"for the award of a campaign medal Aircraft of the Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain (German: ""Luftschlacht um England"") was an effort by the German Air Force (""Luftwaffe"") during the summer and autumn of 1940 to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom in preparation for the planned amphibious and airborne forces invasion of Britain by Operation Sea Lion. Neither the German leader Adolf Hitler nor his High Command of the Armed Forces (""Oberkommando der Wehrmacht"", or OKW) believed it was possible to carry out a successful amphibious assault on Britain until"
"Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Fall of France, Adolf Hitler, the German Führer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, hoped the British government would seek a peace agreement and he reluctantly considered invasion only as a last resort if all other options failed. As a precondition, he specified the achievement of both air and naval superiority over the English Channel and the proposed landing sites,"
"isolate the United Kingdom. Hitler was convinced that Britain would sue for peace once the Germans triumphed in the Soviet Union, and if they did not, he would use the resources available in the East to defeat the British Empire. On 5 December 1940, Hitler received the final military plans for the invasion on which the German High Command had been working since July 1940 under the codename ""Operation Otto"". Hitler, however, was dissatisfied with these plans and on 18 December issued , which called for a new battle plan, now code-named ""Operation Barbarossa"". The operation was named after medieval"
"force, and stating that the navy would be unable to achieve its objectives. The first joint services conference on the proposed invasion was held by Hitler in Berlin on 21 July, with Raeder, Field Marshal von Brauchitsch, and ""Luftwaffe"" Chief of Staff Hans Jeschonnek. Hitler told them that the British had no hope of survival, and ought to negotiate, but were hoping to get Russia to intervene and halt German oil supplies. Invasion was very risky, and he asked them if direct attacks by air and submarine could take effect by mid September. Jeschonnek proposed large bombing attacks so that"
"alone was insufficient; the German naval staff had already produced a study (in 1939) on the possibility of an invasion of Britain and concluded that it also required naval superiority. The Luftwaffe said invasion could only be ""the final act in an already victorious war."" Hitler first discussed the idea of an invasion at a 21 May 1940 meeting with Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, who stressed the difficulties and his own preference for a blockade. OKW Chief of Staff Jodl's 30 June report described invasion as a last resort once the British economy had been damaged and the Luftwaffe had"
"victory. In an unrelated event, Hitler had on one occasion called the English lower classes ""racially inferior"". There is a large corpus of works set in an alternate history where the Nazi invasion of Great Britain is attempted or successfully carried out. Notes Bibliography Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Fall of France, Adolf Hitler, the German Führer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, hoped the"
"1940, being named by the Germans as the ""probable date"" for the cessation of hostilities. On May 21, 1940, Franz Halder, the head of the Army General Staff, after a consultation with Hitler concerning the aims envisaged by the Führer during the present war, wrote in his diary: ""We are seeking contact with Britain on the basis of partitioning the world"". One of Hitler's sub-goals for the invasion of Russia was to win over Britain to the German side. He believed that after the military collapse of the USSR, ""within a few weeks"" Britain would be forced either into a"
"21 May 1940, Hitler discussed the possibility of invasion with ""Großadmiral"" (Grand Admiral) Erich Raeder, the Commander-in-Chief of the ""Kriegsmarine"" (German Navy) and on 25 June surprised ""Oberkommando der Wehrmacht"" (""OKW"", supreme command of the armed forces), by ordering the preparation studies and appreciations for an invasion of Britain, which were ready on 2 July. In an OKW directive on 10 July, the purpose of the guns was to provide under the control of the ""Kriegsmarine"". Hitler issued Fuhrer Directive 16 on 16 July for an invasion as ""Unternehmen Seelöwe"" (Operation Sea Lion), in which, ""Organisation Todt"" began work on"
"in the Mediterranean, and favoured extended operations against England while remaining on good terms with Russia. At the Berghof conference on 31 July, the ""Luftwaffe"" were not represented. Raeder said barge conversions would take until 15 September, leaving the only possible 1940 invasion dates as 22–26 September, when weather was likely to be unsuitable. Landings would have to be on a narrow front, and would be better in spring 1941. Hitler wanted the invasion in September as the British army was increasing in strength. After Raeder left, Hitler told von Brauchitsch and Halder that the air attack was to start"
