what was the blitz (primary homework help.co.uk)

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The Great Fire of London was a fire that was so big that it burned nearly all of the buildings in London, with the exception of the Tower of London as that was made from stone, and stone doesn't burn up easily.

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29th July 2018

The blitz (which is German for “lightning war”) was a period where the Germans started dropping bombs on large British cities such as London. It lasted from 7th September 1940 to 11th May 1941 and killed 43,000 people over the 8 months it happened. How did the major cities prepare for this?

Air raid shelters

Throughout the major cities, London in particular, there were multiple air-raid shelters. Before there was a bomb attack, an air-raid siren would sound and everyone would stop what they were doing and head to the nearest air-raid shelter, whether that be in their back garden or in the street.

You can hear the air-raid siren sound below:

What were they made from?

Air-raid shelters were made from rugged metal and other materials given to them at the beginning of the war by the Government. They may have had some protection at the top, such as sand bags, which helped protect it if a bomb exploded nearby.

Regardless of whether you were in a city or not, you had to have a gas mask. This was so everyone would be safe in the event of a mustard gas attack.

What is mustard gas?

Mustard gas was a deadly gas used during World War I (but not during World War II.) This gas can cause large blisters on any uncovered skin and in the lungs (if breathed in.) It’s now classified as a chemical weapon.

There was no mustard gas attack in the UK during WW2 because the Nazis knew that Britain would fight back even more should they have used it.

What was the the Blitz?

Here are some facts and some pieces of key information about the Blitz, an important, yet terrifying part of World War 2.

What was the Blitz?

• The ‘Blitz’ was a term used to describe the heavy bombing of London and other British cities during WW2
• The attack on London by German bombers started on 7th September 1940 and it didn’t end until May 1941.
• At one point during the Blitz, London was bombed for 57 nights in a row.
• The word ‘Blitz’ comes from the German word blitzkrieg, meaning ‘lightning war’.

Did the people of Britain know that the Blitz was coming?

Yes, the people of Britain did expect to be bombed by German air raids.

The government did several things in preparation:

• Everyone was given a gas mask. It was thought that the bombs might contain poisonous gas and the gas mask would protect the wearer from the deadly fumes.
• Lots of city hospitals were cleared so that they were ready to treat people who had been injured in the air raids.
• Thousands of cardboard coffins were produced.
• Public air raid shelters were constructed and people built their own shelters in their gardens.
• Some men and women were made wardens and given the job of letting people into the shelters when the bombing started.
• Bags were filled with sand and piled up to protect buildings.
• The Blackout was imposed on the British people (click here to learn more about The Blackout).

When did the Blitz start?

The first air raid was carried out in the daylight on 7th September 1940. Over 350 German bombers filled the skies over London, and they were protected by about 650 fighter planes.

Bombs were dropped on London’s docks destroying many building and causing massive fires. The bombing continued throughout the night.

The first day of the Blitz was called Black Saturday as 448 people were killed, many thousands were injured and many building were destroyed.

How did the British defend and protect themselves during air raids?

• Anti-aircraft guns were used to defend London and large searchlights were used to help the gunners to see the planes in the night sky.
• Barrage balloons were floated above the cities to force the bombers to drop their bombs from a higher altitude, making them less accurate.
• The people of London started to use the London Underground as a giant air raid shelter. At first the government tried to stop this happening, but people forced their way in and, in the end, it became a way of life during the Blitz. About 60,000 slept in the underground tunnels, which soon became cramped and smelly. Volunteers sometimes handed out hot drinks to boost morale. Sometimes even the tunnels of the Underground weren’t safe from the German bombs. At least one station was hit directly, killing many of the Londoners who were sheltered inside.

Click here to find out more about air raid shelters and how their design changed during the Blitz.

How were people warned that an air raid was on its way?

When the first German bombers were spotted, a siren was started. This was incredibly loud and made a wailing noise. The siren was often called ‘Moaning Minnie’.

Air raid wardens used wooden rattles to warn people of danger and help to lead them towards the air raid shelters.

Apart from London, which other British cities were bombed by the Germans?

• On 14th November 1940, Coventry was bombed by the Germans during the night time. The city centre was pretty much destroyed and Coventry Cathedral was ruined, along with 21 factories. 568 people lost their lives during the bombing of Coventry.
• Other cities were bombed after Coventry. Bombs fell on Newcastle, Swansea, Birmingham, Manchester , Nottingham , Ipswich, Portsmouth, Hull, Sheffield and Bristol, to name just a few.
• After Southampton was bombed, fires were still burning two day later.

How many people were killed during the Blitz?

