German Invasion Plans for the British Isles, 1940

"I have decided to prepare a landing operation against England, and if necessary to carry it" – Adolph Hitler, 16 July 1940. Immediately after the fall of France in June 1940, Hitler ordered his generals to organize the invasion of Britain under a plan codenamed Operation Sealion. The objective was to land 160,000 German soldiers along a forty-mile coastal stretch of south-east England.Prior to the invasion, a complex set of documents had been drawn up, consisting of maps, aerial photographs, a physical description of the British Isles – region by region, statistics about roads, lists of strategic targets, and a short phrase book for the invading forces when it became necessary to fraternize with the local populace. This book brings together a selection of these documents and reproduces them in a handy-sized format. It includes aerial photographs of strategic sites, maps of the main urban centres (with identified targets), a detailed listing of British roads, advice for officers about how to mount an attack on each county, a brief description of the social composition of Britain, and a dictionary and phrase book. It also includes an introduction setting the material in its historical and military context. These invasion plans survive in very few numbers. This is the first time that a selection has been brought together, giving a remarkable insight into how the German army planned to invade Britain.