When PUsh Comes to Shove essays

When PUsh Comes to Shove essays In August 1940 the continent of Europe was all but conquered by the Nazis. There was no army left to fight the Germans on the Western front. Adolf Hitler's troops had pushed 340,000 English soldiers off the coast at Dunkirk, back across the channel to England. The British Isles was the only conquest left for the Nazi Empire. France had crumbled to the pressure of German blitzkrieg only months before, and the English were next on the list. The Battle of Britain in 1940-41, proved to be the first unsuccessful German campaign of World War II. According to the film, "Why We Fight," the battle was won not only over the skies of England by the Royal Air Force, but also by the people on the ground. The film argues that the English people's remarkable fortitude in the face of constant bombing, was a main factor in keeping Nazi soldiers and panzers off the shores of Britain. Although there were nearly 40,000 English citizens killed during the infamous "Blitz", Hitler and the Nazis w ere stopped when push came to shove. The Royal Air Force's success in the Battle of Britain destroyed the German's Operation Sea Lion. Hitler and his generals planned to develop Operation Sea Lion in three phases: First they needed to gain air superiority over the skies of Britain. Then, use the Luftwafe's dive bombing tactics to weaken the coast cities. Which finally would lead to an actual invasion of troops and tanks on English soil. The RAF made sure none of these objectives were effectively accomplished. The Luftwafe lost 182 planes in the first four days of the Battle of Britain. They never fully gained air superiority over the RAF. English systems of radar and listening posts were able to give the pilots warning of Luftwafe attacks. British Spitfire fighters were in the air within minutes to combat the enemy. Goering's flight crews were dropping like flies over the English skies. Hitler wanted ...