What Might Have Been

History might have recorded something like this:

After winning the battle of the air over Britain, the Germans blocked British east-coast ports with sunken ships, then made two main landings in the south of England. Simultaneously airborne troops invaded the Midlands. The first landing, in Kent and Sussex on England's southeastern tip. sucked London's defenders down to battle. Then came the second attack, to the west, in the Portland and Weymouth area of Dorset. German armor poured quickly through the inviting flats up to the rolling Salisbury Plain and the Cotswolds, then swerved southeastward to take London from the rear. In the final stages the last British remnants in North Wales were cleaned up completing the occupation of England.

History, was not written that way because Germany lost the battle of the air and because of the basic British character, which Germans have never understood. But it might have been. In a garage in liberated Brussels, the British found the elaborate plans Germany had begun gathering in August 1940, kept up to date as late as 1943.

There were hundreds of thousands of dossiers, each at least 18 inches thick and a foot square, including maps, plans, photographs and guidebooks, giving minute detail about every part of Britain. Even tourist picture post cards and newspaper photographs were included.

With them was an invasion "Baedeker" which considered the military possibilities for each unit commander, suggested the plan of attack, commented on Britain in general.

Sample comment: British slums are due not only to the "industrial revolution but also to the inefficiency of the Englishwoman as a housekeeper."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.