Britain’s Victory in the Battle of Britain
Following the British evacuation from Dunkirk and the French surrenderin June 1940, the Germans were uncertain what to do next. Hitlerbelieved the war was over and that the British, defeated on thecontinent, would come to terms soon. However, he was to be frustratedby British intransigence. Though there was a strand of public andpolitical sentiment that favoured a negotiated peace with Germany,Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, refused to countenancean armistice with the Nazis. His skillful use of rhetoric hardenedpublic opinion against a peaceful resolution and prepared the Britishfor a long war. In a speech to the House of Commons on 18 June 1940 hestated: “What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. Iexpect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.”
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Britain’s rejection of German terms was emphatic. In an effort tofinish the war in the West, Hitler ordered preparation of an invasionplan on 16 July. He hoped to frighten Britain into peace before theinvasion was launched and used the invasion preparations as a means toapply pressure. The plan was prepared by the OKW (Armed Forces HighCommand). The operation, code-named Seelowe (Sealion), was planned formid-September 1940 and called for landings on Britain’s south coast,backed by an airborne assault. All preparations were to be made bymid-August.
Sealion was a deeply flawed plan, suffering from a lack ofresources—particularly sea transport—and disagreements between theGerman Navy and Army. With the threatening bulk of the Royal Navywithin a day’s steaming of the English Channel, it se…
…szko, achieved the highest number of kills(126) of all the fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain,even though it only joined the combat on August 30. To put things inperspective, 5% of pilots were responsible for 12% of the total scoresof the Battle.
There was also a significant input of Czechoslovak pilots in theBattle of Britain. Two Czech fighter squadrons, 310 and 312, took partin the battle. Together with Czech pilots serving in other alliedunits, a total of 87 Czechs defended the British sky. Of them, JosefFrantisek, flying with 303 Polish Squadron, was the most efficientallied ace of the Battle of Britain, with 17 confirmed kills.
Three squadrons of American volunteers, known as Eagle squadrons, alsofought with the RAF in this period, the first becoming operational inFebruary 1941.
