The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

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maintain his position as a reluctant, but necessary, neutral. Britain wouldhave to find a way through this current crisis without the United States.At around midnight on 16 May, Neville Chamberlain returned to his diary.A deeply troubling day had just got worse. Churchill had returned fromFrance and clearly the situation there was worse than he had thought.‘Terrible message from Winston,’ he scribbled. ‘Effect is next three or fourdays decisive unless German advance can be stayed. French army willcollapse and BEF will be cut off. Decided to throw in more air forcestomorrow.’For Air Chief Marshal Dowding, the Commander of Fighter Command,this was terrible news, for those air forces were fighter aircraft, preciousHurricanes that would all too soon be desperately needed at home. Britain’sair war had completely lost its direction. Urgent priorities needed to bemade. Fast.
No information found
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The author and publisher have provi
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ContentsList of Maps and FiguresNot
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47 Exhaustion48 Last FlightPostscri
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RAF FIGHTER COMMAND ORDER OF BATTLE
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Note on the TextSo as not to cause
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Truly, the Battle of Britain is an
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anticipation of the beginning of ho
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lower so that at last he could see
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2The Eve of BattleDAVID CROOK FLEW
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contempt for the French but he did
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had already written Achtung Panzer!
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Chamberlain, who she wished would b
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An ashen and rather shell-shocked C
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insignificant, was his close friend
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his secretaries since 1933, when Hi
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Ardennes. ‘Our reconnaissance bat
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3The Go-for-Broke GambleAT HALF-PAS
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Arriving at Felsennet at around 6 a
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been poor too. Yet now Hitler wante
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because it ran counter to the more
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Sedan, ensnaring the bulk of the Al
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British forces all the way to the C
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of the way, he quickly got his two
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4Hook, Line and SinkerGUNNER STAN F
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emphases. An armoured - or panzer -
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telegraphy and portable radio commu
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agreed between the British and Fren
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attack. Georges was not enthusiasti
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friends, Stan had been greatly reli
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One last effort was made to persuad
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personal photographer, a hospital w
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Germany’s oil and synthetic-rubbe
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and a little over 1,500 twin- or si
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a French area of operations. In fac
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laughing, reporting that Ops were i
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turned to Kesselring and snarled,
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someone as passionate about shootin
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were horribly under-armed with just
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310 fighters had been built, and 33
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slopes rose sharply. There were als
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time in the world to reach the Dina
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Yet although the bulk of Army Group
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Loerzer readily agreed but in the m
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fire, he dropped his bombs and then
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‘Joy riding in canoes on the Meus
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groups. That is why I did not forwa
Page 117 and 118: not have been better. Murrow needed
Page 119 and 120: according to Nazi law. ‘There are
Page 121 and 122: material, yet Hilda thought little
Page 123 and 124: Goebbels held a ‘ministerial conf
Page 125 and 126: In 1933, the Volksempfänger (‘pe
Page 128 and 129: 8A Battle Against TimeWHAT WOULD BE
Page 130 and 131: election, a National Labour MP. Lik
Page 132 and 133: ‘Confidentially, I wish I weren
Page 134 and 135: Royal Flying Corps to gain his wing
Page 136 and 137: committees, too much discussion and
Page 138 and 139: The difference with this latest com
Page 140 and 141: production problems had been resolv
Page 143 and 144: 9The Battle is LostON 13 MAY, Gener
Page 145 and 146: As the unfolding Allied disaster at
Page 147 and 148: time to wait for reinforcements. Th
Page 149 and 150: messages from Gamelin and Georges r
Page 151 and 152: Poor French logistics were symptoma
Page 153 and 154: perfect mine-laying terrain, while
Page 156 and 157: 10Emergency MeasuresFROM ALMOST THE
Page 158 and 159: which raised around 20,000 firearms
Page 160 and 161: Columnists,’ says John, ‘and fr
Page 162 and 163: been in a mess together before and
Page 164 and 165: England will never give up so long
Page 168 and 169: 11Learning the LessonsOBERLEUTNANT
Page 170 and 171: through ninety degrees, the fighter
Page 172 and 173: In 1940, the best pilots also neede
Page 174 and 175: Günther recognized them immediatel
Page 176 and 177: Feldmarschall Hermann Göring had l
Page 178 and 179: had known each other for some time;
Page 180 and 181: crashed his aircraft and was killed
Page 182 and 183: support of the ground forces, rathe
Page 185 and 186: 12What to Do for the BestCERTAINLY
Page 187 and 188: Farben Werke at Dormagen hit only a
Page 189 and 190: done what the CO had asked of them
Page 191 and 192: pilot, who not only taught him a gr
Page 193 and 194: Luftwaffe at that time. He was sudd
