Analyzing The Blitz (Essay Sample)

Analyzing the Blitz
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Analyzing the Blitz
During the bombing of the British in the war of 1940, there were calculations that were done to estimate the number of people who would have died in the case of an attack on London. The British people at the time were so cautious about where they would be during the bombings so that they can avoid and survive. The devastating effect that was estimated and broadcasted across the country by the newspapers served outright to warn the British citizens of the impending bombings. People were well informed before the bombings and they were supposed to help the government in ensuring that the enemy does not advance and attack the cities. Different kinds of advicewere given to the citizens on how they can carry themselves around so that they can be part of defeating the enemy. The British government at the time advised its citizens to hide gasoline, bicycles, food supplies, and anything that would have helped the enemy advance. It was a well laid down strategy by the British to ensure that they survive the war with minimum casualties and a high percentage of those who survive throughout the war.
The British had varied responses to the Blitz, the ferocity within which the Germans were fighting and bombing Britain was fast. It was the starting point for the British to develop answers to the bombings to avert more damages and attacks from the Germans. The blitz was mainly as a result of the British refusal to honor the peace treaty with the Germans. The rejection is what led to Hitler planning a quick attack of aerial bombings that was targeting the British cities and the middleclass. The plan and response to the attackswere the development of the national evacuation plan that would have saved lives. It was done to protect the vast majority of the British people from the attacks that would have killed them. Through the response of evacuating people through the attacks, the government presented hope to the people that they would survive the war (Listening to Britain 282). There was also a plan of using the British bomber forces that would have slowed down the ferocity of the attacks that the Germans meted on the British people. The British people laid their hopes on the air force to deter the Germans from further bombings of the British cities and residential areas (Listening to Britain 285).Civil Defense was developed as a response to the Blitz. The preparations for the civil defense was left to the local authorities to deal with as the government focused on responding to the bombing raids that was being carried out by the Germans. Though the response of the local authorities was not that great, because it lacked clear guarantees for the outlays to be covered and enhance the protection of the civilians. It led to the slow movement of people out of affected areas, and the supply of tents was inadequate, for example in a town like Birmingham. The local authorities were also providing deep shelters as a response to the bombings so that lives could be saved.
The most significant issue during this period was to protect the British people from the air raids that were being carried out by the Germans on the British coasts and towns. It is the reason as to why shelters were built to protect the separated families (can they take it pg. 164). The British government decided to build shelters for the separated families because they felt that shelters for the masses would bring forth a sense of defeatism. Some householders in Britain constructed the family shelters that were poor in construction in terms of their strength to protect them from the air bombings (Circles 17/ 188).
During the bombings, people started selecting the shelters where they would hide from the ferocious attacks that the Germans were dropping on Britain. Some people chose to hide in church crypts, railway arches, even beneath factories so that they could avoid the bombings. It led to the overcrowding of public shelters. One of the major mass shelters that people used to hide themselves was the Cable Street in Stepney, where as many as 14,000 people hid in it to protect themselves from the air raids. The mass shelters caused a serious problem that made the British government consider closing them down. The government wanted an easy passage for its army, and the underground tubes were the ones to provide the safe passage. The tubes led to the appraising of confrontations among the people who wanted to get into them. Theconfrontations led to the orchestration in some cases of the communist party activists. It was mainly due to the crowds who wanted to go below and the strict officials who were placed there to take care of the underground shelters( Geoffrey Field pg. 189).
The underground tunnels, as well as the shelters were decided to primarily for the army and the rescue teams. They were mainly to be used to protect and used as an easy transit route for the military personnel. It is the reason as to why the British people who wanted to hide in them became angry, hence leading to the development of the communist factions. The primary concern of the British people in using the shelters was their safety. But the government had other ideas of the security of its population other than just hiding in the shelters. Some people decided to camp outside of London so that they could be out of the path of the aerial bombings (Geoffrey Field pg. 191).
The ones who were courageous strolled on the streets of London trying to save others who were severely injuredin the bombings. The people of London started appreciating one another because they knew that they needed each other during the war. They became more human and shared most of their experience freely with others. It acted as a symbol of togetherness that would enable them to repel the bombings by keeping their spirits high. The togetherness spirit is what led to the morale of the royal air force that started to pound the Germany air force. Whereby in September 1940 the Britishtroops downed 185 Germany planes, against 30 from their side. The accounts described from this source gives the real picture of what was happening during the war. It is shown by the description of how people were trying to hide in shelters that were meant to protect them, but they were repelled by the underground forces guarding the shelters. It also gives the estimates of the people who were supposedly to suffer during the bombings. The limitations of this source are that it does not provide the accounts of events from a personal point of view where we can understand the individual feelings of all that was happening throughout the war.
The Londoners and the British people were disappointed that some actions against Italy had not been taken to deter them from being a menace in the support of the German forces. The morale of the people was high brought about by the defeat of the Germany air forces, and the confidence in winning th...