Objectives
The German objective was to achieve air superiority over the British. By doing this, Hitler could proceed to launch Operation Sea Lion. This operation was an amphibious and airborne invasion of Britain, which allowed the Nazis to conquer Britain as a whole. Germany never gained air superiority, which forced Hitler to postpone and later cancel Operation Sea Lion.
The British objective was to propel the Nazi air raids, and keep them from being able to land troops on the island.
The British objective was to propel the Nazi air raids, and keep them from being able to land troops on the island.
Timeline
Germany began the attack on August 12th by trying to take out four vital British radar stations. Three were taken offline, but were fixed in six hours. They continued attacking radar stations on Britain while opening another attack on coastal airfields where the British air force landed. The attacks were pushed north on August 15th. Attacks on the radar chain were stopped on August 18th because they did not seem to be successful. This decision was not a good one; the radars were very important to the British and helped them more than the Germans knew.
On August 19th, German pilots were commanded to attack British airfields. These airfield attacks continued through August 24th.
The British city of London was mistakenly bombed on the night of August 24th. In retaliation, the British bombed the German city of Berlin. Hitler decided to continue the bombing of London in retaliation of the Berlin bombing.
After August 24th, the battle was mainly focused on airfields and knocking out Fighter Command, which was a command that ran the defense of London during the Battle of Britain.
Daily bombing on London began on September 3rd.
A large series of bombings took place on September 7th during the day and the night. The target was the docks in the east of London. These series of bombings were code named Operation Loge. The attack was mainly defended by the British despite the huge amount of attacking Germans.
On September 15th, two large waves of attacks were repulsed by the British, leading to Hitler ordering the postponement of preparations for the invasion of Britain. The Germans switched from bombing during the day to bombing during the night.
The month of October is when the regular bombing of Britain finally ended, ending the Battle of Britain. Hitler again postponed the invasion of Britain until the spring of 1941, on October 13th. The invasion never happened, and the British had won a decisive victory.
On August 19th, German pilots were commanded to attack British airfields. These airfield attacks continued through August 24th.
The British city of London was mistakenly bombed on the night of August 24th. In retaliation, the British bombed the German city of Berlin. Hitler decided to continue the bombing of London in retaliation of the Berlin bombing.
After August 24th, the battle was mainly focused on airfields and knocking out Fighter Command, which was a command that ran the defense of London during the Battle of Britain.
Daily bombing on London began on September 3rd.
A large series of bombings took place on September 7th during the day and the night. The target was the docks in the east of London. These series of bombings were code named Operation Loge. The attack was mainly defended by the British despite the huge amount of attacking Germans.
On September 15th, two large waves of attacks were repulsed by the British, leading to Hitler ordering the postponement of preparations for the invasion of Britain. The Germans switched from bombing during the day to bombing during the night.
The month of October is when the regular bombing of Britain finally ended, ending the Battle of Britain. Hitler again postponed the invasion of Britain until the spring of 1941, on October 13th. The invasion never happened, and the British had won a decisive victory.