Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, interwar and Second World War

the Blitz

the Blitz was a battle fought in 1940 at United Kingdom; it ran into the following year. It was part of the home front during World War II. The recorded result: Axis strategic failure.

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Fought1940ran into the following year
WhereUnited Kingdom51.507N, 0.128W
OutcomeAxis strategic failure
BelligerentsUnited KingdomagainstNazi Germany; Kingdom of Italy
Casualties and lossesabout 40,000–43,000 civilians killedandUnknown
Part ofhome front during World War II

Where it sits in the home front during World War II

Coventry Blitz, 1940the Blitz, 1940Second Great Fire of London, 1940Belfast Blitz, 194119401941the Blitz, 1940
4 placed engagements of the home front during World War II in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1940 (year precision)
to 1941
PlaceUnited Kingdom
51.507N, 0.128W
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Casualties and lossesabout 40,000–43,000 civilians killedUnknown
Commanders
  • King George VI
  • Winston Churchill
  • Hugh Dowding
  • Frederick Pile
  • Owen Tudor Boyd
  • Leslie Gossage
the Blitzthe BlitzOperation SteinbockBattle of LondiniumSecond Great Fire of LondonBalcombe Street SiegeIranian Embassy SiegeIranian Embassy SiegeBirminghamBrightonPortsmouthLutonOxfordNorwichIpswichPeterborough100 km51.507N, 0.128W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of the Blitz
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of the Blitz today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-08-17. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 20 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -9 to 97 m, 106 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 72% built-up, 19% tree cover, 6% water.

built-up: 72%tree cover: 19%water: 6%grassland: 3%built-up 72%tree cover 19%water 6%grassland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 47 mnorth to south, 10.0 km1 to 56 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 8 times between AD 60 and 1980.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1940

the Blitz is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 753 in present-day United Kingdom.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q6900329, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article The Blitz, revision 1378580682, read 2026-11-15, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.