World War II Air Campaign: Battle of Britain Phases--German Confidence (June 1940)


Figure 1.-- After the fall of France, the Lufwaffe and the once skeptical German prople confidently look to the Lufwaffe or another quick victory over England. One company revived a popular World war I naval song for the pccassion, "Wir fahren gegen Engeland". (Then we sail against England, actually Engles Land) The post card has some interesting features. Notice the Stukas depicted. Actually the Stukas had to be withdrawn after only a few days because they were so vulnerable to RAF fighters. Also notice the term 'Engeland'. That is not the German term for England, but rather Land of the Engles, refering to he Angels--one of the Germanic Anglo-Saxon German tribes that conqured Britain after the fall of Rome. Click on the image for information about on the poem/song.

The Luftwaffe as the Battle of Britain was shaping up were experienced, well-equipped, and confident. Thry had every reason to be so. The Luftwaffe had from the onset of the War one impressive victory after another, beginning in Poland, followed by Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belium, and finally France. Thge other countries were small, but France was a major country and well armed. Yet in the French campaign, the Luftwaffe out faught both the British Royal ir Force abd the French Armée de l'Air. There was every reason to believe that the Battle of Britain would be just one more stunningly sucessful battle. Luftwaffe commander and former fighter pilot , Reichsmarshal Herman Goering, was optimistic and assured the Führer that the victory over England would take only a few days once the Luftwaffe was in place. The Germans deployed three Airflotten in the arc of occupied Europe from Norway to southern France. The Luftwaffe airmen were every bit as confident as their commander. They had seen nothing during the Phoney War, the Norwegin Campaig, or in France that led them to believe that the Royal Air Force could effitively resist them. Göring proclaimed at the outset of the War, "I have done my best, in the past few years, to make our Luftwaffe the largest and most powerful in the world. The creation of the Greater German Reich has been made possible largely by the strength and constant readiness of the Air Force. Born of the spirit of the German airmen in the first World War, inspired by the faith in our Fuhrer and Commander-in-Chief--thus stands the German Air Force today, ready to carry out every command of the Fuhrer with lightning speed and undreamed-of might." After the stunning victories, Hitler himself was sure of victory. He was convinced that the Bitish were weak, a conviction that was confirmed by Chanberlain at Munich. Those who had doubted him before the War were now convinced. After victory after victory, Göring was even more sure of his Luftwaffe as they prepared to smash the RAF. The Lufwaffe had substantial numbers, effective planes, experience, a well-honed battle doctrine, and well equipped French fields from which to operate. And it was not just the Germans that were confident, most neutral observers also thought tghe outcome of the Battle was pre-ordained. Among those predicting a quick Germnan vuctory was the American Ambassadorto Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy, and famed aviator, Charles Lindberg, who had observed the Luftwaffe and its planes first hand at the invitation of Göring himself. Because of the confidence of Göring and others, German air planning was based largely on the spectacular successes of earlier campaigns. One military expert reports, 'no uniformly accepted concept existed concerning the operational conduct of air warfare against England.' [Klee. 9.] The Battle of Britain was different than all previous Luftwaffe campaigns. Not only was the RAF the most powerful air force yet taken on, but theChannel meant that the Panzers could not easly occupy RAF bases. And largely unappreciated by the Germans at the time was the potential of the Chain Home Network radar system. The prevalent thinking in the Luftwaffe according to a post-War British assessment was just that it would take a little longer (meaning few more days) to destroy the RAF. [British Air Ministry, p. 1.] But the Luftwaffe was no composed with amateurs like Hitler and Göring. There was quite unease among the more competent commnders. Erhard Milch, Luftwaffe Inspector General, reported after visits to the various captured airfields and the field headquarters, "no preparations at all were being made for air war with Britain." (June 1940). [Irving, p. 92.] And there were airmen that shared Milch's concerns. Werner Baumbach who would go on to command bombers wrote even before the battle, "we know that England is the hardest nut to be cracked in this war. Our experience at the front has shown us that final victory against England can only be attained by the systematic cooperation of all arms of the service and ruthless application of the elementary principle of concentrating all one's strength and effort at the vital strategic point. Even if the air arm is the most important weapon in total war, it cannot by itself ensure the decisive, final and total victory."[Cooper, p. 103.] Even so the general attitude among the Luftwaffe flyers who began the air assault on Britain was that the Channel was simply a wide river and that victory as in the earlier campaigns would be quickly achieved.

Sources

British Air Ministry. The Rise and Fall of the German Air Force 1993-1945 (New York: Sterling Publishing, 1987).

Cooper, Matthew. The German Air Force 1933-1945, An Anatomy of Failure (New York, N.Y.: Jane's Publishing, Inc., 1981).

Irving, David. The Rise and Fall of the Luftwaffe (Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Co., 1973).

Klee, Karl. Operation "Sea Lion" and the Role Planned for the Luftwaffe (Maxwell AFB, Ala.: USAF Historical Division, Monograph 8-1115-5, 1955).











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Created: 11:06 AM 1/1/2015
Last updated: 11:06 AM 1/1/2015