The Blitz was a time of terror for the people of the United Kingdom during World War II. From 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941--8 months and 5 days--German bombers conducted mass air attacks against towns, cities, and industrial targets, causing widespread devastation and destruction. Over 40,000 civilians were killed during the Blitz, with almost half of them in London, where more than a million houses were destroyed or damaged. The Blitz was launched by Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, in an attempt to force the British into submission. The Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940. The Luftwaffe had lost the Battle of Britain and the German air fleets were ordered to attack London, to draw RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation.

London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights, as ordered by Hitler and Goring. The sustained bombing campaign led to unprecedented destruction in London, resulting in a massive loss of life and displacement of people. The bombing not only targeted buildings and infrastructure but also inflicted psychological damage on the population. The constant sound of sirens and bombing raids created panic and fear among the citizens of London, traumatizing them for years to come. At first, the bombing campaign targeted London, but it soon spread to other major cities, including Liverpool, Hull, Bristol, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Southampton, Sunderland, Swansea, Belfast, and Glasgow. The industrial centers of Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, and Sheffield were also targeted. The City of London, Holborn, and Stepney were amongst the heaviest-hit areas, each enduring the horror of over 600 bombs per 1,000 acres. Even as the people struggled to survive amidst the rubble and chaos, the relentless assault persisted, with Bermondsey, Deptford, Southwark, and Westminster also being subjected to a relentless hail of destruction.

The attacks had a profound impact on the lives of the people of Britain. People were forced to live in constant fear of bombing raids, never knowing when the next attack would come. By mid-October close to 500,000 children were evacuated from the cities to the countryside, where they were safe from the bombs but often separated from their families. (Manchester and Reid 2012, 180)

The Luftwaffe gradually shifted their tactics from daylight operations to night-time bombing runs to evade the counter-attacks by the RAF. This shift in strategy led to a change in the nature of the Blitz, with night bombings becoming more prevalent. The Blitz became a night bombing campaign after October 1940, and the Luftwaffe targeted major ports and industrial cities, causing widespread destruction across the country. The Luftwaffe attacked mainly under the cover of darkness, using the cover of night to evade the RAF's defenses. They dropped high-explosive bombs, incendiary bombs, and parachute mines. The bombing was relentless, with entire neighborhoods being destroyed in a matter of minutes. The attacks were so intense that they created firestorms, where walls of fire would burn so hot that people were sucked into the flames. The bombings, which continued for eight months, left more than a million houses destroyed or damaged.

Top photo: "The ruins of Coventry cathedral two days after the German Luftwaffe air raid on the city on the night of 14 November 1940.Coventry, an important engineering and armaments producing centre, was raided on 14-15 November 1940. German bombers dropped 503 tons of high explosive and 30,000 incendiary bombs on the city. 568 people were killed and 850 seriously injured. The medieval Cathedral was destroyed. Almost one third of the city's houses were made uninhabitable and 35% of its shops destroyed. In a relatively small city with a population of just over 200,000, everyone knew someone killed or injured in the raid. A new verb coventrieren – 'to Coventrate' was used by the Germans to describe the level of destruction." (Imperial War Museum, "The Blitz Around Britain")

Middle photo: "Buildings burning in Manchester after a German air raid on the night of 23 December 1940. The heaviest raids on Manchester took place on consecutive nights on 22-23 and 23-24 December. The Free Trade Hall, Smithfield Market and St Anne's Church were destroyed. Deansgate and Oxford Road were blocked with debris and unexploded bombs. More than 8,000 homes were destroyed or made uninhabitable. The Trafford Park industrial area was badly damaged by fires. Many of the city's firemen and civil defence workers had not yet returned from Liverpool which had been hit on 20 December. Fires still burning in Liverpool from that raid also helped illuminate the bombers' path to Manchester." (Imperial War Museum, "The Blitz Around Britain")

Bottom photo: "British Oil and Cake Mills on fire at Hull Docks after an air raid. The North East of England was targeted during early 1941. The vital east coast port of Hull suffered two heavy raids in March and then was badly hit again on 8-9 May. The whole of the riverside quay was devastated by fire. 450 people were killed and 10% of the population made homeless. Hull was bombed again in June after the worst of the Blitz was thought to be over. For security reasons, news reports on air raids usually referred to Hull not by name but as a 'north east town'. This meant that many people were unaware how badly the town suffered in the Blitz." (Imperial War Museum, "The Blitz Around Britain")

As the war progressed, it became increasingly apparent that a dedicated facility was needed from which the government could direct the war effort in the event of London's bombing or destruction. Churchill called for the creation of such a facility as early as 1936, and the plans for what would become the Churchill War Rooms were approved in 1938.

Construction of the Churchill War Rooms began soon after plans were approved, and the facility was first used in August 1939, when German leader Adolf Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. The War Rooms would remain in use for the entire duration of the war, with the lights never being turned off for six years. The complex contained a Cabinet Room where government figures could meet with the armed forces Chiefs of Staff, a Map Room where fronts and ship convoys could be mapped out 24 hours a day, equipment for broadcasting Churchill's speeches, and offices and sleeping quarters for dozens of typists, stenographers, switchboard operators, and secretaries.

The importance of the War Rooms and the role of London as a center of wartime leadership cannot be overstated. The War Rooms allowed the government to coordinate its efforts more effectively, with key decisions being made in a secure and centralized location. The fact that the War Rooms were located in London also highlighted the city's significance as a target for enemy bombing. Despite the persistent danger, Churchill and other leaders refused to abandon the city, instead choosing to defend it and use it as a base from which to direct the war.

Additionally, the British government also used the closed-down Down Street Underground station as a meeting location for the War Cabinet. The station was outfitted with meeting rooms and a bed and bathtub for Churchill's use. After the Churchill War Rooms were completed, the War Cabinet vacated the station, which went on to become the control center for the country's rail network and the headquarters of the Railway Executive Committee.

Despite the devastation caused by the bombing, the British people refused to give up. They rallied together, and through sheer determination and bravery, they endured. The Government set up a system of air raid shelters and underground bunkers, and the RAF continued to fight back against the German bombers.

From the outset, the government was concerned with the potential for a "deep shelter mentality" among the public, in which people would be reluctant to leave the safety of underground shelters, even when it was safe to do so. To counteract this, early public shelters were deliberately poorly built, consisting of trenches dug in public parks, made from flimsy materials like wood and corrugated steel. The gravesite of one such trench in Kennington Park serves as a grim reminder of the dangers of these early shelters; during a bombing raid on London in October 1940, over 100 people were killed in the trench when it was struck by a bomb, and many of the bodies were never recovered.

Despite the risks, many Londoners were forced to take their chances with these early shelters, as they had no other options. Those who had reinforced rooms in their homes could take refuge there, while others were given prefabricated Anderson shelters to put in their back gardens. These "Anderson shelters" were designed in 1938 William Paterson and named for Home Secretary Sir John Anderson. But many poorer Londoners had no gardens, and lived in homes that were not sturdy enough to offer protection. For these people, public shelters were the only option, and they often had to make do with whatever space was available – whether that was the crypt of a church, the basement of a housing block, or an underpass beneath a railway line. These Anderson shelters were distributed to some 150,000 Londoners but offered little protection, mostly against shrapnel but certainly not against a direct hit. (Manchester and Reid 2012, 177)

One of the most famous shelters during the Blitz were the London Underground stations. At the outbreak of war, the government banned the use of the tube stations for shelter, fearing that it would disrupt the transport network. However, as the situation in London worsened, the government reversed its position, and stations were converted into makeshift shelters for Londoners. The largest shelter was at the disused Aldwych station, which could hold up to 14,000 people. Other deep-level shelters were constructed at Clapham South, Clapham Common, Clapham North, Stockwell, Chancery Lane, Goodge Street, Camden Town, and Belsize Park. They were equipped with basic facilities such as toilets, washing areas, and bunks to sleep. Some had the added benefit of concerts put on by entertainment organizations like the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) to help distract and lift morale.

Using underground stations as shelters was not without its risks, however. In September and October of 1940, bombs hit two such stations-–Bounds Green and Balham--killing a total of 83 people. In January 1941, a bomb landed at Bank station, which exposed the ticketing hall below, killing 58 people. The worst civilian disaster of the Blitz occurred at Bethnal Green station on March 3, 1943, when hundreds of people were crushed to death in a panicked stampede down the narrow steps leading to the station. No bombs had struck the area, and the tragedy was caused by a combination of overcrowding, the absence of proper crowd control measures, and the anxiety and fear that gripped the population during the height of the bombing raids.

The German air offensive failed because of a lack of a methodical strategy for destroying British war industry. Poor intelligence about British industry and economic efficiency led to the Luftwaffe concentrating on tactics rather than strategy. The bombing effort was diluted by attacks against several sets of industries instead of constant pressure on those most vital. The failure of the Blitz to achieve its objectives marked a turning point in the war and paved the way for the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. The Blitz had a profound impact on the lives of the people of Britain.

Bibliography

"The Blitz Around Britain." Imperial War Museums. Accessed January 26, 2024. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-blitz-around-britain.

Brain, Jessica. "The Blitz." Historic UK. Last modified August 31, 2019. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Blitz/.

Churchill, Winston S. Memoirs of the Second World War: An Abridgement of the Six Volumes of the Second World War. Boston: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY, 1987.

"Edward R. Murrow Broadcast from London (September 21, 1940)." Library of Congress. Accessed November 4, 2023. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/murrow.pdf.

Manchester, William, and Paul Reid. The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2012.

"The Second World War and the Blitz." Historic England - Championing England's Heritage | Historic England. Accessed January 25, 2024. https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/features/second-world-war-and-blitz/.

Unger, Guenther. "The Blitz." RAF Museum. Last modified October 16, 2023. https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/history-of-the-battle-of-britain/the-blitz/.