In the summer of 1940, the prospects for democracy in Europe appeared very bleak indeed. Adolf Hitler's apparently
unstoppable military machine had overrun most of Western Europe in less thantwo months and only the English Channel
stood between Nazi Germany and the last remaining outpost of democracy in Europe. Britain's small army, as well as those of its allies, had been quickly defeated on the continent, and now the island nation stood alone against the enormous military might of the Nazi regime. Despite the apparent hopelessness of the situation, England refused to listen to Hitler's “reason” and vowed to fight on. Unable to achieve the negotiated peace he sought, Hitler decided that only the
invasion of England w o u l d eliminate it from the war. In view of the relative weakness of the German navy, Nazi planners
concluded that only once command of the air had been achieved could there be any hope of a successful cross-channel landing.
The ensuing air battle, which pitted the might of the German Luftwaffe against the Royal Air Force (RAF), and later came
to be known as the Battle of Britain, was thus part of the preparatory effort meant to clear the way for Operation SEA LION—the invasion of Britain.
