I've been thinking about the impact of a failed Operation Dynamo from the perspective of the home front in Britain - if we say that the Germans manage to capture 250,000 or so British soldiers, what impact will this have?
* Peace will surely have to be sought, but how much leverage will the POWs give the Germans?
* They'll be in no position to demand territory, or indeed attempt to occupy Britain, so what would the terms of the treaty be?
* Churchill will probably resign rather than seek peace - what happens to him and who takes his place (could the Welsh Wizard make a reappearance)?
I had been designing a Vichy-esque British government (complete with General Sir Ian Hamilton as Britain's Petain) but then I got to thinking that German ability to influence British domestic politics would probably remain small even in the event of Dynamo failing - what does everyone think?
Torn,
Regarding how Dynamo fails, I lean towards a combination of factors. Worse weather, the aerial conflict tilted more towards the Germans, the Germans being more aggressive and/or more successful in attacking towards Dunkirk.
If the panzer divisions are the main reason for crushing the beachhead, are they then in no condition to continue offensive action? I'll throw out a crazy scenario based on this. While the panzer divisions reorganize, the French army manages to pull itself together and offer stiffer opposition. France finds the political will to continue fighting, while across the Channel, the British government is facing a crisis of confidence. An unlikely scenario, but not implausible. To add some more craziness to it, have one of the French old battleships sail in close to the coast to provide fire support. And thus a legend, and much name-calling, was given birth. "The French sent a battleship to fight and die for their army. Where were the battleships of the Royal Navy?"
Crazy and silly yes. And now I expect some members to work themselves into a tizzy.
dilvish