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Title: The Battle of Britain: The Myth and the Reality by Richard Overy ISBN: 0-393-32297-1 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (7 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Short and to the point: well done.
Comment: This book is not a dramatic retelling of the battle. It is concerned with what went on behind the scenes. It discusses the reasoning of the German commanders concerning an invasion of England and their plans behind the air attack. It's pretty enlightening to see how each side was pretty mistaken about what the other side thought or would do. There are quite a bit of authorities quoted for the author's premises. The newest thing to me was the fact that not all Brits pulled together about resisting the German aggression. The documentation about that reads about like the way people do now in both Britain and the U.S. This is an inside look at the entire campaign of the Battle of Britain and the events leading up to it. There are some things that were new to me and I think would be new to most readers. It's a good writing job and a good research job.
Rating: 3
Summary: A tad dry, but dispels the myths nonetheless
Comment: I found The Battle of Britain: The Myth and the Reality to be a good, detailed overview of the events that transpired in Britain from August-October, 1941.
What the book lacks is much in the way of personal details. The pilots who served in the RAF, and the challenge they faced, aren't covered in much detail. Rather, we're given statistics about how many were shot down during such and such a time and how many planes Britain was able to produce during the conflict.
The author, Richard Overy, makes it quite clear, however, that he's not attempting to tell the comprehensive story of the Battle. Rather, he simply wants to dispel the myths surrounding this battle. "The few" to whom Winston Churchill attributed so much national gratitude, were actually fairly evenly matched with their enemy, the Nazi Luftwaffe. Overy doesn't dispel the notion that the British defense of their homeland was any less valiant, but he does make certain to point out discrepancies between the reality and the mythical proportions that the Battle of Britain have acquired in the years since the Blitz.
In summary, if you're looking for a good, honest description of the Battle of Britain, this book will meet your needs. For a more detailed description of the events and people involved, you will have to find a more comprehensive book.
Rating: 4
Summary: The Rest of the Story !
Comment: Movies, books and articles have narrated the Battle of Britain. Most limited their narrative to the
heroic efforts of the RAF pilots, crews and commanders. Richard Overy gives the 'rest of the
story' in this book providing insight into the total picture. He notes that for the British people
'The Battle' meant one thing, the Battle of Britain which was the epic contest between the British
and German air forces in the late summer and autumn of 1940.
Chapter 1 observes that during the 1930s, Britain envisioned Germany delivering an airborne 'knock-out blow' for which there was no defense. In response, between 1937 through 1939,millions were spent on an airborne defensive shield and an expanded Bomber Command if required for retaliation. The German strategy was to use air power in combined operations with the army to impose a decisive defeat of enemy ground forces. Britain was unprepared to meet this type of warfare. Therefore when France was attacked, Britain could supply little effective air support to aid the French. At this point, the British were not united. The author narrates the policy debates over whether to
appease or fight Germany. However, the fall of France and Dunkirk shocked the country and British morale was revived to fight on. Hitler, the author notes, regarded invasion as 'very
hazardous' and hoped for a political settlement. Hitler made a peace offer in a July 1940 speech which Britain promptly rejected in a radio address. Britain now faced the air power type of conflict it had been preparing for since the 1930s.
Chapter 2 evaluates the two forces noting that 'The military confrontation in the autumn of 1940 became a test of strength between two rival air forces.' The text notes both armies trained for the coming battle; but '....none of this mattered as long as the German air Force had not won mastery of the air over southern Britain.' Command structures are described noting that Herman Goering was both air minister and air force commander while the British had an Air Minister, Sir Archibald Sinclair, with separate commanders for fighters and for bombers. To Sir Hugh Dowding, of Fighter Command, fell the task of creating an effective defense shield. The author writes 'Sinclair epitomized that British elite of dignified public servants so much despised and ridiculed in German propaganda. Goering, on the hand, was everything Sinclair was not.' The text notes that 'on 10 August 1940, The German single-engine fighters assigned to the battle over Britain was 1011, slightly fewer than Fighter Command' thus destroying an enduring myth of the few against the many. The book compares fighter production, performance and armament noting that early in the battle there was rough parity in fighter number, but in the last weeks the British had the edge. Another myth is the shortage of trained RAF fighter pilots. The number of RAF pilots increased by one third between June and August 1940. The Germans could cope with pilot shortages because of a lower loss rate. The author writes 'If Fighter command were the 'few', German pilots were fewer.' The British air defense system, set up to counter the enemy bombing offensive, is described and it was adjusted in the summer of 1940 to meet an invasion threat.
Coastal Command played a difficult, costly and critical role twice daily conducting reconnaissance of German controlled ports. Bomber Commands role was to wear down German resistance by
bombardment of vital objectives. The author notes that 'The one field of battle where British preparations proved at least equal to the task in 1940 was fighter defense and it was for that
reason alone that German air fleets concentrated on destroying Fighter Command' using fighter sweeps in a war of attrition. German daylight bombing of London began on 7 September when
350 bombers raided the east dock area and the text notes 'The air battles in the week between 7 September and 15 September were decisive in turning the tide of the battle. During that week the German Air force lost 298 aircraft. Fighter Command lost 120, against 99 enemy fighters.' Another myth that Richard Overy debunks is that Hitler never seriously planned an invasion,writing that 'There need be no doubt that under the right circumstances Hitler was serious about
invading Britain in 1940....' but that by the end of September Hitler concluded that air superiority had not been achieved and indefinitely postponed an invasion. Lacking daylight bombing success, the Germans shifted to night bombing thereby creating a problem as aircraft were very difficult to shoot down at night from the air or from the ground until new detection equipment was
developed. Overy states that though the Germans never formally adopted terror bombing, the tactics they employed caused widespread civilian casualties resulting in the death of 40,000 people during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.
The Battle of Britain did not seriously weaken Germany and her allies, but the contest was not a draw. German air fleets did not gain air supremacy over southern Britain. The author observes
that 'In a great many respects, however, the two forces were remarkably matched. Both commanded a small group of committed, highly trained and courageous pilots, both forces responded with considerable tactical ingenuity to sudden changes of direction in the course of the battle; both exploited fighter aircraft at the cutting edge of aviation technology; both forces fought
the battle with operations commanders of real distinction.'
Finally, this was not a traditional battle in that it did not have a clear-cut beginning nor a defined ending. However, the author concludes that like Trafalgar, the Battle of Britain was critical to the British people in that an invasion scare subsided and the nation could now get on with the task of
winning the war.
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