You want to airdrop onto Malta!!All the troops that Crete is going to probably get means its possibly not a viable target for the German airbourne planners......maybe they will switch targets and this Commonwealth success leads to an assault on and loss of Malta ....... butterflies flap in mysterious ways !
Please , Malta is a totally different target to Crete. Too small for Para troops to land safely ( they either have to land on rock with defenders converging quickly or right on top of the defenders ) , all the landing sites are covered, no hope of taking a port quickly and the airfields are again heavily defended with reserves that can quickly reinforce if needed. No one tried it OTL because it was pure suicide, when Avalon Hill put it out as out a bonus game, the hoops to make it playable so were stupid ( and the win conditions slanted even more ) . Malta falls it you can starve it out, no other wayAll the troops that Crete is going to probably get means its possibly not a viable target for the German airbourne planners......maybe they will switch targets and this Commonwealth success leads to an assault on and loss of Malta ....... butterflies flap in mysterious ways !
Why though?All the troops that Crete is going to probably get means its possibly not a viable target for the German airbourne planners......maybe they will switch targets and this Commonwealth success leads to an assault on and loss of Malta ....... butterflies flap in mysterious ways !
You want to airdrop onto Malta!!
Are you mad!
The size would mean you'd essentially be dropping on top of allied positions and you really wouldn't have anywhere to regroup before being found and shot.
If there are more than 4 allied tanks there I really can't see it going well for them
Yet Herkules was a thingPlease , Malta is a totally different target to Crete. Too small for Para troops to land safely ( they either have to land on rock with defenders converging quickly or right on top of the defenders ) , all the landing sites are covered, no hope of taking a port quickly and the airfields are again heavily defended with reserves that can quickly reinforce if needed. No one tried it OTL because it was pure suicide,
So was Operation SealionYet Herkuleswas a thin
Operation Herkules - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
Sure, both would have done far more damage to the Nazis than the Allies. But they were real plans they intended to carry out.So was Operation Sealion
Edit: But like Sealion Herkules planners decided that there was better ways to kill their troops.....
But were not carried out because the planners knew in both cases the operation would be a disasterSure, both would have done far more damage to the Nazis than the Allies. But they were real plans they intended to carry out.
Well, for the more restrained ones anyway...So, what the discussion is leading to that the amount of explosives necessary for combat engineers to consider it excessive would be enough to turn the remainder of Greece into an island?
So, what the discussion is leading to that the amount of explosives necessary for combat engineers to consider it excessive would be enough to turn the remainder of Greece into an island?
Indeed. Often be applying it to the enemy at high speed.There is no problem on earth that cannot be solved with the proper application of High Explosives.
To quote myself in character back in shwi-isot days "All military problems have a proper engineering solution"Indeed. Often be applying it to the enemy at high speed.
I so miss alt.history.whatifTo quote myself in character back in shwi-isot days "All military problems have a proper engineering solution"
If I may make an observation here. Gjirokaster (as the base near the front of the Epirus Army) to Ioannina and then Delphi is 406 km. To cover this distance on foot over (more or less) a week and then being able to fight is beyond human endurance. Especially since they are frontline formations, not well rested troops. If I may suggest an alternative, the port of Preveza is 100 km from Ioannina. From there and nearby small ports, coastal shipping can lift these troops to the Peloponnese or directly to Crete. In any case, if they try to reach Delphi, they will melt out of sheer exhaustion without being able to serve any purpose. One can ask only so much even from hardy veterans.1st and 11th Divisions had bought the time needed for their comrades to be withdrawn and these two divisions were now withdrawing primarily by foot and mule down the western coast road, via Ioannina, aiming to re-join the main forces via the Delphi Pass. General Wilson, when notified of this, asked the RASC if they could spare some transport to help these Greek Divisions. The 1st Division were weakened but still able to fight, and having them defend the Delphi Pass would provide the Anzacs with flank protection.