The Battle of England and Operation Sea Lion refer to Hitler's failed attempt to capture Misty Albion in 1940. The success was not without Russia's help, since the order to cancel all preparations for landing on the coast of Great Britain was issued by the Fuhrer on January 9, 1941, when the Germans were stopped near Moscow, and all German forces began to go to war with our country. But if “Sea Lion” is an operation to capture England, then the battle for Britain (the term was introduced at the expense of Churchill) implies only the battles of the Air Force and Germany’s attempt to seize dominance in the sky over this country.
The final chord in the enslavement of Europe
After the war, some senior German military officials claimed that Hitler never really thought seriously about the attack on Britain. Most likely, after the defeat of the French army, he was sure that the country beyond the English Channel was already in his pocket. And England would not have avoided the fate of France, with which the Führer had waged a “playful war” for eight months, until May 9, 1940, if it had not been for the war with Russia. "Sea Lion" - the operation, conceived as the landing of German troops - was approved July 16, 1940. Seeliwe's plan was this: initially 25 divisions were to force the English Channel and land on the English coast between Dover and Portsmouth.
English Channel - the natural defense of England
But many understood that landing was a risky business, and the Sea Lion operation was rather adventurous, because England had a very good navy and centuries of experience in
naval battles. The British Air Force was also quite strong. That is, to transfer the landing was very difficult. Therefore, one of the components of the
German army, namely the ground forces, was excluded from Operation Sea Lion. It was decided first to destroy or suppress the British Air Force and clear the English Channel. The start date of the operation was postponed all the time. Naturally, England was extremely interested in Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union and contributed in every way to this.
Serious preparation
The Sea Lion, the operation of the German attack on Misty Albion, was constantly being reviewed, adjustments were made, the start date was postponed. It was decided that not 25, but 40 divisions would take part in crossing the English Channel, on the mainland coast of which, in the occupied coastal cities of Cherbourg and Rotterdam, Calais and Ostend, large quantities of crossing facilities were accumulated - 1722 barges and 471 tugboats. In addition, the Germans planned to use 1,161 boats and 155 units of sea transport with a displacement of 3000-5000 tons. The emphasis was placed on the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), which should have supported 13 coastal guns.
Battle of England
August 7-8, the bombing of England began, the code name is "Eagle Raid" (Adlerangriffe). The first day, code-named "Day of the Eagle" (Adlertag), is considered the official start date of the battle for England (although other sources September 13 is the official start date of Operation Eagle, which was part of the Sea Lion landing assault). The operation, the start date of which was never approved (the landing, as is known, also did not happen), is often called the “failed Sea Lion jump”. On February 13, 1942, Admiral Raeder last had a conversation with the Fuhrer about this operation, after which it was finally removed from the agenda.
The true tipping point in the war
As noted above, in the fall of 1940, the invasion of England operation was postponed to the spring of 1941. No matter what they write now about the turning points in World War II, only the stop of Hitler’s troops near Moscow and their defeat at Stalingrad saved Britain from enslavement.
They were saved by the sea and the Russian army, until the historic victories of which the British suffered defeat after defeat both in the desert and on their shores. Hitler’s order alone stopped the German advance near Dunkirk and allowed 330,000 troops of the Allied army to be transported across the English Channel.
Air parity
Operation Sea Lion was carried out in the summer of 1940. Actually, not the landing itself and the capture of the island state, but the bombing of England, which were supposed to clear the way for the ground forces. But the operation was documented on July 16, 1940, and completely canceled on January 9, 1941. Operation Eagle, an integral part of Sea Lion, ceased in September, and the Germans were forced to admit that they did not achieve air supremacy and, in order to preserve the Luftwaffe, the bombing of London must be stopped and the invasion postponed indefinitely. And then, for obvious reasons, they did not return to this idea.
The beginning of the complete destruction of European cities from the air laid
Thus ended Operation Sea Lion. A frustrated invasion of England can in no way be considered the merit of this country alone. Although Great Britain launched air strikes on Germany, do not bear Hitler’s plans for an attack on Russia; in England, "music would not play long." The devastating bombing of London was preceded by a navigational error by German pilots, as a result of which the bombs were dropped not at military factories located in the suburbs of the English capital, but at its center.
The British made four retaliatory raids on Berlin. And although the destruction and casualties were minor, and the Berliners were not scared, but rather surprised, Hitler was outraged and gave the order for the massive bombing of the
capital of England, which began on September 7. On the same day in England the signal “Cromwell” sounded, warning of the beginning of the invasion of German troops. On September 7, the bombing was the most powerful and caused the greatest destruction, on September 9 - less significant, on the 15th - even less. On September 17, in the coastal ports of Germany, the dismantling of equipment intended for the offensive began. The Germans failed to achieve superiority in the sky and clear the way for the Sea Lion. But this cannot be seen as a victory over the German troops and a turning point in the war. Moreover, the Germans did not stop the bombing in the future, and the city of Coventry was wiped off the face of the earth in 1940-1942.