The balloon barrage which kept the raiders at high altitudes.
24:21The Royal Air Force, now down to its last reserves.
24:25And the plain, downright guts of people.
24:33They sent more children out of the city.
24:47Tightened air raid precautions.
24:50Stationed more aeroplane spotters.
24:53Rehearsed firefighters.
24:55Moved into bomb shelters.
24:56They blacked out their city and carried on.
25:13The first blow aimed to crush the British spirit came on September 7th.
25:26The roof reports planes coming in.
25:35The control room speaking.
25:37Customers and staff will now take cover in the basement.
25:40Please do not run, but keep moving.
25:42Down the stairs, or you can use the escalator.
25:49Third floor, clear.
25:52Second floor, clear.
25:54First floor, clear.
25:58That day when 375 German planes came roaring up the Thames River,
26:03the Battle of Britain became the Battle of London.
26:07The Germans broke through the charge of hurricanes and spitfires that went out to meet them.
26:11Gone was any pretense of aiming military objectives.
26:26This just, savage destruction.
26:41The Bones fell like on the homes of the East End poor and the Mayfair rich.
26:44The Bones fell alike on the homes of the East End poor and the Mayfair rich.
26:45Bombs fell alike on the homes of the East End poor and the Mayfair rich, on shops,
27:15churches.
27:24For 28 days, the Nazis were to drop everything in the book on the city of London.
27:29Tons upon tons of high explosives, delayed action bombs that exploded days later,
27:36torpedoes that sheared away whole buildings, and underneath the war in the air,
27:42the war of the man in the street went on.
27:46He learned to exist with very little food.
27:54He forgot what it meant to have a night's sleep, spending most of his time underground in the damp and dark and cold.
28:02Hello, Mrs. Box. You're here early tonight.
28:05Well, I'm on the safe side, aren't I?
28:07I think that'll be all right now.
28:08Yes, that's grand.
28:09Anyway, I'll be back in a few minutes if you want.
28:11Now, how are we going to get you up there?
28:13Get a young man to lift you up.
28:15Charlie?
28:16Hello.
28:17Come here, young lady, and lift up.
28:19Righto, I'm Charlie.
28:20The air raid wardens stayed at their posts.
28:31Doctors and nurses worked on steadily as the bombs crashed all around them.
28:38Rescue squads labored night and day.
28:40Firemen said, nuts to the bombs, and battle to put out fires.
28:59This was life in the Blitz.
29:05Against all the rules of Nazi warfare, Britain was refusing to crumple up.
29:10Across the channel, the enraged Gehring took personal command of the operations.
29:24And on September 15th, he sent the Luftwaffe into one of its greatest attacks.
29:40Five hundred German bombers and Messerschmitt fighters roared over the English coast.
29:55Slow mouth calling. Planes heard three miles southwest.
30:01Shout for hostile planes approaching from southwest.
30:05The British met the challenge by throwing in everything they had.
30:10An historic three-dimensional battle took place inside an area 60 miles long, 38 broad, and from five to six miles high.
30:40Two hundred individual dogfights took place within the first 30 minutes of the raid.
30:46Two hundred individual dogfights took place within the first 30 minutes of the raid.
30:50Two hundred individual dogfights took place within the first thirty minutes of the raid.
31:18Right on our own doorstep.
31:19Oh, what a strength.
31:20Oh, what a strength.
31:21Oh, what a strength.
31:23Oh, what a strength.
31:24Oh.
31:25Oh, what a strength.
31:26Oh, what a strength.
31:27Oh, what a strength.
31:28Oh, what a strength.
31:29Oh, what a strength.
31:30Oh, what a strength.
31:31Oh, what a strength.
31:35Thank you, Center. We'll keep a look out for them.
31:53Hostile formation to the south.
31:55Some of the German bombers broke through London's defences.
32:05And reached the center of the city.
32:24Doggy, the tinettes.
32:28Oh, the tinettes? Okay.
32:35Doggy!
32:38Doggy, where are you?
32:48Doggy!
32:50Doggy, where are you?
32:56Blimey, I thought they'd got you.
32:59Who, me?
33:00Nah, I had me fingers crossed.
33:03Blimey, I thought they'd got you.
33:05Who, me? Nah, I had me fingers crossed.
33:33Air Ministry communique. The biggest bag yet. 185 enemy aircraft shot down. End of message.
33:45Of the 500 German planes that came over that day, more than one-third were shot down.
33:51In the 28 days of terror from September 7th to October 5th, the Nazis dropped 50 million pounds of bombs on the city,
33:58killed 7,000 helpless civilians, and wounded 10,000 more.
