The Blitz
The Blitz

Author: Juliet Gardiner

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Published: 2011-03-01

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9780007386611

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September 1940 marked the beginning of Nazi Germany's sustained attack on civilian Britain. Lasting eight months long, the Blitz was the form of warfare that had been predicted throughout the 1930s, that everyone had expected since Neville Chamberlain's declaration that Britain was at war with Germany. The ferocity of the Luftwaffe attacks, combined with images of the City of London burning are widely considered to be iconic snapshots of Second World War history. Though compared with other great moments of that war -- D-Day, Dunkirk, V E Day -- the Blitz remains curiously unexamined. Apart from fragmentary accounts and local records, there is little in the way of a comprehensive account of the Blitz experience that so many British civilians went through -- as well as the social, political and cultural implications of the bombardment. Designed to break the morale of the British population, the nightly bombings certainly did devastate. But, as Juliet Gardiner shows in this hugely important book, they also served to galvanise the nation; from those eight months of terrifying Nazi onslaught, a new determination amongst people and politicians steadily emerged. Revealing, original and beautifully written, THE BLITZ is a much-needed exploration of one of the most important moments in Second World War history.

The First Blitz
The First Blitz

Author: Ian Castle

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2015-10-20

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1472815300

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The First Blitz tells the story of Germany's strategic air offensive against Britain, and how it came to be neutralized. The first Zeppelin attack on London came in May 1915 – and with it came the birth of a new arena of warfare, the 'home front'. German airships attempted to raid London on 26 separate occasions between May 1915 and October 1917, but only reached the capital and bombed successfully on nine occasions. From May 1917 onwards, this theatre of war entered a new phase as German Gotha bombers set out to attack London in the first bomber raid. London's defences were again overhauled to face this new threat, providing the basis for Britain's defence during World War II. This comprehensive volume tells the story of the first aerial campaign in history, as the famed Zeppelins, and then the Gotha and the massive Staaken 'Giant' bombers waged war against the civilian population of London in the first ever 'Blitz'.

The Blitz Companion
The Blitz Companion

Author: Mark Clapson

Publisher: University of Westminster Press

Published: 2019-04-02

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 1911534491

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The Blitz Companion offers a unique overview of a century of aerial warfare, its impact on cities and the people who lived in them. It tells the story of aerial warfare from the earliest bombing raids and in World War 1 through to the London Blitz and Allied bombings of Europe and Japan. These are compared with more recent American air campaigns over Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, the NATO bombings during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, and subsequent bombings in the aftermath of 9/11. Beginning with the premonitions and predictions of air warfare and its terrible consequences, the book focuses on air raids precautions, evacuation and preparations for total war, and resilience, both of citizens and of cities. The legacies of air raids, from reconstruction to commemoration, are also discussed. While a key theme of the book is the futility of many air campaigns, care is taken to situate them in their historical context. The Blitz Companion also includes a guide to documentary and visual resources for students and general readers. Uniquely accessible, comparative and broad in scope this book draws key conclusions about civilian experience in the twentieth century and what these might mean for military engagement and civil reconstruction processes once conflicts have been resolved.

Walking the London Blitz
Walking the London Blitz

Author: Clive Harris

Publisher: Pen & Sword Military

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13:

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This Battleground Europe 'special' is a fascinating and highly informative guidebook to the Capital which will be invaluable to those who wish to understand what Londoners went through during the Second World War. By means of seven easily manageable walks, the reader is transported back to those dark days of devastating destruction. Using rich anecdotes and first-hand accounts the scale of the Luftwaffe raids becomes apparent and the horror of Hitler's V-weapon attacks unfurls. An original and fascinating way to visit London.

London Was Ours
London Was Ours

Author: Amy Helen Bell

Publisher: I.B. Tauris

Published: 2011-05-30

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9781848858497

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For the nine months of the Blitz, London was subjected to a brutal and indiscriminate bombing campaign, aimed for the first time in history at shattering the resolve of a nation. The Nazi raids on night-time London provide some of the defining narratives of World War II: the 'blitz spirit', air raid shelters in Underground stations and all the horrifying reality of one of the world's most powerful and historic cities under violent attack. This book tells the epic story of a London under siege through the voices of those that lived it. Amy Helen Bell here uncovers the personal stories of hundreds of Londoners from all walks of life, who scribbled in diaries and notebooks from inside air raid shelters and bombed-out houses to record their experiences of the Blitz. Expertly weaving these together, drawing out themes of loss, courage and love, what emerges is a thoughtfully argued and beautifully composed commentary on Britain's collective memory of one of the great conflicts of modern times. By letting the warmth, despair and hope of these personal recollections speak, 'London Was Ours' becomes a collective testament to the resilience of a people and a meditation on the nature of a nation's history.

The First Day of the Blitz
The First Day of the Blitz

Author: Peter Stansky

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9780300125566

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On September 7, 1940, the Blitz began. The bombing of London, by over one thousand planes on that night alone, was recognised at the time as being a direct measure to break the country's resistance. This book tells of the impact that this terror from the skies had on British people and the course of war.

The Little Blitz
The Little Blitz

Author: John Conen

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9781781553084

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The Little Blitz on London in the early part of 1944 is briefly mentioned in most accounts of the aerial war against the UK during the Second World War but is seldom deemed worthy of more than a few lines. The Little Blitz is the name applied to the air raids on Britain which were the manifestation of the Luftwaffe's Operation Steinbock, planned in the last few months of 1943 and put into effect from the middle of January 1944. The raids, planned as revenge for the destructive RAF raids on Berlin, were mainly targeted London, and after nearly three years of respite from air raids, the Little Blitz was an unwelcome surprise for residents of the Capital. The offensive was largely ineffective but some of the raids caused significant casualties and damage, and some alarm amongst the population and the authorities. This is the first account of the Little Blitz to explore these bombings in detail and assess their impact on London. This book describes the raids, making use of some vivid personal accounts, to give a gripping picture of the effect that these little-known events had on a complacent city.

The London Blitz Murders
The London Blitz Murders

Author: Max Allan Collins

Publisher: Disaster

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781612185200

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By day, she's Mrs. Mallowan, hospital pharmacist. By night, she's Agatha Christie, queen of crime. Doing her part for the war effort, Agatha dispenses medicine in shell- shocked London. But the world's most renowned mystery writer is troubled. Compared to the horrors of World War II, her detective novels seem trivial and quaint. When a Jack the Ripper-style murderer strikes, Agatha lobbies her friend, forensics expert Sir Bernard Spilsbury, to take her to the crime scenes. But the killings are far more gruesome than any that her fictional detectives have ever solved. Can a crime writer also be a crime fighter? Joining forces with London's top investigators, Agatha risks her life to stop the monstrous serial killer. With this ripped-from-the-headlines mystery, author Max Allan Collins presents a blood-stained valentine to the most celebrated author of detective fiction.