[FalkeEins]

Originally Posted by John Vasco

Ah, the 'sogennante' Battle of Britain rears its head again, with an extensive 'lift' from one of the Prien/Rodeike/Stemmer/Bock books. Franek has got it spot on in his second paragraph. And an earlier poster poses questions regarding supplies/barges etc on the Channel coast in August/September 1940. Hmmm, let's waste a lot of staff time and aircrew time by fitting the Bf 110s of 1./Erpr. Gr. 210 with the Seilbomben device control box ...

re the 'lift' - don't know whether you're trying to rubbish me or Prien with that comment - but at least I've read (& understood) his arguments in the original German, which is probably more than most can manage here, as the last poster has just indicated. I've often wondered how many of his readers actually share them. As Ruy says they're pretty interesting though (the stats especially). Be aware that there is a completely different view out there to yours, the original poster's & the 'standard' literature; a number of German authors (& German veterans) do have this view of the BoB as a 'minor' skirmish...as for the activities of 1./Erpr. Gr. 210 ..a small 'experimental' Staffel..the bigger picture..? I think not..

..as for the 'barges' argument. If I was presenting a less conventional view (cf. Jean-Louis Roba, 'La Bataille d'Angleterre') I suspect that the whole 'point' of the 'barges' was again as a means of exerting some 'political' pressure. Hitler's 'last appeal' etc indicates that the Germans were aiming at a 'peace' settlement- not invasion. Your point about the rapid end of the Westfeldzug is a good one - the Germans really didn't know what to do next with Britain, because they hadn't even planned for such an eventuality; they certainly didn't have the means to launch a full scale invasion when the priorities for Russia had already been defined..the British were simply expected to sue for peace at this stage, a process that could no doubt be aided by a 'demonstration de force'; harassing shipping in the Channel, sending a few hundred bombers & fighters over now & again and drawing up loads of barges where they could be photographed was all the Germans could do to try and influence such an outcome...

BTW I don't think these views diminish the achievements of the RAF one iota - the Luftwaffe got a bloody nose & Britain & Churchill weren't cowed but stayed in the war..until we were joined by the Russians a year later and the US 18 months after that..