The Blitz was a name given in general to the bombing of Britain during the Second World War, and in particular to intensive individual bombing campaigns directed at different cities.

The Blitz started on the 7th September 1940, and London was bombed that night, and every single following night for 57 days.

It continued in London and across the country and was initially intended to soften Britain up for an invasion. Operation Sealion, the Nazi invasion plan, included softening the population up by bombing them to smithereens.

There had been some bombing of Britain during the First World War by Zeppelin raids.

In the inter War period, the authorities became increasingly aware that bombing could be extremely dangerous to a civilian population.

The destruction of Guernica, in Spain, by German aeroplanes revealed only too well the high costs which could be paid.

By the end of May 1941, in London alone, 22,000 civilians had been killed in the Blitz and over a million houses destroyed or seriously damaged.

In the War as a whole from beginning to end, nearly 52,000 civilians died from bombing raids. Then there came the “Doodle Bugs” V1 and V2 flying bombs and rockets. Those killed a further 9,000 civilians, all in London and the south-east.

The original raids starting on the 7th September 1940 were mostly aimed at the industrial and port areas of London, on the river.

There were densely populated residential areas near the docks, and on the 7th and 8th September 1940 alone, over 400 Londoners were killed, and another 1,500 seriously injured.

Between mid September and mid November 100 to 200 bombers attacked London every single night apart from one.

London wasn’t the only target, other cities attacked included Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Southampton and Coventry.

By the end of November 1940, the Luftwaffe had dropped 15,000 tonnes of high explosives and more than a million incendiary bombs.



From November 1940 until February 1941, the principal targets were industrial and port cities, including Birmingham, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield.

The single most violent raid occurred on 29th December 1940, when the centre of London was attacked mainly with incendiary devices. It was known as the Second Great Fire of London, and caused the most destruction of any bombing raid during the War.

St Paul’s Cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was left as almost the only building standing in its area.

There was a particular dedication to St Paul’s Cathedral by local volunteer fire watchers, and several climbed onto the roof of St Paul’s during the bombing raid to douse burning material and push incendiary bombs off the roof.

Photographs showing St Paul’s standing alone amid unbelievable destruction became a symbol of Britain’s resistance.



