The Blitz (from German, "lightning") was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain and Northern Ireland by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The capital, London, was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 57 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed. More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged, and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, almost half of them in London.

Ports and industrial centres outside London were also heavily attacked; Hull, being a major sea port was the most heavily bombed city outside London. Birmingham was the UK's third most bombed city, being a major industrial centre producing Spitfires and munitions. Other ports such as Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, Plymouth and Southampton were also targeted. Industrial cities such as Belfast, Coventry, Sheffield, Glasgow and Manchester were also attacked. The city centre of Coventry was almost completely destroyed in one night raid.

The bombing did not achieve its intended goals of demoralising the British into surrender or significantly damaging their war economy. In fact, the eight months of bombing never seriously hampered British production and the war industries continued to operate and expand. The Blitz did not facilitate Operation Sea Lion, the planned German invasion of Britain. By May 1941, the threat of an invasion of Britain had passed, and Hitler's attention was focused on Operation Barbarossa in the East.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, PC, DL, FRS, Hon. RA (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British Conservative politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century, he served as Prime Minister twice (1940–45 and 1951–55). A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. He is the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States.

Churchill was born into the aristocratic family of the Dukes of Marlborough. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer; his mother, Jenny Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young army officer, he saw action in British India, the Sudan, and the Second Boer War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns.