Operation Sealion: Hitler's Invasion Plan for Britain

During the summer of 1940, Hitler's Germany appeared unstoppable. The Nazis were masters of mainland Europe, in alliance with Stalin's Russia, and only the English Channel prevented an immediate invasion. Britain stood alone. The BEF had been routed but, due to the Dunkirk miracle, most of her manpower had returned, albeit without their transport and heavy equipment and guns. There was no doubt that the Nazis planned to invade--all intelligence pointed that way. However, it never materialized, thanks to the outcome of the Battle of Britain and Hitler's decision to invade Russia. Operation Sea Lion examines just how realistic the German threat of invasion was. The author studies the plans, the available capability and resources, and the Germans' record in Norway and, later, Crete. The author weighs these against the state of Britain's defenses and the relative strengths of the land, air, and naval forces. The result is a fascinating study of what might or might not have been.

About the Author :
Chris MacDonnell is a classically trained actor who graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) in 1973. He has an excellent reputation in the U.K. for playing leading and supporting roles in theater, television, radio drama, and films. His theater credits include London's West End and the Royal National Theatre. He's also featured in British TV shows, BBC radio-drama, commercials, and films. In the U.S. he's voiced many commercials, promos, games, and animations. He's also a featured character in the historical drama set against the backdrop of the American War of Independence, Courage, New Hampshire for PBS, in which he plays Merry Pugwell. He came to narration in 2013, and since then he's recorded over twenty titles in a variety of genres, including epic fantasy, thrillers, historical romance, and biography. Chris now lives and works in Southern California, where his forty-year career continues to flourish. David Wragg has published several highly praised books on railway history, and he produced a textbook for the old Chartered Institute of Transport. He has also written on railways for the Sunday Telegraph, the Spectator, the Scotsman, and the Yorkshire Post. His Wartime on the Railways was reviewed by Rail as very readable and by Railways Illustrated as a fascinating insight and also an important record, and Railways Illustrated chose his Southern Railway Handbook as Book of the Month. He is also well known as a writer of military history and provided the British, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand material for the award-winning On Seas Contested: The Seven Great Navies of the Second World War, edited by Vincent P. O'Hara, W. David Dickson, and Richard Worth.