The Battle of Britain Page #4

lost only 219 planes and...

..and saved 132 pilots.

Invasion plans were going completely haywire.

Berchtesgaden

The Nazis were blind with rage.

The German mind has never understood why free

people fight on against overwhelming odds.

Hitler knew he was now superior in every weapon,

expect the weapon of spirit.

So he told Gring, break that spirit, crush the people,

crush the spirit of democratic life itself.

Invasion now, would have to wait.

The Nazis would avoid the RAF and smash

the great city of London,

..into the rubble heap they had made

of Warsaw and Rotterdam.

Could London take it?. Even the people themselves

didn't know the answer.

The defenses they trusted in, were London's hastily

assembled anti-aircraft.

The Ack-Ack guns. The balloon barrages which kept

the raiders at high altitude.

The Royal Air force, now down to its last reserves.

And the plain down-right guts of people.

They sent more children out of the city

Tightened air-raid precautions.

Stationed more aero plane spotters.

Rehearsed firefighters.

Moved into bomb shelters.

They blacked out their city, and carried on.

The first blow, aimed to crush

the British spirit,

..came on September 7th.

Control room speaking."

-"Customers and staff, will now take cover...

.. in the basement. Please do not run,

keep moving."

Down the stairs or you can use

the escalator."

Third floor clear. Second floor clear.

First floor, clear."

That day when 375 German planes

came roaring up theThames River,

The battle of Britain, became

the Battle of London.

The German's broke through the charge of Spitfires

and Hurricanes that went out to meet them.

Gone was any pretence of aiming at military

objectives.

This was just savage destruction.

Bombs fell alike on the homes of

the east-end poor,

..and the Mayfair rich.

On shops.

Hospitals.

Churches.

For 28 days the Nazis were to drop everything in the

book on the city of London.

Tons upon tons of high explosives.

Delayed action bombs had exploded days later

Torpedo that had sheered away whole buildings.

And underneath the war in the air the war of the man

in the street went on.

He learned to exist with very little food.

He forgot what it meant to have a night's sleep.

Spending most of his time underground,

in the damp, dark and cold.

Good-evening folks."

-"You're in early tonight."

Well, I quite a sight, aren't l??'

I think that will be all right now."

-"Yes, that's grand."

How are we going to get you up there??'

-"Get the young man to lift you up."

Brady!"

-"Hello."

Come give this young lady a lift up."

-"Right you are."

The air-raid wardens stayed at their posts.

Doctors and nurses worked on steadily, as the

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