Page 195 and 196: Thus, in an abrupt change of heart,
Page 198 and 199: 13New AppointmentsMAJOR-GENERAL HEN
Page 200 and 201: river with barely a shot fired. Hal
Page 202 and 203: bolstering the position in France,
Page 204 and 205: widespread break in morale. As Jose
Page 206 and 207: accept the job, which was officiall
Page 209 and 210: 14DecisionsTHE MIRACLE HAD HAPPENED
Page 211 and 212: Despite their assurances, however,
Page 213 and 214: being surrounded before it could fa
Page 215 and 216: England. Beforehand, the Führer ha
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such distances, they had given them
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As at the Meuse, getting safely acr
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were the Allied troops there going
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battalions from 50th Division had b
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camouflaged enemy trucks. Then spot
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one of the Messerschmitts, Tony clo
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his parents on 15 May, ‘however,
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Even so, neither the news emerging
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Plan and turning the blame on to Go
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16CrisisTHE AMERICAN JOURNALIST Wil
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corridor in which the BEF and Frenc
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General Jodl, OKW Chief of Staff, t
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circumstances - after all, where co
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them they were about to throw in th
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By now, the argument between Church
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17Black MondayMEANWHILE, IN BERLIN
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badly hit that it was felt, for the
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aircraft since the campaign had beg
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formed up and was at around 12,000
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fell from 9,000 feet. Afterwards, h
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What Chamberlain was saying, Church
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that day. The threat remained, howe
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followed a lead, they arrived to di
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Blanchard still felt the situation
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Back in Britain, there was, as plan
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yards out into the sea. The western
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countermanded. ‘And we dashed off
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needed to prepare themselves for th
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more abandoned vehicles.’ These w
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By mid-morning the trucks were load
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recovered and applied to join the R
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few engagements, to discover a sudd
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Andrew. ‘There was continuous bom
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The last line of defence south of D
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mainly conversational) loose ends l
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The King was right: the evacuation
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over. A gable of the building was h
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Commanding, Lieutenant-Colonel Alle
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Stan managed to find himself alloca
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21Dunkirk: The EndLORD GORT WAS NOW
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other planes, but swirling spectral
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and noticed the enemy fighters were
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that moment that the Blenheims arri
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French, a long dark column of weary
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tank that began firing towards them
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evacuation. No-one was quite sure h
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fighting over France had only been
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of Europe and many old and famous S
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Despite these arguments and the opp
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both he and the rest of the French
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effort it was not until late aftern
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calm, but the haze meant visibility
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survive. To achieve that, he had be
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muttered, ‘won’t have to go as
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The second part of Case Red, the at
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will go on fighting,’ he jotted,
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Churchill at this hour of need, ‘
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quickly,’ wrote Christa Schroeder
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peace treaty without having to go t
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granted a strip of land between the
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years. The army, too, was to expand
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earliest available opportunity. Ano
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autobahns. ‘Führer has again emp
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bath and slept better than she imag
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and defiance - the spirit - that Da
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he was told he was going back. Asid
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Britain’s history he had a duty t
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and German troops they now had no a
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26Getting ReadyAS ONE OF THE PRIME
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Finally, there was category 6, appl
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of his plans over which he had worr
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fields. Billy Drake was also back i
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Ministry authorized the establishme
