Pros: Superb history covering a well known but not fully appreciated aspect of the War.
Cons: Not up to current technical standards. Air action difficult to follow.
The Bottom Line: Anyone interested in modern history should take the 52 minutes to see this film. Those who think only America saved Britain will have their eyes opened.
fhkerr's Full Review: Why We Fight - The Battle of Britain
Overview
Why We Fight: The Battle of Britain is about what was a different kind of war in 1940. It covers the Nazi attempt to destroy the Royal Air Force and British industry, and to crack the will of the British people. All of that was to be through use of Germany’s much superior air power prior to an invasion. The film was produced during World War II from news and military film footage. The producer was Frank Capra.
The Battle of Britain is now available on VHS and DVD coded for the U.S. The DVD also contains Divide and Conquer, which I have also reviewed.
Content
Hitler had been victorious over much of Europe. To proceed with his plans for crossing the Atlantic, he needed to seize the British Isles. The only problem was that they were populated by stubborn folk. Their realization of the coming disaster was fairly recent, but they had spunk. What the Nazis had was air power in spades and the willingness to use it with ruthless abandon.
The film shows each stage of the famous Battle of Britain, the first time a whole society was horribly bombed while never pausing in their resistance. In fact, they kept building armaments, training troops, and organizing the people into an effective war effort even as more an more bombs fell. Meanwhile, the few aircraft already operational effectively operational effectively engaged the famed Luftwaffe. Germany lost many more planes than did the British. They also lost crews, but British arrangements to rescue many of their own men shot down were effective. As a result, the disparity in air power gradually lessened.
First, the Luftwaffe. went after military targets. Then, Hitler realized that they had to destroy British planes. They bombed airfields, but the British had dispersed and hidden the planes. Out of their rage, the Nazis went after London and other population centers to demoralize the people. The destruction and loss of life was horrible, but the British kept doing what they had to do. Night bombing became the norm to minimize the effectiveness of British fighter defense. Even firebombing was used to great effect on buildings, but little on psychology.
Although it seemed impossible, the British began to bomb German targets on the continent. For the second time, Hitler had been frustrated in his efforts. The Russians had stopped him in the East, and now the British had frustrated him over their own homes.
The Battle of Britain portrays the epoch struggle between Nazi Germany and The United Kingdom, most of which took place before the U.S. entered World War II. What is different than what happened in Russia is that this was primarily a fight in the air and that the most important prize was the minds of the British people.
From this and other films in this series, it is clear that Russia and the United Kingdom stopped Hitler’s aggression, thereby buying time for the United States to get its act together. No doubt the defeat of Europe required American participation, but I was left with a question. If not for Russia and Britain, would the U.S. had time to mobilize effectively?
Filmmaking
The Battle of Britain was assembled from newsreel footage by Frank Capra, then of the U. S. Army Signal Corps. It was an official Army project.
By virtue of the nature of the conflict, the visual action is difficult to follow, but it gives great emotional support to the narration. The scenes of physical damage are impressive, making the viewer realize how terrible this hell from the skies was for those who lived through it.
Of course, everything is black and white, and some of the films are not of the best quality. In viewing, that is no problem, for it underlines the reality.
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older
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