Battle of Britain
Operation Sea Lion was the code name that Hitler came up with for the Invasion of Britain. The invasion occurred in early August, 1940. Hitler began by bombing England’s eastern coast using the Luftwaffe, targeting Britain’s military. The plan consisted of 3 army groups, two of them named Group A, and the other named Group B. Group A had six divisions and was supposed to invade Kent. The other Group A had only four divisions and was targeting Sussex and Hampshire. Group B consisted of three divisions and was going to invade Dorset. All three targets were counties located in South East England. The plan was relatively simple, and appeared to be an easy win, considering the fact that the Royal Air Force and British army were weak in comparison to Hitler’s experienced Luftwaffe.
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Germany’s military knew they could win if they were able to gain control of the Channel, skies, and have good weather. Hitler wanted Operation Sea Lion to end before mid-September, urging the army chiefs to begin on the 15th. The chiefs tried to tell Hitler that they would come across many obstacles if they began on the 15th. Nonetheless, Hitler ordered the invasion to commence on the 15th, and had to rely on the defeat of the RAF in order for it to be a success. To his surprise, the Germans failed to defeat the RAF and cancelled Operation Sea Lion on September 17th, 1940.