Sea Lion

Had the Germans had the proper equipment, and air superiority, I think they would have been able to get a large foothold in England but, I don't think they could have done much else.

Surely the Brits, would have recalled much of its forces that were elsewhere, so they could defend the homeland. They still had considerable forces elsewhere. Also, they would have most likely, brought along some Commonwealth forces too-like the Australiand and New Zealanders, some Burmese, and Indian units.

They might have even left Africa, and the Middle East, as I am sure that many Canadian units would also be brought into the fray.

 

that makes sense but also..had the germans gotten a foothold...wouldn't the time it takes to get all those soldiers to england from all over the empire take too long. The war may be over by the time all those forces make it from the pacific?

 

Good question. I think they would have immediately pulled in what they could from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, plus, they did have god knows how many that were there from other countries that were already overrun. I'm sure the Poles, Free French, (including elements of the French Forigh Legion) Belgians, Norwegians, Danish, Swedes and plus the American volunteers etc; would be put to use.

These troops would have been used to gain time for the British. So unless the Germans had everything going their way, I think they would have held on, until reinforcements did stare arriving.

 

The English resistance we are talking about would have been for a week or so the first several days would have been critical. The English would have fallen back to fixed fortifcations inland and tried to attack and weaken the landing force while the RN tried in vain to disrupt barge convoys. Ireland wanted nothing to do with the English, infact in a situation like this i imagine they would have quietly sided with the German cause. Afterall they had been siding with Englands enemies for hundreds of years (spain, France, and now germany) it was the Germans that armed the IRA and now if the Irish helped the Germans or at least publicly showed support they could ne rewarded with the North, Imagine the Public relations stunt the Germans could pull "rightfully returning Northern Ireland to the Irish and freeing it form English tyranny and imperlism" That would have gained support from MANY in the US and Canada and would have if anything heightened American spirtis about not intervening in Europe.

 

Good argument. Actually, they did have all Irish units in the British army according to Corneilieus Ryan auther of "A Bridge Too Far" and "Last Days of Berlin" or something like that. There was I know of at least one Irish Armored Brigade, and some Infantry units, other than that, I don't know how many did fight on the English side.

Also, thats true, the Germans did give arms to the IRA. Trouble with the IRA was that they were not as well organized as they thought they were, and were not really so fanatical, that but just a small number of them actually tried to do anything.

 

One of the only ways I feel it would've been so much as remotely possible was the unlikely event that Germany had built an almost entirely different manner of air force. The task of strategic bombing was being attempted with a variety of medium bombers and dive bombers(unless you want to count 'em ALL as dive bombers, since that madman Milch insisted all German bombers be capable of dive-bombing!) accompanied by fighters with insufficient range and those bastard children of ineptitude, the "fighter-destroyers"....
The task was made "more" impossible when our favorite Bohemian Corporal decided to stop pounding the RAF and Britannia's war produxion and try to burn London to the ground....
It WOULD have put an interesting twist on history if Sealion would have been successful. If the Germans could have actually made it to English soil I believe the depleted condition of her armed forces would have resulted in a German victory, if a costly one.
There remains however, the additional consideration of Hitler's alleged Anglophile leanings, and the persistent rumor that he considered the English a sort of "lost Aryan tribe" with whom he believed he could share dominion over the world. In the face of this, would he have actually gone through with the invasion at all? Was it merely a manner of Sword of Damocles to hold over the collective head of England to attempt to influence Her to follow his twisted Grand Design?

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Novus Ordo Seclorum

 

Excellent post, which gives me an idea for another what if? thread.