34:06Bombs fell on Buckingham Palace.
34:14Westminster Abbey.
34:18The Houses of Parliament.
34:22Fleet Street, the center of the news.
34:28St. Paul's Cathedral.
34:34Bombs blasting the historic past out of the lives of Englishmen.
34:43But, in these 28 days, the Nazis lost 900 planes and their crews.
34:49The more they sent over, the more were shot down.
34:52The British Spitfire had proved to be one of the deadliest weapons ever put in the hands of man.
34:56If this kept up, pretty soon no more Luftwaffe.
35:00The frantic Nazis had to pull a new one.
35:06They did.
35:08On October 6th, they changed to night attacks.
35:12Maybe that way they could avoid those deadly spitfires and hurricanes.
35:15Maybe that way they could crush the stubborn British spirit.
35:21Never mind control of the air.
35:23Never mind phase one, phase two, phase three.
35:27Now to concentrate on bombing the people themselves into submission.
35:31And make them cry for mercy.
35:34The hostile raid, sir.
35:54Hostile raid, sir.
36:24The RAF wasn't much help at night.
36:31This was just German bombs against British guts.
36:40Good evening, Harvey.
36:42Hi there, Jack.
36:44Sound happy enough down there tonight, don't they?
36:46Yes, they're all right.
36:54The great docks of London were left roaring infernos.
37:02Homes were destroyed by incendiaries.
37:07Business blocks were aflame.
37:11And still the people of London took it.
37:13Night after night they borrowed underground.
37:16And morning after morning they dug themselves out of the wreckage.
37:24Good morning, Mrs. Brown.
37:26Good morning, Mr. Brown.
37:27Good morning, Mr. Brown.
37:28See you tonight?
37:29Right here.
37:30Come on, Bessie.
37:34Would you like to sit down?
37:35Thanks.
37:36Good morning, Mr. Brown.
37:37Sleep well?
37:38Fine, thanks.
37:39What's it for at night?
37:40What about the one that came down about two?
37:42I didn't hear it.
37:43Did you?
37:44No.
37:45Oh, we're getting used to it around here.
37:47No, I didn't hear it.
37:48Did you?
37:49No.
37:50Oh, we're getting used to it around here.
38:17Don't you think you'd better go away from this for a bit?
38:18Of course not.
38:19Does it take more than this to get me out of my home?
38:20Now go on.
38:21You've got to get to work.
38:22Okay.
38:23The Battle of London was the battle of the people of the city.
38:24In spite of bombs and fire and death, they got to their desks and workbenches to spend
38:28another ten or twelve hours working, and they had to work.
38:29working.
38:30Working.
38:31The British spirit was stronger than ever.
38:32And the RAF was flying higher than ever.
38:33Not only higher, but farther.
38:36That was the battle of the people of the city.
38:38The battle of London was the battle of the people of the city.
38:41In spite of bombs and fire and death, they got to their desks and workbenches to spend
38:44another ten or twelve hours working, working, working.
38:49The British spirit was stronger than ever.
38:52And the RAF was flying higher than ever.
38:55Not only higher, but farther.
38:58SIO, operation for tonight.
39:02GP1562, EP781.
39:08Ten aircraft.
39:10You'll find, I think, a decent photograph of the submarine yards there.
39:15There was a very good one taken the other night, Monty.
39:17A bit further along.
39:19That's it.
39:22That's...
39:23There's the submarine yards.
39:24Just there.
39:25Yes.
39:26Well, chaps, this is your target for tonight.
39:29It's the submarine and shipbuilding yards at Bremen.
39:32It's a vitally important target.
39:34And it's got to be hit hard.
39:36In the midst of this life and death struggle, the British found strength not only to defend,
39:41but to counterattack with what few bombers they could get together.
39:45See for Charlie airborne, sir.
39:46See for Charlie airborne, sir.
39:47See for Charlie airborne, sir.
39:52Hello, rear gunner.
39:53Can you hear me?
39:54I'm okay, Skipper.
39:55Hello, operator.
39:56I'm okay, Skipper.
39:57Hello, operator.
39:58Everything okay?
39:59Well, it seems to be all here, sir.
40:01Seed for Charlie airborne, sir.
40:02Hello, rear gunner.
40:03Can you hear me?
40:04I'm okay, Skipper.
40:05Hello, operator.
40:06Everything okay?
40:07Well, it seems to be all here, sir.
40:09Well, it seems to be all here, sir.
40:26Yes?
40:56Stand by. I'm going in on a glide.
41:06Steady.
41:26I got the bullseye with the last one.
41:41Here was the RAF giving it back.
