The Blitz Flashcards
What is the Blitz?
The blitz was the name given to the bombings of British cities by the Luftwaffe.
When did the bombings occur?
17th of September 1940 to May 1941
What were the Germans aims?
To wreck British morale by targeting civilian areas. They wanted to stop people supporting the war so they believed heavy bombing night after night would make people refuse to do war work or take part in the blackout or co-operate with the government so britain would be forced to surrender.
What were the effects of the Blitz?
43,000 civilians killed over 2 million people were made homeless Roads and railway lines wrecked Gas, electricity and water lines affected people lost A LOT of sleep
How did the Blitz not work?
The Blitz caused a lot of destruction, but it didn’t work. There war some people who lost hope in winning the war and families were split up again in a second evacuation. However, the blitz’s main aim was not achieved; people kept going and the british did not turn against war in large numbers.
What place in particular was targeted in the Blitz?
Coventry was bombed in retaliation of the RAF bombing Munich.
What date did the blitz begin in Coventry?
14th of November 1940 and the last raid was in August 1942, the Luftwaffe returned to Coventry 40 times.
What damage did it have on the city?
the city cathedral, businesses, factories and 4,000 houses were destroyed and gas and water mains were affected.
How many bombers were there over coventry?
There were 500 bombers and thousands of bombs were dropped, the first bombs were dropped in the city centre to begin a fire which guided later bombers.
How many injuries were there in coventry?
380-554 were killed and over 1000 injured
Was british morale affected by the Coventry blitz?
The blitz did have a terrible effect on the citizens of Coventry but they continued to fight through. There were mobile canteens working to help feed the homeless and the National Service unit of the city showed great courage and determination under such strain.
How did the British prepare for the Blitz?
The british new that at some stage Germans would bomb british cities, so to prepare they-
- built air raid shelters in public places
- gave everyone a gas mask
- organised blackouts
- placed sand bags around important buildings
- placed barrage balloons around key targets
- there were air raid wardens
- advised people to build anderson shelters in their gardens
How was London impacted by the blitz?
London was severly impacted by the blitz.
It was bombed first, most often and most heavily. It was bombed for 75 out of the first 76 nights of bombing (one of the nights it was too foggy to fly)
How much sleep was lost during the blitz?
From a survey of Londoners for the night of the 12th of September 1940 showed that 32% got less than 4 hours sleep and 31% got none at all.
