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Invasion, 1940: Did the Battle of Britain Alone Stop Hitler?

by Derek Robinson

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The Battle of Britain could not stop Operation Sealion, the planned German invasion. The historians got it wrong. This is a big claim to make, yet the reasoning behind it is remarkably straightforward. In Invasion 1940, author Derek Robinson asks why historians have dovetailed the Battle of Britain with Operation Sealion. Military experts say the Battle prevented an invasion, but they don't exactly explain how. Why is it taken for granted that an air battle could halt an assault from the sea? The skill and courage of the RAF pilots isn't in question, but did the Luftwaffe's failure to destroy them, plus bad weather, really persuade Hitler to cancel Sealion? That's what Hitler said, and Churchill claimed a great victory for 'The Few'. The Battle of Britain ended; Sealion died. One followed the other, so the first must have caused the second. But Derek Robinson challenges that assumption and reaches a startling conclusion. The real obstacle to invasion was a force that both Churchill and Hitler failed to acknowledge. In this fascinating reexamination, Robinson doesn't seek to downplay the heroism and achievements of the RAF; rather, he wants the true picture of that brilliant moment in history--Invasion, 1940-- to emerge.… (more)
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I liked the premise of this book and I think there's enough evidence in here to allow Robinson to claim that he's got it right, but the book is hampered by his somewhat laboured critique (actually, that's not strong enough) of the German high command and particularly Hitler and Goering and their posturing at critical junctures. It is possibly because of this apparent obsession that the book doesn't come across more strongly and I was a little surprised to see the extensive bibliography as it just feels more like someone on a mission to prove everyone wrong than a weighty analysis.

That said it's easy to read, has a few good bits (which on reading I took with a pinch of salt, but maybe that was unfair) and gives the Royal Navy its due - although honestly I'd have liked more on that and it maybe written in a bit less of a counterfactual way. Were there no documented plans for repulsing an invasion, for example - was it simply "see what's around and pop over to Dover"? I can't see that it was and thus wonder if there's more there to discover and maybe there's a more naval-focussed book out there to be written. ( )
  expatscot | Mar 15, 2016 |
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The Battle of Britain could not stop Operation Sealion, the planned German invasion. The historians got it wrong. This is a big claim to make, yet the reasoning behind it is remarkably straightforward. In Invasion 1940, author Derek Robinson asks why historians have dovetailed the Battle of Britain with Operation Sealion. Military experts say the Battle prevented an invasion, but they don't exactly explain how. Why is it taken for granted that an air battle could halt an assault from the sea? The skill and courage of the RAF pilots isn't in question, but did the Luftwaffe's failure to destroy them, plus bad weather, really persuade Hitler to cancel Sealion? That's what Hitler said, and Churchill claimed a great victory for 'The Few'. The Battle of Britain ended; Sealion died. One followed the other, so the first must have caused the second. But Derek Robinson challenges that assumption and reaches a startling conclusion. The real obstacle to invasion was a force that both Churchill and Hitler failed to acknowledge. In this fascinating reexamination, Robinson doesn't seek to downplay the heroism and achievements of the RAF; rather, he wants the true picture of that brilliant moment in history--Invasion, 1940-- to emerge.

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