Winston Churchill in 1941: How We Won the Battle of Britain

He cautions that Britain will repay Germany for the bombings of London and other cities, but not to expect that overnight

 

In all our 35 years in this field, we have never before seen a letter of Churchill explaining how the Battle of Britain was won. It is of incalculable historical importance

 

 

By the time Churchill became prime minister in May of 1940, the lion’s share of Europe had been conquered by Hitler ‘s armies, or was either allied with Germany. Then France collapsed and a surrender instrument was signed on June 22. Under its terms, two thirds of France was to be occupied by the Germans and the vaunted French armed forces were disbanded. Now only valiant Britain stood between the world and a new Dark Age.

Churchill’s task was to inspire resistance at all costs, to organize the defense of the island, and to make it the bastion for an eventual return to the continent of Europe. To do this, he needed to breathe a new spirit into the government and a new resolve into the people. His magnificent oratory, his immense confidence, and his stubborn refusal to accept anything but total victory, did just that, and rallied the nation, particularly during the dark days of 1940-1941. The speeches he made in accomplishing this are classics and among the most moving and important ever written in the English language. From his first blunt talk to the House of Commons on May 13, 1940, in which he warned “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”; to his pledge to resist – “We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!”; to his memorable plea on June 18, 1940, for strength and courage – “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour’”, his words effectively inspired the people and led ultimately to victory over Nazi tyranny.

In his “Finest Hour” speech, Churchill warned “The Battle of France is over: the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.” All waited breathless for the German attack to start.

But for the invasion to have any chance of success, the Germans needed to first secure control of the skies over southern England and remove the threat posed by the Royal Air Force. The Germans had the largest and most formidable air force in the world. However, the British had developed an air defense network that would give them a critical advantage in the Battle of Britain, one that brought together technology such as radar, ground defenses and fighter aircraft into a unified system of defense. Radar would give early warning of Luftwaffe raids, which were also being tracked by the Observer Corps. Information on incoming raids was passed to Fighter Command. Once the direction of the raid was clearly established, the information was sent to the relevant Sector Stations, which would ‘scramble’ fighters into action. The operations rooms also directed other elements of the defense network, including anti-aircraft guns, searchlights and barrage balloons.

The Germans began by attacking coastal targets and British shipping operating in the English Channel in July, initiating the Battle of Britain. They launched their main offensive on August 13. Attacks moved inland, concentrating on airfields and communications centers. Fighter Command offered stiff resistance, despite coming under enormous pressure. During the last week of August and the first week of September, in what would be the critical phase of the Battle of Britain, the Germans intensified their efforts to destroy Fighter Command. Airfields, particularly those in the south-east, were significantly damaged but most remained operational. Fighter Command was badly bruised but not broken.

On September 7, the Germans shifted the weight of their attacks away from RAF targets and onto London. 348 German bombers escorted by 617 fighters pounded London all afternoon until 6:00 PM. Two hours later, guided by the fires set by the first assault, a second group of raiders commenced another attack that lasted until 4:30 the following morning. On September 13 Buckingham Palace was hit, on the night of September 24 an incendiary was dropped on Downing Street, on October 8 it was the War Office, on October 10 two unexploded bombs hit Horse Guards Parade. By then some 250,000 people were homeless. On the evening of October 14, Winston and Clementine Churchill were being served dinner in the Garden Rooms at No. 10 when several heavy detonations were heard close by. Several minutes later a high explosive bomb hit the Treasury Gardens, yards away. Three civil servants in the Treasury were killed and Treasury Building offices were destroyed. The blast rocked Downing Street. Although the Churchills were unharmed, No 10’s upstairs kitchen and pantry were wrecked, a large plate glass window was shattered and the State Drawing Rooms were damaged. And so it went in city after city.

The September raids had devastating effects on London residents, but they also gave Britain’s defenses time to recover. On September 15, Fighter Command repelled another massive Luftwaffe assault, inflicting severe losses that were becoming increasingly unsustainable for the Germans. Although fighting would continue for several more weeks, it had become clear that the Luftwaffe had failed to secure the air superiority needed for invasion. Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation ‘Sea Lion’ – the conquest of Britain.

The bombing of the civilian population, which came to be known as the Blitz, continued from September 1940 until May 1941, when Hitler’s attention turned to Russia. Typically there were 100 to 200 bombers dropping around 200 tons of high explosive and 300 incendiaries a day, although there were raids with 300 and 400 planes with more than double the amount of bombs dropped. The cities of Britain suffered night after night of air terror, and while the cities were being destroyed the people sought safety in air raid shelters, and in London, in Underground stations.

The above is what historians tell us. But how did Churchill think the Battle of Britain was won? He reveals that in this wartime letter, the only one we have ever seen containing his explanation.

Before the war, Churchill had made his living as an author, and written thousands of articles for newspapers and magazines. The newspaper News of the World was so fond of his work that from 1936 and 1939 it employed him regularly and paid him £400 per article, which would be £12,000 (or over $15,000 ) in today’s money. Quite a sum back then. Major Percy Davies was director of the News of the World, and Sir Emsley Carr was the editor in the 1930s. When Carr died in 1941 Davies ascended to the editorial position.

Churchill broadcast to the nation on February 9, 1941. In a long speech, he told the British people, saying: “All through these dark winter months the enemy has had the power to drop three or four tons of bombs upon us for every ton we could send to Germany in return. We are arranging so that presently this will be rather the other way round…The Royal Air Force grows, and is already certainly master of the daylight air. The attacks may be sharper, but they will be shorter; there will be more opportunities for work and service of all kinds; more opportunities for life. So, if our first victory was the repulse of the invader, our second was the frustration of his acts of terror and torture against our people at home…But after all, the fate of this war is going to be settled by what happens on the oceans, in the air, and – above all – in this Island. It seems now to be certain that the Government and people of the United States intend to supply us with all that is necessary for victory…”

Some time later, The News of the World made assumptions based on the speech in an article entitled “With Plenty of Bombs We Shall Smash Berlin”, and Churchill sought to set the record straight. The article, which is included, states that “The continuous bombing of Berlin and other German cities will come now at any moment.” This is likely based on Churchill having said, “All through these dark winter months the enemy has had the power to drop three or four tons of bombs upon us for every ton we could send to Germany in return. We are arranging so that presently this will be rather the other way round.” This Churchill stresses, won’t happen overnight; rather, it is a goal that will be achieved.

The article also makes the assessment, as to the Battle of Britain, that “Fighters, we were told, were the faster and could therefore outmaneuver the slow going bomber. Our advisers apparently forgot that the bombers would be protected by a flotilla of fighters.” Churchill had said, “The Royal Air Force grows, and is already certainly master of the daylight air. The attacks may be sharper, but they will be shorter.” He now sought to clarify the part each played.

Typed letter signed, on his Prime Minister’s letterhead, London, March 30, 1941, amidst the Blitz, to Davies, in response to that article, making clarifications. “The words I used in my last broadcast would certainly not justify such a sweeping statement as is contained at A. I doubt whether such a result could be achieved this year. If you will look at my actual words, you will see they have been much overstrained.

“With regard to B., the ‘Battle of Britain’ was won because when the enemy Bombers came by daylight, although they were protected by strong Fighter escorts, our Fighters were strong enough to beat the escorts and inflict decisive losses upon the Bombers.

“I only send these notes in case they may be of service to you. They are of course entirely private.”

In all our 35 years in this field, we have never before seen a letter of Churchill explaining how the Battle of Britain was won. It is of incalculable historical importance.