Operation Sealion~Could it have worked?

Question

Hitler had counted on the destruction of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in order to launch his attack on Great Britain across the English Channel, code named "Operation Sealion." Hitler abandoned this plan after the RAF survived the Luftwaffe's onslaught. My question is,

Considering the limited range of the Luftwaffe's most effective fighter at the time, the Bf109, would the German's have been better served launching Operation Sealion anyway and forcing the RAF to attack over the English Channel thus meeting the Luftwaffe "half-way?" Any other "what-if" thoughts??

Answer 1

While Germany would have been better served to have taken Britain than attacking Russia I doubt they could have been successful. Germany did not have the number or type vessels really necessary to pull off an amphibious operation of that magnitude. Even if they managed to establish a beachhead there is the matter of reinforcement and supply. It's a lot easier to do it via land route than over water.

This is why 'Sealion' was canceled. The RAF would have chewed Germany's supply ships to bits. In order to work the RAF had to be almost completely wiped out.

Your idea about the RAF having to attack over the Channel has a problem. Over the Channel was where the RAFwould first hit the bomber streams during the Blitz. Ships would have had the same problem getting to Britain and they are a lot slower.

The range problem of the 109 would have been worse because they would have had to provide CAP cover for a lot longer time. Our bomber attacks deep into Germany had very heavy losses before the P-51 showed up. The Germans would simply wait until the escorts turned back then attack the bombers. The RAF would have done the same thing to the German ships.

Answer 2

I think the Royal Navy would have made it difficult at the very least. If the Germans could create a bridgehead on land then the Royal Navy could very well have hampered supplies to the Germans. Another issue is that all though the Germans did have heavy equipment and numbers the Dunkirk evacuations helped boost British numbers and with commonwealth soldiers being drafted over it would have been difficult for the Germans to beat hundreds of thousands of dug in soldiers and civillian militias (ie home gaurd), though the Germans would have the equipment advantage.
Finally although i think that the Germans could have got men across the channel one way or another, i feel that the Kriegsmarine lacked transport ships in sufficient numbers or quality to deliver a real blow to the British, if Germany were to win i think they would have to pin down the RAF and destroy it, then unleash the luftwaffe on the Navy in the Channel and the North Sea (and the Luftwaffe lacked longrange fighters) . Only then could the Wehrmacht get across to Britain and start Blitzkrieg.

Answer 3

Hitler didn't know how close he was to victory in England. His problem was he opened up a war on the Western front too early. Had he thrown his forces against England in April, May or June, instead of Russsia, England would have collapsed. And Hitler would have been free to finish the Soviets.
The German's started pulling their bombers out and moving the to the Western front in 31 October 1940 partial becuase they were losing more and more aircraft to the British Radar. The American's signed the lend lease with Britian on May of 1941. The offense on the western front began June 22, 1941.

The Luftwaffe lost a total of 1,733 aircraft during the campaign, the RAF 915.

Answer 4

Amphibious operations require pre-landing preparation of the objective area through the use of Naval gunfire and aerial bombardment. Few, if any, of the aerial strikes made by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz affected the landing areas in England. Hitler simply did not have the surface fleet power to do it by Naval gunfire. If Sea Lion had been launched, it would have been the German version of Galipoli and they would have made a right balls up of the lot.

Answer 5

It could have worked IF #1 The Germans had concentrated on
and succeeded in destroying the British radar system.
#2 Used a lot of paratroops and gliders to get behind beach
defenses and sow terror and confusion.
#3 Put every surface ship and submarine into the effort
to keep the Royal navy at bay
#4 Been willing to use the nerve gas they possessed. If they
won, it would make no difference ("No one questions the winner") since no one else at the time had it.

Answer 6

I think it would have failed.

1) The British Navy was not destroyed. If it had been taken out, then that would have been different.

2) I think a German invasion of the UK would have led to an early entrance of the US into the war starting with the US Navy protecting the UK if the UK fleet had been hypothetically destroyed.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

I think the Royal Navy would have intercepted the invasion fleet, blasted most of it out of the water, and any troops making it ashore would have come up against inpenetrable defenses (led by Montgomery, whose major talent was defense).

Answer 9

Unlikely - the situation of being in a position to invade england was unexpected and there was no forward planning for it.