Overall, the fact that Hitler started the Battle of Britain in order to create a smokescreen over Western Europe, shows how he never intended to invade Britain, and therefore in reality that Hitler was not a huge threat to Britain, which allowed it to hold out further as he held back.
However, although Hitler did not want to invade Great Britain, he did still the start the Battle of Britain, in order to destroy the RAF, as a hypothetical sea and air invasion would not succeed with the British RAF and navy attacking the German forces. Hitler hubris failed him at the point, and he did not listen to his advisers enough to be able to make an informed decision. He failed to destroy the RAF within the time limit he had set, and in turn lost a battle for the first time in Western Europe. Throughout the Battle of Britain, many problems aroused for Germany and mistakes were made that helped Britain to survive, in particular the inability to carry out the Blitzkrieg tactics, the unsuccessful Blitz, and the switching of bombing tactics. Hitler had used the Blitzkrieg tactics in Poland and France and they had worked well, however they would not work across the Channel. This is where geography helped to save Britain, as a quick attack could not happen as it is an island. Because of this inability to carry out Blitzkrieg, Goering bombed radar stations and airfields. This did a lot of damage, however they did not realise how important radar was. As a result, Goering made a huge mistake, and switched his bombing tactics for an alternative target of British cities. This allowed Britain to hold out as it gave reprieve for the airfields and radar stations, and also the lull enabled the RAF to successfully resist the huge number of daylight attacks in September 1940.
Another way in which Hitler’s plan was foiled was in the Blitz. Britain survived seventy days of non-stop bombing on Britain, for two reasons; the years of little damage before the Blitz had allowed Britain to prepare, and secondly, the Blitz Spirit. Because Britain managed to live through the heavy bombing, German plans were thwarted and the British were able to hold out.
Hitler’s final mistake in his journey, was his continuous struggle to invade Russia, as this weakened German forces, by creating another front to fight against, and therefore took the pressure off Britain. As I have already discussed, Hitler created the Battle of Britain to create a smokescreen blinding Europe from ‘Barbarossa.’ Because of the time, effort, men and money that Hitler put into this, from 1942, he was not able to invade Britain. If Hitler had saved his forces and not attempted to invade Russia, an invasion of Britain would have been possible.
Overall, if Hitler had wanted to invade Britain, he would not have been able to due to three main reasons. Firstly, the mistakes made in the Battle of Britain, for example the switch to daylight bombing and the under prepared German navy. Secondly, the Blitz, as Hitler thought this would make Britain surrender, however it did not. And Lastly, Hitler’s continuous struggle to invade the USSR, which took up German resources and distracted them from ever attacking Britain.
The third aspect of the period 1940-1943 which allowed Britain to hold out against Germany was the aid it received from other countries. Britain was aided by many of its allies from 1940 onwards, by India, Canada, and by America, amongst others. India leant Britain £1,138 which helped to boost Britain throughout the war, with a further boost of $1,000,000,000 from Canada. Belgium, Luxemburg, Poland, Norway and Holland gave Three million tonnes of shipping and financial resources to the UK. Britain had lost all its heavy equipment, e.g. Field guns and tanks, and its navy had lost six destroyers, five minesweepers, eight transport ships and a further 200 vessels, at Dunkirk, so they were in desperate need of resources. The most substantial aid was from America in May 1940 when Roosevelt gave Britain only a one in three chance of surviving the war; he still started the lend-lease program. This benefited the UK, as it was able to used America’s military hardware, but America had the benefit of being able to use British military bases. Still, at the beginning of 1941, America had leant only a limited supply of nine battleships, and only half a million rifles, and although this helped Britain, America was still capable of giving more. In December 1941, when America entered the war, the Atlantic Charter was signed between Roosevelt and Churchill, which stated that Britain could use America’s weapons, however they would not fight for them. This aided Britain tremendously, as they had lost a lot of the weaponry in previous battles.
Overall, Aid to Britain from the allies helped Britain hold out in Battle, as it strengthened the forces by giving them back the weapons they had lost at Dunkirk.
The last, and most important reason that Britain was able to hold out between the years 1940 and 1943, was because of itself. Churchill spurred Britain on, did not give in, and made valuable and correct decisions that saved it. At Dunkirk Britain was very weak, however, Churchill completed a successful evacuation which saved nearly 330,000 of the BEF. Because of this, Churchill was able to reposition these forces in North Africa, creating another front for Germany to fight, and therefore, releasing the pressure from the British Isles.
The second way in which Britain saved itself was in its preparations. In the years running up to the Blitz, little damage had been done to British mainland, which meant that Churchill had prepared the air defences and emergency services, which were as a result ready when the Blitz commenced, on the 7th September 1941. Due to the preparations, the British were able to fight the German planes off, and sustain themselves throughout the seventy days of bombing.
The third way in which Britain saved itself was through propaganda, for example in Dunkirk and Blitz spirits. After Dunkirk, ‘Churchillian grandiloquence’ played upon the theme of Britain standing united. It was a propaganda victory with the idea of the ‘little boats’ that helped the British to soldier on. The second example of propaganda was through the Blitz Spirit, when over 1.5 million home guard volunteers and 250,000 full and part time policemen helped the public make 1 million houses, by August 1941, weatherproof and windproof after being subjected to heavy bombing. Because the public were so spurred on by the newspapers and on the radio, the centre of England was able to continue to function properly through the bombings.
The last way, in which Britain was able to hold out on its own, was through technology, in particular radar, created by Watson-Watt. This was shown mainly in the Battle of Britain, where Dowding had been planning Britain’ s air defence for five years, and had therefore introduced command and communication systems meaning that fighters could be quickly and effectively directed to meet enemy attacks. Radar operators in England could also accurately estimate the size and speed of approaching aircraft meaning that RAF planes were not destroyed on the ground, but in the air ready to attack the Luftwaffe. Another way in which better technology was shown in the Battle of Britain was in planes. The only plane that could compare to the Spitfire, was the Messerschmitt 109, but it had a short range so was at a distinct disadvantage fighting over Britain. Because British aircraft and technology was so strong, more German then British aircraft were destroyed between July and August 1940. Although in the Battle of the Atlantic, British technology extended to the ASDIC, which did not provide the help expected, as it could only pick up ships under a kilometre away.
The way in which Britain helped itself was by preparing, evacuating it’s men from Dunkirk, using propaganda to unite it and using the most up-to-date technology.
In conclusion, the key reason that Britain was able to endure against Germany from 1940 to the end of 1943 was due to itself. Hitler may or may not have wanted to invade the UK, however he would not have been able to, as through an excellent leader, Britain made correct and informed decisions that led it to be well prepared, united, and equipped with revolutionary technology, which enabled it to hold out against a tyrannous and hubris Hitler.