It is estimated that more than 30,000 people were killed during the Blitz, and many more were injured.

About 60% of London’s buildings were damaged or destroyed.

When did the Blitz come to an end?

The last air raid of the Blitz was in May 1941. The Germans had failed to break the will of the British people and had failed to significantly disrupt Britain’s industrial and military production. The German bombers were also needed in the German’s fight against the Russians.

Did Britain bomb Germany?

Yes. In fact, Germany sustained more damage and loss of life as a result of British air raids than Britain did from German air raids. The German city of Dresden, for example, was completely destroyed and thousands of the people who lived there burned to death in the fires that raged from building to building.

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Britannica Book of the Year: London in 1940

During World War II, London suffered damage on a scale not witnessed there since the Great Fire of 1666. But, as it struggled to maintain the Allied war effort and to repel aerial bombardment, London became a symbol of courage and determination for English-speaking peoples around the globe. The following article “London” was originally printed in the 1941 Britannica Book of the Year (events of 1940). It was written by Lawrence Hawkins Dawson, editor of the guidebook Introductions to London (H.O. Quinn, 1926), the historical atlas The March of Man (Encyclopædia Britannica, Ltd., 1935), and Routledge's Universal Encyclopedia (1934). Dawson also wrote for the 1942 yearbook, describing London in 1941.

London in 1940

Life in London during 1940 fell into two clearly differentiated portions, with mid-August as the dividing point. In the first, “behind-the-lines” conditions prevailed, and in spite of the black-out, the ubiquitous shelters and sandbags, the effects of evacuation, the presence of A.R.P. [Air Raid Precautions] officials in full training and of soldiers, and latterly the home guard drilling in the parks, life went on much as usual. The winter had been severe, but the summer was very fine, and in their leisure hours Londoners thronged the parks or dug strenuously in their allotments and gardens. Several theatres and many cinemas were open, and there were even a few sporting events. In the second period, when the largest and commercially the most important city in the world, with a record of nearly 20 centuries of life unhindered by the foreign invader, was assailed from the air by an enemy armed with all that science and ingenuity could devise, London accepted her “front-line” position with all that that entailed. The A.R.P. services sprang into efficient action, and the civilians, while maintaining the work, business and efficiency of their city, proved that though her walls, her palaces, her churches and her homes might be reduced to rubble, her spirit could never be broken. During the whole period, though disorganization of communications was frequent and sometimes serious, no essential service was more than temporarily impaired. No cut was made in necessary expenditure on the social services; and public and private premises, except when irreparably damaged, were repaired as speedily as possible—latterly with the help of the royal engineers and the pioneer corps. In that way thousands of business people determined to maintain their regular occupations were enabled to do so with delays of only hours. It was even possible to make a few additions to the Green Belt, but the improvements foreshadowed in the Bressey report of 1938 were perforce postponed. Among other works, the completion of Waterloo bridge with its proposed “roundabout” in the Strand, the development of the south bank of the Thames, the memorials to King George V and to Jellicoe and Beatty, and the University of London buildings were also held up. ...

London had taken early steps to defend herself against attack. In April 1939, two regional commissioners, Sir Ernest Gowers, chairman of the coal commission, and Admiral Sir Edward Evans, had been appointed. In May 1940 they were joined by Captain D. Euan Wallace, M.P., as senior commissioner, and at the end of September two special commissioners were added: H. Willink, K.C., M.P., to supervise the care of the homeless, and Sir Warren Fisher, a former head of the civil service and lately commissioner in Manchester of the northwest area, to co-ordinate and facilitate reconstruction. In October Sir Edward Evans was put in charge of air raid shelters and Dr. Mallon, warden of Toynbee hall, was appointed by the minister of food as adviser on the catering problems connected therewith. A fund for the relief of distress caused by enemy action in London was opened by the lord mayor on Sept. 10. Contributions poured in from every part of the world in such profusion that on Oct. 28 its scope was extended to cover the whole of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. By the middle of December it had reached nearly £1,700,000.

