<P> On 16 July Directive No. 16 ordered preparations for Operation Sea Lion, and on the next day the luftwaffe was ordered to stand by in full readiness . Göring met his air fleet commanders, and on 24 July issued "Tasks and Goals" of gaining air supremacy, protecting the army and navy if invasion went ahead, and attacking the Royal Navy's ships as well as continuing the blockade . Once the RAF had been defeated, Luftwaffe bombers were to move forward beyond London without the need for fighter escort, destroying military and economic targets . </P> <P> At a meeting on 1 August the command reviewed plans produced by each Fliegerkorps with differing proposals for targets including whether to bomb airfields, but failed to focus priorities . Intelligence reports gave Göring the impression that the RAF was almost defeated: the intent was that raids would attract British fighters for the Luftwaffe to shoot down . On 6 August he finalised plans for this "Operation Eagle Attack" with Kesselring, Sperle and Stumpff: destruction of RAF Fighter Command across the south of England was to take four days, with lightly escorted small bomber raids leaving the main fighter force free to attack RAF fighters . Bombing of military and economic targets was then to systematically extend up to the Midlands until daylight attacks could proceed unhindered over the whole of Britain . </P> <P> Bombing of London was to be held back while these night time "destroyer" attacks proceeded over other urban areas, then in culmination of the campaign a major attack on the capital was intended to cause a crisis when refugees fled London just as the Operation Sea Lion invasion was to begin . With hopes fading for the possibility of invasion, on 4 September Hitler authorised a main focus on day and night attacks on tactical targets with London as the main target, in what the British called the Blitz . With increasing difficulty in defending bombers in day raids, the Luftwaffe shifted to a strategic bombing campaign of night raids aiming to overcome British resistance by damaging infrastructure and food stocks, though intentional terror bombing of civilians was not sanctioned . </P> <P> The Luftwaffe was forced to regroup after the Battle of France into three Luftflotten (Air Fleets) on Britain's southern and northern flanks . Luftflotte 2, commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, was responsible for the bombing of southeast England and the London area . Luftflotte 3, under Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Sperrle, targeted the West Country, Wales, the Midlands, and northwest England . Luftflotte 5, led by Generaloberst Hans - Jürgen Stumpff from his headquarters in Norway, targeted the north of England and Scotland . As the battle progressed, command responsibility shifted, with Luftflotte 3 taking more responsibility for the night - time Blitz attacks while the main daylight operations fell upon Luftflotte 2's shoulders . </P>

Where did the german luftwaffe focus their bombing in great britain