As it was, the Brits just moved the Air Fields out of the range of the Luftwaffe but close enough for defense. The Luftwaffe could not HIT those airfields. And the P-40s from America were on the way that had the range to hit France from the protracted Air Fields. The best thing the Luftwaffe could have done was to not attack at all. They had Greater Europe and had the power to hold it. Think of all those losses. Had they still had those birds and resources, maybe Operation Barbarossa would have been better. And maybe the US would have stayed out of it openly. The Brits would have NEVER done the B-17 and B-24 daylight bombings. Only an American wold be that insane. So that is mistake #2, declaring war on the US. Germany could have had greater Europe all the way to the Urals. But no.......
The problem here is that the Brits declared war on Germany. Hitler was a big admirer of the Empire ("brought civilization to the world") and never would have attacked them for hegemony.
Almost all souhtern airfields were destroyed when the Luftwaffe began targeting London. Six weeks are enough to recover them. A planned invasion of the island was cancelled.
As for the war against the US, this sounds lunatic indeed but there are several factors that speak for it:
- US was already hunting German ships
- It would become impossible to keep the naval blockade up without targeting American forces
- The Japanese operations and strength promised to keep the Americans very busy
- Quick and absolute victory over France, the back then military No 1.
By late 1940, France was already defeated. Germany had control over the greater European Continent. Had Germany decided to sue for peace with Britain in early 1941 and given concessions Germany might not have had the extreme shortages of resources it had later on. Hitler just got more than a little insane and a whole bunch greedy. He had already won but wanted more.
Yes, France was defeated early. This is why the Germans could assume that nobody could endanger them.
As for Britain, maybe you are familiar with Hess´ fate.
And was almost all the other Countries in Europe Proper. Only a nutcase would have pressed any further. There was nothing Britain could have done about it without the direct support of the US. Had Germany just stopped there, today, Germany would be where the EU is today. Of course, Fascism would have failed sooner or later being replaced by the old Social Democratic Government it once had. Germany would have ended up closer to the United States. And if Hitler waited a bit longer, Operation Barborosa would have been a wild success. But Hitler got greedy, way too greedy and it's not the first time in history a powerful country failed because of greed. In the end, the world ended up the better of it.
It was not possible. Fact is that Hitler wasn´t the only Hitler. We tell history from the version of the victorious powers, just for fact´s sake. The Wehrmacht overran Stalins preparations of an invasion, this why there was a huge initial success against an enemy far superior in numbers. The same applies for Churchill who had a problem with Germany, later with the USSR. So if Hitler wanted this or that, doesn´t matter.
Fact is that Hitler neither sought for war with France or the British Empire. His Lebensraum plans were limited to the east, where Germany hat lost territory after WW1. Also Spain, Portugal, Italy and Romania were not occupied but allies.
France was also not totally occupied. The Germans took the north (not for taking it over, but military reasons) but left the south to a French administration, the Vichy government.
So that doesn´t make Hitler a saint, simply one player in the game of reckless dictators.
