After the fall of France, Great Britain, led by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, stood alone against Nazi Germany.

Hitler planned an invasion of Britain, code-named 'Operation Sea Lion.'

To make an invasion possible, Germany first had to gain air superiority over the English Channel by destroying the British Royal Air Force (RAF).

The Battle of Britain was the major air campaign fought between the German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) and the RAF in the summer and fall of 1940.

The Luftwaffe initially focused on attacking British airfields and radar stations.

Later, they shifted their focus to bombing British cities, a campaign known as 'the Blitz.'

The RAF, though outnumbered, had key advantages, including a sophisticated radar system and the high-performance Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes.

The bravery of the RAF pilots led Churchill to famously state, 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.'

The RAF successfully repelled the Luftwaffe, forcing Hitler to indefinitely postpone his invasion plans.

The Battle of Britain was a crucial turning point and the first major defeat for Germany in World War II.