The Battle of Britain Was The First Defeat For The German Luftwaffe.

[Rickusty]

IMO, but only as a "political scientist and international relationist" and not as a great historian, I would just say this:

1) I am not sure if Germany could have invaded the UK, just because the Royal Navy would have prevented it.
Maybe sacrificing itself, but nonetheless preveting a great german invasion.

2) The forces in the air were more or less equal, considering all the factors included: Britons on the defence, on their soil, the Channel, radars etc... The RAF would have not been easily liquidated by the LW, a "tactical" air force in 1940.
It was not , IMO, a decisive victory by either the RAF or the LW. It was more of a sign that the British were able to defend themselves, and succesfully, against air attacks.

2) It was the Royal Navy that was fundamental in obtaining victory over the Axis in the WW2 on the western front.
Italy lost the North African campaign not because there were not enough Italian soldiers (and Germans of the Afrika Korps),but because we were not supplied succesfully by our Regia Marina. We had TERRIFIC losses starting from late 1941 on, caused by the presence of the Royal Navy and its aggressive attacks against our main naval supply routes.
Malta was also an important naval base just in the middle of the route.

3) Maritime powers have been (and probably are) quite often the victorios ones.
The Normandy invasion would have never happened had without the great combination of the huge British and the American navies combined.

4) Germany quite always suffered by the chronic lack of a "wide strategic vision" in their wars. Tactically they were great, strategically they just weren't.
We, Italians, were strategically disastrous.... and tactically, so and so...
The British were not.
The thing is: The Axis could win battles, the Allies could win wars.
Just think about the decision to not invade Malta in the summer of 1942 (decision chose by Rommel himself, with the approval of Hitler, not listening to Mussolini and Kesselring in Rome) when all the plans for "Operation C3" had been precisely studied and programmed and the Ramcke Brig. and the Folgore Airborne would have had a decisive role.
In hindsight I say though: PERSONALLY that decision was a sound one for me, as my grandpa was in Sicily in the 1th inf. Superga Division as a medic and that division was chosen for the landing.
Had it happened, maybe I wouldn't be here today

5) The invasion of the Soviet Union, enough said....
Again, many wrong strategic decisions made by the Germans (or Hitler, you name it)

But talking about all of this now in 2011 , just reminds me of how lucky we are now, and how has the world changed...
How nationalities have somehow lost their "great power" they had, how we live in a totally different world, where country barriers are
fading away, economy has become (luckily or unfortunately, you decide it....) the most important element in every institution, countries lose their
sovereign powers which is in turn delegated to "higher authorities", how ideologies
have faded away (again, lucikly or unluckily, your choice) and youngsters doesn't follow politics in the same way as our fathers did.
The "concept" of "Country" has changed, and we live in a totally different world nowadays...


Cheers
Rick