The 'Blitz' – from the German termBlitzkrieg ('lightning war')– was the sustained campaign of aerial bombing attacks on British towns and cities carried out by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) from September 1940 until May 1941.
The Blitzbegan on7 September, 'Black Saturday', when German bombers attacked London, leaving 430 dead and 1,600 injured. London was then bombed for 57 consecutive nights, and often during daytime too. London experienced regular attacks and on 10-11 May 1941 was hit by its biggest raid. German bombers dropped 711 tons of high explosive and 2,393 incendiaries. 1,436 civilians were killed. However, this proved to be the last major raid until January 1943.
While London was bombed more heavily and more often than anywhere else in Britain, the Blitz was an attack on the whole country. Very few areas were left untouched by air raids. In relatively small compact cities, the impact of a severe air raid could be devastating.
From mid-November 1940, major provincial cities and industrial centres were targeted. In early 1941 another wave of attacks began, primarily against ports. Respite finally came from June when much of the Luftwaffe was directed against Russia and targets in the Mediterranean.
In these nine months, over 43,500 civilians were killed. This is how the Blitz affected towns and cities across the United Kingdom.
