24. The Myth That Germany Could Have Conquered Britain in 1940
A common World War II myth is one that Britain was vulnerable to invasion by the Germans in 1940. To be sure, the blitzkrieg had dealt the Western Powers a stunning defeat in the Battle of France. Britain’s chief ally threw in the towel and surrendered, and the British were forced into a humiliating evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk. Britain was left to continue the war alone against the victorious Germans – alone, that is, except for the British Dominions, and the vast empire at Britain’s command. Still, things were grim, and the easy course would have been to negotiate a peace that left Hitler as Europe’s hegemon.
To their credit, the British, led by their indomitable Prime Minister Winston Churchill, soldiered on and fought the good fight. Propaganda painted Britain as a plucky underdog that gritted its teeth and girded its loins to repel an invasion that could come at any day. However, Churchill and Britain’s higher-ups knew that a German invasion, had it been attempted, would have stood no chance of success. As seen below, their main concern was not to repel an invasion but to maintain public morale to continue what they knew would be a long and costly war.