The
Battle of Britain (
German:
Luftschlacht um England, literally "Air battle for England") is the name given to the
Second World War defence of the
United Kingdom by the
Royal Air Force (RAF) against an onslaught by the German Air Force (
Luftwaffe) which began at the end of June 1940. In Britain, the officially recognised dates are 10 July – 31 October 1940, overlapping with the period of large-scale night attacks known as
The Blitz. German historians do not accept this subdivision, and regard the
Luftschlacht um England as a campaign lasting from July 1940 to June 1941. The Battle of Britain has been described as the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces.