Is British panic enough?

It's not even saying paratroopers landing is the trigger. I used paratroops as an example, its the issue of German military force on British soil.

They have to get there either by air or by sea. If by sea they have to get past the RN and RAF and can land a few thousand men if they are very lucky and maybe a few tanks and artillary guns. If by air only light infantry. In either case the Germans get squashed.
 
Morale

You should speak to people who were around then, like my Parents, as schoolkids.

All stuff about 'the Brits will panic'.
About what? Is more frightening to know that a small force-soon to be crushed, bunch of German troops are on the soil miles away from you?
Or that this nights bombing raids might get you?
You've already seen friends/relatives bombed out-killed and injured.

In fact, there were great concerns then that the German's already had troops here, maybe in British uniforms.

And if the population were so likely to be blinded by panic, explain how the call for 'Local Defence Volunteers' (soon to be renamed the Home Guard), had such a massive response, the authorities were completely overwhelmed.
They expected a few tens of thousands, WW1 vets and the like. What they got was many hundreds of thousands (was it even as much as a million?), from all walks of life.
Who were prepared to volunteer to go up against these 'invincible' Germans, with little training and for a long time, even less equipment.
With in most cases, presunmably, the consent of their loved ones.
That really answers it I think.

And the kids who'd be my parents?
Go to school as usual (don't forget your gas mask), if a V1 buzzed over the school sports day-as it did for my Mum, hit the ground......it's gone, so carry on as normal.
Family from the East End of London bombed out-so are squeezed in to live with mum's family, in the 'safe' haven of Langely, West of London.
Right next to the Hawker factory building Hurricanes.

Dad's family-like mums, could not bear to have the kids evacuated, though they lived right next to Northolt-a major airfield in the Battle Of Britain.

People just largely got on with life, feeding a family with rationing, that took a lot of attention on it's own.
They expected, in 1940, an invasion, were surprised when it did not happen.
 
It's not even saying paratroopers landing is the trigger. I used paratroops as an example, its the issue of German military force on British soil.

Yeah. And you've been told that the size of that force does count in the assessment of whether it can cause panic, or different reactions.

It should be intuitive that while one rifle-armed German soldier with no supplies in sight on British soil is "German military force", but it isn't force enough to panic either the British government or the people.

Now, it is a bit less intuitive, but still one might be able to understand it, that 10,000 rifle-armed German soldiers with no supplies in sight on British soil are much more similar to the one German soldier mentioned above in the same situation, than to what happened to France or to Denmark or to Luxembourg.

Whence, 1 or 10,000 = same result, no panic.
 
I see it that way. For it is always the person goes back to work, no one ever acts stupid. I expect many people to act stupid when they are invaded. If the argument is that the Germans are stopped at the defensive lines, and after a few weeks the regular army decides no other attack is coming, and gets in to help the regulars with the Home Guard mixed in at the lines(lack of supplies agaisnt a prepared postion), I can buy that. But it's never that.

I never see people think some General would order "don't go fight the Germans, everybody stay inside the capital." You never have the arugement that Britian would keep their planes held back to keep them ready for an attack. It is always England thinks logically, but that strange magical logic that allows them to know the Germans in Britian are the only ones to ever arrive. No one ever conserves their forces, and waits for a big push, or moves back to a safer area. Hell no determined Col. charges the German lines. The fight is always contain, and bombard, with the Germans surrendering or retreating after a week.

Apologies if I'm dragging up a dead thread but Fenwick are you aware of the British armies dispositions in the summer/autumn of '40?
The GCHQ reserve had in June/July '40;
To the south west of London - the 1st Canadian Infantry Division (fully equipped), the 1st Armoured Division & 1st Army Tank Brigade, the latter 2 amounting to some 150 Infantry & Cruiser tanks in mid July.
To the west of London - the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division (less than fully equipped), the NZEF (2 weak brigades) & a Motor Machine Gun brigade.
To the north of London - the incomplete 2nd Armoured Division equipped with light tanks.
This GCHQ reserve was the strategic reserve for the entire country, other reserves were located behind the costal defences the total = some 27 divisions, mostly ill equipped & ill trained infantry divsions but also including the 5 regular divisions of the BEF.
At the time information was very limited on the actual effectiveness of German parachute forces & scare stories abounded. The actual German forces were 5 parachute battalions which were battered in the Netherlands & the 22nd Air Landing Division (glider borne light infantry). Considering the over estimation of the threat from German parachute attack pervading at the time, eliminating the RAF from the equation & presuming a landing at say the Oxford or Reading area's much of the GCHQ reserve would be committed if required. How long do you think the German forces would hold out against these?
Incidently the forces inside the London consisted of 2 Guards & the 3rd (London) infantry brigades.
 
Top