The Battle of Britain Experience by Richard Overy
On 18th June 1940, Churchill declared in the House of Commons - The Battle of France is over... the Battle for Britain is about to begin. With the fall of France, Great Britain was Hitler's last remaining stepping-stone to European domination. In July, Hitler told his commanders to prepare for the invasion of England. To do this they would have to destroy the RAF - Britain's last line of defence. As such, the Battle of Britain was without doubt one of, if not, the most important victories in British history. At the end of it Hitler cancelled all plans to invade England and the Allies maintained a European stronghold from which to launch the eventual operation to recapture mainland Europe.