the Battle of Britain
/ðə ˌbætl əv ˈbrɪtn/
/ðə ˌbætl əv ˈbrɪtn/
- the fighting between British and German planes over the south of England in the autumn of 1940. It was a very important battle in the Second World War, because the British prevented the Germans from controlling the skies over Britain and the English Channel, and so stopped the German army from invading Britain. The speech made by Winston Churchill after the Battle of Britain is often quoted and the battle is remembered each year on Battle of Britain Day (15 September).“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”