Apart from one or two “alarms” in the early days of the war no sirens wailed in London till June 25, but from Aug. 23, when the “blitz” began, until Dec. 2 there was no 24-hour period without at least one “alert”—as the alarms came to be called—and generally far more, nine having been registered on three separate occasions. In the hundred days, Aug. 23 to Nov. 30, there were 368 alerts, and the nights of Nov. 3 and 28 were the only occasions during this period on which London's peace was unbroken by siren or bomb. After the first week of September, though night bombing on a large scale continued, the large mass attacks by day, which had proved so costly to the enemy, were replaced by smaller parties coming over in successive waves; on occasions forces consisting of as many as 300 to 400 machines would cross the coast by daylight and split into small groups, and a few planes would succeed in penetrating London's outer defences. Air-raid damage was widespread, and the raider was no respecter of persons or places. Hospitals, clubs, churches, museums, residential and shopping streets, hotels, public houses, theatres, schools, ancient monuments, maternity homes, newspaper offices, embassies and the zoo were bombed. While some of the poorer and more crowded suburban areas suffered severely, the mansions of Mayfair, the luxury flats of Kensington and Buckingham palace itself—which was bombed four separate times—fared little better; but such was the determination of the citizens and the high degree of efficiency attained by the A.R.P. and medical services that casualties, though sometimes heavy, at no time approached the estimates that had been made before war broke out and only a fraction of the hospital and ambulance provision that had been made was ever requisitioned.

The following curtailed list identifies some of the better known places in inner London that have been damaged by enemy action. Some are a total loss; others are already under repair with little outward sign of the damage sustained:

Besides Buckingham palace, the chapel of which was wrecked, and Guildhall (the six-centuries old centre of London civic ceremonies and of great architectural beauty), which was destroyed by fire, Kensington palace (the London home of the earl of Athlone, governor general of Canada, and the birthplace of Queen Mary and Queen Victoria), the banqueting hall of Eltham palace (dating from King John's time and long a royal residence), Lambeth palace (the archbishop of Canterbury), and Holland house (famous for its 17th century domestic architecture, its political associations, and its art treasures), suffered, the latter severely. Of the churches, besides St. Paul's cathedral, where at one time were five unexploded bombs in the immediate vicinity and the roof of which was pierced by another that exploded and shattered the high altar to fragments, those damaged were Westminster abbey, St. Margaret's Westminster, Southwark cathedral; fifteen Wren churches (including St. Brides, Fleet St.; St.Lawrence Jewry; St. Magnus the Martyr; St. Mary-at-hill; St. Dunstan in the East; St. Clement (Eastcheap) and St. James's, Piccadilly). St. Giles, Cripplegate, and St. Mary Wolnooth, also in the city, were damaged, while the Dutch church in Austin Friars, dating from the 14th century and covering a larger area than any church in the city of London, St. Paul's alone excepted, was totally destroyed. Islington parish church, the rebuilt Our Lady of Victories (Kensington), the French church by Leicester square, St. Anne's, Soho (famous for its music), All Souls', Langham place, and Christ Church in Westminster Bridge road (whose tower—fortunately saved—commemorates President Lincoln's abolition of slavery), were among a large number of others. Over 20 hospitals were hit, among them the London (many times), St. Thomas's, St. Bartholomew's, and the children's hospital in Great Ormond st., as well as Chelsea hospital, the home for the aged and invalid soldiers, built by Wren. The famous places damaged include the palace of Westminster and Westminster hall, the County hall, the Public Record office, the Law Courts, the Temple and the Inner Temple library; Somerset house, Burlington house, the tower of London, Greenwich observatory, Hogarth's house; the Carlton, Reform, American, Savage, Arts and Orleans clubs; the Royal College of Surgeons, University college and its library, Stationers' hall, the Y.M.C.A. headquarters, Toynbee hall and St. Dunstan's; the American, Spanish, Japanese and Peruvian embassies and the buildings of the Times newspaper, the Associated Press of America, and the National City bank of New York; the centre court at Wimbledon, Wembley stadium, the Ring (Blackfriars); Drury Lane, the Queen's and the Saville theatres; Rotten row, Lambeth walk, the Burlington arcade and Madame Tussaud's. Stores whose names and goods are known all over the world were damaged in Oxford street, Regent street, Piccadilly, Cheapside and elsewhere, and the new police station in Saville row was nearly demolished. According to official figures air-raid casualties in London to the end of October amounted to about 27,200, of which some 11,200 were fatal.

Britannica Book of the Year: London in 1941

The Blitz of 1940 had resulted in a victory of sorts for London—and for all the Allies—against the Axis Powers, but at a high cost. Already, five times as many civilian Londoners had perished as a result of air raids than had died in all of World War I (1914–18), when zeppelins pioneered cross-Channel bombing sorties. What follows is an excerpt from the article “London” from the 1942 Britannica Book of the Year (events of 1941). It was written by Lawrence Hawkins Dawson, editor of the guidebook Introductions to London (H.O. Quinn, 1926), the historical atlas The March of Man (Encyclopædia Britannica, Ltd., 1935), and Routledge's Universal Encyclopedia (1934). Dawson also wrote for the 1941 yearbook, describing London in 1940.

