September 7, 1940: The London Blitz Begins

September 7, 1940: The London Blitz begins, as Nazi Luftwaffe bombers begin attacking the seat of the British Empire.

London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. Notable attacks included a large daylight attack against London on September 15, a large raid on December 29 that resulted in a firestorm known as the Second Great Fire of London, and a large raid on the night of May 10 and 11, 1941.

The Luftwaffe gradually decreased daylight operations in favor of night attacks to evade attacks by the Royal Air Force (RAF), and the Blitz became a night bombing campaign after October 1940. The Luftwaffe attacked the main Atlantic seaport of Liverpool, in what became known as the Liverpool Blitz. The North Sea port of Hull, a convenient and easily found target or secondary target for bombers unable to locate their primary targets, suffered the Hull Blitz.

The Nazis bombed port cities of Bristol, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Southampton and Sunderland in England; Cardiff and Swansea in Wales; Glasgow in Scotland; and Belfast in Northern Ireland. They also went after the English industrial centers of Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester and Sheffield.

More than 40,000 civilians were killed by Luftwaffe bombing during the war, almost half of them in the capital, where more than a million houses were destroyed or damaged.

The bombing was significantly reduced, although not entirely ended, after the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Afterward, the RAF, and eventually the U.S. Army Air Force, treated the Germans the way the British had been treated.

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September 7, 1940 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day: 

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Marius Russo went the distance for the win. Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams each hit home runs.

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-1 at the Polo Grounds. Harry Gumbert outpitched Lee Grissom. Mel Ott went 0-for-3 with a walk. Babe Young hit a home run for the Giants, and Jimmy Wasdell hit one for the Dodgers.

* The Boston Bees swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 and 3-1 at Shibe Park (later Connie Mack Stadium) in Philadelphia. Al Glossop singled Gene Moore home in the top of the 10th inning to win the opener. This was the last of 5 seasons that Boston's National League team used the Bees name, going back to using "Braves" in 1941.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 8-5 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-4 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Hank Greenberg hit a home run.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 14-9 at Sportsman's Park (later the 1st Busch Stadium) in St. Louis.