page_title: London in World War II
section_title: The Blitz
hierarchical_section_title: London in World War II / The Blitz
caption_attribution_description: Firefighters putting out a blaze in London after an air raid during The Blitz in 1941.
context_page_description: As the national capital, and by far the largest city, London was central to the British war effort. It was the favourite target of the Luftwaffe in 1940, and in 1944-45 the target of the V-1 cruise missile and V-2 rocket attacks.
context_section_description: In 1940 and again in 1944–45, London suffered severe damage, being bombed extensively by the Luftwaffe as a part of The Blitz. Prior to the bombing, hundreds of thousands of children in London were evacuated to the countryside to avoid the bombing. Civilians took shelter from the air raids in underground stations.
  The heaviest bombing took place between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941. During this period, London was subjected to 71 separate raids, receiving over 18,000 tonnes of high explosive. Less intensive bombing followed over the following few years as Adolf Hitler concentrated on the Eastern front. 
  London suffered severe damage and heavy casualties, the worst hit part being the Docklands area. By the war's end, just under 30,000 Londoners had been killed by the bombing, and over 50,000 seriously injured, tens of thousands of buildings were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless.
caption: Firefighters putting out flames at a bomb site during the blitz
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