London in 1941

In 1941 it was in the first instead of the second half of the year that London was subjected to fierce enemy air attacks. At the end of 1940 (Dec. 29) a deliberate attempt was made to burn the famous square mile known specially as “the city”—an area notable as being devoid of military objectives; large numbers of buildings were wholly or partially destroyed, including the medieval Guildhall, eight Wren churches, and many of the halls of the ancient livery companies. After this, compulsory fire watching for all business premises was decreed, and the value of this move was made apparent on Jan. 11, when the enemy made a second attempt with a similar object. Although there were many casualties, especially in two hospitals and a street subway, the incendiary bombs were quickly dealt with and fires were comparatively few. On Jan. 29 and the two following days there were again daylight and night attacks on the London area; early in February the salvage corps was increased from 60 to 600 men. After another lull, in a short but heavy raid on Feb. 17, hundreds of incendiary and many high-explosive bombs were dropped, doing little material damage but causing many casualties.

Merseyside, Glasgow, Bristol and other parts of the country then experienced heavy raids, and it was not till March 19 that the Luftwaffe returned to London to deliver a large scale attack in which hundreds of houses, shops, and flats, many churches, six hospitals and other public buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. Another respite, broken only by a few “alerts,” followed, till in a widespread series of night raids on April 7 a few bombs fell in the London area, and another hospital was damaged. On April 16 an attack even fiercer and more indiscriminate than those of the previous autumn started at 9 P.M. and continued till 5 in the morning; 500 aircraft were believed to have flown over in continuous waves, and the damage was more widespread than on any previous occasion. Six enemy bombers were brought down—one in Kensington high street. The German claim that 100,000 incendiaries as well as vast quantities of high explosives were dropped was probably not exaggerated. Again material losses were heavy, while among the many people killed were Lord and Lady Stamp and their eldest son, and the earl of Kimberley, formerly known on both sides of the Atlantic as Lord Wodehouse, the international polo player. St. Paul's cathedral suffered severely; the City Temple, St. Andrew's Holborn, and Chelsea old church were among the churches destroyed. Maples' store and Christie's famous auction rooms were among the business premises burnt out. Three nights later (April 19-20) London was again subjected to a seven-hour raid; but, though loss of life was considerable, especially among the firemen and A.R.P. [Air Raid Precautions] workers, mastery of the fire bomb was becoming more assured.

Londoners then enjoyed three weeks of uneasy peace till on May 10–11—a night of full moon—the Luftwaffe made a surprise effort. In a raid during which London seemed ablaze from the docks to Westminster, much damage was done, and casualties were high. The house of commons, Westminster abbey and the roof of Westminster hall were severely damaged, the Temple was almost devastated and the British museum also suffered damage. But victory remained with the defense workers and fire-fighters of London, and 33 of the destroyers' planes were destroyed.

Daylight raids over London had already ceased before the end of April, and from May 10 there was a long lull. Except that on July 27–28 a small number of bombers—four of which were brought down—did slight damage in residential areas and caused some civilian casualties, no bomb was dropped or siren heard in London up to mid-October. Full advantage was taken of the respite, especially by the fire-fighting, civil defense and demolition authorities; restaurants, places of amusement and night clubs began to function again, and the promenade concerts at the Albert hall had a record season.

By the end of the second year of war the changes in London were very marked. Large, irregular, and for weeks untidy, open spaces had taken the place of crowded dwellings and prosperous business and shopping thoroughfares; huge watertanks and shelters—surface and underground—were everywhere; 80 of the tube stations, with their tiers of bunks, canteens, first-aid posts and aproned welfare workers had become glorified doss-houses. In the streets well-known statues had been “evacuated”; “British restaurants,” communal kitchens, and mobile canteens were to be seen; many railings disappeared, and uniforms of every kind, including those of the Allied and overseas forces, were more and more noticeable. An important, but not at first sight obvious, change was the passing, under the fire services (emergency provisions) act, 1941, of the London fire brigade from the control of the London county council to that of the home office. Another matter for remark was the speed with which local authorities, bombed hospitals and the public at large accommodated themselves to the new conditions. By the end of June, 43 hospitals had been severely damaged in the metropolitan area, and 30 less seriously. The ratio of destruction of property and of casualties in London, said Henry Willink, the special commissioner for the civil defense region, in June, was eight times as great as in the rest of the country. But in spite of complex problems, the rehousing, reclothing and general “reconditioning” of those rendered homeless was dealt with by London's 95 local authorities more speedily and more successfully after the tragic experiences of April and May than after any of the earlier raids.

