The OKW had never seriously considered an invasion of Britain in 1939. On July 16, 1940 Hitler issued Directive No 16 stating that an invasion was necessary "to eliminate the English homeland as a base for the carrying on of the war against Germany, and should it be necessary to occupy it completely". Shipping was assembled, including large barges converted into landing craft and the Army began training for amphibious operations. The German Navy proposed two major beachheads, one between Dover and Rye and the second between Brighton and Chichester with a supporting landing near Weymouth. This was refined down to a simpler operation concentrated on beaches around Newhaven, Eastbourne, Hastings, Rye, Lydd and Hythe. The initial phase would be to secure the South Downs, the second would see the 9th and 16th Armies reaching a line running from Portsmouth to Gravesend. The 16th Army would then isolate London and the 9th push north and west towards Oxford and Gloucester. The unfavourable outcome of the Battle of Britain and the decision to attack the USSR meant that Fall Seelowe was postponed in 1941.
