A Day That Shook The World: the London blitz begins on civilian targets

(Hulton Archive/Getty)

On 7 September 1940, the Luftwaffe began a new campaign against London: the Blitz.

Up to 500 bombers a night participated in a concerted effort to break the spirit of Britain's capital city, which struggled manfully in the face of extreme adversity.

Watch original footage from the Blitz in this British Pathé video, above.