Brooke McEwen
McEwen, Brooke
Mr. Thomas
Honors US History, Period 4
20 April 2006
Annotated Bibliography
"Battle of Britain, 1940-1941." DISCovering World History. Gale Research, 1997. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/
- Britain now stood alone to confront Hitler's forces. S-top
- Winston Churchill spoke to his countrymen: "Hitler knows he will have to break us on this Island or lose the war." S-top
- Britain would rest primarily on the Royal Air Force (R.A.F.), particularly on the Fighter Command planes. S-1/4
- Ninety thousand German troops would make up the initial assault force, building to ten divisions within two weeks. Preparations for Operation Sea Lion went forward rapidly. More than twelve hundred boats and barges were assembled at ports across the Channel from England, troops were trained in landing procedures, and bases were built for the aircraft which would provide cover for the landing.S-1/4
- The Battle of Britain for air supremacy cannot be said to have taken place on any one specific day. Rather, the fighting consisted of a number of bomber attacks and fighter plane encounters, increasing in size and intensity from July into September, 1940. S-1/2
- On September 7, the British government sent out the code signal "Cromwell," signifying that the expected invasion was now at hand. On that same day, nearly four hundred German bombers hit East London, killing more than one thousand civilians and doing extensive damage to houses, docks, and warehouses. S-3/4
- It was obvious that the Germans did not yet control the Channel or the air space over England. Faced with that knowledge, Hitler postponed Operation Sea Lion to September 27.S-3/4
- September 15, 1940, would later be identified as the day the R.A.F. won the Battle of Britain. "We still keep this day, and I hope we will always keep it," Harold Macmillan would write, "in commemoration of our victory." S-bottom
- Britain would still have to endure repeated pounding by German bombers in the later so-called "Blitz" of 1940-1941, but in the summer of 1940 the "gallant few" of the R.A.F. Command had saved Britain from invasion. S-bottom
- Great view of the Battle of Britain illustrating the struggle between the British and the German.
World War II (era), 1928-1945." DISCovering World History. Gale Research, 1997. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/
- The citizens of Great Britain were stunned at Germany's brutally effective advance across Europe, and morale was a problem in both military and civilian ranks. S-1/2
- Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe, battered British cities, smashing industrial centers and civilian populations alike. But while the Battle of Britain took a heavy toll on the country to the west of the English Channel, Britons withstood the assault. S-1/2
- In early 1943 Churchill met with U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in Casablanca. There the two Allied leaders decided that nothing less than unconditional surrender from the Axis powers would be acceptable. S-3/4
- Talks about the destruction of WWII, covering all topics such as economy, military efforts, allies, and home front.
"Excerpt from This Is London." American Decades CD-ROM. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/
- Journalist Edward R. Murrow's radio broadcasts for CBS from besieged London were intended, not only to report on the war but also, to sway American sentiment toward intervention in the war. S-top
- It's dull in London now that the children are gone. For six days I've not heard a child's voice. And that's a strange feeling. No youngsters shouting their way home from school. And that's the way it is in most of Europe's big cities now. One needs the eloquence of the ancients to convey the full meaning of it. There just aren't any more children.S-1/4
Morris, Joe Alex. “Churchill calls Britons to their duty against likely invasion.” Cleveland Press 11 September 1940.
- Winston Churchill today called on every Englishman "to do his duty.” S-top
- Churchill called Nazi bombardment of London and other cities an "indiscriminate slaughter," but said it had and would fail to break the British spirit of resistance. S-1/4
- Everyone, he said, must be prepared to do his duty. S-1/2
- He said there were 1,500,000 in the home guard "prepared to fight for every inch of ground in every village and in every street." S-1/2
- Churchill charged that Adolf Hitler, by "killing" thousand of women and children, is trying to terrorize London and other cities and prepare for the invasion. S-3/4
- "Little did he know the spirit of the British nation," he added.S-3/4
- He said that Britons must draw upon their own courage and endurance for survival and victory and "for better days that are to come" S-bottom
- Article written right before the Battle of Britain, excellent primary source document.
Rocrick, Anne. The History of Great Britain. London: Greenwood Press, 1999.
- “Victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror; victory, however long and hard the road may be.”- Churchill
- War became know as the “people’s war”
- Air strikes against London and other cities in the Blitz led to high civilian casualties.
- Damage to roads, houses, and other parts of the country’s infrastructure was also quite high.
- Food rationing became the norm.
- Blackout curtains and air raid sirens also became the norm.
- Forty percent of eligible men were in the service.