It is impossible to name more than a few of the damaged areas and treasures lost in addition to those already mentioned. The many churches and places of worship destroyed or very badly damaged included: St. Mary-le-Bow (of “Bow Bells” fame), St. Bride's, Fleet street (“the journalists' cathedral”), All Hallows, Barking (the Toc H church), Christ church, Newgate street (Wren; famed for its Spital sermon and its connection with the Bluecoat school), St. Mildred's, Bread street (with its Australian memorial), St. Albans, Wood street (Wren), and St. James's Garlickhithe (Wren)—all in the city; also St. Clement Danes (of the “oranges and lemons” rhyme), in the Strand; the Temple church (largely 12th century), St. Alban's, Holborn, St. John the Evangelist, Waterloo road, St. Mary's, Newington, St. Columba's, Pont street, St. Geroge's cathedral (R.C.), Southwark, Spurgeon's tabernacle, the Salvation army headquarters, and the central synagogue in Great Portland street. Non-ecclesiastical memorials demolished included: the Tudor building of the Charterhouse and the house in Charterhouse square that was Catherine Parr's home before she became a queen of Henry VIII; many of the medieval portions of Westminster school, also the deanery, and the 17th century Greycoat hospital, a Westminster charity foundation; the Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn; Dr. Johnson's house off Fleet street, and Neville's court nearby, which had remained almost unchanged since its rebuilding after the great fire of 1666.

Among official and other public buildings: the Law courts, the central criminal court (“the Old Bailey”), the Bankruptcy court, the London sessions house and the Clerkenwell county court; the Guildhall, the county hall and Westminster city hall, the National Central library and the School of Tropical Medicine in Bloomsbury, and the Florence Nightingale International Federation centre in Manchester square; the Royal Empire society, the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and the headquarters of the Independent Labour party, most of them with their large specialized libraries; Broadcasting House, the Queen's hall, with its valuable collection of hundreds of musical instruments, St. George's hall, with the B.B.C. organ; the music museum in Bloomsbury and some galleries of the natural history museum and the science museum in South Kensington.

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Introduction

The Blitz was an intense bombing campaign that Germany launched against Britain in 1940, during World War II . For eight months German airplanes dropped bombs on London , England, and other strategic cities where factories and other important industries were based. The attacks were authorized by Germany’s chancellor, Adolf Hitler , and undertaken by the Luftwaffe, the German air force. The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word “blitzkrieg,” meaning “lightning war.”

Battle of Britain

The Blitz began near the end of the Battle of Britain . Since July 1940 the Germans had been conducting relentless air attacks against British ports, airfields, and radar stations. Hitler’s goal was to cripple Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) in preparation for an invasion of England. The RAF mounted a successful defense against the attacks, but it was outnumbered and losing planes and pilots at an unsustainable rate. Instead of pressing his advantage, however, Hitler changed his strategy. In late August the Germans dropped some bombs, apparently by accident, on civilian areas in London. The British retaliated by launching a bombing raid on Berlin, Germany. This so infuriated Hitler that he ordered the Luftwaffe to shift its attacks from RAF sites to London and other cities. This was the origin of the Blitz.

The Blitz began at about 4:00 in the afternoon on September 7, 1940, when German planes first appeared over London. For two hours, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters blasted the city. They dropped high-explosive bombs as well as incendiary devices, which were designed to start fires. Later, guided by the raging fires caused by the first attack, a second group of planes began another assault that lasted until 4:30 the following morning. In just these few hours, 430 people were killed and 1,600 were badly injured. The first day of the Blitz is remembered as Black Saturday.

The initial attack was followed by more daylight raids over the next several days, but the German strategy soon changed. By mid-September the RAF had demonstrated that the Luftwaffe could not control the skies over Britain. British fighters were shooting down German bombers faster than German industry could produce them. To avoid the deadly RAF fighters, the Luftwaffe shifted almost entirely to night raids.

Beginning on Black Saturday, London was attacked on 57 straight nights. During that period alone, more than one million bombs were dropped on the city. The raids heavily targeted the Docklands area of the East End. This hub of industry and trade was a legitimate military target of the Germans. However, the Docklands was also a densely populated and impoverished area where thousands of working-class Londoners lived in rundown housing. The raids hurt Britain’s war production, but they also killed many civilians and left many others homeless. Although the attacks also hit the more prosperous western part of the city, the Blitz took an especially big toll on the East End.

The Germans expanded the Blitz to other cities in November 1940. The most heavily bombed cities outside London were Liverpool and Birmingham . Other targets included Sheffield , Manchester , Coventry , and Southampton. The attack on Coventry was particularly destructive. A German force of more than 500 bombers destroyed much of the old city center and killed more than 550 people. The devastation was so great that the Germans coined a new verb, “to coventrate,” to describe it. In early 1941 the Germans launched another wave of attacks, this time focusing on ports. Raids between February and May pounded Plymouth , Portsmouth , Bristol , Newcastle Upon Tyne , and Hull in England; Swansea in Wales; Belfast in Northern Ireland; and Clydeside in Scotland. London suffered its worst assault of the Blitz at the end of the campaign, during the night of May 10–11, 1941. More than 500 German planes dropped bombs across the city, killing nearly 1,500 people and destroying 11,000 homes.

One in every 10 bombs that fell during the Blitz did not explode immediately. These bombs had a delayed-action fuse, meaning that they could go off at any time after hitting the ground. It was almost impossible to tell which bombs had already exploded and which might still go off, meaning that danger remained even after a raid had ended.

Preparation and Response

The British government had anticipated air attacks on London and other cities, and it predicted catastrophic casualties. Government authorities prepared for the raids on both the national and local levels. On September 1, 1939, the day the war began with Germany’s invasion of Poland, the British national government implemented a massive evacuation plan. Over the course of three days, 1.5 million schoolchildren, women with younger children, elderly, and ill people were moved from cities and towns to rural locations that were believed to be safe. The evacuation, called Operation Pied Piper, was the largest internal migration in British history.

Once the Blitz began, the government enforced a blackout to deceive German bombers. Streetlights, car headlights, and illuminated signs were kept off. People put up black curtains in their windows so that no lights showed outside their houses. When a bombing raid was imminent, air-raid sirens were set off to sound a warning.

At the beginning of the Blitz, the British lacked effective antiaircraft artillery and searchlights, as well as night fighters that could find and shoot down an aircraft in darkness. As the attacks continued, the British improved their air defenses. They greatly boosted the numbers of antiaircraft guns and searchlights, and in key areas the guns were radar -controlled to improve accuracy. Another defense measure was the installation of barrage balloons—large, oval-shaped inflated balloons with tail fins—in and around major target areas. These balloons prevented low-flying planes from getting close to their targets. The higher the planes had to fly to avoid the balloons, the less accurate they were when dropping their bombs. Barrage balloons were anchored to the ground by steel cables strong enough to destroy any aircraft that flew into them.

Before the war began, authorities had planned for shelters to protect Londoners from bombs and to house those left homeless by the attacks. The national government provided funds to local governments, which built public air-raid shelters. Authorities also issued more than 2 million Anderson shelters to households. These shelters, made of corrugated steel, were designed to be dug into a garden and then covered with dirt. There was even a type of shelter—a Morrison shelter—that people could set up inside their homes. It was an iron cage in which people could take refuge if the house began to collapse.

The number of deaths caused by the Blitz was much lower than the government had expected, but the level of destruction exceeded the government’s dire predictions. Very early in the Blitz, it became clear that the government’s preparations were inadequate. Many of the surface shelters built by local authorities were flimsy and provided little protection from bombs, falling debris, and fire. Plus, there simply was not enough space for everyone who needed shelter.

In the first days of the Blitz, a tragic incident in the East End stoked public anger over the government’s shelter policy. After the bombing began on September 7, local authorities urged people to take shelter in South Hallsville School. The people were told they would be at the school only as long as it would take to move them to a safer area. The evacuation was delayed, however, possibly because the buses were sent to the wrong location. On September 10, 1940, the school was flattened by a German bomb, and people huddled in the basement were killed or trapped in the rubble. The government announced that 77 people died, but local residents insisted the toll was much higher. Revised estimates made decades later indicated that close to 600 men, women, and children had died in the bombing. It is believed that the wartime government covered up the death toll because of concern over the effect it would have had on public morale.

The South Hallsville School disaster urged Londoners, especially residents of the East End, to find safer shelters, on their own if necessary. Days later a group of East Enders occupied the shelter at the upscale Savoy Hotel. Many others began to take refuge in the city’s underground railway, or Tube, stations, even though this option had been forbidden by the government. As more and more people began sleeping on the platforms, the government reluctantly came around and provided bunk beds and bathrooms for the underground communities. The use of the Tube system as a shelter saved thousands of lives.

Dissatisfaction with public shelters also led to another notable development in the East End—Mickey’s Shelter. After his optician business was destroyed by a bomb, Mickey Davies led an effort to organize the Spitalfield Shelter. As many as 5,000 people packed into this network of underground tunnels, which was dangerously overcrowded, dirty, and dark, with people sleeping on bags of trash. Guided by Davies, the people of the shelter created a committee and established a set of rules. Davies also set up medical stations and persuaded off-duty medical personnel to treat the sick and wounded. The success of Mickey’s Shelter was another factor that urged the government to improve existing “deep shelters” and to create new ones.