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crackling sound. What they were hea
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Trouble at Sea: Part 1‘TOMORROW A
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In this he was correct, but already
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Scharnhorst, and the giant battlesh
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Hitler scrapped the Z Plan and orde
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Although he had demonstrated his pr
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but in fact the majority of the shi
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The assault on the west had been a
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was to let Britain stew, and then m
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although many never claimed their h
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GPO also created a separate network
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With all the different links in the
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29
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remarked to the Second Officer, ‘
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seaman had taken over from him so h
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While Foylebank had been heroically
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there suddenly silhouetted against
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However, from the British perspecti
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frequently scanning his instrument
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conversation here.’ He had just r
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‘well-developed defence forces of
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now re-designated I/JG 52 - was inv
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It was not until 12 June that RV go
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him to ask him some points of detai
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fighter range. This was a somewhat
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warnings, these two flew steadily o
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three had signalled his position, b
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numerical superiority. Even so, onl
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Yet although it was principally 10
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aircraft was struggling out over th
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32Peace OfferingsAFTER HITLER’S T
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crossing’. Separate raids on the
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Blue), on which he had drawn on his
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and the Luftwaffe General Staff, it
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war.’ Despite the usual euphoric
Page 457 and 458:
33The BesiegedCECIL BEATON HAD LEFT
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Nicolson, ‘that our anti-rumour c
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and the army. It looked good to him
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Churchill, however, was the army’
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on the point of collapse. That was
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and his ministers realized. Britain
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standing up, another sitting, and t
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Staffel commander, Herbert Fermer,
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take his theoretical work seriously
Page 476 and 477:
Meanwhile, both 54 and 64 Squadrons
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was accepted that Dover should no l
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although largely because Fighter Co
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resources. In any case, it was the
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‘Getting bombs onto the target wa
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on which William Shirer was one of
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was another bang of flak. Darting b
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other hand, he had to consider the
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36The Wall of EnglandTHE NEWLY PROM
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All this Raeder repeated at the Fü
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at different heights, and many floa
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cutters, which would then sever the
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been held there over the ensuing da
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August Dowding had fifty-eight squa
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Now, at a little before 11 a.m., Fr
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37AdlertagWHEN ULRICH STEINHILPER t
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Around 8 a.m., Walter was leading h
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destroy than had originally been ex
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The unexpected cloud had not preven
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about this,’ he noted, ‘though
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Back at Dinard, the grim truth was
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intrigues was not to his taste. One
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told him on reading the terms about
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noted Jan, ‘when all of us had al
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Although Luftwaffe claims remained
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officer, said, ‘Ah, Herr Oberst,
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and threes, the pilots heard the co
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crossing the sky, sometimes an airc
Page 537 and 538:
Walter and his men were now in deep
Page 540 and 541:
39The Hardest DayON 14 AUGUST, Gene
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great deal very quickly and it was
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raiders had attempted to hit Odiham
Page 546 and 547:
‘There they are!’ exclaimed Moy
Page 548 and 549:
Stumbling backwards he was struck b
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gushed through the gap and suddenly
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40Bombs on BerlinHILDA MÜLLER MIGH
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Udet had become fixated with the id
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had been a major disaster. As of no
