Introduction
The Battle of Britain took place in the summer of 1940, when the German Luftwaffe launched a frenzied attack first on the RAF, and then on civilians in London. In targeting London, however, Adolf Hitler allowed the overstretched RAF time to rebuild, a shift in policy that ultimately cost him dearly.
BY the summer of 1940, Nazi Germany had acquired control over most of Western Europe and Scandinavia, and Adolf Hitler confidently attacked RAF bases in southern England in August that year.
The stinging rebuff he received surprised him, so he ordered a sustained aerial assault on the civilians of London. His plan was to undermine public morale, and pave the way for ‘Operation Sea Lion’, the invasion of Britain.
The attacks began on the 7th of September, and reached a crisis on Sunday 15th, when 630 British fighter planes battled almost twice as many German aircraft.
After that, the relentless bombing began to ease, and although the air raids on London, dubbed ‘the Blitz’, continued until May the following year, Hitler now knew that Britain’s small but plucky RAF was a match for his Luftwaffe. As Prime Minister Winston Churchill had said, back on 20th August, ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few’.
Précis
The Battle of Britain took place in August and September 1940, beginning as a German assault on RAF bases and moving on to a sustained bombing campaign against civilian targets in London, marking the start of the Blitz. The cost to Britain was high, but it was a defeat for Germany, as the Luftwaffe failed to achieve air supremacy. (59 / 60 words)
The Battle of Britain took place in August and September 1940, beginning as a German assault on RAF bases and moving on to a sustained bombing campaign against civilian targets in London, marking the start of the Blitz. The cost to Britain was high, but it was a defeat for Germany, as the Luftwaffe failed to achieve air supremacy.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: besides, despite, just, must, not, ought, until, whereas.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Attack. August. Sea.
2 Air. Assault. Small.
3 Ease. Few. Much.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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