The Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Sir Winston Churchill A powerful Second World War documentary from the Emmy AwardTM winning team behind the PBS Series Battlefield and Discovery Channel s Weapons of War The Battle of Britain was the World War II air campaign waged by Hitler s Luftwaffe against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The objective of the campaign was to gain superiority over the Royal Air Force,specifically Fighter Command. It was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing offensive to that date. The failure of Germany to achieve its objectives of destroying Britain s air defences, or forcing Britain to negotiate an armistice, is considered its first major defeat and a crucial turning point in World War II. Rare archive footage from Britain, France and Germany comprise the main elements of this essential account of the Battle of Britain.