reading the news on the net I came by this article. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...3-2703,00.html
So what do you think?
Quite a debate going on in GD about this...
http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/t...3/m/7611082574
The Germans rightfully view the B of Brit as running from July 1940, with the initial attacks on coastal convoys, until 10 May 1941, the date of the hardest blow to London in the Blitz right before the redeployment of almost every bomber Geschwader to the East. Of course the British won because Hitler was not able to invade, their morale did not collapse during the Blitz, and the devastating attacks on the port cities in the Blitz failed to prevent supplies from reaching the UK. Having stated the obvious, there was the darkest period of the Blitz from the devastation of Coventry through the winter of 1940-41 when the Germans just about had it all their own way as the cities burned by night. But, by May '41, the Beaufighters were inflicting unacceptable casualties on the bomber force on some nights. The entire battle, by day and by night, was a hard fight. To trivialize it, as is fashionable now, merely shows how little the people born from the '50's onward know about history.
Actually the Luftwaffe mistakenly bombed London at night, and the RAF then bombed Berlin mostly for symbolic purposes, and then the attention turned towards London.Originally posted by slipBall:
The Brits won, all because they accidently bombed Berlin. Hitler then turned the attention to bombing London, RAF had the pressure removed from them, and were able to re-group, re-supply, re-build, and rest
The Battle of Britain was a stand alone operation and was originally commenced and planned as such. This is something that a very vast majority of people often ignore/are not aware of or simply find too unaccomodating in their conclusions/thesis..There is a tendency to role the BoB and Sealion into one compact operation and this is not the case. BoB was about the achieving of air supremacy and destruction of the RAF. Sealion was about an invasion of Britain. They are two separate operations, which unfortunately, seems to have become lost on many. Hence, the role of the Royal Navy in BoB is not a compatible subject - it is when discussing Sealion.
Now, as for who won BoB: The short answer is no-one. By May 1941 most of the Luftwaffe was fighting elsewhere, yet those few units left ranged against Britain - which included her shipping, even out into the Atlantic, as per Directive 23 of Feb 41, were still inflicting severe casualties on Britain.
The simple fact that the Luftwaffe was still able to inflict significant losses, proportional to their level of commitment in the region defined by modern interpreations of the BoB geographic sphere (this, therefore includes Luftflotte 5, and attacks in the North Sea and Atlantic) and that RAF offensive sorties and night bombing raids still faced heavy opposition into 1942 does much to over-turn the myth that Britain "won" the BoB.
If the BoB had have been a victory for the RAF then much of what the Luftwaffe continued to do and was more than capable of would simply not have been possible.
By May 1941 operational necessities in other theatres had forced a redirection of German effort away from Britain, which was now, for all intents and puproses, a backwater. Operations in the region moved to simply one of holding the RAF and Britain at bay - which it did admirably until late 42/early 43.
The Luftwaffe was unable to fulfill its objectives in preparation for Sealion, so it diverted its attention to a more manageable style of engagement. Thus, the Luftwaffe could not claim victory.
The RAF, meanwhile, was unable to completely force the Luftwaffe from British skies, nor make the shipping lanes around England and out into the Atlantic and North Sea safe from aerial attack. It could not even garuantee the safety of its bomber or coastal aircraft in British skies. The Battle of Britain - and this important - was about control of the skies above the Channel and south-eastern England. While the RAF was able to force a shift in bombing policy by the Luftwaffe (complete withdrawal of Stukas and the shift to night bombing by the Kampfgruppen), it was unable to remove the threat completely of the Luftwaffe. Raids were still conducted, freie jagd by JG 2 and 26 still occurred and ships were still sunk in the channel - none of which would have been possible if the RAF had "won" the BoB, and therefore forced the Luftwaffe from British skies. Hence, the RAF could not claim they won the battle.
As I said, the BoB was about a battle for air supremacy, not an invasion. The luftwaffe didn't win complete air superiority/destroy the RAF, while the RAF was unable to repel the Luftwaffe from its air space and as a result the British continued to suffer mounting losses in the geogrpahic areas defined by the BoB until well after the accepted dates (either October '40 or May 41) of its conclusion.
Ergo, no-one "won" the Battle of Britain. It was a tactical draw and the best that either side could have hoped for under the circumstances.
Actually if the RAF was able to keep the skys relatively clear of enemy aircraft then the UK won and that is what really happened.
I think the BOB was not thought of like it is today when the war was on. The RAF turned the tide of battle and the German war machine was not able to destroy the RAF and not able to invade Britain.
The spirit of the British people won the battle of Britain.