World War II - Stage 6 Comp - The Blitz - Comprehension Pack.pdf

STAGE 6 Unit focus: Word War II Text focus: Information Text The Blitz World War II was a war where new technologies changed the way that battles were fought. Airplanes had improved massively since World War I and they played a major part in World War II. One of their main jobs was to drop bombs on...

STAGE 6 Unit focus: Word War II Text focus: Information Text The Blitz World War II was a war where new technologies changed the way that battles were fought. Airplanes had improved massively since World War I and they played a major part in World War II. One of their main jobs was to drop bombs on the enemy. Not all of the bombs were directed at enemy soldiers; for the first time, cities and towns were targeted as well. The Germans began a major bombing raid on Britain in 1940. It became known as the Blitz, which was short for Blitzkrieg or Lightning War. It wasn’t the name given to it by the Germans, but it was what the British referred to it as. Beginning in July 1940, the German air force (called the Luftwaffe) had been bombing British ports, airfields and other military targets. This became known as the Battle of Britain, as the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended British skies against the German invaders. Hitler’s aim during the Battle of Britain was to try to destroy the RAF so that Britain couldn’t fight back. When that failed, he decided to target British civilians to try to destroy their morale. At 4:00 PM on the 7th of September, 1940, German planes appeared in the skies above England’s capital city. London was about to be targeted. German bombers dropped bombs on the city for over two hours. All told, they dropped thousands of explosive devices. They also used incendiary bombs, which were designed to start fires rather than demolish buildings. The idea was that the fires would spread and destroy more buildings than a normal bomb could. The effect was devastating. Another bombing run began later that night and carried on until the early hours of the morning. Over 400 people were killed in the two attacks, and over 1,500 more were injured. That first day became remembered as Black Saturday. The German bombardment of London was relentless. Hitler was determined to destroy the British spirit. The capital city was bombed every night for 57 days in a row. More than a million bombs were dropped on London during that period. It was during this period that many families began to evacuate their children A ding ro Rea e um http://www.literacyshedplus.com C u r r ic ul Th all resources ©2024 Literacy Shed und to the countryside, especially while London was the only city being targeted. It seemed much safer to send them away until the bombings stopped. By November 1940, Hitler had turned his attention elsewhere. The Luftwaffe began to drop bombs on major cities across England. Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry, and Manchester were all targeted, amongst others. London continued to be a target at all times. Coventry was particularly badly affected. Over 500 German bombers attacked the city, destroying most of the old centre and killing 550 people. The Blitz continued into 1941, with cities on the coast being particularly vulnerable. Their ports were often targeted, but the bombs weren’t accurate, and many destroyed the cities inland. Delayed-action fuses were also used in some bombs. These didn’t explode when they hit the ground. Instead, they contained a timer that would detonate them at a point in the future. It was difficult to know which bombs had exploded and which were still waiting, so the danger never passed. After eight months of bombing, the Blitz finally came to an end. Over 43,000 civilians had been killed. That was over two-thirds of all of the British civilian deaths during the war. Hitler finally called off the Blitz on the 11th of May, 1941. VOCABULARY FOCUS 1. Which word has a meaning closest to describing something as being “aimed at”? 2. What is “morale” in this context? 3. Which word means “constant and ongoing attack”? 4. Find and copy a word that means “likely to be attacked”. 5. Find and copy a word that means “away from the coast”. S R R R P VIPERS QUESTIONS Why were incendiary devices sometimes more devastating than regular bombs? For how many nights was London bombed during the first round of attacks? How many people were killed on Black Saturday? What was the name of the German air force? Why might the Blitz have made British people want to surrender? all resources ©2024 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com