After his military advisers warned him about the difficulties that Operation Sea Lion (the plan for an amphibious landing on England, scheduled for September 15) would encounter, Hitler made Britain a non-belligerency offer. In a speech at the Reichstag, he offered Britain peace in return for British recognition of German dominion in Western Europe and the restoration of former German colonies:
Mr. Churchill, or perhaps others, for once believe me when I predict a great empire will be destroyed, an empire that it was never my intention to destroy or even to harm. I do realize that this struggle, if it continues, can end only with the complete annihilation of one or the other of the two adversaries. Mr. Churchill may believe this will be Germany. I know that it will be Britain.
