Today we delve into the archives again to look at a remarkably-detailed wartime invasion plan of Britain that revealed how Dorset would have been in the firing line had Adolf Hitler got his way.

The chilling document, which was compiled in the summer of 1940, contains reconnaissance photographs and maps of Weymouth Bay and Studland Bay.

The bulky dossier is a stark reminder of how well prepared a German invading force would have been had the Luftwaffe not been rebuffed by the RAF in the Battle of Britain.

The pack is titled 'Militargeograogische Angaben uber England' which translates to 'military geographic information about England'.

The packs were sent to German headquarters' in western Europe in August 1940 in readiness for Operation Sea Lion - the German invasion of Britain.

This was two months after the evacuation of 330,000 Allied troops at Dunkirk and at the height of the Battle of Britain.

The images, likely taken from tourism postcards, were distributed to give the troops the best idea of the landscape they would encounter after landing on these shores.

Other colour-coded geological maps show soil types in the land for the county so the Germans knew which Panzer tanks could be used where.

They even had managed to collect information relating to the Electricity Board as no stone was left unturned in their preparations.

Four years later, the Allies issued similar style plans of the Normandy coast ahead of D-Day to prepare their men for the landings.

The German pack has been consigned for sale today by a European private collector with C&T Auctions of Ashford, Kent, who expect it to fetch £350.

Matthew Tredwen, specialist at C&T Auctions, said: "This is an interesting folder of booklets and maps given details of strategic areas for the German soldiers to attack and hold during the operation against the British isles in 1940.

"The booklets cover various areas of the UK and have black and white images of strategic landmarks and the coast line.

"A lot of the images were from postcards and the British did exactly the same thing with their D-Day preparations.

"It is chilling to see just how much information the Germans had amassed about Britain, and how well prepared thery would have been if the invasion had been launched."

Operation Sea Lion was Hitler's code name for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War.

He prefaced the order by stating: "As England, in spite of her hopeless military situation, still shows no signs of willingness to come to terms, I have decided to prepare, and if necessary to carry out, a landing operation against her."

But with air losses increasing, Hitler postponed Sea Lion indefinitely on September 17, 1940 and it was never put into action.