On This Day: February 13, 1942 - Hitler's Operation Sealion, the invasion of England, is cancelled

[MenInG]

Wow - Can you imagine what the world would have been like if he had invaded England? Do you think the UK would have stood a chance?

 

[ManFan]

As far as I can remember, England was on spaghetti legs. But, the Enigma was cracked in 41' and except a brief while in 42', it was easily countered. By the end of the war, Germany was throwing bombs in the countryside where the only thing they upset were the cattle.

 

[Robert]

Wow - Can you imagine what the world would have been like if he had invaded England? Do you think the UK would have stood a chance?

In 1940 the BEF had left all their gear at Dunkirk. There was nothing left to repel an invasion.

The Royal Navy was the most powerful fleet on the oceans then. Twelve battleships, six carriers, forty cruisers. The RN might have sent an invasion fleet to the bottom of the English Channel. But that would have depended on air superiority.

Had the British been beaten down, then the USA would have given up on Europe. The Nazis and Soviets would have been left to decide which totalitarian system dominated Europe and Asia.

 

[gani999]

If Hitler had kept his focus on England, and had not committed the cardinal error of invading Russia, England would have fallen like a house of cards.

 

[Robert]

If Hitler had kept his focus on England, and had not committed the cardinal error of invading Russia, England would have fallen like a house of cards.

England? It wasn’t a test match.

His best chance was the summer of 1940, when he failed to get air superiority. By 1941 his chance had gone because the RAF had rebuilt itself. By then Britain was importing tanks from the Americans and could draw troops from all over the Empire. And you forget the Royal Navy.

 

[Slog]

If Hitler had kept his focus on England, and had not committed the cardinal error of invading Russia, England would have fallen like a house of cards.

Americans would have joined the war sooner.

They delayed their entry since it was Russia which was under fire and they were happy with Russia getting weakened before dealing with the Nazis. The Americans wouldnt have let same happen to their British allies

 

[TM Riddle]

Americans would have joined the war sooner.

They delayed their entry since it was Russia which was under fire and they were happy with Russia getting weakened before dealing with the Nazis. The Americans wouldnt have let same happen to their British allies

Nahi Americans were still playing it safe. England wouldn't have survived the Berlin onslaught. Hitler did a terrible mistake of invading USSR first .

 

[Slog]

Nahi Americans were still playing it safe. England wouldn't have survived the Berlin onslaught. Hitler did a terrible mistake of invading USSR first .

perhaps. But I have always gotten the impression that Americans delayed their entry since they were happy with Russia being weakened

 

[Robert]

perhaps. But I have always gotten the impression that Americans delayed their entry since they were happy with Russia being weakened

They came into the war at about the same time as the invasion of Russia.

The US isolationists were a strong voice, and thought Britain would surrender because of the London Blitz. Churchill kept telling FDR “London can take it”. I am so proud of my forebears for enduring that, and going on to victory.

 

[TM Riddle]

They came into the war at about the same time as the invasion of Russia.

The US isolationists were a strong voice, and thought Britain would surrender because of the London Blitz. Churchill kept telling FDR “London can take it”. I am so proud of my forebears for enduring that, and going on to victory.

Are you also proud of the way they created an artificial famine in Bengal to feed their soldiers thus starving millions in the process? Or the way they left Indian indentured labours in Malaya at the mercy of Japanese barbarians?

 

[James]

We would have fought them in the towns and on the hills and on the beaches etc... and we would have lost.

But we would have put up a better fight against the Nazis than anyone else had done up to that point. Especially the French. Remember that a lot of ordinary blokes put their lives on the line to sail to Dunkirk. That willingness to sacrifice everything for Mother Albion would have been seen again.

If we had been invaded, I firmly believe that every revolver, every bread knife and every other possible home melee weapon would have been used in the grimy train yards, on the plush village greens and amongst the rain-soaked cobble streets, and we would have taken a few of them to the grave with us.

But yes we would have been annihilated on the whole. There would have been a brave underground British resistance formed, whilst everyone else was learning how to speak German and correctly salute.

 

[Robert]

Are you also proud of the way they created an artificial famine in Bengal to feed their soldiers thus starving millions in the process? Or the way they left Indian indentured labours in Malaya at the mercy of Japanese barbarians?

Ah yes, all those ordinary working class Londoners getting bombed by the Luftwaffe while they were simultaneously in Bengal and Malaya. Shame on them!