41:47Hitler cried, night gangsters. For this crime I will exact a thousand-fold revenge.
41:57All the available German night bombers were put into the air.
42:17A thousand-fold revenge was Coventry.
42:38On the night of November 14th, a million pounds of bombs were dropped on the city.
42:45Carpentry was smashed as flat as Warsaw and Rotterdam.
43:15The people of Coventry dug their loved ones out of the blasted ruin, saw them to their last resting place.
43:20In a common grave.
43:39In a common grave.
43:46In a common grave.
43:53The people of Coventry
43:56In a common grave.
44:02In a common grave.
44:03The people of Coventry
44:07had died of a human grave.
44:08In a common grave.
44:11In a common grave.
44:13The people of Coventry
44:18Hitler could kill them, but damned if he could lick them.
44:36They went back to their lathes and machines, for they knew the machine bench was as deadly
44:41a weapon as the rifle, and in their hearts was a grim determination that this enemy must
44:47be destroyed, that the day was coming when they would strike back, and how they would strike back.
44:59Christmas 1940.
45:17Christmas, season of peace on earth, goodwill toward men, was the
45:47ironic quiet before Hitler's great burst of rage against a people who couldn't be licked.
45:54He couldn't bomb them into submission, so he would burn them to ashes.
46:01He couldn't bomb them into submission, so he would burn them to ashes.
46:08He couldn't bomb them into submission, so he would burn them to ashes.
46:20Millions of firebombs rained down on the great city of London.
46:27In a matter of minutes, more than 1500 different sections of the city burst into roaring flames.
46:34flames that swiftly merged into the greatest fire in recorded history.
46:41In a matter of minutes, more than 1500 different sections of the city burst into roaring flames.
46:54Flames that swiftly merged into the greatest fire in recorded history.
47:00In the midst of all the fire and destruction, vital water mains were shattered.
47:21Water pressure was almost entirely cut off.
47:25Heroes of the night were men of the London Fire Brigade, who stretched temporary hose lines
47:30out to the center of the Thames River, struggling through mud and slime.
47:34For the Nazis had carefully picked the night on which the Thames River had one of the lowest ebb tides on record.
47:50And while London burned above them, the people of the city held on.
47:55Chin up and thumbs up.
47:58They knew this was the people's war.
48:01And they were the people.
48:09And a people that couldn't be panicked, couldn't be beaten.
48:13In the months to come, the British were to suffer many such bombings and burnings.
48:30But a nation that calls on cold courage, when hot courage runs thin, may die.
48:36But it can't be defeated.
49:06The Battle of Britain was won.
49:16But not by Hitler.
49:18Hitler had lost the battle.
49:24He had lost 2,375 German planes and their crews.
49:29For the first time, it was the Germans who ate the bitter dirt of defeat.
49:36Gone was the legend of their invincibility.
49:38For a solid year, the Nazis struck Britain with all their might.
49:43They leveled thousands upon thousands of homes.
49:46And damaged millions of others.
49:48They killed more than 40,000 men, women and children.
49:52And seriously wounded 50,000 more.
49:58But not one single Nazi soldier set foot on British soil.
50:06But Hitler couldn't stop.
50:08And in our next film, we will show how he had to turn to the East again.
50:13Why did the Nazis lose the Battle of Britain?
50:16First, because a regimented people met an equally determined free people.
50:23And the free people made them quit cold.
50:28We've been bombed, dive bombed, high level bombed, machine gunned.
50:34Been through two invasion scares.
50:37The last lot we had, we had the house down about our ears.
50:41But we're still sticking it, and we're going to stick it.
50:46Second, because this was a new kind of war.
50:49And the RAF were the men who could fight it.
50:53These were the men who belonged to what Hitler called those weak, soft democracies.
50:59The British did more than save their country.
51:02They won for the world a year of precious time.
51:06It was not only for the people of Britain,
51:08but for the people of the world that Winston Churchill spoke when he said...
51:12Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
51:21There will always be an England, and England shall be free.
51:31If England needs as much to you, as England needs to be.
51:40There was more than a war.
51:41There were people who were not.
51:42There was that war could be a man, but a man had the one.
51:43It was very, very strange.
51:44There were people who had a war.
51:45And they could all see the Jesuit and gay people were close.
51:46And they could all see the new war.
51:47And they could all see the catastrophe and the other characters.
51:48And he could all see theceu.
51:49And they could all see the people of Britain.
51:50Why would they have the next time there?
51:52But the rest of the world were once more...
51:53And they could all see them in the future.
51:55The war!
51:56And the war!
51:57And the war!
51:59And a war!
52:00¶¶
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