Hitler's Overconfidence Toward Britain
Since the Nazi's invasion of Poland the war has played in Hitler's favor. No country has been able to successfully stop Hitler's vast army and airforce. Leading up to the battle, the Luftwaffe had at least 2,500 functioning aircraft compared to the Royal Air Force's 1,200. Hitler was sure that he would be able to crush the British within a matter of days. This overconfidence would play out to be Hitler's downfall.
"But I shall not shrink from war with Britain if it is necessary. Where Napoleon failed, I shall succeed. Today there is no such thing as an island. I shall land on the shores of Britain. I shall destroy her towns from the mainland. Britain does not yet know how vulnerable she is today."
- Adolf Hitler, Conversation with Hermann Rauschning, 1934
"Hitler then began to talk about his favorite subject, the pacifism of Britain and France. I have heard him many times reiterate his unshakable conviction that Britain was quite incapable of waging another war..."
- Hermann Rauschning, The Voice of Destruction: Conversations with Hitler, 1940