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disposal to the defeat of the enemy
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at the limits of their range, strug
Page 564 and 565:
41Tactics and TechnicalitiesWHILE T
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in his chest, but as he had pushed
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109 could out-dive the British figh
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although its roots were much narrow
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worry about bullet convergence - a
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his staff viewed the Zerstörers me
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but it was certainly a proportion.
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200, or Condor, as it was known - w
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land - gliding distance from the co
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Helmut Wick. The next day, during a
Page 585 and 586:
formations, some simply to patrol t
Page 587 and 588:
August were beginning to be keenly
Page 589 and 590:
posted to Mordyck and he and the tw
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43Black SaturdayON 28 AUGUST, Colon
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regardless of the detrimental effec
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prospects looked grim, but welcomed
Page 598 and 599:
The day before, Reichsmarschall Her
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surge towards him. Now he was firin
Page 602 and 603:
before they began dropping their bo
Page 604 and 605:
down. Totally spent. Since breakfas
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Raymond Lee had gone out to dinner
Page 609 and 610:
aircraft line. ‘We made up a barr
Page 611 and 612:
told they just ‘volunteered’ to
Page 613 and 614:
‘We touch down,’ he wrote, ‘t
Page 615 and 616:
items including a spare parachute,
Page 617 and 618:
wartime is something that cannot be
Page 619 and 620:
foot when the telephone went.’ Be
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there was the loss of your colleagu
Page 624 and 625:
he noted, ‘that, until the sirens
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‘That’s where you are wrong,’
Page 628 and 629:
aircraft. Every night they were the
Page 630 and 631:
however, poor weather once again pr
Page 632 and 633:
Park had sensed something was up; t
Page 634 and 635:
Hurricane, even with the aileron no
Page 636 and 637:
with an odd weaving walk. Jan thoug
Page 638:
turning - or ‘windmilling’ - be
Page 641 and 642:
intercept service we know that thei
Page 643 and 644:
and see more clearly. Furthermore,
Page 645 and 646:
At 3.16 a.m. on the morning of 21 S
Page 647 and 648:
particularly successful trip to att
Page 649 and 650:
The prospects do not look good for
Page 651 and 652:
It took them ten minutes of intense
Page 653:
erred with his navigation, crossing
Page 656 and 657:
various Americans to get more pictu
Page 658 and 659:
Kanalkrankheit - the combat fatigue
Page 660 and 661:
Peter Stahl was flying over London
Page 662 and 663:
This did not make his position impr
Page 664 and 665:
Leigh-Mallory had the support of Sh
Page 667 and 668:
48Last FlightON THE LAST SUNDAY in
Page 669 and 670:
A pattern had emerged in this lates
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have to jump. Having sent a last me
Page 674 and 675:
PostscriptLATER ON THE AFTERNOON of
Page 676 and 677:
Douglas and with Leigh-Mallory brea
Page 678 and 679:
watching the giant raids over south
Page 680 and 681:
line, but there were many thousands
Page 682 and 683:
the Mediterranean and served in Nor
Page 684 and 685:
eventually returned to Germany and
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others, has gained an iconic revere
Page 690 and 691:
AcknowledgementsThis book has been
Page 692 and 693:
steered me in the right direction o
Page 695 and 696:
SourcesPersonal testimoniesAuthor I
Page 697 and 698:
Maier, Klaus A., et al., Germany an
Page 699 and 700:
Bullitt, Orville H. (ed.), For the
Page 701 and 702:
Gilbert, Martin, Finest Hour: Winst
Page 703 and 704:
Lee, Asher, Goering: Air Leader (Du
Page 705 and 706:
Self, Robert, Neville Chamberlain (
Page 707 and 708:
—, Pilot’s Notes Spitfire IIA a
Page 709 and 710:
Caldwell, Donald, The JG 26 War Dia
Page 711 and 712:
Engel, Major Gerhard, At the Heart
Page 713 and 714:
Hooton, E.R., Eagle in Flames: The
Page 715 and 716:
Ministry of Information, British Co
Page 717 and 718:
Raymond, Squadron Leader R., and Sq
Page 719 and 720:
Tangye, Squadron Leader Nigel, Teac
Page 721 and 722:
Caddick-Adams, Peter, ‘Anglo-Fren
Page 724 and 725:
NotesAbbreviationsAFRHA Air Force R
Page 726 and 727:
ReferencesIntroduction‘The Battle
Page 728 and 729:
‘Held up by artillery fire…a jo
Page 730 and 731:
‘A paradox ball…’ The Times,
Page 732 and 733:
15. Fighter Command Enters the Fray
Page 734 and 735:
‘Von Luck you will…’ Luck, Pa
Page 736 and 737:
‘At my command…was in Paris’
Page 738 and 739:
28. Bringing It All Together‘Can
Page 740 and 741:
‘Still, whatever does come…’
Page 742 and 743:
‘Achtung, Achtung…’ TNA AIR 4
Page 744 and 745:
‘Up to date…’ Cited in James,
Page 746 and 747:
‘Hello, Gannic…chaps’ Bartley
Page 749:
GlossaryAbwehr Wehrmacht Counter-In
Page 752 and 753:
74 Squadron Spitfiresattack KG 2at
Page 754 and 755:
Abbeville, Panzer Corps Guderian re
Page 756 and 757:
Attlee, ClementAustralia, declares
Page 758 and 759:
on aircraft shortageon Dunkirk from
Page 760 and 761:
and invasion planson lost timeBray
Page 762 and 763:
German attacks onGerman consolidati
Page 764 and 765:
speeches broadcasts to nationeffect
Page 766 and 767:
and Stukaon Portland attackshoots d
Page 768 and 769:
and Beaverbrookand BEF fighter supp
Page 770 and 771:
Eden, Anthony, Minister for Warand
Page 772 and 773:
lossespilot lossespilots to avoid s
Page 774 and 775:
and Sedanconditioncommand issuescom
Page 776 and 777:
see also panzer divisionsGermanyeco
Page 778 and 779:
at Sedancrosses Meuseinsists on adv
Page 780 and 781:
on minelayingHigh Frequency Directi
Page 782 and 783:
strength after Dunkirk lossesIdenti
Page 784 and 785:
Udet andKanalkranheitKeitel, Feldma
Page 786 and 787:
LDV, John Wilson andLe Havre, IX Co
Page 788 and 789:
signal organizationstructuresee als
Page 790 and 791:
McIntosh, Plt OffMechelen incidentM
Page 792 and 793:
on Me 109ENelson, Horatio, on want
Page 794 and 795:
westward dash1st Panzer Divisionat
Page 796 and 797:
on LDVon Mussolinion parachutistswa
Page 798 and 799:
Raake, Majorradar, Admiralty coasta
Page 800 and 801:
Churchill seeks help fromdestroyers
Page 802 and 803:
‘Seetakt’ German radar systemSe
Page 804 and 805:
Steinhilper, Leutnant Ulrichand com
Page 806 and 807:
U-47and convoy HX72sinks HMS Royal
Page 808 and 809:
Wendel, ElseWerner Advance Detachme
Page 811 and 812:
The Battle of Britain.Copyright ©2
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