This book reveals the truth about the Battle of Britain and what stopped Hitler. What stopped Hitler in 1940 - why did he not attempt to invade Britain? In this fresh look, Derek Robinson argues that the Battle of Britain alone could not have been why Operation Sealion, the planned German invasion, was scrapped. The real reason was a force that both Churchill and Hitler failed to acknowledge: the Royal Navy. Whilst never downplaying the skill and courage of the pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain, Robinson challenges a verdict that has been in place for 50 years, and make us question our acceptance of the old story.
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Review
"A challenging, provoking revisionist history" -- The Leicester Mercury, November 8, 2005
"The author is in possession of countless eye-opening background facts...He writes like a dream, too" -- Scottish Legion News, November/December 2005 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"The author is in possession of countless eye-opening background facts...He writes like a dream, too" -- Scottish Legion News, November/December 2005 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
David Robinson is best known for his novels about the Royal Flying Corps and the RAF, but he read history at Cambridge and each of his works of fiction is written around a rigorously researched skeleton of fact. Reviewers have remarked on the 'authenticity' and 'unsparing accuracy' which provide 'a solid documentary underpinning' (of Goshawk Squadron, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having enjoyed Piece of Cake I read this with great interest knowing full well that this was non-fiction. Robinson seeks to disprove the 1940 Myth whilst going out of his way to smash the theory (however small) that Germany might have landed on our shores. Certainly, this is revisionist. Every chapter disproves the seriousness/ the chance of invasion in a different way. Yet, I find myself disagreeing over whether it was the RN that actually stopped Hitler.
I finished this concluding that a little myth telling cannot hurt.
Nonetheless, recommended.
I finished this concluding that a little myth telling cannot hurt.
Nonetheless, recommended.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A. Johnston
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The prevailing view of history, largely based on propaganda from the Churchill government of the time, is that plucky little Britain was only saved from the clutches of Naziism by the valiant, outnumbered, RAF (with assorted other nationalities thrown in).
Rubbish.
Derek Robinson's revisionist history of the invasion scare opens up other areas of investigation, such as the power of the Royal Navy - dwarfing any possible German attack - and the ineptitude of the German running of the war in 1940. While never denigrating the memory of the RAF pilots, he shows very well that had the RAF been wiped from the air in the South East of England in 1940, any invasion fleet would have either been utterly annihilated in the channel or would have landed so few troops that the British Army, despite its desparate shortages, would have been able to contain and destroy them at leisure.
Telling people that there was no threat would not have galvanised the country, so it's entirely understandable that the story of "The Few" became the accepted view for many years.
Robinson is not the first to come up with this alternative point of view, but possibly more well known than others. He also goes slightly overboard with the sarcasm at times for my liking - it is a non-fiction book after all - but is worth 4 stars as an eye opener; an informative and entertaining read.
Rubbish.
Derek Robinson's revisionist history of the invasion scare opens up other areas of investigation, such as the power of the Royal Navy - dwarfing any possible German attack - and the ineptitude of the German running of the war in 1940. While never denigrating the memory of the RAF pilots, he shows very well that had the RAF been wiped from the air in the South East of England in 1940, any invasion fleet would have either been utterly annihilated in the channel or would have landed so few troops that the British Army, despite its desparate shortages, would have been able to contain and destroy them at leisure.
Telling people that there was no threat would not have galvanised the country, so it's entirely understandable that the story of "The Few" became the accepted view for many years.
Robinson is not the first to come up with this alternative point of view, but possibly more well known than others. He also goes slightly overboard with the sarcasm at times for my liking - it is a non-fiction book after all - but is worth 4 stars as an eye opener; an informative and entertaining read.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By P. Andrews
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In my experience, there are four books that fundamentally explain why Germany lost the war; David Irving 'Hitler's War', 'Barbarossa: The German Campaign in Russia - Planning and Operations (1940-1942' by R.G. Grant, 'Mechanized Juggernaut or Military Anachronism: Horses and the German Army of World War II' by R.L. DiNardo, and 'Invasion 1940' by Derek Robinson.
