Operation Sledgehammer goes through.

[Thegn]

BTW, another consideration for Sledgehammer in '42 is amphibious doctrine & equipment. We didn't have the landing ships that were used on D-Day, because they were developed in the Pacific in '43 & '44. We'd have landed pretty much the same way we did at Guadalcanal in Aug. of '42.

Arrive in a cargo ship. Throw a cargo net over the side. Climb down in full combat kit, time it carefully, & then jump into a whaleboat that's heaving up & down on the waves. With the ship & the whaleboat heaving in different directions, if you time this wrong it can make the difference between a 2-foot jump & a 6-foot jump.

Meanwhile, the guys above you are piling up & stepping on your hands. And when they jump, half of 'em land on you.

Once everyone's aboard, the Navy coxswain drives your boat towards the beach. Under fire. When the boat grounds, then you've gotta heave a wet cargo net over the bows, which takes 4 or 5 tries, then climb out & climb down-- all while people are shooting at you. Once you get down you can hit the sand, unsling your rifle, & try shooting back-- assuming you're still alive.

At Guadalcanal we had the luck to land unopposed. In Europe this probably wouldn't happen, & heavy casualties are very likely. Heavier than D-Day.

--Thegn.

[usertron2020]

Originally Posted by lukedalton

The British, as the main target of the German retaliation will not be really much keen to start Operation Vegetarian if not as a last resort.
And regarding nuke Germany, well this is not TBO and before you can do that you must destroy the Nazi AA defense system who unlike japan will be still on place and Great Britain will face a second blitz.

B-29s will be less than impressed by Nazi AA defenses. Even the vaunted 88s couldn't reach a Superfort's military cruising altitude. Besides, there's nothing to stop hosts of non-Atomic B-29s from playing decoy for the real Silverplate Bombers. GermanWank TLs to the contrary, they couldn't stop them.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by usertron2020

B-29s will be less than impressed by Nazi AA defenses. Even the vaunted 88s couldn't reach a Superfort's military cruising altitude. Besides, there's nothing to stop hosts of non-Atomic B-29s from playing decoy for the real Silverplate Bombers. GermanWank TLs to the contrary, they couldn't stop them.

Calbear liked destroying them with superior allied tech.

[jmc247]

Originally Posted by lukedalton

The British, as the main target of the German retaliation will not be really much keen to start Operation Vegetarian if not as a last resort.
And regarding nuke Germany, well this is not TBO and before you can do that you must destroy the Nazi AA defense system who unlike japan will be still on place and Great Britain will face a second blitz.

The Germans had MAD capacities against Operation Vegetarian with their new class of chemical weapons OTL.

If we assume a timeline where the Eastern Front cracks wide open and Operation Sledgehammer is ordered and then fails as it would and I agree with the poster above very well might get Hitler into a defensive position after that something his generals couldn't get him to do that by late 1945 Germany will be able to move resources elsewhere and have a massive bio-chem program even if they don't have nukes in the pipeline which means an attack on Germany that kills millions would lead to an attack on Britian that kills millions.

Not a pretty picture if Operation Vegetarian goes ahead.

[usertron2020]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Calbear liked destroying them with superior allied tech.

???(filler)