If he had put up his giant death mirror into orbit, he could make his own ice age.You know, I think everybody is making this whole thing way too complicated. All Hitler had to do was wait until the next Ice Age and then simply drive across.
Assuming the Germans were dumb enough to try it just how many divisions would they lose?
No they didn't...The Sandhurst experts deliberately allowed the first wave to get ashore because they were running an Army exercise, and if no Invasion forces got ashore, there wasn't much point to running the damn thing.
Yes, they did. It's very clearly stated.No they didn't...
That's the parts I'm interested in.Having been involved in a peripheral manner with the subsequent reruns of the exercise, I can confirm that the experts at Sandhurst accepted that the starting conditions were unrealistic, but that without them, there's not much that can be learned
Where? In any official record of the event, where does it say that? Personally I've never seen it stated but willing to view anything that does and I'll gladly be educated if I've missed something.Yes, they did. It's very clearly stated.
Yes they did, they deliberately held back anything larger than a patrol boat/MTB from attacking the 1st wave/crossing. Despite the fact that historical deployment of the RN in Sep40 has far more within striking distance of the invasion fleetNo they didn't...
Do you have specific evidence that supports the collective assumption that the Daily Telegraph wargame held at Sandhurst unrealistically allowed the first wave to land unapposed?Yes they did, they deliberately held back anything larger than a patrol boat/MTB from attacking the 1st wave/crossing. Despite the fact that historical deployment of the RN in Sep40 has far more within striking distance of the invasion fleet
There is a reason why the wargames was held at Sandhurst.
So unless you can think of a compelling reason why in real life the RN wold let an invasion fleet land with only a few MTB contesting it while the rest sat it out, I'm all ears.
Just had a look at Richard Cox's "Operation Sealion" write up of the wargame & it starts with the German forces arriving at the correct beaches at the correct time, which is more than the Allies managed at Normandy, with what seems to be total surprise on the British side then proceeds with the ground & airborne operations.Yes they did, they deliberately held back anything larger than a patrol boat/MTB from attacking the 1st wave/crossing. Despite the fact that historical deployment of the RN in Sep40 has far more within striking distance of the invasion fleet
There is a reason why the wargames was held at Sandhurst.
So unless you can think of a compelling reason why in real life the RN wold let an invasion fleet land with only a few MTB contesting it while the rest sat it out, I'm all ears.
Do you have specific evidence that supports the collective assumption that the Daily Telegraph wargame held at Sandhurst unrealistically allowed the first wave to land unapposed?
Quite, and while I can see why if you were determined to prove the Sealion naysayers wrong that might lead one to exclaim "aha J'Accuse"Just had a look at Richard Cox's "Operation Sealion" write up of the wargame & it starts with the German forces arriving at the correct beaches at the correct time, which is more than the Allies managed at Normandy, with what seems to be total surprise on the British side then proceeds with the ground & airborne operations.
but the Panzers don't start in the cold.You know, I think everybody is making this whole thing way too complicated. All Hitler had to do was wait until the next Ice Age and then simply drive across.
Armoured Polar Bears.but the Panzers don't start in the cold.
The poster whom I was replying to described scorched earth, which is why I referenced operation Alberich, people do not do Alberich on their own territory, even Nazis and Stalinists; moving stuff out of the way, such as Soviet shipment of factories east of the Urals yes, burning farms and poisoning wells, noWhich just shows you know little of British planning. They had months to work to make sure that nothing would be left for the invaders. French morale collapsed to fast for them to take any meaningful action. This wouldn't be full blown scorched earth just the destruction of strategic items that would aid the invader, so things like petrol supplies, which were already being closely monitored and controlled.
Speaking of those inventive chaps at the PWD, during summer 1940 they were working on Operation Lucid. The plan was to load up old tankers with oil, petrol and explosives and then sail them into the invasion ports. Given that the plan involved each ship carrying a thousand tons of fuel it would have been quite spectacular had they worked out the practicalities.
Churchill and some of his chronies where prone to delve into imaginative but wholly impractical plans (which thankfully adults talked him out of), MTB's and destroyers could just sail into the ports and shoot the barges at point blank range because the ports where undefended by proper minefields and coastal artillery; the big daddy coastal artillery wasn't in place till late september; and afaik never actually damaged a war ship... the entire war; I am not aware of serious defensive minefields starting to be deployed around the ports until November 1943 when Rommel started building the atlantic wallWouldn't like to be a sailor on one.
Wouldn't like to be a sailor on one.
Where's your sense of adventure? Actually, reading up on this they twice tried to carry it out but called it off both times, on one occasion one of the ships was only 7nm from Boulogne. The plan was basically drop most of the crew off early and the last four or five would fix the steering and jump ship into speedboats, very generously provided by the RN.Wouldn't like to be a sailor on one.