Operation Sealion

Operation Sealion was the planned but ultimately cancelled cross-Channel invasion of Great Britain by Nazi Germany during World War II. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus)

Background
After the outbreak of World War II in Europe following the Invasion of Poland in September 1939, Germany offered to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom and France in October. The Allies refused. Germany thus launched a "lightning war" against Western Europe, defeating Denmark, (AUDIO: Human Conflict) Norway, (AUDIO: Their Finest Hour) France, Belgium and the Netherlands by the summer of 1940. (PROSE: Just War, Timewyrm: Exodus, AUDIO: Just War) Thousands of British soldiers were successfully evacuated back home from mainland Europe after they were cut off by the Wehrmacht at Dunkirk. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus, TV: Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart, AUDIO: The Nemonite Invasion)

The Germans proceeded to occupy the Channel Islands, the only British territory to fall under German control during the war. (PROSE: Just War, Illegal Alien, AUDIO: Just War) Hitler's ultimate aim for Germany was to push eastwards into Russia, Persia and Asia. Operation Sealion was Germany's plan to knock Britain out of the war and end hostilities in the West by invading England before moving into the East. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus)

British defensive measures
The British feared that the Germans would invade daily. (TV: Victory of the Daleks) Winston Churchill was distraught after the fall of Europe but the Doctor convinced him to continue the fight. (AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure) Churchill appealed to the United States of America to enter the war and announced to the world that the United Kingdom "will never surrender!" (WC: Amy's History Hunt)

Civilian volunteers signed up to the Home Guard to help fend off an invasion. (PROSE: Losing the Audience) Hidden bases full of supplies and weapons were established to allow a British resistance movement to operate against a German occupation. (PROSE: Made of Steel) Four citadels were build under the surface of London, intended to allow the British government to continue operations if events took a turn for the worse. (AUDIO: The Fifth Citadel) The government continued to meet in the Cabinet War Rooms while London was under German bombardment. The Eleventh Doctor claimed that Britain's continued resistance was watched closely by the whole world and acted as a "beacon of hope" for the conquered nations. (TV: Victory of the Daleks)

The extra-dimensional Shakers approached the desperate British government and offered them aid in return for Lebensraum. The British planned Operation Shaker, a guerilla war against the Germans, which was ultimately never put into effect. (PROSE: Losing the Audience) The Daleks also approached the government, passing themselves off as friendly combat servant robots known as Ironsides, as part of a ploy to rebuild their race. (TV: Victory of the Daleks)

German preparatory attacks
The Germans embarked on a number of smaller operations to prepare for an invasion, or to bring the British to the negotiating table before an invasion became necessary, key among them being the Battle of Britain.

Despite victory on the continent, the Germans were at a disadvantage at sea. The Royal Navy maintained sufficient strength to defend the English Channel and the Germans postponed the launch of Operation Sealion. The war therefore moved into the skies. (AUDIO: Their Finest Hour) In the summer of 1940, Hermann Goering's Luftwaffe faced the Royal Air Force as the Luftwaffe targeted airfields, radar installations (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus) and other military and industrial targets. The RAF, with the help of exiled Polish pilots from the Polish Air Force, fought back. After both sides suffered heavy casualties, (AUDIO: Their Finest Hour) the Germans were repelled before they could achieved air superiority, (PROSE: /Carpenter/Butterfly/Baronet/) for which Hitler never forgave them. (PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass)

In late 1940, Germany began an aerial bombardment campaign against British cities which became known as the Blitz. German propaganda claimed the attacks were only directed against military and industrial targets. (PROSE: Just War, AUDIO: Just War) However, civilians suffered under the bombardment. Many people slept in bomb shelters or underground stations during the night (PROSE: Illegal Alien, Tell Me You Love Me, TV: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances) and women and children were evacuated to the safety of the countryside. (TV: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, Ghost Machine, Lost in Time) The Blitz was effectively over by July 1941. (PROSE: Illegal Alien)

In June 1941, a small group of Germans led by Lieutenant Koenig and aided by their spy, Miss Wyckham, landed on the south coast of England. They attempted to use a piece of Chronosteel to block the British early warning system but were thwarted when Clyde Langer and George Woods rang the village church bells, alerting the Home Guard. (TV: Lost in Time)

Cancellation
After continued failure to bring Britain to heel, Germany turned her attention towards Eastern Europe and launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union in June 1941, relieving Britain of much of the pressure brought on by the threat of invasion. (PROSE: Losing the Audience) Despite the tremendous start to the campaign, the Germans quickly began to push beyond their capabilities. In December, the onset of winter brought their advance to a halt before they reached Moscow. A counterattack by the Red Army led to Germany's first major defeat of the war. The need to stabilise the Eastern Front, plus the entry of the United States into the war, forced the Germans to conserve many of their resources and divert them to the more pressing theatres of war. Consequently, they ceased their aerial bombardment campaigns against Britain and abandoned their plans to invade. (PROSE: Just War)