"and North Africa rather than invade the UK. As early as June 1940, before the armistice with France had been signed, General Heinz Guderian also argued for seizing Britain's strategically important naval base of Gibraltar. Guderian even urged Hitler to postpone the armistice so that he could rush on through Spain with two Panzer divisions, take Gibraltar, and then invade French North Africa. General Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of ""Oberkommando der Wehrmacht"" (OKW) operations, presented Hitler with a formal plan to cut off Britain from its eastern empire by invading Spain, Gibraltar, North Africa, and the Suez Canal instead"
"surprise of Von Brauchitsch and Halder, and completely at odds with his normal practice, Hitler did not ask any questions about specific operations, had no interest in details, and made no recommendations to improve the plans; instead he simply told OKW to start preparations. On 16 July 1940 Hitler issued Führer Directive No. 16, setting in motion preparations for a landing in Britain. He prefaced the order by stating: ""As England, in spite of her hopeless military situation, still shows no signs of willingness to come to terms, I have decided to prepare, and if necessary to carry out, a"
"prepared to offer generous terms. The tentative offers made by Hitler were rejected by the Churchill coalition government. Hitler now ordered the ""Luftwaffe"" and ""Kriegsmarine"" to prepare for an amphibious assault of Britain, codenamed Operation ""Sealion"". The ""Luftwaffe"" was to eliminate enemy air power and the ""Kriegsmarine"" was ordered to make all the necessary preparations for transporting the ""Heer"" (Army) across the English Channel. The ""Luftwaffe's"" task came first. Once the RAF had been rendered impotent, Göring and Hitler hoped that an invasion would be unnecessary. If this proved not to be the case, the ""Luftwaffe"" would then support the"
"impossible for Germany to attempt an invasion until the spring of 1941; he instead called for Malta and the Suez Canal to be overrun so German forces could link up with Japanese forces in the Indian Ocean to bring about the collapse of the British Empire in the Far East, and prevent the Americans from being able to use British bases if the United States entered the war. As early as 14 August 1940, Hitler had told his generals that he would not attempt to invade Britain if the task seemed too dangerous, before adding that there were other ways"
"pressure on Britain, and a fresh directive would be issued if it was decided that invasion was to be reconsidered in the spring of 1941. While the bombing of Britain intensified during the Blitz, Hitler issued his Directive No. 21 on 18 December 1940 instructing the Wehrmacht to be ready for a quick attack to commence his long planned invasion of the Soviet Union. lapsed, never to be resumed. ""Reichsmarschall"" Hermann Göring, Commander-in-Chief of the ""Luftwaffe"", believed the invasion could not succeed and doubted whether the German air force would be able to win control of the skies; nevertheless he"
"When war between Germany versus Britain and France appeared likely in May 1939, Hitler declared that the Netherlands and Belgium would need to be occupied, saying: ""Dutch and Belgian air bases must be occupied ... Declarations of neutrality must be ignored"". In a conference with Germany's military leaders on 23 November 1939, Hitler declared to the military leaders that ""We have an Achilles heel, the Ruhr"", and said that ""If England and France push through Belgium and Holland into the Ruhr, we shall be in the greatest danger"", and thus claimed that Belgium and the Netherlands had to be occupied"
"revival of India"", as well as in Hindu nationalism, and once World War II started, both ""undertook clandestine war work on behalf of the Axis powers in Calcutta."" During the first years of the war in Europe, as Hitler sought to reach an arrangement with the British, he held the notion that India should remain under British control after the war, as in his mind the only alternative was a Soviet occupation of the subcontinent. As the British had rejected German peace offers, Hitler ordered on 17 February 1941 to prepare a military study for a post-Barbarossa operation in Afghanistan"
"around 5 August; eight to fourteen days after that, he would decide on the landing operation. London was showing new-found optimism, and he attributed this to their hopes of intervention by Russia, which Germany was to attack in the spring of 1941. On 1 August 1940, Hitler instructed intensified air and sea warfare to ""establish the necessary conditions for the final conquest of England"". From 5 August, subject to weather delays, the ""Luftwaffe"" was ""to overpower the English Air Force with all the forces at its command, in the shortest possible time."" Attacks were then to be made on ports"
