July 10 in Military History — On This Day

Battle of Britain

The first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. The Luftwaffe attempted to destroy the RAF as a prelude to Operation Sea Lion — the invasion of Britain. RAF Fighter Command, using radar and the Spitfire and Hurricane, inflicted unsustainable losses. When Hitler shifted attacks to bombing London (the Blitz), it gave RAF airfields time to recover. Germany never achieved air superiority.

The first defeat of the Wehrmacht. Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sea Lion and turned east toward the Soviet Union. Churchill's words — 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few' — honored the 544 RAF pilots who died. Radar proved decisive in modern warfare for the first time.

Full battle details →

⚔️📍 Sicily, Italy1943

Operation Husky — Allied Invasion of Sicily

160,000 Allied troops landed on Sicily in the largest amphibious operation to that point in the war, involving 3,000 ships. Despite poor coordination and scattered airborne drops, the landings succeeded against Italian defenders who largely chose not to fight.

The Sicily campaign convinced Italian generals to overthrow Mussolini and led directly to Italy's armistice — opening the 'soft underbelly' of Europe to Allied invasion.

Outcome

Allied victory in 38 days; Mussolini overthrown