What if Hitler's eye was fixed on Britain in the summer of 1940?

In the summer of 1940 Hitler seemed unbeatable... advancing his German forces to the lower countries, and failure to link allied troops with a neutral state of mind proved in his favor. Fabricated himself, Hitler's Blitzkrieg form of warfare was very effective and successful. Crossing the Meuse, and dividing the allied forces in two left a devastating impression on France, and the remaining Allied divisions retreating back towards Dunkirk. Europe was broken, and securely held by Hitler's muzzle... after the fall of France on the 22nd of June, Britain remained, and held by a string. Indebted to Churchill's will to prevail, the British Empire remained.

"I believe that Hitler's failure to finish Britain early on, would clearly define this World War from a short one, to a long one... assuming, and probably expecting Britain to surrender would haunt Hitler for his future plans of world domination."

Unlike the French in preparations, Britain produced additional Spitfire's and Hurricane aircraft for expected losses... roughly 900. Paired with their radar system, defensive organization was superb! As the Battle of Britain began (mid-August 1940) the Luftwaffe addressed new tactics in bombing attacks... coupled with day and night attacks/postponing invasion plans/and shifting Luftwaffe forces to the eastern front... Britain remained once again As London's ordeal was not over, their willingness to flourish and remain steadfast is impressive.

What if Hitler's focus remained firm in destroying the British Empire??....

I welcome your thoughts, and appreciate your time
Gathered research from Donald Sommerville's The Ultimate Illustrated History of World War II.

all the best rogues,

Jem

 

found this response to same question your asking mark..

WikiAnswers - Why did hitler hesitate to invade england

 

ray,

Interesting... I would be curious to see some references for supporting that statement. It sounds good an all, but realizing my ignorance... I'm easily influenced. Thank you for sharing the link, none the less, the feedback on Wiki was helpful

all the best,

Jem

 

If Hitler focused his attention on defeating Britain what could he do to acomplish it? If you look at the various threads here and else where (axis history forum is another good source) you'll see that Sea Lion was a non starter. Simply put it's not at all clear that he had the tools to acomplish it in 1939 or 40 or 41. If he starts earlier with that goal in mind he may not have the tools to defeat France or maybe even Poland.

 

Hitler would need a strong navy to defeat Britain, I simply don't see this happening in any reasonable timeframe. Furthermore, in the time Germany is increasing its naval production, Britain can do likewise at a similar rate

 

lwd,

Appreciate your response... understanding that in order for Sea Lion's attainability to be effective.... a large portion of the planning and deliverance was placed on the plates of Erich Raeder (Grand Admiral of the German Navy) and Hermann Goring (Leader of the Luftwaffe).... from what I've read, their enthusiasm was lacking?? Whether Sea Lion would have been accomplished or not, Hitler's goal was almost reached by establishing his New Order...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Order_(political_system)

all the best,

Jem

 

Lacking for a project that was likelly to end in disaster.

Almost reached? As long as Britain was an active enemy it wasn't reached and Britain was never close to falling.

 

Sorry I should have specified... the New Order was divided into phases: The first being, the signing of the German-Soviet Pact (August 23rd, 1939), the second being Hitler's Blitzkrieg on France, Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, & Denmark... and the last part of the inital phase, victory in Britain.

Jem

 

I still don't see how one can reasonably state he "almost reached his goal" when he was not even close to completeing the "initial phase".

 

Whether it was almost reached or not, there was still a goal and a plan to implement a radical new political system, and neutralize Britain.

 

not something that I have interest in mark,but a forum link on the discussion on the subject,maybe it has relevant theories to help..ray..

What stopped Hitler invading England. in Wars in History Channel

 

A "goal", certainly. Indeed Hitler was quite open about his goal(s).
A "radical new political system"? While the Nazi's were certainly radical I'm not sure there was anything all that new about their political system.
A "plan" to neutralize Britain? Only if you accept the most rudenatary defintion of plan. First it was "Britain will recognize our comon goals and if not help not hinder our conquest in the East" then it was "the Luftwaffe will defeat the RAF and the RN then we'll invade an conquer Britain". More a statement of wishes than anything anyone would reasonably call a plan.

 

Thanks Ray... boy those gents are pretty passionate on that forum The info helped a lot. This thread helped clear up the idea that this could not have been accomplished.

all the best,

Jem

 

Well said lwd, it would have been new to the Brits as well as the rest of the world. And yes wishes can only go so far. I bow out, it's been fun.

all the best,

Jem

 

The moderation on that forum is erratic and capricious and it's inhabited by a fair number of trolls. Not to say there isn't some good info and good threads there but it can get pretty deep over there. Generally here or over at Axis History Forum • Index page you'll find a much higher signal to noise ratio.

 

I think that if Hitler was ever to get a navy powerful enough to actually invade Britain I think it would have been for naught, as by that time (depending on how long you think it would take Hitler to get the Kriegsmarine to that point) Pearl Harbor probably would have happened and the US would have entered the war, adding another player to the stage and ruining any plans Hitler had.

 

If Hitler had given priority to the KM over the Heer and LW then by now he might have a navy that could challenge the RN assuming WWII didn't occur and he stayed in power. The former might actually occur in those circumstances but the latter would require a more rational economic policy on his part and is thus unlikely.

 

I have always been under the assumption that had Hitler continued his attack on GB's aircraft and airfields followed by the navy instead of switching to bombing cities he would have been more successful?

 

If Hitler wanted to sweep the British Navy from the channel he would have to do it with airpower, as he could never do it with a navy. Hitler needed to crush the RAF and then he would still need the ships to move the required troops for an invasion which would be another tall hurdle to clear. If England had been attached to mainland Europe it would still have been a tough nut to crack, but as it is it was just unattainable as long as the RAF was flying.

 

thanks mark,passionate! definately!,as long as it ony serves to warm it up rather than overheat the thread..ray..