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Originally Posted by djacq75
Even if Hitler could've beaten Britain--which was just barely possible in 1940, and not possible at all in 1941--that's a far cry from being able to cross the Atlantic ocean and invade the United States.
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1940 Britain was a country with almost no tanks, nearly no artillery, and few guns. It still had an air force and a navy.
But a navy without air cover could never defend against Stuka dive bombers - as was proven time and time again. This is why Hitler only needed to conquer the RAF. Churchill understood this quite well. The only reason the channel was an obstacle to Germany was that Germany could not and did not conquer the RAF.
Eventually, Britain would rearm. Their armies lost most everything in Dunkirk except men. Once those men could be rearmed, then Britain would again become a military power. America was so essential to Britain. Both the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic were examples of Britain on the ropes and about to go down. It is an extraordinary story of history. One that every educated person should appreciate not just in the story, but the whys behind why Britain came so close to being conquered.
Germany had already massed sufficient forces to successfully invade Britain in summer or fall 1940. The Royal Navy could only stop that invasion IF the RAF could protect the navy. Britain came that close to being conquered.
Churchill understated it when he said something to the effect of, "At no time in history did so many owe so much to so few.” Only one class of military weapon kept Britain from being conquered in 1940. The RAF saved Britain's ass - completely. It was a desperate battle.
Forget Rommel. That's like saying Patton alone conquered Germany. Rommel was only one piece of a very crowded gameboard. To cite Rommel as significant is to be manipulated by both historical myths and propaganda of that time.