This documentary, the 13 hours that saved britain, is mostly about the individual experiences of the people in Britain who changed the tide of the war with Germany in their own favor. For the most part, those actively at war took an approach of leaving no enemy alive, with the possibility that it would kill more than just enemies – civilians, land, and reputation had become “necessary casualties” for winning the war.
Back in Britain itself, people that were not actively fighting or planning the war were responsible for passing messages in a new system that was created by the war planners. And even more people were working and hearing about the war and being told to simply “continue working.” This was most true for small families with children during this time of year when farming and money created guaranteed survival for British families.
Even then “outside” influences like international broadcast football and local weddings were still being held to bring small pieces of happiness to those in wartime Britain. Misinformation in the German army caused increased panic and delayed many plans of locals in favor of finding safety while “big picture” officials like Winston Churchill watched and sent out interception. After this point, things got rather complicated for all of Britain as no one truly knew what came next except bits and pieces – sounds of bombs and being unable to find your military comrades and just a lot of feelings that can be described best as “confusion.”
Essentially, confusion and misinformation allowed military officials to surprise the overly confident German air bombers and their own British forces in a way that destroyed what was left of Germany’s stretched-thin and previously injured forces. Unfortunate collective trauma was created for Britain, but was also what ultimately allowed the war to end by letting Germany think a battle was better fought on “Britain land.” After all, everyone always says that the home team has the advantage, and in this case it was true for Britain.
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