The Blitz

:For other meanings see Blitz (disambiguation)

Outcome of the Blitz

The Germans failed to achieve their key objectives of knocking Britain out of the war, or at least preparing the ground for invasion. It had been widely believed before the war that massive aerial bombardment would dent morale to the point of governmental collapse. It was genuinely surprising to all concerned when the bombardment did not have this effect. Hitler had predicted that the poor working classes would be "incited against the rich ruling class to bring about a revolution" by aerial bombardment. This did not happen. The Queen's visits to the East End of London were greatly appreciated and did much to boost both public morale and the affection in which the Royal Family was held. After minor damage to Buckingham Palace the Queen was reported to have remarked that she could now "...look the East End in the face."

Related Topics:
Queen - East End of London - Royal Family

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However, the Germans undoubtedly did inflict a huge amount of damage on Britain at a crucial time. The physical damage was profound — "bomb sites", rubble-filled places where bombed-out buildings had once stood — remained common in British cities until as late as the 1980s. It forced the diversion of a considerable amount of war material to homeland defence and greatly disrupted the normal life of the country. 43,000 civilians are estimated to have died during the campaign, with over 139,000 injured, and around a million houses destroyed. German casualties were relatively slight, losing around 600 bombers (a casualty rate of 1.5% of the sorties flown), and many of those were the result of landing accidents on returning to base.

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On the British side, the fact that the Germans had been able to inflict so much damage at so little cost to themselves was an undeniable failure. The country had been severely under-equipped to deal with a strategic bombing campaign and the number of public bomb shelters fell far below the required number, forcing the authorities in London to make use of around 80 London Underground stations to house as many as 177,000 people. In contrast, the Germans made a much more concerted effort to shelter their population against the Allied strategic bombing campaign later in the war — perhaps learning from the British experience.

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The British nonetheless weathered the Blitz successfully. Great improvements were made to air defences during the course of the Blitz and the country avoided collapse. This proved something of a propaganda coup in its own right: much was made of the stoicism of the British people, encapsulated in the 1940 propaganda film London Can Take It, made by Humphrey Jennings.

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American radio journalist Edward R. Murrow was stationed in London at the time of the Blitz, and he provided live radio broadcasts to the United States as the bombings were taking place. This form of immediate live news broadcasting from a theatre of war had never been experienced by radio audiences before, and Murrow's London broadcasts made him a radio celebrity, launching his career. His broadcasts were enormously important in prompting the sympathy and support of the American people for Britain's resistance to Nazi aggression.

Related Topics:
American - Edward R. Murrow

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