Reach for the Sky
There is no evidence to support the view that Hitlers invasion plans were "an intelligence ploy" and if it was, it certainly was not very "intelligent" to have a substantial portion of your own airforce destroyed as a "ploy", Goering may have been that stupid but not Hitler.
It was paramount to destroy the RAF as a prelude to invasion across the channel, thereby freeing up the Luftwaffe to deal with the RN during a cross channel assault (surely your knowledge of naval battles of the time tells you how devastating an unchallenged airiel attack in such a confined space as the channel would have been?)
The truth is the Germans thought the Battle of Britain would be a push over, they had decimated what passed for "air forces" in Belgium, France and Poland and expected to do the same to the RAF, but they were in for a nasty suprise. This suprise had a major impact on Hitlers thinking,and as a result it became expedient for Hitler and his generals to claim they were "never serious" about invasion once the RAF had made it impossible.
You also blow a major hole in your own argument by mentioning Dunkirk, Dunkirk was not a "technical retreat" it was a retreat plain and simple, and was close to a defeat in detail.The BEF lost all its military equipment, not some, ALL of it, and it is this, that made the prospect of invasion so enticing. The Germans knew that we would be as good as unarmed if they could get across the channel with their own air force free to deal with the RN, but the RAF stood in the way. I dont suggest for a moment that the RN would have been powerless to act, nor do I suggest the Germans thought the invasion by sea was going to be easy, a number of the high command were against the idea all along but many were not, but they all knew that air supremacy was the key to it all.
The German plans for sea lion may have been unrealistic, the neccesary equipment may not have been in place, but are you telling me they were any better prepared for Barbarossa? no winter clothing for an invasion of Russia? no four wheel drive vehicles? etc...and by the way, who supplied these Russian forces with a great deal of their war materiel before they had moved production to siberia ? Britain
and the British Navy and merchant Navy, war fighting goods we could ill afford to spare,a lot of which is at the bottom of the north sea curtesy of the German u boat fleet.
As for your remarks about "fewer people" are you telling me that the total man power involved in the BEF to France or the Red Armys defence of Stalingrad was LOWER than the number of men involved in the Battle of Britain? I think you should stick to stories about people messing about in wooden boats with no engines.
It is also worth remembering the importance of the British radar system in the BoB, it was state of the art at the time, the Germans had nothing anywhere near as good and would you believe it??? yes indeed, niether did the Americans!!! and if the BoB was as insignificant as you claim, why were the Americans so keen to adopt the systems we had developed? learn your history Neutron, learn your history.
Make sense.
Red.
