World at War #52

Sealion - Proposed German Invasion of England : Britain stood alone against Hitler’s Germany in the summer of 1940, and for the first time in 150 years faced the possibility of invasion. Only the English Channel separated the two foes, and it remained to be seen if it could be overcome by the Germans. Other Articles: - First Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski - Poland’s Lost Victory: The fate of the Polish campaign had been decided by mid-September 1939. Despite the looming defeat, Poland launched a daring attack on German forces at Tomaszów Lubelski. - Vella Lavella - Last Act in the Solomons: Vella Lavella. The name sounds pleasant and conjured an image of a South Seas paradise. For those Allied soldiers who invaded the island in 1943, it was a fetid, malarial hell garrisoned by fanatical Japanese troops. - The Battle of the River Plate: On 13 December 1939, the German pocket battleship Graf Spee fought three Royal Navy cruisers off the coast of Uruguay and Argentina. The battle marked the first great naval engagement of World War II.