THE
Daily Express columnist argues that British ruthlessness, political nous and an
uncompromising spirit forced Hitler to dither and finally fail in his planned
invasion
England
faced one of its tensest ever periods in the summer of 1940. Much of Europe had
fallen to Hitler, and it was believed that invasion by the Nazis was imminent.
While
Churchill was a popular figure as Prime Minister, there had been several
difficult periods, not least the near-annihilation of the British Expeditionary
Force at Dunkirk and the loss of virtually all of their equipment.
By
rights, Britain should have been invaded and conquered as its neighbours were
and German plans were drawn up for such an assault, codenamed Operation
Sealion. And yet, standing alone against the German threat, it remained
impregnable, and Operation Sealion never took place. Why was this?
In
his immaculately researched and gripping work, Leo McKinstry paints a vivid
picture of what was happening in England. After the outbreak of hostilities the
previous year, an uneasy state of tension had existed, namely the so-called
“Phoney War”, in which the country sat ready for action but nothing seemed to
happen. All the while, Hitler planned his campaign.
