After the success in France KG 55 moved into the country and occupied airfields in the Paris area. In July 1940 the Luftwaffe began its first phase of operations over Britain. The escalating air activity over the English Channel was called the "Kanalkampf", which officially began the Battle of Britain on 10 July. Throughout the summer German air operations gradually pressed inland to destroy RAF Fighter Command in southern England as a prelude to Operation Sealion, a seaborne invasion of the United Kingdom.