Battle Of Britain

The Battle of Britain was part of World War II. After overrunning France and the Low Countries, the German armies stood on the English Channel. An amphibious invasion of Great Britain was prevented by the Royal Navy, which controlled the channel and could prevent a flotilla of barges from crossing.

The Germans intended to gain air supremacy before attempting to cross, in what they planned as Operation Sealion. If they succeeded in destroying the Royal Air Force ?, they would be able to protect their transport craft with a combination of naval mines ? and air power.

Fortunately for the British, the German attempt to destroy their airfields, radar stations, and aircraft did not succeed. In the summer of 1940 it came close, but by the fall Hitler switched strategy towards terror bombings of London. Eventually the Germans lost so many airplanes to antiaircraft fire and fighter combat that they called off the bombing campaign and focused on the Eastern Front.