The Rise Of Australasia

From the current map, excluding the ongoing war in Western Europe and the Balkan Peninsula, as well as neutral Eastern Europe, the German-Italian Axis had almost occupied the whole of Europe.

After taking over the Nordic Trio, the German government was spirited and confident about the upcoming war.

Which country should they attack next?

The German Chancellor, after studying the map of Europe for a long time, finally pointed his finger towards the large island nation in the northwest of Europe, Britain, under the astonished gazes of his generals.

Yes, Germany planned to launch a direct attack on Britain to quench the flames of France's resolute resistance against Germany.

According to the Chancellor's exact words, "France's hope lies with Britain. If it weren't for Britain's support, France would have surrendered by now.

France had already fallen, but now they have risen again. The British simply need to urgently continue their support to France, and those Frenchmen who cannot see the situation clearly will become thrilled and keep fighting this war.

But if Britain is destroyed, France will lose all hope. At that time, Germany will become the master of the whole of Europe and the Balkans, so we must annihilate Britain.

Gentlemen, the time has come. Let us end this war, direct the flames of war toward Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man, and eliminate the arch-culprit that has dominated and balanced Europe for nearly a hundred years!"

If previously Germany still hoped that Britain would realize the situation and propose peace, now Germany had come to regard Britain as its greatest enemy, and was fully committed to defeating Britain.

The German government also deeply understood that if they could not defeat Britain, it would be difficult to end this war. Even if France were to fail, Britain could still continue to blockade Germany, which would be fatal for Germany.

Under the insistence of the German Chancellor, the German General Staff quickly formulated a plan to attack Britain. For the sake of secrecy, this attack plan was named "Operation Sea Lion" internally within Germany and was to be primarily executed by the German Air Force.

One might wonder why the German Air Force was chosen to execute an attack on Britain.

The content of Operation Sea Lion also explains this.

According to the rules of Operation Sea Lion, starting from February 17th, 1937, the German Air Force would launch a frenzied aerial attack on Britain and, based on the results of the aerial assault, determine the specific landing time on Britain.

The Germans were clear in their attitude; first, the Air Force would heavily bomb Britain's vital facilities to weaken the British defenses along the coastline.

Why did Germany place all their hopes on the Air Force? Because before the specific content of Operation Sea Lion was formulated, the Commander-in-Chief of the German Air Force, Goring, had assured the Chancellor that the German Air Force would need no more than four days to defeat Britain, just as they had defeated Poland.

The reason Goring was so confident was that during this period, Germany had built a large number of aircraft.

With the additional aircraft that could be deployed from Italy, Germany could mobilize up to 3500 airplanes for this attack on Britain.

This number of aircraft was already very substantial, even surpassing the total number of aircraft Germany had used in France.

Attacking Britain with more than 3500 aircraft posed a significant challenge for the British as well, which was the source of Goring's confidence.

On February 17th itself, over 1000 German aircraft took off from German-occupied territories and flew directly towards the British coastline.

However, these aircraft targeted not only the British mainland but also those escort and patrol fleets located in the English Channel.

At present, aircraft still posed a significant threat to warships, and the Germans intended to maximize their massive numerical advantage in aircraft to inflict as much damage as possible on the British fleet.

Coincidentally, an aircraft carrier belonging to the British, responsible for patrolling the area, encountered the German Air Force.

In the skies above the English Channel, thousands of German aircraft and hundreds of British aircraft engaged in a fierce battle.

Although the German aircraft ultimately triumphed, the loss ratio between the two parties was nearly the same. The German Air Force lost more than 170 aircraft, while the British lost 140 aircraft.

This assault, which began on February 17th, continued until early March.

After the British discovered the Germans' intentions, they also secretly gathered a large number of aircraft to be ready to counter any German attacks and requested support from France and Australasia.

Australasia highly valued the security of the British mainland. The safety of the British mainland meant that the situation on the European battlefield would not be too grave.

If the British mainland itself were in danger, it would imply that the situation on the European battlefield could potentially be dominated by the Germans.

To prevent such a scenario, it was crucial to deploy a large number of aircraft to support Britain.

The good news was that nearly a thousand aircraft from Australasia were deployed in Europe. Combined with the French aircraft, they managed to assemble over 1500 aircraft to help the British resist the German onslaught.

On the British side, their rate of aircraft production was actually comparable to that of Germany.

