Operation Sealion by Leo McKinstry: A new look at why the Nazis didn't invade Britain, Daily Express

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.

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Crisis in Iraq - five things you can ACTUALLY do to help, Published 08 August 2014 | Martin Saunders Christianity Today

A few weeks ago, I changed my social media profile photo. Like many others, I was responding to the awful situation in Mosul, Iraq, where my fellow Christians are reportedly being forced to convert to Islam, or otherwise being threatened with execution. It was a vague attempt to do something - anything - to help. I was standing in solidarity, if nothing else, and hopefully encouraging others to do the same.

The trouble of standing in solidarity however, is that when it's done from being a laptop screen in a cosy branch of Costa Coffee, it achieves pretty much nothing.

Fast forward a few weeks, and the situation is worse than ever. I don't need to recount here the horrible stories of forced conversions, people starving up mountains and beheaded children.

Here's the thing: we can't stand by while this happens. We just can't. If we call ourselves Christians - or even just human beings - we have to care enough to put down whatever we're doing and take a few minutes to engage.

So what, practically, can we do? I've spent a little while thinking, praying and asking others about that question, and here is a start.

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Further Reading

The last Christian flees Mosul as ISIS continues its reign of terror in Iraq

Key Iraqi Christian leader: 'ISIS is worse than Genghis Khan'

The rise of ISIS: how an unknown splinter group came to dominate Iraq

Iraq persecution: The hidden minorities targeted by IS

"Simplicity" from Rend Collective (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)