Customer Reviews

Cassell Military Classics: Operation Sea Lion: The German Plan To Invade Britain, 1940

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One of the best things this book has going for it is being included in the Cassell Military classic paperbacks. It is one of 3 dozen I've purchased. As with the others this one is of interest.

It is well written and though it is translated from the German, hold ups well. It was originally published as OPERATION SEALOWE in 1987.

As an in depth look into Operation Sea Lion or, Sealowe in the German, it bombs out. It is, however, a very excellent recapitulation of the early years of World War II, from 1940 onward. Out of 26 chapters, in Chapter 24 we get to the occupation of the Channel Islands. Chapter 23 ends the battle of Britain, with Chapter 20 being the big day, "Adler Tag" or Eagle Day.

I'm not knocking the book as being a bad book because it isn't. On the contrary, it is a very interesting book. A very good book.

It is NOT however a book about Operation Sea Lion. Since it covers the war inside and outside Britain in general, it is a misnomer of sorts. The sub-title, "The German Plan To Invade Britain, 1940" gets worked into the narrative, eventually. But silly me, with a title such as OPERATION SEA LION I expected the total focus to be exactly that, the operation itself. And it most certainly is not.

I spent a good year or more tracking a copy of this book down. It is only one of three of World War II I have concerning Operation Sea Lion. While I would recommend it as a good World War II book could not,however, recommend it as a good book focusing on OPERATION SEA LION.

Semper Fi.

I was very disappointed in this book. I was looking for an analysis of the proposed invasion of England (Operation Sea Lion) from the German perspective. Much to my dismay, while the book is from a German perspective, this is little analysis of the invasion plans. There is some sparse information concerning the logistics involved, but not much else. The author gives you the feeling that the Germans could have succeded with such an endeavor, which is contrary to all the research I've done on the subject. One glaring omission is hardly any reference to the Royal Navy and the role it would have played in defending Great Britain. All in all, a disappointing book.