Editing Hermann Göring (section)

=== Success on all fronts ===

Göring and other senior officers were concerned that Germany was not yet ready for war, but Hitler insisted on pushing ahead as soon as possible.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2011|pp=197, 211}} On 30 August 1939, immediately prior to the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], Hitler appointed Göring as the chairman of a new six-person [[Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich]] which was set up to operate as a war cabinet.{{sfn| Broszat| 1981| pp=308–309}} The invasion of Poland, the opening action of World War II, began at dawn on 1 September 1939.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=597}} Later in the day, speaking to the {{lang|de|Reichstag}}, Hitler designated Göring as his successor as Führer of all Germany, "If anything should befall me",{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=599}} with Hess as the second alternate.{{sfn|Gunther|1940|p=19}} Major German victories followed one after the other in quick succession. With the help of the Luftwaffe, the [[Polish Air Force]] was defeated within a week.{{sfn|Hooton|1999|pp=177–189}}{{efn|Confident that the Luftwaffe was without peer and practically invincible in the wake of these victories, Göring commented to the German press that should the enemy ever penetrate German airspace, they could call him "Meyer".{{sfn|Moorhouse|2012|p=350}}{{sfn|Perry|2013|p=45fn}} }} The {{lang|de|[[Fallschirmjäger]]}} seized vital airfields in [[Norway]] ([[Operation Weserübung]]) and captured [[Fort Eben-Emael]] in Belgium on 10 May 1940, the first day of the [[Battle of France]]. Göring's Luftwaffe played critical roles in the [[Battle of the Netherlands|Battles of the Netherlands]], [[Battle of Belgium|of Belgium]] and of France in May 1940.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=721, 723, 725}}

After the [[Fall of France]], Hitler awarded Göring the [[Grand Cross of the Iron Cross]] for his successful leadership.{{sfn|Fellgiebel|2000|p=198}} During the [[1940 Field Marshal Ceremony]], Hitler promoted Göring to the rank of {{lang|de|[[Reichsmarschall]] des Grossdeutschen Reiches}} ({{translation|Reich Marshal of the Greater German Reich}}), a specially created rank which made him senior to all field marshals in the military. As a result of this promotion, he was the highest-ranking soldier in Germany until the end of the war. Göring had already received the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]] on 30 September 1939 as Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe.{{sfn|Fellgiebel|2000|p=198}}

The UK had declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, the third day of the invasion of Poland.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=615}} In July 1940, Hitler began preparations for an invasion of Britain. As part of the plan, the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) had to be neutralised. Bombing raids commenced on British air installations and on cities and centres of industry.{{sfn|Evans|2008|pp=113, 136, 143}} Göring had by then already announced in a radio speech, "If as much as a single enemy aircraft flies over German soil, my name is Meier!",{{sfn|Oestermann|2001|p=157}} something that would return to haunt him, when the RAF began bombing German cities on 11 May 1940.{{sfn|Selwood|2015}} Though he was confident the Luftwaffe could defeat the RAF within days, Göring, like Admiral [[Erich Raeder]], [[Oberkommando der Marine|commander-in-chief of the ''Kriegsmarine'']] (navy),{{sfn|Raeder|2001|pp=324–325}} was pessimistic about the chance of success of the planned invasion (codenamed [[Operation Sea Lion]]).{{sfn|Bungay|2000|p=337}} Göring hoped that a victory in the air would be enough to force peace without an invasion. The campaign failed and Sealion was postponed indefinitely on 17 September 1940.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=144}} After their defeat in the [[Battle of Britain]], the Luftwaffe attempted to defeat Britain via [[strategic bombing]]. On 12 October 1940 Hitler cancelled Sea Lion due to the onset of winter.{{sfn|Taylor|1965|p=500}} By the end of the year, it was clear that British morale was not being shaken by [[the Blitz]], though the bombings continued through May 1941.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=145}}