15th August 2007, 2:56 PM
Hitler was exactly as close to winning as most people know, that is, not at all. There is no way that Germany could have neutralized the Royal Navy, even if it had completely destroyed the RAF (unlikely), and hoping that seizing the French fleet at Toulon would turn the tide was purely wishful thinking, as even at full strength it was by far inferior to the RN. In fact, the entire concept of Operation Sealion was completely unfeasible given Germany's limited sea power, which is, in all likelihood, why it was dropped in favour of Barbarossa.
We may theorize that by winning the Battle of Britain, Hitler could have demoralized the Brits enough that they would have signed a peace treaty, leaving Germany to be annihilated by the Soviets and ushering in a new era of communism on the world. However, that is unlikely, since Churchill said that they would have fought on to the bitter end - which was really Britain's only choice once they had seen the true nature of nazism. Furthermore, the Tripartite Pact essentially doomed Germany, as it forced it to declare war on the USA once Japan had attacked it - since that attack was a foregone conclusion for various reasons, Britain had all the more reason to stay at war with Germany and await the USA's entry in the European theater.
We may theorize that by winning the Battle of Britain, Hitler could have demoralized the Brits enough that they would have signed a peace treaty, leaving Germany to be annihilated by the Soviets and ushering in a new era of communism on the world. However, that is unlikely, since Churchill said that they would have fought on to the bitter end - which was really Britain's only choice once they had seen the true nature of nazism. Furthermore, the Tripartite Pact essentially doomed Germany, as it forced it to declare war on the USA once Japan had attacked it - since that attack was a foregone conclusion for various reasons, Britain had all the more reason to stay at war with Germany and await the USA's entry in the European theater.