How much damage does Sealion do to the British?

Why does it matter? If the Germans were planning to invade Britain the Royal Navy wouldn't care that much about zerg-rushing the invasion fleet, and there were simply too many approach vectors for the Luftwaffe to protect all or enough of the transports. This is also assuming that the Royal Navy had been significantly weakened in the ten-days the Luftwaffe had been hammering after they somehow defeated the Royal Air Force. Bear in mind it took nearly three years for the US Navy [with a higher tech advantage than RN vs. Luftwaffe] to whittle the Imperial Japanese Navy down to a manageable level.

teg

Just a quick reminder, the premise of this thead is about enticing the Germans onto British soil so that they can be crushed on land. So yes the Germans have to be tricked into believing that fighter command has been squashed and to avoid loses naval units must be wihdrawn to safer bases, but bases from which they can spring the trap and shut off the Channel behind the invaders. Also just pointing out the risks, even the poort on the east coast could be reached by the LW and resupply would only need one or two freighters to get through a day which may be possible given the circumstances.
 
Just a quick reminder, the premise of this thead is about enticing the Germans onto British soil so that they can be crushed on land. So yes the Germans have to be tricked into believing that fighter command has been squashed and to avoid loses naval units must be wihdrawn to safer bases, but bases from which they can spring the trap and shut off the Channel behind the invaders. Also just pointing out the risks, even the poort on the east coast could be reached by the LW and resupply would only need one or two freighters to get through a day which may be possible given the circumstances.

Why would the British risk this? Considering the fact that the German Army had won pretty much every major battle of the war so far, and the British Army's record was not great at the time [and it never got above average performance really], why would they want to risk fighting the Germans on their own terms? True, it could destroy a small chunk of the German Army, but nobody in 1940 was really sure they could win against the Germans on land at the moment. They have the Royal Navy and the RAF to protect the sea and the sky, so they can destroy any invasion force, so why give the Germans a foot in the door or risk a long grinding battle?

teg
 
Regarding the mustard gas option, suppose the Germans actually manage to land a sizeable force. They are doomed, we know this, but the British are scared into using mustard gas. And the Germans then retaliate with nerve gas, delivered by air, I'd guess? AFAIK soldiers of WWI could, if quick enough, protect themselves reasonably well against mustard gas, but nerve gas is another beast entirely. Would this have made any difference to the outcome?
 
Regarding the mustard gas option, suppose the Germans actually manage to land a sizeable force. They are doomed, we know this, but the British are scared into using mustard gas. And the Germans then retaliate with nerve gas, delivered by air, I'd guess? AFAIK soldiers of WWI could, if quick enough, protect themselves reasonably well against mustard gas, but nerve gas is another beast entirely. Would this have made any difference to the outcome?

Well, if that happens, the death tolls will be horrific, and the British will decide to just end the war as quickly as possible with Operation Vegetarian.
 

Deleted member 14881

If operation vegetarian happens Central Europe is fucked.
 
I don't think the anthrax was available until relatively late in the war. Same might be true for the sarin etc, not sure.
 
Germany's Tabun plant was operational in mid-1942, while Britain's anthrax weapons were available in 1944. If Britain had somehow held out against Tabun attacks for a couple years, then they could have retaliated with anthrax. Then when the Red Army crossed into Germany, they'd have gotten sick, too.
 
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