1963: England: YESTERDAY'S BIG STORY The Battle of Britain began on August 8th, 1940, when the German air force tried to drive the English to their knees with a rain of bombs. Within ten months more than 50,000 bombs fell on London alone, plus thousands of incendiaries. The British shook their fists in defiance, took all that the Nazis could dish out, and, despite 30,000 casualties Londoners had the unquenchable spirit that triumphed over evil and sent Hitler to defeat.