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Contents A Decisive Day Who Was Winston Churchill Gallipoli and After Between Two Wars Outbreak of War Preparing for Battle The Battle of Britain After the Battle Timeline Notes on Sources Glossary Find Out More Index Some words are printed in bold like this You can find out what they mean by looking in the glossary on page 59
A Decisive Day It is September 15 1940 As wave after wave of German bombers fly toward southern England UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill with his trademark cigar clamped between his teeth makes his way to Royal Air Force RAF headquarters in London There he is met by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park the man responsible for the RAF squadrons defending London and the southeast of England from air attack September 14 1940 At the height of the Battle of Britain Hurricane fighter planes take off from an airfield in the south of the UK to defend against German attacks Deep underground in the operations room Churchill and Park watch as counters on a large tabletop map track the progress of the German attacks As each squadron of RAF fighters takes off to intercept the enemy a light on a board comes on to show that the planes are airborne Early in the afternoon as the lights flash on one by one Churchill turns to Park What reserves have we got he asks There are none replies Park Every single squadron is in the air battling to defend the United Kingdom 1 Churchill
and Park both know that this is a decisive momen in the defense of the United Kingdom against a possible German invasion In order to win the Germans need to destroy the RAF This is now a battle for survival Battle of Britain Day Since the end of World War II September 15 has been commemorated in the United Kingdom as Battle of Britain Day the day when the RAF fighters managed to hold out against the German bombers The battle was by no means over but many people consider this day to mark a crucial turning point in the Battle of Britain Yet for Churchill it was one of many such crucial moments both in the past and yet to come A crowd follows Winston Churchill center as he makes one of his frequent visits to inspect bomb damage after German raids in London
