Battle of Britain

battle_name=Battle of Britain

Background

Following the British evacuation from Dunkirk and the French surrender in June 1940, the Germans were uncertain what to do next. Hitler believed the war was over and that the British, defeated on the continent, would come to terms soon. However, he was to be frustrated by British intransigence. Though there was a strand of public and political sentiment that favoured a negotiated peace with Germany, Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, refused to countenance an armistice with the Nazis. His skillful use of rhetoric hardened public opinion against a peaceful resolution and prepared the British for a long war. In a speech to the House of Commons on 18 June 1940 he stated:

Related Topics:
Evacuation from Dunkirk - Winston Churchill - British Prime Minister - House of Commons - 18 June - 1940

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"What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."

Related Topics:
General Weygand - Battle of France

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The UK's rejection of German terms was emphatic. In an effort to finish the war in the West, Hitler ordered preparation of an invasion plan on 16 July. He hoped to frighten the UK into peace before the invasion was launched and used the invasion preparations as a means to apply pressure. The plan was prepared by the OKW (Armed Forces High Command). The operation, code-named Seelöwe (Sea Lion), was planned for mid-September 1940 and called for landings on Great Britain's south coast, backed by an airborne assault. All preparations were to be made by mid-August.

Related Topics:
16 July - OKW - Seelöwe

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Sealion was a deeply flawed plan, suffering from a lack of resources—particularly sea transport—and disagreements between the German Navy and Army. With the threatening bulk of the Royal Navy within a day's steaming of the English Channel, it seems unlikely in hindsight that the plan could ever have worked. All the German services agreed on one thing: the plan would not work unless the Luftwaffe could win air superiority over the RAF. With control of the air the Royal Navy could be beaten off and the British defences pummelled into submission.

Related Topics:
Royal Navy - English Channel - Luftwaffe

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The first task at hand was therefore to win air superiority by destroying the RAF as a fighting force. A plan was hatched to attack RAF airfields and aircraft production centres. The Luftwaffe commander, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring called his plans Adlerangriff (Eagle Attack), which would begin on 11 August, or Adlertag (Eagle Day), with an all-out attack.

Related Topics:
Reichsmarschall - Hermann Göring - 11 August

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Before the start of Adlertag there was a month of attacks on convoys in the English Channel. This period of fighting was called Kanalkampf (Channel Battle) by the Germans and was used as an opportunity to test the RAF's defences and lure their fighter aircraft up to fight. The RAF dates the beginning of the battle from the first convoy attacks on 10 July 1940.

Related Topics:
Fighter aircraft - 10 July

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