Operation Sealion fails

The Battle of Britain is one of the most popular PODs when it comes to the Nazis winning World War II, since before June 22nd 1941, the British were the only nation still fighting the Nazis.

The Germans devised a plan called Operation Sealion, which was a land invasion of the British Isles. Of course, this plan never came to fruition because the Royal Air Force was able to keep the Luftwaffe from attaining air superiority.

However, most historians have come to the conclusion that Operation Sealion had about the same chance as succeeding as pigs sprouting wings.

So, what if the the Germans achieved air superiority, but Operation Sealion itself failed?
 
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How do you lose the Battle of Britain but win Sealion? If you mean the Germans achieve superiority but not supremacy, that is hard. Even then, the Germans wash ashore and get crushed? Hitler wasn't seen as invulnerable quite yet. This just might lead to a coup. If not, Hitler may hesitate attacking the Soviets and instead pursue the Mediterranean Strategy to salvage his pride.
 
This needs to be clarified (and apologies in advance for nitpicking).

1. When you see "Britain lost the Battle of Britain," what does this mean specifically -- the Royal Air Force was eliminated as a fighting force and Germans obtained air superiority over England? Do you mean somehow Germany forced a British surrender without Sea Lion succeeding? etc.

2. Second part, same thing: when you see See Lion failed, does this mean Germany attempted it but failed? Or simply that it "failed" in that they never launched it because it seemed like a lost cause?

Inferus raises some good points but don't worry about some of his/her more detailed points before you clarify exactly what outcomes you have in mind.
 
1. When you see "Britain lost the Battle of Britain," what does this mean specifically -- the Royal Air Force was eliminated as a fighting force and Germans obtained air superiority over England? Do you mean somehow Germany forced a British surrender without Sea Lion succeeding? etc.

It would be rather impossible to do that. What it probably means is that the Germans force the British to pull back their fighters north of London to recuperate for a few weeks, thus giving the Germans a window of air superiority over the channel which was what the prerequisite for Sealion entailed. While Fighter Command would have responded to an invasion by surging back down, it would have taken it time to re-establish itself and the Germans only planned for a window of superiority of a week or so. Enough to get the troops across or so they believed.

How do you lose the Battle of Britain but win Sealion? If you mean the Germans achieve superiority but not supremacy, that is hard. Eventhen, the Germans wash ashore and get crushed?

Not really. Assuming less skilled commanders on the British side (such as Leigh Mallory), German air superiority over the Channel for the period that the Sealion plan called for was by itself eminently achievable. Sealion would have still failed because the Luftwaffe, contrary to German expectations, would have still been unable to prevent the RN from steaming into the channel and sinking the invasion fleet. They would have made the RN pay a price in doing so but that's all they would have done.

Hitler wasn't seen as invulnerable quite yet. This just might lead to a coup.

Sealion was cobbled together in the aftermath of the Battle of France, which basically totally fortified Hitler's reputation as invulnerable. So yeah, he was. And if losing an army of 300,000 men in a massive land battle, something which the Germans were supposed to be good at, that turned the tide of the war wasn't enough to trigger a successful coup attempt then I fail to see how losing a few tens of thousands (at worst) in a amphibious operation, something the Germans have no skill in, that would in the immediate term have not apparently impacted Germany's position one bit would.

Hitler may hesitate attacking the Soviets and instead pursue the Mediterranean Strategy to salvage his pride.

If the Germans were seriously considering a long war against the British following the Battle of France, they'd never have tried Sealion. Goering might still have tried to bring the British to their knees with a strategic air campaign (basically the OTL blitz).

The whole Sealion plan was based on a desire to end the war quickly, which plans for a long war in the Med contradict. If the Germans were willing to do the latter, they'd never have risked the former.
 
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It would be rather impossible to do that. What it probably means is that the Germans force the British to pull back their fighters north of London to recuperate for a few weeks, thus giving the Germans a window of air superiority over the channel which was what the prerequisite for Sealion entailed. While Foghter Command would have responded to an invasion by surging back down, it would have taken it time to re-establish itself and the Germans only planned for a window of superiority of a week or so. Enough to get the troops across or so they believed.

I don't disagree with this for the most part but I do want to hear what the original poster has in mind before answering a question he didn't mean to ask since "the British lose the Battle of Britain" leaves open a wide range of possibilities. I think I see that he has now changed his wording to clarify that he means the Germans achieved air superiority.

Sealion was cobbled together in the aftermath of the Battle of France, which basically totally fortified Hitler's reputation as invulnerable. So yeah, he was. And if losing an army of 300,000 men in a massive land battle, something which the Germans were supposed to be good at, that turned the tide of the war wasn't enough to trigger a successful coup attempt then I fail to see how losing a few tens of thousands (at worst) in a amphibious operation, something the Germans have no skill in, that would in the immediate term have not apparently impacted Germany's position one bit would.

Agreed. Questions of "invulnerability" aside, the fact that this operation took place wholly outside of German home territory and, at least in strictly army terms, is comparatively small scale (obviously the remnants of the navy won't agree with this part), makes it easier to spin away as merely a minor diversionary raid gone wrong, "we'll go back soon," etc., etc.

Plus, on the specific question of a coup in the aftermath of failure, my guess is that instead of people taking aim at Hitler, what would immediately happen was an inter-service feud as army competed for a chance to blame the air force, the air force the navy, the navy the army, round and round we go. Indeed that is pretty much how Sea Lion died its ignominious death in the historical timeline already. "Gosh, if only the Luftwaffe had been able to sort out the RAF the way they promised. Such a shame, because our flotilla was all ready to go. Oh well, maybe next time..."
 
BTW If that happened how england will react? Would churchill be booted from downing? We saw germany's side but not british side of the story..
 
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