"battle: From the outset of his rise to power, Adolf Hitler expressed admiration for Britain, and throughout the Battle period he sought neutrality or a peace treaty with Britain. In a secret conference on 23 May 1939, Hitler set out his rather contradictory strategy that an attack on Poland was essential and ""will only be successful if the Western Powers keep out of it. If this is impossible, then it will be better to attack in the West and to settle Poland at the same time"" with a surprise attack. ""If Holland and Belgium are successfully occupied and held, and"
"to the population of London in 1940), which would ""cause a catastrophe"" for the British. In those circumstances, Hitler said, ""even a small invasion might go a long way"". Hitler was against cancelling the invasion as ""the cancellation would reach the ears of the enemy and strengthen his resolve"". On 19 September, Hitler ordered a reduction in work on Sealion. He doubted if strategic bombing could achieve its aims, but ending the air war would be an open admission of defeat. He had to maintain the appearance of concentration on defeating Britain, to conceal from Joseph Stalin his covert aim"
"that the best way to pressure the British into a peace agreement would be a siege combining air and submarine attacks. Hitler agreed with him that invasion would be a last resort. Jodl set out the OKW proposals for the proposed invasion in a memorandum issued on 12 July, which described operation ""Löwe"" (Lion) as ""a river crossing on a broad front"", irritating the ""Kriegsmarine"". On 13 July, Hitler met Field Marshal von Brauchitsch and Halder at the Berchtesgarden and they presented detailed plans prepared by the army on the assumption that the navy would provide safe transport. To the"
"described by Hitler as ""the overbred intellectual circles"" who were trying to block him from fulfilling his mission by their appeals to caution, and but for the fact that he needed their skills ""otherwise, perhaps we could someday exterminate them or do something of this kind to them"". During the winter of 1938–39, Goerdeler sent reports to the British stating that Hitler was pressuring Italy into attacking France, was planning to launch a surprise air offensive against Britain, intended to achieve a ""knock-out blow"" by razing British cities to the ground sometime in the second half of February 1939, and"
"argued that Britain was holding out in hope of assistance from Russia, and the Soviet Union was to be invaded by mid 1941. Göring met his air fleet commanders, and on 24 July issued ""Tasks and Goals"" of firstly gaining air supremacy, secondly protecting invasion forces and attacking the Royal Navy's ships. Thirdly, they were to blockade imports, bombing harbours and stores of supplies. Hitler's ""Directive No. 17 – For the conduct of air and sea warfare against England"" issued on 1 August attempted to keep all the options open. The Luftwaffe's ""Adlertag"" campaign was to start around 5 August,"
"access to Norway. Convinced of the threat posed by the Allies to the iron ore supply, Hitler ordered the German high command (OKW) to begin preliminary planning for an invasion of Norway on 14 December 1939. The preliminary plan was named ""Studie Nord"" and only called for one army division. In March and April 1940, British plans for an invasion of Norway were prepared, mainly in order to reach and destroy the Swedish iron ore mines in Gällivare. It was hoped that this would divert German forces away from France, and open a war front in south Sweden. It was"
"the German invasion, British forces had considered Narvik as a possible landing point for an expedition to help Finland in the Winter War. Such an expedition also had the potential of taking control of the Swedish mines and opening up the Baltic for the Allies. French politicians were also eager to start a second front as far away from France as possible. On 1 March 1940, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of Norway, codenamed ""Operation Weserübung"" as a preventive manoeuvre against a planned, and openly discussed, Franco-British occupation of Norway. This operation would involve most of the ""Kriegsmarine"". Participating units"
"to the British blockade and said ""Key is to paralyse the British trade"" by blocking imports to Britain and attacking seaports. The OKW (""Oberkommando der Wehrmacht"" or ""High Command of the Armed Forces"") considered the options and Hitler's 29 November ""Directive No. 9 – Instructions For Warfare Against The Economy of the Enemy"" stated that once the coast had been secured, the ""Luftwaffe"" and ""Kriegsmarine"" were to blockade UK ports with sea mines, attack shipping and warships, and make air attacks on shore installations and industrial production. This directive remained in force in the first phase of the Battle of"
