The Battle of Britain
| Why We Fight: The Battle of Britain | |
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Film
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| Directed by | |
| Produced by | Office of War Information |
| Written by | |
| Narrated by | Walter Huston |
| Cinematography | Robert Flaherty |
| Edited by | William Hornbeck |
| Distributed by | War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry |
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Release date
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Running time
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54 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Battle of Britain was the fourth of Frank Capra's Why We Fight series of seven propaganda films, which made the case for fighting and winning the Second World War. It was released in 1943 and concentrated on the German bombardment of the United Kingdom in anticipation of Operation Sea Lion, the planned Nazi invasion of Great Britain.
The narrator describes the fall of France, leaving Britain almost defenceless. British forces are vastly outnumbered, but the British people are calm. The narrator explains that this is because in a democracy the people as a whole are involved in the decision to fight. Hitler's masterplan to subjugate Britain is described. Hitler begins by attacking convoys and ports, but fails to destroy them. The RAF are outnumbered "6 - 8 - 10 to one", but knock out far more planes than the Germans do. Bailed out British pilots are also able to return to the air, but German pilots are lost. Unlike the Dutch and Polish airforce Britain does not "make the mistake of bunching its planes on the runways".
Losses force Hitler to "take time out". He tells Goering to change tactics, so the Luftwaffe attack factories. Britain deploys "improved listening posts" to identify coming attacks. In August and September German losses are far more severe. However the "German mind" cannot understand why "free people fight on against overwhelming odds". The Nazis now aim to "crush the British spirit" by attacking London, destroying homes, hospitals and churches. But the people adapt and survive. Enraged, Goering takes personal command, sending a massive attack on September 15, to which the British respond with "everything they had". In the battle the Germans suffer severe losses.
Despite many losses, and destruction of historic buildings, the Germans cannot break Britain. They switch to night attacks, hoping to terrorise the people and make them "cry for mercy". But the people show great resilience. The British also counter-attack, bombing key German factories. Hitler takes revenge by destroying Coventry. After a brief respite at Christmas Hitler sends fire bombs to London, creating "the greatest fire in recorded history". More bombings and firestorms are created, but Britain's defences hold up, giving a year of precious time to other countries threatened by the Nazis. The film ends with Winston Churchill's statement that "never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few".
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