DEFENDING BRITAIN

In the event of a Nazi invasion, Britain would have deployed a network of deadly defences to impede the enemy at every turn

- ANDREW CHATTERTON

Operation Sea Lion, Germany's plan to invade Britain during the Second World War, never came to fruition. Britain was able to defend itself on the sea and in the air, and Hitler's divide and dominate strategy over his own generals and armed forces meant a joined-up, effective plan to subjugate the island was never likely to materialise. Some argue that Hitler never even had any intention to invade at all, but with barges being collected in the newly captured Channel ports and Britain having witnessed the German forces speed through and defeat all in front of them on mainland Europe, invasion seemed very likely indeed.

Britain's defences have been portrayed since the war as a combination of old men and bumbling inefficiency, and even now, what appear to be lonely and ineffective concrete pillboxes that remain in the fields and towns throughout Britain seem to confirm this narrative. However, the reality is very different.

To understand the effectiveness of Britain's defences, one has to play out the invasion - and with a few factors to consider. Firstly, that the RAF had been defeated, which meant that the Luftwaffe had some control of the skies above Britain, and particularly the southeast corner. Secondly, that the Kriegsmarine had managed to get some of the barges across the Channel and landed men on the beaches of Kent.