328 The Battle of Britain

The History of the Twentieth Century

Mark Painter

History

4.8 • 719 Ratings

🗓️ 25 June 2023

⏱️ 55 minutes

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Summary

When the Churchill government showed no willingness to talk peace, Germany attempted the world's first purely aerial military campaign, to weaken Britain in preparation for invasion, or perhaps even to defeat the enemy entirely by air.

Transcript

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0:00.0	With the UK remaining as the only European country still at war with Germany, and with the prospect of a peace agreement remote,
0:28.3	Germany began history's first campaign of purely aerial warfare. Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave this campaign its name three weeks earlier
0:39.2	in a speech to the House of Commons on June 18, 1940,
0:43.5	when he declared,
0:45.5	The Battle of Britain is about to begin.
0:50.2	Welcome to the history of the 20th century.
0:53.9	Music Welcome to the history of the 20th century. Music Episode 328, the Battle of Britain.
1:32.9	The situation facing the British, following the fall of France, was dire.
1:38.8	The British military had been driven off the continent, and there was no prospect of it
1:43.5	returning any time in the foreseeable
1:45.8	future. There was a moment when the British government was almost ready to open peace talks with
1:53.5	Germany, but Churchill persuaded the cabinet to hold fast. His speeches to the Commons and over the wireless stiffened the national resolve. His speeches to the commons and over the wireless stiffened the national resolve.
2:04.4	His speech of June 18th, the one that included the line about their finest hour, was one for the
2:10.9	history books. The Soviet ambassador in London reported to Moscow, the initial shock and confusion have dissipated,
2:20.2	now a stormfront of cold, persistent, truly British fury is brewing.
2:30.8	Cold, persistent British fury is all well and good, but what is it supposed to accomplish?
2:38.2	In Churchill's mind, the key to winning the war was to persuade the United States to join in,
2:44.3	and the key to accomplishing that was for Britain to face the Nazis with bravery and pluck, eventually winning America's sympathy.
2:55.7	Adolf Hitler was well aware of this danger. So, should Hitler and Germany offer the British a carrot
3:03.3	or a stick? Should Germany make a peace offer, or should it take the war to prison itself?
3:12.1	As was his custom, when faced with a major decision, Hitler went to the Berghoff, his mountain retreat.
3:20.2	On July 11, he invited Erich Rader, commander of the Kriegs Marina, the German Navy,
	...

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