The Blitz was devastating for the people of London and other cities. In the eight months of attacks, some 43,000 civilians were killed—more then two-thirds of the total civilian deaths for the whole war. One of every six Londoners was made homeless at some point during the Blitz. Nevertheless, the campaign proved to be a strategic mistake by the Germans. The attacks contributed little to the main purpose of Germany’s air offensive—to dominate the skies in advance of an invasion of England. By mid-September the RAF had won the Battle of Britain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely. On May 11, 1941, Hitler called off the Blitz as he shifted his forces eastward against the Soviet Union.

Hitler’s intention during the Blitz had been to break the morale of the British people so they would pressure their government to surrender. Morale indeed suffered amid the death and devastation, but there were few calls for surrender. The phrase “Business as usual,” written in chalk on boarded-up shop windows, exemplified the British determination to carry on as best they could. (For detailed accounts of the Blitz written during the war years, see London in 1940 ; London in 1941 .)

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Blitz Facts & Worksheets

The Blitz was the intense bombing campaign undertaken by Nazi Germany against the United Kingdom during World War II from September 7, 1940–May 11, 1941.

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Table of Contents

See the fact file below for more information on the Blitz or alternatively, you can download our 24-page United Kingdom: The Blitz worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Germany’s desire to invade great britain.

• After Adolf Hitler’s successful invasion of France from 10 May 1940 – 25 June 1940, he began to set his eye on a much bigger territory – Great Britain.
• However, its location as an island nation made it a little more difficult to invade. He needed aerial and maritime supremacy in order to defeat Great Britain.
• However, Britain’s powerful Royal Navy was difficult even for Germany to defeat without high numbers of casualties. Advised by his people, Hitler then authorized air raids infamously called the Blitzkrieg, meaning “lightning war”.
• Under the command of Hermann Göring, commander -in-chief of the Luftwaffe, the initial plan was to bomb the Royal Air Force (RAF) airfields and radar stations in preparation for the German invasion.
• The Luftwaffe’s poor surveillance prevented them from achieving the goal.

THE BLITZ ATTACKS

• Suffering from initial losses and casualties, Hitler approved the bombing of strategic areas in Great Britain: industrial cities, ports and mainly London.
• On September 7, 1940, 350 German bombers escorted by fighters bombarded London on consecutive successions.
• The cities and the capital were bombed until the following morning, leaving more than 430 dead and over 1600 people badly injured.
• The lightning attack was infamously called “Black Saturday”. However, it was only the first of many attacks, as the Luftwaffe executed smaller night raids over the next 57 nights.
• The attacks were composed of small units of Luftwaffes bombing in successive waves. Their main targets were London ports (Docklands) that were heavily populated by middle-class civilians.
• When the air raid siren went off, Londoners took refuge in underground stations or in Anderson shelters built at the bottom of gardens.
• In November 1940, bombing expanded to other cities. Liverpool and Birmingham were heavily bombarded. Other areas where industry was believed to be were also consequently attacked.
• Some of most noted were the attacks in Coventry and London on November 14 and 15, just 10 hours apart. Hundreds were killed by the Germans’ more thorough attacks, added by their new bomb nicknamed Satan, which used delayed action.
• London once again suffered its heaviest night of bombing on December 29, resulting in 1,400 fires and many more casualties.
• In early 1941, the Germans focused on bombing the country’s ports such as Plymouth, Portsmouth, Bristol, Newcastle, and Hull in England; Swansea in Wales ; Belfast in Northern Ireland; and Clydeside in Scotland .
• However, London continued to take much of the brunt of the air raids. On April 16, 1941, an 8-hour air raid killed around 1,000 people and destroyed the remaining structures. It is believed the Germans dropped over 450 tons of bombs across the city.
• The bombardment continued three days later, killing mostly city service workers such as firefighters.
• On May 10, over 500 aircraft dropped high-explosive and incendiary bombs on London, killing 1,486 people.
• However, unable to break Britain’s defense, Hitler abandoned the Blitz strategy and most of the Luftwaffe were reassigned to prepare for Germany’s invasion of Russia .
• However, he still authorized sporadic bombings around the country in the following years.

BRITISH RESPONSE

• The Blitz attacks did not deter the British Air Force from strengthening their defense. In fact, they were the reason Hitler decided to shut down the Blitz plan as the Germans began to lose prowess in the dog fights.
• The target areas also tried to minimize the damage by turning off anything that illuminated their location, making it hard for the Germans to pinpoint key areas.
• One unique defensive strategy used was Barrage Balloons. These silver balloons were tethered to the ground by steel cables, serving as nets to low flying aircrafts. This forced the German planes to fly higher, reducing their accuracy.
• Shelters were initially problematic, but the British people found refuge in the network of underground tunnels.

