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この項目では、ナチス・ドイツによるイギリスへの空襲 ザ・ブリッツ (The Blitz)について説明しています。ブリッツのその他の用法については「ブリッツ」をご覧ください。

The Blitz
第二次世界大戦中

時1940年9月7日 - 1941年5月10日[1]
場所イギリス
結果ドイツの戦略的失敗[2]

衝突した勢力
 イギリス ドイツ
指揮官
ウィンストン・チャーチル
Sir Hugh Dowding
Sir Frederick Pile
Owen Tudor Boyd
Sir Leslie Gossageアドルフ・ヒトラー
ヘルマン・ゲーリング
フーゴ・シュペルレ
アルベルト・ケッセルリンク
戦力
Anti-Aircraft Command
Balloon Command
被害者数
民間人の死者は4万3千人、負傷者は5万1千人[3]

ザ・ブリッツ（The Blitz）は、第二次世界大戦中の1940年9月7日から1941年5月10日[1]の間にナチス・ドイツによってなされた、イギリスにおける持続的な空襲である。ザ・ブリッツは、イギリス中の多くの町や都市を襲ったが、その始まりは、連続76夜に及ぶロンドン大空襲であった[4]。1941年の終わりまでに4万3千人の民間人（半数が在ロンドン）が空襲によって殺害され、ロンドンだけで100万軒以上の家屋が崩壊ないし破損した[5][6]。

London was not the only city to suffer ドイツ空軍 bombing during the Blitz. Other important military and industrial centres, such as アバディーン, バロー・イン・ファーネス, ベルファスト, ブートル, バーケンヘッド, ワラジー, バーミンガム, ブリストル, カーディフ, クライドバンク, コヴェントリー, エクセター, グラスゴー, グリーノック, シェフィールド, スウォンジー, リヴァプール,[7] キングストン・アポン・ハル, マンチェスター, ポーツマス, プリマス, ノッティンガム, ブライトン, イーストボーン, サンダーランド, and サウサンプトン, suffered heavy air raids and high numbers of casualties. Hull was the most heavily bombed city after London with 85% of its buildings being destroyed or affected. Birmingham and Coventry were very badly affected because of the Spitfire and Tank plant being based in Birmingham and the many other munitions factories in Coventry. Coventry was almost totally destroyed.

Smaller bombing raids were made on Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Exeter, and Bath. Oxford was spared. Blackpool was hit by only 45 high explosive bombs. One theory put forward is that Hitler was saving Blackpool as a recreation centre for his troops after he had taken England. A more likely suggestion is that Blackpool having three piers sticking into the sea, acted as a marker for aircraft heading for Manchester, Liverpool or the shipyard at Barrow.[8][9] Hitler's aim was to destroy British civilian and government morale.

Its intended goal of demoralizing the British into surrender unachieved,[10] the Blitz did little to facilitate potential German invasion. By May 1941, the imminent threat of an invasion of Britain had passed and Hitler's attention was focused on Operation Barbarossa in the East. Although the Germans never again managed to bomb Britain on such a large scale, they carried out smaller attacks throughout the war, taking the civilian death toll to 51,509 from bombing.In 1944, the development of pilotless V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets briefly enabled Germany to again attack London with weapons launched from the European continent. In total, the V weapons killed 8,938 civilians in London and the south-east.[11]
Prelude

After the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain began in July 1940. From July to September, the Luftwaffe frontally attacked Royal Air Force Fighter Command to gain air superiority as a prelude to invasion. This involved the bombing of fighter airfields to destroy Fighter Command's ability to combat an invasion. Simultaneous attacks on the aircraft industry were carried out to prevent the British replacing their losses, but these were ineffective; changes introduced by Lord Beaverbrook ramped up the efficiency of fighter production markedly. Machine replacements were arriving at a rate three times higher than German intelligence believed. The pressure on pilot replacements was much more intense, and eventually overcame official reluctance to put experienced pilots from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and other occupied nations in front line combat.

In late August 1940, before the date normally associated with the start of the Blitz, the Luftwaffe attacked industrial targets in Birmingham and Liverpool. This was part of an increase in night bombing brought about by the high casualty rates inflicted on German bombers in daylight. The first German plane to be shot down was over Edinburgh after a failed attempt to bomb the Forth Rail Bridge. Also, the docks of Edinburgh and surrounding suburbs were attacked, including a whisky factory which caused a fire for several days.