Invasion: The Alternate History of the German Invasion of England, July 1940

by Kenneth John Macksey

In June 1940, German troops massed across the Channel, poised for the invasion of Britain. With France defeated and Britain cowed, Hitler seemed ready for his greatest gamble. As history shows, it was only the valiant efforts of the RAF, and Hitler's own hesitations, that caused Operation Sealion to be scuttled, replaced in favor of the doomed invasion of Russia a year later... But what if Hitler had gone through with his original plan?

Genres: Alternate History, Fiction, Military Fiction, World War II, Historical Fiction, Military History, War

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

British author and historian who specialized in military history and military biography, particularly of the Second World War. Macksey was commissioned in the Royal Armoured Corps and served during the Second World War (earning the Military Cross under the command of Percy Hobart). Macksey later wrote the (authoritative) biography of Hobart.Macksey gained a permanent commission in 1946, was transferred to the Royal Tank Regiment in 1947, reached the rank of major in 1957 and retired from the Army in 1968.

Amongst many other books, Macksey wrote two volumes of alternate history, one, entitled Invasion, dealt with a successful invasion of England by Germany in 1940 and the other describing a NATO–Warsaw Pact clash in the late 1980s. The latter book was done under contract to the Canadian Forces and focuses on the Canadian role in such a conflict. He was an editor and contributor to Greenhill's Alternate Decisions series since 1995.

In Macksey's Guderian – Panzer General, he refuted the view of historian Sir Basil Liddell-Hart regarding Hart's influence on the development of German Tank Theory in the years leading up to 1939.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A "What-If" account of the German invasion of England. It had been done before, but what set Invasion apart from it's predecessors is that Macksey researched both the German and English battle plans and then plays out the course of the battle.

Macksey was a military historian first and foremost and a veteran of World War II having served with the British Army as an armor officer (tanks) for twenty-seven years (1941-1968). Macksey was decorated with the Military Cross in World War II.

He brings an air of authenticity to his writing. There is no individual heroics since it's a book about a military campign. For those who are interested in the nuts and bolts of a military campaign , even a fictional military campaign, then you'll enjoy this book. If you're more interested in an adventure novel with lots of heroic action (ala Harry Turtledove) then you'll find this book a bit on the dry side.

Mr. Macksey's book is a very matter of fact view of the two sides and where they were in 1940. Not surprisingly the Germans are stronger and in this book Hitler determines to invade England and follows through on this decision. As a result the British give a good showing, but once the Germans get their panzer divisions on the island it's all a foregone conclusion though the matter is up for grabs in the first couple of days. It's an interesting book. So interesting that I've held onto my U.S. copy since receiving it as a gift in 1981. If nothing else "Invasion!" will make you realize that the Allies won the war thanks ,to a large degree, simply because of luck.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a thriller. It's not action-packed or full of suspense. What it is, is a plausible scenario where Germany could have invaded England in early summer of 1940 and, while they might not have overrun the islands and won the war in a stroke, they might have forced the signing of a nonaggression pact, guarding their backsides and preventing the total collapse that actually occurred in 1945.

If you like what-if scenarios, some heavy thinking, and reasoned battle analyses and campaign histories, you'll love this. If you're looking for something lighter, you'll be disappointed.

[Raymond Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are pretty hit and miss. This one is ok, but frankly its a bit questionable how well everything goes for the Nazis, who essentially invade the whole of England with little to no resistance by the Royal Navy. Throughout the counterfactual the English military elite repeat all of the same mistakes they made in France and learn essentially nothing from the experience. I understand that the British had very limited resources at the time and may not been able to put up as much resistance as they would have months later, but everything just goes the Nazi's way with little set backs. It would be nice to read a counterfactual that doesn't simply fall into the tired theme of taking everything to the logical extreme. It would be interesting a see someone tackle the issue with a real thought for how this would change history, or how it might play out other than "Nazi's ruin England just as quickly as everywhere else and do as they want."

Sadly I doubt I'll find many of those, it would just be nice to see some middle ground between 1) here's how it played out in our timeline and 2) here's what would happen if everything went basically perfectly for the Nazis

[Chris Passingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never really got started. Nowhere near as good, considering the calibre of the author, as I expected

[Mathieu Gaudreault · Rating 1 out of 5]

Totalaly not plausible. French airfields were damaged and needed tobe repaired. Kriegsmarine was too weak and its invasion force consisted mostly of tugged rivers barges with a handfull of torpedoes boats as escort. Also the Luftwaffe airplanes didin,t use torpedoes so were less efficient against royal navy ships.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hard core alternative history book that reads like it ought to have come out of a manila file folder stolen from MI5. Certainly lends an interesting perspective into one of the many "Why Not?" questions about WW II.

[Alexander Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fair read

A fair read that covers the major points of a speculative operation sea lion. A little chop and change in its narrative but otherwise fine. Honestly it gives much prestige to the forces of Germany and perhaps not enough credit to the fighting spirit of the British armed forces with the end coming perhaps too soon than reality may have produced, though given the overall length of the book this has perhaps been done to bring the book to a conclusion.

[NRVOUTDOORSMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ouch! A hard read

Unlike most alternate histories this one doesn't necessarily end with the historical facts. Macksey presents a credible case for a successful invasion. As a confirmed Anglophile I found it entirely too convincing.

[Tim O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Read

Not bad as alternative history but I would question whether the Wermacht would quite as ready, or the Royal Navy as supine and lack a dasical as presented. Nevertheless a good read.

[Robert Drumheller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author presented evidence available during July 1940 to support the book. The book was very easy to read.

[George Kasnic · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 to 4 stars, entertaining, but a lot of conjecture without background. Some of the premises are not explained in detail. An interesting read on an obscure subject.

[Jmg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly researched but pretty dry - I really wanted this to be a stimulating, adventurous counter-strike but it was actually hard work by the end. Not as stimulating as it could have been.

[David Warburton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made a nice change from my usual syfi books. Enjoyed the book and would read more of the same type of topic.

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but very heavy on details.

[Richard Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting if slightly depressing read. The suggestion that the Germans might have got on better if they had embarked earlier on a campaign of attacks on shipping in the English Channel, drawing the RAF out into an area of the Germans' choosing, is intriguing. I was slightly disappointed that the book did not go further by positing how the rest of the war might have developed following the outcome of the invasion of Britain, but, as a Home Guard captain once observed, we getting into the realms of fantasy now...

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing "What-if?" tale which feels to be based on solid data and evidence, but a little dry as a result.

[Artie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not knowledgeable enough to know how plausible this is but it seems like it could have happened.

[Jamie Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and terrifyingly possible.