However, because British colonies were spread across the world, there were only a little over 2000 aircraft on the British mainland, and these were dispersed in various locations for deployment.

The planes that could actually be mobilized numbered only a little over 1,000, and even with additional aircraft from Australasia and France, it was still inferior to the Germans.

However, the British faced numerous provocations from the German Air Force without choosing to respond hastily, instead taking a firm and steady approach and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Especially under less favorable circumstances, the British would deploy only a minimal number of aircraft, meaning that even a defeat would not significantly impact the Air Force.

On the other hand, Germany's deployments were always on a large scale, posing a serious challenge to their ammunition and petroleum reserves.

The aerial battle lasted nearly half a month, with both parties deploying a total of over 6,000 aircraft.

During that half-month of attacks, Germany launched over 44,000 sorties, dropping at least 50,000 tons of bombs on Britain and causing at least 60,000 casualties among British military personnel and civilians.

More significantly, Germany successfully destroyed over one million buildings in Britain and at least six military airfields and five radar stations in the southern region.

The total number of British people who suffered was up to several hundred thousand, burdening the British with massive casualties and countless property losses.

Yet these losses were not fatal for the British, who could essentially endure this cost completely.

On the British side, a total of over 2,700 aircraft were involved, ending up losing 915 aircraft and 524 pilots.

The Germans had over 3,500 aircraft and lost 1,543, including at least 5,000 German pilots.

Yes, the loss ratios on both sides were that exaggerated. (Historical data is not much different; the British truly won the air battles with fewer numbers.)

What is even more surprising is that with only 3,500 aircraft deployed, Germany lost over 3,000 pilots.

But a closer study of the course of the Battle of Britain reveals why the German Air Force suffered such heavy losses.

In reality, during the first week of the air battle, the German Air Force held the upper hand. At this time, additional aircraft from France and Australasia were still arriving, and Britain had nearly half the number of aircraft compared to the German Air Force.

But starting from February 23rd, the situation changed significantly.

Firstly, the German Air Force Commander Goring, keen on currying favor, ordered massive retaliatory bombings on London to impress his Chancellor, intending to destroy British industrial production and crush the British spirit of resistance in one fell swoop.

At that moment, Goring was blinded by the nearness of victory, pressured by the four-day deadline he had promised the German Chancellor, leading him to rush results.

He confidently believed that the British Air Force had lost its ability to counterattack within that week, and could only hunker down at their bases, relying on those pitiful anti-aircraft weapons for defense.

What Goring did not expect was that while the British Air Force indeed suffered severe losses, the French and Australasian forces continued to arrive steadily.

Two days later, in the process of Goring's planned fatal blow to Britain, more than 200 German bombers, protected by over 600 fighter aircraft, grandly crossed the English Channel.

The German Air Force thought this would be an uncontested attack; they merely needed to reach the designated spot, press a button to release their bombs, and then easily return to the air base, perhaps to celebrate their victory with a drink.

But when they saw the approaching planes of the Britain-France-Australia trio, the German Air Force realized the severity of the situation.

Seeing the diverse aircraft flying the flags of the three nations, the German pilots gulped nervously, filled with confusion.

This was completely unlike the script they had been given, where the enemy was an undefended, feeble sheep; in reality, the enemy was a fierce tiger baring its fangs.

The Germans had over 800 aircraft, while the intercepting British-French-Australian trio had more than 600.

Although the German Air Force still held a numerical advantage, only the 600 or so fighter aircraft were truly capable of inflicting damage on the enemy planes they now faced.

At this point, the bombers became a liability, which was precisely why they needed protection from the fighter aircraft.

More importantly, the appearance of the British-French-Australian Air Forces was completely unexpected by the Germans, causing the frontline German pilots to panic and disperse their formations.

With the formation broken, the pressure on the German Air Force increased. Many of the pilots who had just completed training found themselves unequipped to handle such unforeseen events.

Furthermore, being unfamiliar with the aircraft they were flying under such tense circumstances, mishaps were inevitable.

The lack of preparation for a battle against a ready opponent meant this was essentially a one-sided slaughter without suspense.

In the end, the German Air Force was forced to retreat, leaving behind hundreds of bombers and over seventy fighter aircraft.

On the part of the Britain-France-Australia trio, less than 30 aircraft were destroyed, marking an unequivocally resounding victory.