Special: End of Battle of Britain

Pilots,

Great Britain’s efforts to fight off the German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain were of crucial importance for the outcome of World War II. Had it not been for the perseverance of the RAF pilots, things on the battlefields of Europe may have turned out significantly differently for all the parties involved.

Today we commemorate the end of this fierce battle by dishing out the following bonuses in the game:

30% credit discount on Ammunition

Give your guns that little extra punch by loading them full of high-explosive goodness!

30% higher credit income for the following planes

	German Tier V Heavy Fighter Messerschmitt Bf 110 E
	German Tier V Light Fighter Messerschmitt Bf 109 E
	British Tier IV Light Fighter Bristol Type 146
	British Tier V Light Fighter Supermarine Spitfire I
	British Tier IV Heavy Fighter Bristol Blenheim F
	British Tier V Heavy Fighter Bristol Beaufighter

Fly the iconic planes from the Battle of Britain and earn 30% more credits!

The special runs from Tuesday, 29^th October 07:00 CET (GMT+1) until Friday, 1^st November 06:30 CET.

“Never was so much owed by so many to so few.” When British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke those words on 20^th August 1940, the worst was unfortunately still to come for his war-torn home country. The Battle of Britain, to which he was alluding, was still in progress and would take another two months before it could finally be considered won.

The Battle of Britain is notable for a number of reasons – it was the first major defeat for the German forces in the war and set the scene for their on-going downfall. It was a major battle in which a heavily outnumbered force successfully held out against all the odds. Most importantly, though, it was the first battle in history to be decided purely in the air.

World War II officially began when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, using a powerful combination of infantry, tank and plane attacks known as Blitzkrieg to smash through traditional defences. After success in Poland, Germany stormed through Denmark and Norway, then on to Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and France. The Allied defenders fought very bravely, but were pushed back to Dunkirk in France, where an ambitious operation resulted in 800 small boats, mostly owned by civilians, evacuating many of the troops back to the UK.

By 18^th June, there were no British forces left in France and the Germans turned their attention to the invasion of Britain. Of course, being an island, Britain presented a new challenge for the Germans, in the form of the English Channel. German Command realised that controlling the Channel would be vital to success in Britain, and began Operation Sea-Lion – a sustained air attack on British freighter ships and the coastal defences of southern Britain. At this time, the odds were very much in favour of Germany, who had 2,600 bombers and fighters while the British Royal Air Force (RAF) had just 640 operational fighters.

The British record the battle dates as 10^th July until 31^st October 1940. It was during this period that the most intense daylight bombings took place. On August 13^th, the Germans began Operation Eagle Attack, which consisted of an early assault against coastal RAF airfields. After the initial strike proved unsuccessful, the Luftwaffe upped the stakes on August 24^th and started sending bombers in even larger numbers. Covered by deadly Messerschmitt fighters, these attacks were meant to disrupt RAF control and inflict a massive amount of damage to their fleet. However, when this strategy also failed to bring the expected results, the Germans decided to change their tactics once more. This time, they targeted cities and towns directly.

This last phase began on September 7^th and would last until the end of October, when it slowly faded out and smoothly transitioned into the Blitz – the continuous bombing of civilian targets in London and other major cities. This resulted in another huge civilian-focused operation of the war – the mass evacuation of children to the countryside.

By the end of October, the Germans had realised that the RAF could not be easily defeated, and with Russia becoming more of a priority target, Operation Sea-Lion was called off indefinitely. However, intermittent bombing attacks on Britain continued for much of the war.

In addition to their amazing bravery, two main things helped the British to come out victorious at the end of this battle – the superiority of the British planes, especially the Spitfire, and the fact that German Luftwaffe commanders failed to find a consistent strategy. Although the German aircraft outnumbered the British by three to one, they never made use of their numerical superiority. They kept changing the focus of their attacks – first hitting military targets, then industrial ones, and ultimately civilian targets, without concentrating long enough on one region to inflict irreparable damage.

It should also be noted that winning the battle would not have been possible without the help of hundreds of international pilots, who all followed the call for help to unselfishly defend Britain against the enemy. Around 20% of the RAF pilots were non-British internationals, and included a large number of Poles, New Zealanders, Canadians, Czechoslovakians, Irish, Australians, Belgians, South Africans, French, and Americans, as well as one pilot from each of Jamaica, the British Mandate of Palestine and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Hundreds of Allied fighter pilots lost their lives during the 15 weeks of battle, of which around a third came from an international background.

Repelling the Germans allowed Great Britain to rebuild its military force and serve as an Allied stronghold throughout the war. Because of the victory in the Battle of Britain, the Allies could rally their troops on British soil and begin the famous Operation Overlord, which ultimately led to the liberation of all of Europe.

We've even added a wallpaper to this special!

2560 x 1440 2560 x 1600 1920 x 1200 1920 x 1080 1650 x 1080 1920 x 960

Remember those few to whom we all owe so much today, Pilots!