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The Battle of Britain

Luftwaffe attacks on Britain began with raids on naval targets, with bombers being shot down over the Firth of Forth on 16 October 1939 and over Scapa Flow on the following day, but there were no major attacks during the Phony War period, a lull in fighting that Hitler ended on 10 May 1940.

Following the evacuation of the British from Dunkirk (Operation DYNAMO) and the French surrender on 22 June 1940, Hitler believed the war was practically over and that the British, defeated on the continent and without European allies, would quickly be forced to come to terms with Germany.

Although there was an element of British public and political sentiment favouring negotiated peace with a clearly ascendant Germany, among them the Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax, the recently-installed Prime Minister Winston Churchill nonetheless refused to consider an armistice with Hitler’s Germany.

Churchill’s skillful use of rhetoric hardened public opinion against a peaceful resolution and prepared the British for a long war. Coining the general term for the upcoming battle, Churchill stated in his ‘This was their finest hour’ speech to the House of Commons on 18 June 1940: “I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.”.

In an effort to finish the war in the west, Hitler ordered the rapid preparation of an invasion of Britain on 16 July. Hitler hoped to frighten Britain into peace before an actual invasion was launched, and he used the invasion preparations as a means to apply pressure. The plan was prepared by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Armed Forces High Command). The operation, code-named Seelöwe (Sealion), was planned for mid-September 1940 and called for landings on the south coast of Great Britain, backed by an airborne assault. All preparations were to be made by mid-August.

The Kriegsmarine was reluctant to launch an invasion, and on 11 July, Admiral Raeder told Hitler invasion could only be contemplated as a last resort, and only then with full air superiority. The Kriegsmarine had a limited number of ships, while the Royal Navy had over 50 destroyers and dozens of cruisers and battleships in home waters. In the event of a seaborne invasion, the British Home Fleet would sortie from their nearby bases and attack the invasion force, something the Kriegsmarine could do little to counter.

The only way Germany would be able to prevent Royal Navy interference would be through the Luftwaffe, primarily with their dive bombers, but employing these effectively would require complete air superiority because the bombers were so vulnerable to attack. Nevertheless, Hitler was determined the invasion go ahead and ordered all services to make preparations for an amphibious assault once air superiority had been achieved.

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