Operation Sea lion;: The projected invasion of England in 1940, an account of the German preparations and the British countermeasures

by Peter Fleming

Book Overview

On July sixteenth, 1940, Hitler issued Directive No. 16, setting in motion Operation Sea Lion--his plan to invade England. The success of Operation Sea Lion hinged entirely on the destruction of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0006AV0Y4
• Release Date: January 1957
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster
• Length: 323 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A witty history intended for reading for pleasure

Ian Fleming's brother Peter wrote this charming account of German amphibious invasion plans after Dunkirk, and Britain's plans to repel any invasion they might try. Fleming was peripherally involved in these plans, having been assigned during the dangerous post-Dunkirk period to preparing to wage guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines if the Boche took the beaches and moved inland, but this book is not a personal account but a broad history of the political, military, and psychological factors that went into invasion preparations on both sides, and the final German decision to back off. Contrary to other reviews, this is not a book about the Battle of Britain. In Fleming's chapter on the Battle of Britain, he notes that the subject is covered extensively elsewhere and he only gives it attention as it relates to the Germans' plans for what they'd do after they won that battle, and on why they decided not to invade. It's more about what might have happened than about what did happen. Fleming's favorite themes are the indomitability of the English mood at the time (which he amusedly puts down as much to cultural momentum as to courage) and Hitler's fatal misjudgment of it. He makes a convincing case that Hitler put off invading because he thought, wildly incorrectly, that the British were terrified and on the verge of making terms. He also persuasively posits that it was ironically good for the Reich that Hitler hesitated to implement Operation Sea Lion, because the invasion plan was doomed to fail. But Fleming's theses aside, this book is best read for his evocative and witty description of Britain's national mood between Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain -- a mood he underlines with illustrations drawn from the cartoons in contemporary Punch magazines. You can't help but respect the British and envy their courage after reading this entertaining book.

A chilling "what if?" book...

A book by the brother of the writer of the James Bond novels, Peter Fleming writes of the plans for the invasion of Britain by the Germans in WWII. It chronicles the Reich's plans and the preparations by the British to defend their homeland. It's a chilling "what if?" book. It could very well have happened, just as it is suggested here. Recommended for those who always wondered "if the Germans had invaded." The world would have been quite different if the Germans had succeeded...

The true story of the Battle of Britain

The true story of the Battle of Britain. This book is a good read. It's about the planning of the Battle of Britain on German side, and the planning of the British defense, on the British side. If the Battle of Britain had succeeded, it would have been the first successful cross-Channel invasion since William the Conqueror in 1066. Hitler's half-hearted attempt at an invasion was bungled from the start. He didn't count on Britain being prepared. He was expecting Britain to be like Poland and the Soviet Union with its planes on the ground like sitting ducks. Churchill had once said that French said that Britain would have her neck wrung like a chicken. Then he quipped "some chicken--some neck."

The definitive story of the Battle Britain read this book!

The definitive history of the Battle of Britain read this book! Operation Sea Lion is about the planned German invasion of Britain. It's also about the British countermeasures. Not many people know that the British removed the street signs from London's streets to confuse the Germans if they'd invaded. It also confused the British drivers. There are some editorial cartoons as well. One has a man on the telephone, he's probably a British Cabinet Minister or Sir Hugh "Stuffy" Dowding, and the caption's "Get me Messerschmitt 109." Operation Sea Lion was supposed to be like Operation Overlord--a cross- Channel invasion. The British were prepared and they defeated Goering's vaunted Luftwaffe.