THE AFTERMATH

• The Blitz claimed 43,000 lives and may have injured another 139,000 people in 147 raids, 71 of which targeted London.
• Around two million houses were damaged or destroyed, 60% of these in London.
• On the Luftwaffe’s side, around 3,363 aircrew lost their lives and 2,265 aircrafts were shot down.

United Kingdom: The Blitz Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the United Kingdom: The Blitz across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use United Kingdom: The Blitz worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Blitz, which was the intense bombing campaign undertaken by Nazi Germany against the United Kingdom during World War II from September 7, 1940–May 11, 1941.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

• United Kingdom: The Blitz Facts
• World War II
• Causes of War
• Blitz Belligerents
• Blitz Illustrated
• Images of the Blitz
• Strategic Defense
• Modern Defense Strategy
• Then and Now

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Link will appear as Blitz Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, June 4, 2021

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Blitz of World War 2 Reading Comprehension Activities | Year 3 or Year 4

Subject: History

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

12 August 2024

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A World War 2 reading comprehension passage with a teacher presentation, comprehension and grammar questions, a multiple choice quiz, a crossword puzzle and a wordsearch about the famous German Blitz on Britain during World War II.

The NO PREP informational text worksheets are perfect for students in Year 3 or Year 4. Students will learn key facts about the bombings whilst working on their comprehension skills.

Included in this PDF printable resource:

• A teacher presentation to introduce the subject
• An informational text
• A comprehension activity with ten questions
• Two grammar questions about the text
• An extension writing activity
• A multiple choice quiz with seven questions
• An answer sheet for self-assessment or teacher use
• A crossword puzzle to consolidate learning
• A wordsearch puzzle

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This resource is great for:

• In class learning
• Independent work
• Guided reading sessions
• Assessment practice
• Reading interventions
• Emergency sub plans

The activity requires NO PREP; it has a body of text that students need to read through thoroughly; then they can use the text to find the comprehension and grammar answers. All texts then have an extension activity for those fast finishers and answers, for teacher use, are on the final page of the document.

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A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

LKS2 World War II Reading Comprehension Bundle

A World War II reading comprehension activity bundle with seven activities that timeline the war. Each activity has an informational text with a teacher presentation, comprehension and grammar questions, a multiple choice quiz, a crossword puzzle and a wordsearch. The NO PREP reading comprehension activities are perfect for students in Year 3 or Year 4. Students will learn key facts about the Second World War whilst developing their comprehension skills. The book includes the following activities: * Outbreak of World War 2 * Overview of World War 2 * The Blitz on Britain * Attack on Pearl Harbor * Battle of Midway * VE Day * Atomic Bombs & VJ Day ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Included in each PDF printable bundle: * A teacher presentation to introduce the subject * An informational text * A comprehension activity with ten questions * Two grammar questions about the text * An extension writing activity * A multiple choice quiz with seven questions * An answer sheet for self-assessment or teacher use * A crossword puzzle to consolidate learning * A wordsearch puzzle The activity requires NO PREP; it has a body of text that students need to read through thoroughly; then they can use the text to find the comprehension and grammar answers. All texts then have an extension activity for those fast finishers and answers, for teacher use, are on the final page of the document. ⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚ For more great resources check out my store ⇉⇉ [CLICK HERE](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/CreativePrimaryLit)

LKS2 Emergency Substitution Plans | World War II Bundle

These easy to use, no prep, substitution plans give you an ideal back up plan to have ready in your classroom just in case. The bundle contains six reading comprehension activities about key areas of World War 2, two biography writing units and one informational writing unit. Ideal for emergency sub plans in Year 3 or Year 4. 18 Lessons, or 18 hours of activities, with NO PREP needed! ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Firstly, there are six reading comprehension activities, or informational texts, about: * Outbreak of World War 2 * Overview of World War 2 * The Blitz on Britain * Attack on Pearl Harbor * VE Day * Atomic Bombs & VJ Day These activities require NO PREP and have a body of text that students need to read through thoroughly; then they can use the text to find the comprehension and grammar answers. All texts then have an extension activity for those fast finishers. Answers, for teacher use, are on the final page of each document. Then, there are two biography writing units about Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, and one informational writing unit giving students an Overview of World War II. The units have been split into three or four separate lessons which will take students approximately an hour each. Good luck, I hope you find the resource useful! ⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚⏚ For more great resources follow my store ⇉⇉ [CLICK HERE](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/CreativePrimaryLit)

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