9. Britain’s Leaders Harbored No Serious Fears of a German Invasion
Wartime propaganda painted Britain as a plucky and stolid underdog, gritting its teeth and girding its loins to repel an invasion that could come at any day. Britain was a plucky underdog, but Churchill and other British leaders knew that a German invasion, had it been attempted, would have stood no chance of success. Their main concern was not to repel an invasion, but to maintain public morale to continue what they knew would be a long and costly war, after a dismal start.
Churchill’s confidence came down to one word: logistics. The Germans simply lacked the landing craft and shipping capacity to transport and supply an invasion force large enough to subdue Britain. The main reason why the D-Day landings occurred in 1944, instead of 1943 as US commanders wanted, was the lack of sufficient landing craft in 1943. That problem was even worse for the Germans in 1940 – 1941.