"In September 1940, Raeder first presented his ""Mediterranean plan"" to Hitler. Raeder favoured a strategic focus on the Mediterranean theatre, including a strong German presence in North Africa, plus an invasion of Malta and the Middle East by German, Italian, Spanish and, if necessary, Vichy French forces. Raeder believed that capturing Gibraltar, and the Suez Canal would be a great blow to Britain. Afterwards, Axis forces would use the Canary Islands, the Azores and the Cape Verde islands to launch naval and air attacks that would destroy British commerce and knock Britain out of the war. On 6 September 1940"
"planning an enormous extension of the Kriegsmarine, projected to include 25 battleships, 8 aircraft carriers, 50 cruisers, 400 submarines and 150 destroyers, far exceeding the naval expansion that had already been decided on in 1939's Plan Z. Historian Gerhard L. Weinberg stated that this super-fleet was intended against the Western Hemisphere. Hitler also considered the occupation of the Portuguese Azores, Cape Verde and Madeira and the Spanish Canary islands to deny the British a staging ground for military actions against Nazi-controlled Europe, and also to gain Atlantic naval bases and military airfields for operations against North America. Hitler desired to"
"England"" were to ""dislocate English imports, the armaments industry, and the transport of troops to France. Any favourable opportunity of an effective attack on concentrated units of the English Navy, particularly on battleships or aircraft carriers, will be exploited. The decision regarding attacks on London is reserved to me. Attacks on the English homeland are to be prepared, bearing in mind that inconclusive results with insufficient forces are to be avoided in all circumstances."" Both France and the UK declared war on Germany; on 9 October Hitler's ""Directive No. 6"" planned the offensive to defeat these allies and ""win as"
"air campaign against Britain to prepare for ""Operation Sea Lion"", the invasion of Britain. Throughout the summer, Hitler vacillated between plans to attack the Soviet Union, or to offer them part of a deal like the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, except looking south, where the Soviets would receive ports only on the west side of the Black Sea, or they might be given the Bosporus if Germany maintained a friendly third party state with access, such as Bulgaria. German ambassador to Moscow Friedrich von der Schulenburg had been contemplating a potential four power pact since the collapse of France in June. After"
"considered, together with the advantages and disadvantages which this would entail for our sea and air warfare. The results of these investigations are to be submitted to me as soon as possible,"" Hitler added. In June 1941, Operation Isabella was a Nazi German plan to be put into effect after the collapse of the Soviet Union to secure bases in Spain and Portugal for the continuation of the strangulation of Great Britain. This concept was laid out by Hitler, but was never executed. Operation Alacrity was the codename for a proposed Allied seizure of the Azores during World War II."
"independence, he said, ""I shall brew them a devil's drink"". In a speech in Wilhelmshaven for the launch of the battleship on 1 April, he threatened to denounce the Anglo-German Naval Agreement if the British continued to guarantee Polish independence, which he perceived as an ""encirclement"" policy. Poland was to either become a German satellite state or it would be neutralised in order to secure the Reich's eastern flank and prevent a possible British blockade. Hitler initially favoured the idea of a satellite state, but upon its rejection by the Polish government, he decided to invade and made this the"
"The UK had declared war on Germany immediately after the invasion of Poland. In July 1940, Hitler began preparations for an invasion of Britain. As part of the plan, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had to be neutralized. Bombing raids commenced on British air installations and on cities and centres of industry. Göring had by then already announced in a radio speech, ""If as much as a single enemy aircraft flies over German soil, my name is Meier!"", something that would return to haunt him, when the RAF began bombing German cities on 11 May 1940. Though he was confident"
"border with Spain, and from the River Bug in Poland to the English Channel. Germany established new airfields and U-boat bases all the way down the West Norwegian and European coasts. From early July the German air force began attacking convoys in the English channel from its new bases and cross-channel guns shelled the Kentish coast in the opening stages of the Battle of Britain. On 17 August, following his inability to convince the British to make peace, Hitler announced a general blockade of the entire British Isles and gave the order to prepare for a full invasion of England."