Name________________________________________ Period_____ Date______________

Historical Context

The Blitz and early months of the Second World War brought terror to Brits as they saw the Axis forces conquer almost
all of western Europe. Britain’s closest ally, France had been conquered and absorbed into the Nazi Empire. Below is an
excerpt from British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill’s speech to the House of Commons on June 18, 1940.

What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that 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. Hitler
knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free
and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including
the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made
more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. 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.”

1) Who was the intended audience of Churchill’s speech?

2) What was Churchill’s purpose for making this speech? Explain using 2 or more complete sentences.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
How the Battle of Britain changed war, and the world, forever.
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2017/11/how-battle-britain-changed-war-and-world-forever

On July 10, 1940, a German pilot spotted a convoy of British fighter planes and radioed base. Luftwaffe
commander Colonel Johannes Fink replied with a single word: "Destroy!"

Soon, 70 German planes were flying in. The Royal Air Force scrambled four squadrons of Spitfire and
Hurricane fighter planes. The Battle of Britain had begun.

The battle wasn’t a single fight. It was a four-month campaign against the United Kingdom waged by the
German Air Force, or Luftwaffe. It was the first large campaign fought only by air forces. And it was
Germany’s first major defeat in the Second World War.

Author James Holland, who wrote The Battle of Britain: Five Months That Changed History,
says some people disregard the battle’s significance because it was fought by relatively few people, and
therefore suffered relatively few casualties. But in addition to strategic value, the battle also boosted a new
technology that was key to the British Royal Air Force (RAF) victory … radar.
Luftwaffe head Hermann Göring didn't think British radar stations were important targets, and according
to The Battle of Britain, only one of the stations was completely destroyed during the battle.

Some Germans even speculated the British were somehow telepathic—and in a way they were. In addition to
their advanced radar network, the British had broken Germany’s secret radio code and could understand their
messages.

Only 3,000 pilots flew for Britain in the battle. Churchill later said, "Never in the field of human conflict was
so much owed by so many to so few."

The pilots also had support on the ground the Germans couldn't match. The battle was won in large part
because Britain was producing at least twice as many planes as Germany could. In July, 1940, Britain produced
496 new fighters. Not only that, but many English pilots whose planes were shot down would parachute to
safety, only to be back in the air 24 hours later. German pilots drowned in the Channel. The RAF became
stronger, while the Luftwaffe became weaker.

Historian Stephen Bungay, author of The Most Dangerous Enemy:

The Definitive History of the Battle of Britain, says Winston
Churchill may have been removed from power if Britain had not
won the battle.

"There was quite a strong peace lobby," he says. "If the Luftwaffe
had managed to establish sufficient command of the air over
southeast England to threaten London around the clock without
opposition the invasion threat, real or not, would therefore be made
credible. It was quite likely that Churchill would have lost his grip
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
on power and been replaced by somebody else, who would have
said, 'Let’s be sensible, let’s call it a day.'"

3) Explain 2 reasons why Britain was able to win the Battle of Britain against Germany.

4) How did the Battle of Britain help Winston Churchill maintain his position as Prime Minister during
WWII?
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2017/11/how-battle-britain-changed-war-and-world-forever