(Wait, wait, bear with me here...)
WI, by some perversity, Adolph Hitler decides, against all advice, cajoling, pleading, reason, etc. to launch Operation Sealion in the fall of 1940?
On September 17, the barges are loaded, the Kriegsmarine sallies forth, the Luftwaffe hurls everything it has at southern England...
It's a miserable failure, of course, a catastrophe of the first order.
The first wave, consisting of divisions from 9th and 16th Armies, is almost entirely wiped out still at sea. A handful of very fortunate barges make it all the way to the English coast, where their lucky occupants are immediately taken prisoner by British forces - for them, at least, the war is over. (One small town near Bexhill is briefly seized by a German platoon. This victory, lasting about half an hour, is the only thing approaching good news for the Germans that day.)
In the skies, the Luftwaffe fighter wings take a pounding. The British push some of their squads from 12 and 13 Groups into the battle, recognizing the golden opportunity that Hitler has given them. The German Navy likewise suffers very heavy losses.
All in all, not a very good day for the Third Reich.
***
So, now what happens? Can Hitler somehow keep power - or his life - after the debacle?
WI, by some perversity, Adolph Hitler decides, against all advice, cajoling, pleading, reason, etc. to launch Operation Sealion in the fall of 1940?
On September 17, the barges are loaded, the Kriegsmarine sallies forth, the Luftwaffe hurls everything it has at southern England...
It's a miserable failure, of course, a catastrophe of the first order.
The first wave, consisting of divisions from 9th and 16th Armies, is almost entirely wiped out still at sea. A handful of very fortunate barges make it all the way to the English coast, where their lucky occupants are immediately taken prisoner by British forces - for them, at least, the war is over. (One small town near Bexhill is briefly seized by a German platoon. This victory, lasting about half an hour, is the only thing approaching good news for the Germans that day.)
In the skies, the Luftwaffe fighter wings take a pounding. The British push some of their squads from 12 and 13 Groups into the battle, recognizing the golden opportunity that Hitler has given them. The German Navy likewise suffers very heavy losses.
All in all, not a very good day for the Third Reich.
***
So, now what happens? Can Hitler somehow keep power - or his life - after the debacle?