The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

“Eagle Day” (Adlertag) is Goring’s name for the German aerial attack on England, which commences on the morning of August 13 with an immense force of 2,300 aircraft. Cloudy weather over the English Channel compels Goring to abort the mission until that afternoon. The Germans, made complacent by past easy wins and hampered by Goring’s lack of understanding of modern air warfare, are overmatched by the skill and expertise of the RAF. 

On the second day of air battles, the British again have the upper hand, with eight British losses and 19 German. The British are perplexed by the seemingly haphazard nature of the German attacks. The Germans, for their part, are surprised at the skilled radar detection of the British, which allows them to locate German formations before they attack.

Roosevelt agrees to give Britain 50 destroyers (battleships) in exchange for American control of certain British naval bases, without seeking Congressional approval. However, aware of public perception, both he and Churchill frame this as two separate deals rather than a trade. The destroyers in question are decades-old and were going to be discarded by the US Navy.