Hitler wanted to control Great Britain because he felt it was a key strategic point in the war. He launched the largest aerial assault ever in World War II. This assault was called "Eagle Day" and caused hell-on-earth. Air Marshall Goering launched an all-out aerial attack on Great Britain. The attacks occured around 3:30 p.m. The strikes took out several Royal Air Force airfields. Some communication facilities also were in ruins.

     They plan of "Operation Eagle" was to wipe out the Royal Air Force before they attempted a cross-channel invasion. However, the Germans didn't count on one thing: The RAF was prepared. The RAF had radar and early detection techniques. They also knew how to out-wit the Germans.

     The German plan was to destroy the RAF. Air Vice-Marshall Dowding for Great Britain found out that the Germans were planning on destroying the RAF in great waves of aerial assaults. Since Dowding heard this, he only deployed a small fleet of airplanes each time Germans were on the attack. The Germans, however, had something else up their sleeve.

     Goering ordered an all out attack on the RAF. He planned to destroy airfields, radars, communications, and command centers. He did this on August 15. Approximately 3/4ths of the Luftwaffe(German AirForce) Bombers and half of the fighters were launched that day. Craters lined runways and many key radar and communication posts were destroyed. The RAF lost 34 planes, and the Germans lost 75.

     Everybody knows about the daily raids on London by the Germans, but believe it or not, it all started out as an accident. Hitler didn't want to bomb London because he didn't want the capital of Berlin to suffer a bombing attack of it's own. He would then have to send planes to defend Berlin instead of take out Great Britain's RAF. However, on August 15(The day of the big raid), a bomber accidently dropped a few bombs on London. Well, Hitler was right. The next day, the RAF bombed Berlin.

     Hitler now was in a tense situation. He quit sending the Luftwaffe to destroy the RAF, and decided to send them to bomb London on a daily basis. This move stopped his strategy that he didn't know was working. He decided to bomb London because he felt that Great Britain would feel pity on the defenseless citizens and surrender. He was wrong.

      On September 15, it is called the Battle of Britain day in Great Britain. Why is this? It is because that on September 15, the battle started to favor Britain. Goering was feeling that the Luftwaffe was losing. This caused Hitler to cease all trust in Goering. Goering ordered a big attack on London.

     However, on the other side, Dowding and Churchill were trying something very risky. They decided to meet the German fleet with everything they had. The aircraft was taken from all over Britain and they were ready for the 700 fighters and 400 bombers.

     Everything went right for the British. Many bombers were shot down and many retreated. Most airplanes barely made it back to the base. The toll? The RAF lost 26 planes, and Luftwaffe lost 80. The British were gaining strength and were believed to now outgun the Germans. Hitler needed to do something quick.

     Hitler felt that Operation Eagle was falling apart. He was going to invade Russia and felt he didn't have time to invade Great Britain at the time. He postponed the battle indefinately. Hitler gave Goering the power to perform nightly bombings of London. The Battle of Britain was now over. But Britains terror wasn't.

     Goering performed systematic bombings on London killing tens and thousands of people. He started these bombings on September 27th. He thought that Great Britain would be brought to terms with these bombings. So from September of 1940 to May of 1941 he bombed London every single night. Finally, Hitler realized that the bombings were costly and not doing anything. On May 10th, Hitler ordered his bombers back to Germany for preperation to invade Russia. Great Britain was now in peace; for now.