Failure of the Battle of Britain Campaign

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In the summer of 1940, Adolf Hitler began operation “Sea-Lion,” or better known as the Battle of Britain. This was the plot to destroy the British RAF so that a German landing on the beaches of England and air assault could be possible. Because of the failure of the battle of Britain campaign, the course of the war was changed in the allies favor, and, Hitler’s plan for European domination was halted. The early stages of the war were dominated by Germany, attacking Europe in quick succession. The ground forces quickly overwhelmed the European nations with the support of aircraft. The Luftwaffe quickly gained air superiority. In early May 1940, the Norway Debates began to question the competence of Britain current Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. On May 10, 1940 Germany invaded France, and on the same day, Winston Churchill was the new British Prime minister. Churchill’s first plan of action was to send support to forces in France, so he sent poorly trained Squadrons to France, although he had objections from the RAF commander, Hugh Dowding. The superiority of the Luftwaffe pilots proved fatal for the squadrons in France. Adolf Hitler was so sure that he would negotiate peace with Britain that he never made plans for an amphibious landing. However on July 11, the German Navy grand commander, Erich Raeder, told Hitler that an amphibious landing on Britain was a last resort. It was planned that the invasion force would leave from bases in France, cross the channel, and land on British soil. But it was soon made clear that the British royal navy was still a forced to be reckoned with. The only way to ensure the safe passage of the landing force was to use slow heavy bombers and dive bombers to destroy the ships. And the only way f... ... middle of paper ... ..., he re-assigned the aircrews to the eastern front. By doing so, he effectively ended operation “Sea-lion”. The effects of the whole campaign changed the whole outlook of the course of the war. For the British, this showed the courage of the British people, when threated, they will stand and fight. It also changed the way Germany looked at Great Britain a s an enemy. This battle showed them that Britain was not a push-over, and that they should be handled with caution. The battle also changed the view of the Americans. During the battle, many people believed that Great Britain could not survive prolonged combat against the might of Germany. However, after the battle, Theodore Roosevelt wanted a second opinion. So he sent a united states ambassador on a short trip to Britain. Roosevelt became convinced that the nation could survive and that they should be supported

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