Taken together they tell such a story of German incompetence, internal feuding, conflicting egos, its quite astonishing that the war lasted as long as it did. Hitler was forever vacillating, Goering crippled the Luftwaffe before it had even begun, Operation Sealion planning was a mess, etc. etc.
Invasion 1940 delivers far more than it promises. Dereck Robinson did his National Service as a radar plotter in the RAF, then went on to read History at University. He has a mind for the 'real' as opposed to myth, propaganda and the plain fanciful and an historian's eye for detail, objectivity and impartiality. Some of his information is quite astonishing in its significance for the whole war story. And yet he conveys it all with a certain sardonic wit that is well in keeping with his theme. A very readable and enjoyable work.
After reading Invasion 1940 and any of the other above mentioned works, you will begin to wonder how Germans came to have such a fearsome reputation for 'efficiency'. When Germans are angry, fed up and emotionally driven they can be just as mediocre, incompetent and muddle headed as anyone else. No wonder when others call them 'hard working' (fleissig) they sometimes burst out laughing. They are human after all. Invasion 1940 shows this very clearly, and helps to balance up the War Legend with a very welcomed dose of reality.
Taken together they tell such a story of German incompetence, internal feuding, conflicting egos, its quite astonishing that the war lasted as long as it did. Hitler was forever vacillating, Goering crippled the Luftwaffe before it had even begun, Operation Sealion planning was a mess, etc. etc.
Invasion 1940 delivers far more than it promises. Dereck Robinson did his National Service as a radar plotter in the RAF, then went on to read History at University. He has a mind for the 'real' as opposed to myth, propaganda and the plain fanciful and an historian's eye for detail, objectivity and impartiality. Some of his information is quite astonishing in its significance for the whole war story. And yet he conveys it all with a certain sardonic wit that is well in keeping with his theme. A very readable and enjoyable work.
After reading Invasion 1940 and any of the other above mentioned works, you will begin to wonder how Germans came to have such a fearsome reputation for 'efficiency'. When Germans are angry, fed up and emotionally driven they can be just as mediocre, incompetent and muddle headed as anyone else. No wonder when others call them 'hard working' (fleissig) they sometimes burst out laughing. They are human after all. Invasion 1940 shows this very clearly, and helps to balance up the War Legend with a very welcomed dose of reality.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
I have been researching the Battle of Britain for many years. Derek...
I have been researching this period since it happened. I was there as a ten year old. Derek Robinson as a trained historian has given us, for the first time, new information and a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Peter Stewart
3.0 out of 5 stars
Invasion 1940
So many books on this subject--so much regurgitating of what Hitler said, what Goering said, what Raeder said. So much "What if?" and "myth". Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2011 by a flynn
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mything the Point
The attempt to dispel the `myth of the few' represents a good read, and a good example of not letting contradictory evidence get in the way of a good story. Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2008 by Mr. Pm Hanks
2.0 out of 5 stars
Key points
Although I enjoyed the read and Derek Robinson seems to be well versed in the RAF's role and performance in the Battle of Britain, I finished the book feeling a bit flat. Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2007 by Mr. Anthony R. Davis
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pith and sarcasm redux
Far from stepping back with a historian's objective eyeglasses, DR is at times biting in his criticism and often curmudgeonly in his delivery. Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2006 by Timothy Spence
3.0 out of 5 stars
Read the novel - same arguement, more fun
Piece of Cake is one of my all time favourite novels. Towards the end of this story several of the characters are discussing over breakfast the current outcome of the 'Battle' and... Read more
Published on 20 April 2006 by Craig Simms
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good HISTORY book NOT a NOVEL!
Derek Robinson has used his vast knowledge about the RAF during 1940 to write a book that totally dispels the myth that the RAF was the only thing between the Nazis taking over the... Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2005 by Mr. R. J. Ellis
1.0 out of 5 stars
Stay away from this book
I love Robinson's novels, they are fiction but often better than the real thing.
This book is a mix of real history and what-if situations, however theres nothing new about... Read more
This book is a mix of real history and what-if situations, however theres nothing new about... Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2005 by Federico Aloisi
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