 

[Robert]

We would have fought them in the towns and on the hills and on the beaches etc... and we would have lost.

But we would have put up a better fight against the Nazis than anyone else had done up to that point. Especially the French. Remember that a lot of ordinary blokes put their lives on the line to sail to Dunkirk. That willingness to sacrifice everything for Mother Albion would have been seen again.

If we had been invaded, I firmly believe that every revolver, every bread knife and every other possible home melee weapon would have been used in the grimy train yards, on the plush village greens and amongst the rain-soaked cobble streets, and we would have taken a few of them to the grave with us.

But yes we would have been annihilated on the whole. There would have been a brave underground British resistance formed, whilst everyone else was learning how to speak German and correctly salute.

While I agree about the fighting spirit of back-to-the-wall Britons, when was this invasion going to come?

 

[TM Riddle]

Ah yes, all those ordinary working class Londoners getting bombed by the Luftwaffe while they were simultaneously in Bengal and Malaya. Shame on them!

Dear Robert Sir , I would urge you read up a bit on the British exploitation of Indian indentured labours and how they left them at the mercy of Japs when they conquered SE Asia .
And I'm sure you would have heard of the infamous Bengal famine of 1943 in which millions of people perished . Britishers were directly responsible for this massacre no matter how one try to twist it.
Have a good day Sir.

 

[TM Riddle]

We would have fought them in the towns and on the hills and on the beaches etc... and we would have lost.

But we would have put up a better fight against the Nazis than anyone else had done up to that point. Especially the French. Remember that a lot of ordinary blokes put their lives on the line to sail to Dunkirk. That willingness to sacrifice everything for Mother Albion would have been seen again.

If we had been invaded, I firmly believe that every revolver, every bread knife and every other possible home melee weapon would have been used in the grimy train yards, on the plush village greens and amongst the rain-soaked cobble streets, and we would have taken a few of them to the grave with us.

But yes we would have been annihilated on the whole. There would have been a brave underground British resistance formed, whilst everyone else was learning how to speak German and correctly salute.

I agree with this. Unlike the poodle French , the English were more resolute and dheet ( Hindi for being resilient and firm). They wouldn't have surrendered without giving up a tough fight and don't forget about the loyal Indian soldiers who would have been all up in arms had anything happened to the King.

 

[Zahid87]

If Hitler had kept his focus on England, and had not committed the cardinal error of invading Russia, England would have fallen like a house of cards.

He never really wanted to invade England. His focus was always on conquering Russia, and achieving 'living space' (lebensraum), in the east for his German Empire.

His view was of a German dominated Europe, with Britain free to retain her influence in the colonies and the rest of the world. The English, remember, were cousins, whilst the Russians were of an inferior race (slavs).

It was British fears of a Europe dominated by a single power that put them at odds with Hitler. Don't worry about regimes or ideologies.

 

[Slog]

Its a pointless exercise to try to have people explain atrocities committed by their ancestors. Especially when your own ancestors have a history of commuting atrocities on your own people, let alone foreign subjects

 

[Zahid87]

To be honest, it is the same fear now, of a Europe dominated by the French and Germans, that has caused the lords and ladies of the manor to plump for Brexit.

 

[Robert]

Dear Robert Sir , I would urge you read up a bit on the British exploitation of Indian indentured labours and how they left them at the mercy of Japs when they conquered SE Asia .
And I'm sure you would have heard of the infamous Bengal famine of 1943 in which millions of people perished . Britishers were directly responsible for this massacre no matter how one try to twist it.
Have a good day Sir.

Done this to death on this board already.

 

[Robert]

It was British fears of a Europe dominated by a single power that put them at odds with Hitler. Don't worry about regimes or ideologies.

I disagree - the British Empire did nothing as Nazi Germany absorbed Austria, the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia, applying a principle of appeasement. That failed with the invasion of Poland.

 

[Zahid87]

I disagree - the British Empire did nothing as Nazi Germany absorbed Austria, the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia, applying a principle of appeasement. That failed with the invasion of Poland.

These were small tokens to pay, in the hope that Hitler would play nice.

Poland was established after WW1 to act as a friendly state (for GB and France) in order to keep German ambitions in check. By taking on Poland, Germany was signaling their ambitions for Europe, so GB had to act.