The event known as the Blitz, the bombing of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was an unrelenting period of eight-months in which British cities were systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe in an effort to break the will of the British people. It took place over 76 consecutive nights, beginning on 7 September 1940 with a 10-hour raid on London in which 436 people were killed. However, by the end of the Blitz in May 1941, the total number of civilian deaths would reach 43,000.

• The Blitz began on 7 September 1940 with a 10-hour raid on London, signalling the start of the bombing campaign after many isolated raids
• In October, other British areas began to be hit with terrible losses in Hull, Liverpool, Coventry, Belfast, and Clydebank
• Germany targeted docks, industry and transport
• The consecutive campaign ended in May 1941 when the Luftwaffe was redeployed to take part in Barbarossa.
• In total 43,000 civilians died while more than 70,000 were injured
• The bombing of British cities went on throughout the war even when the period of the Blitz ended

September 15, 2012, 12:57pm / 171