Called Seelowe in German, Operation Sealion was the code name for one of the most consequential operations of World War II that never happened: the planned German invasion of England.

Very early in the war, Adolf Hitler was confident that Great Britain would come to favorable terms with Germany. When it did not, he decided that invasion would force a negotiated peace. On July 16, 1940, Hitler issued Directive No. 16, relating to preparations for landings against England. Hitler's number-one priority preparatory to invasion was the neutralization of the RAF. This concern reflected only one of many doubts Hitler had about the feasibility of an invasion--doubts that were echoed by his top army and navy commanders. Hitler seems never to have had the unambivalent will to drive the invasion. He told his commanders that if invasion preparations could not be completed by the start of September 1940, other operations would have to be undertaken, most notably an attack on the Soviet Union. Admiral Erich Raeder, commander in chief of the German navy, voiced grave doubts as to the feasibility of landing--citing difficulties in attaining air supremacy, carrying out adequate minesweeping operations, and deploying so large a transport fleet--and told Hitler that navy preparations could not be completed before September 15. Hitler decided that this would be the deadline for all preparations and that, furthermore, the final decision to invade would depend on victory in the Battle of Britain--the contest for supremacy in the skies above the British Isles. Thus, it was on the outcome of this campaign that the question of invasion--at least in 1940--would hang.

The defeat of France in the Battle of France in June 1940 positioned the Luftwaffe perfectly for operations against England. Had Hitler wholeheartedly pushed for an invasion, preparations would have proceeded apace; however, he continued to vacillate. Nevertheless, air supremacy continued to be a goal for the German air force, and certain other invasion preparations were made, including a survey of all available sea and river craft in Germany and the occupied countries, training and exercises in embarkation and disembarkation, and the creation of occupation authorities. Yet German air marshal Hermann Goring delayed Aldertag (Eagle Day)--the commencement of the air campaign against England--until August 13, 1940, a full seven weeks after the fall of France. This hiatus gave the British valuable time to prepare and strengthen air defenses, which were already extensive, and to marshal all RAF assets. Despite its geographical advantages, the Luftwaffe found itself going up against a very strongly and skillfully defended target. Thus, on September 14, when Hitler met with his commanders to tell them that the navy had completed its preparations for Operation Sealion, he still could not order the invasion to proceed because the Luftwaffe was far from having achieved air supremacy. . .

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