Elise

• Blitzkrieg strategy


  Rapid and overwhelming military offensive
• Dunkirk evacuation


  1. British and French forces trapped

  2. 300,000 troops rescued from beaches by small boats

  3. German armoured vehicles stopped and expected Luftwaffe to force Allies to surrender
• The Dunkirk evacuation was presented as a significant British victory, especially by Churchill, but it was a bitter defeat
• After Dunkirk, the French were left to fight Germany alone, having lost 40% of their army and 80% of their equipment
• Marechal Petain announced France would sign an armistice with Germany


  17th of June
• After the fall of France, Britain stood alone against Germany
• Churchill: 'We shall never surrender'
• Churchill's policy


  Preserve country's unity by forming a government gathering all political parties
• Churchill: 'I have nothing to offer the Britons but blood, toil, tears and sweat'
• Churchill sent a message that the war was not just a military matter, but a moral fight against totalitarianism that Britain and its allies had no choice but to face with all their strength
• Operation Sea Lion


  Hitler's plan to invade Britain in September 1940
• Germany had a large number of aircraft and experienced pilots from previous conflicts
• Germany launched its first air raid, called "Eagle Day", with 600 Messerschmidt planes attacking Royal Air Force bases and airfields


  13th of August