Following the Battle of Britain, as the Third Reich redirected most of their resources toward Operation Barbarossa in the East, the skies over occupied France stood relatively empty.

After months of meticulous planning, the Royal Air Force prepared to unleash a new kind of offensive operation, adeptly named Circus, for they were full of surprises.

On January 10, 1941, a formation of six Bristol Blenheim bombers from 114 Squadron, 2 Group, a part of RAF Bomber Command, set their sights on an airfield and an ammunition dump in the Foret de Guines, just a stone's throw from the French coast, south of Calais.

The British mission seemed doomed from the start, as the tiny bomber group would be no match for the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 defenders taking to the air. Yet, a stunning surprise awaited the German pilots as they closed in on their targets. Flying hidden at a slightly higher altitude was a massive cloud of what seemed like nearly 100 RAF escort fighters…

Circus Number 1 had come to town.

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