How does Hitler and Germany come back from a Sealion disaster?

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Loosing 40,000 men was not catastrophic, look at some of the WW I battles.
And the Germans had several million men in the Army.
Sinking the first wave was not all that costly to the German army. It would have pretty much wiped out the functional German navy though.

Letting the Germans land the first wave and then sinking the 2nd wave would have roughly doubled the German casualties without a lot more losses on the British side.
German 1st wave would have to surrender in 3-5 days due to lack of supplies, like food and ammo.
German 1st wave doesn't have a lot of heavy weapons. Sort of a reverse Dunkirk, Few tanks and only light artillery.

Germans still have the bulk of their panzer divisions. Only a few battalions in the first wave and 8 or less in the second wave.
Getting rid of some of the Pz Is and IIs may have done Germans a favor?

The German expected a much harder and longer battle for France with higher causalities.
Sea Lion was another gamble, 50-100,000 men lost and winning was one thing. Loosing 60-100,000men and British still holding southern England was another story.
Good points. And, by the time the until now dispersed and hidden RN get down to intercept point much of the first wave might be ashore. Even the fastest destroyer or cruiser would need two hours to close the sixty miles or so.
 
German barges needed mostly to be towed by tugs in groups. The estimated time from leaving France to sorting out the run
in on landing points was at least 32 hours.That gives the RN a lot of time to get there before any landing even starts.

RN attacks were made from September on against German held ports and channel shipping - especially at night as the
Luftwaffe couldn't intervene. October 11 saw Revenge accompanied by destroyers bombard Cherbourg with 120 15" shells
while the destroyers sent in 800 4.7" shots as well. There was little the Germans could do about this or attacks on their
coastal shipping at night.

An attempted landing as envisaged would have been mince meated.
 

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