Battle of Britain Timeline

Between September 1939 and May 1940, the Nazi's continued to take after countries across Europe. By the summer of 1940, Britain was the only country in Western Europe that had not fallen to the Nazi's.

Friday 10 May, 1940 was one of the most dramatic days in British history. Churchill became Prime Minister and Germany ended the Phony war.

In late May, Churchill disregards peace talks with Hitler, even though they made a very hasty retreat from France. Especially from Dunkirk. He ordered Britain to fight on.

The Allies retreat from the German advance through north-western Europe and fell back to the Channel prots of France where they were trapped. Operation Dynamo, the codename for their rescue operations, succeeded against all odds. Thousands of men were evacuated dramatically in the "Miracle of Dunkirk".

The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) targets British urban areas for two months.

Once France was invaded (June 1940), Hitler turned toward Britain, the last country in Western Europe not under Nazi influence.

The first phase of the Battle of Britain centered on the English Channel, specifically focusing on British convoys and ports.

The Luftwaffe increased the attacks on RAF (Royal Air Force) infrastructure. These raids almost destroyed the British RAF.

On August 25th, 1940, in retaliation for the Nazi's attack on London, the RAF raided Berlin.

September 7th, 1940, the Luftwaffe starts bombing London and Britain's major cities. The British remained strong, however, and banned together for the remainder of the war.