Operation Sealion 1940

After the fall of France in June 1940, Great Britain was the only major European power not to have been taken by the Germans. The refusal to accept Hitler’s final offer of a peace negotiation led to the planning of Operation Sealion – the immediate invasion of Great Britain. The Germans planned to invade by crossing the English Channel and make a series of landings along the south coast, from Dover to Dorset – Devon was dropped from the original plan as there were not enough boats for the invasion fleet. Artillery battles, capable of firing across the Channel, were set up along the French coast. For the operation to commence, however, the Germans needed supremacy in the air and command of the English Channel, as well as favourable weather conditions. The defeat of the Luftwaffe by the RAF in the Battle of Britain meant that the operation and planned invasion never took place.