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#3492251 - 01/11/12 01:57 PM Seelowe - Operation Sealion campaign: with illustrated and hyperlinked PDF *****  
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Now avail for Download as illustrated, hyperlinked PDF!

DOWNLOAD HERE (45MB, 268 pp): http://airwarfare.com/sow/index.php/component/jdownloads/viewdownload/81/437?Itemid=241



FEATURES

Background information on Sealion operational developments at the start of every chapter...



Lavishly illustrated




Tactical maps showing front lines and unit positions throughout the campaign, and links to Google map views of the battlefield area




Extensively hyperlinked, to hundreds of sources of information on actual units, weapons, historical figures and events referred to in the storyline.



Supplementary chapters on important historical events of the time



Background material detailing political and social developments accompanying the invasion



Speeches and dialogue based on real speeches given by historical figures and adapted to the Sealion storyline - example, Edward VIII's abdication speech, 'repurposed'.



Links to Youtube video AAR content supplementing the text



Enjoy!

Heiny




These AARs and screenies are taken from the Cliffs of Dover Sealion Mission Pack, Luftwaffe campaign, available for free download here:

http://bobgamehub.blogspot.com/p/cliffs-of-dover-missions.html

BACKGROUND


By early November 1939, Adolf Hitler had decided on forcing a decision in the West by invading Belgium, the Netherlands and France. With the prospect of the Channel ports falling under Kriegsmarine (German Navy) control and attempting to anticipate the obvious next step that might entail, Grand Admiral (Großadmiral) Erich Raeder (head of the Kriegsmarine) instructed his operations officer, Kapitän Hans Jürgen Reinicke, to draw up a document examining "the possibility of troop landings in England should the future progress of the war make the problem arise." Reinicke spent five days on this study and set forth the following prerequisites:

Elimination or sealing off of Royal Navy forces from the landing and approach areas.
Elimination of the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Destruction of all Royal Navy units in the coastal zone.
Prevention of British submarine action against the landing fleet.

In December 1939, the German Army issued its own study paper (designated Nordwest) and solicited opinions and input from both the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe (German Air Force). The paper outlined an assault on England's eastern coast between The Wash and the River Thames by troops crossing the North Sea from Low Country ports. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, head of the Luftwaffe, responded with a single-page letter in which he stated: "...a combined operation having the objective of landing in England must be rejected. It could only be the final act of an already victorious war against Britain as otherwise the preconditions for success of a combined operation would not be met." The Kriegsmarine response was rather more restrained but equally focused on pointing out the many difficulties to be surmounted if invading England was to be a viable option.

On 16 July 1940, following Germany's swift and successful occupation of France and the Low Countries and growing impatient with Britain's indifference towards his recent peace overtures, Hitler issued Führer Directive No. 16, setting in motion preparations for a landing in Britain. He prefaced the order by stating: "As England, in spite of her hopeless military situation, still shows no signs of willingness to come to terms, I have decided to prepare, and if necessary to carry out, a landing operation against her. The aim of this operation is to eliminate the English Motherland as a base from which the war against Germany can be continued, and, if necessary, to occupy the country completely."

Hitler's directive set four conditions for the invasion to occur:

The RAF was to be "beaten down in its morale and in fact, that it can no longer display any appreciable aggressive force in opposition to the German crossing".
The English Channel was to be swept of British mines at the crossing points, and the Strait of Dover must be blocked at both ends by German mines.
The coastal zone between occupied France and England must be dominated by heavy artillery.
The Royal Navy must be sufficiently engaged in the North Sea and the Mediterranean so that it could not intervene in the crossing. British home squadrons must be damaged or destroyed by air and torpedo attacks.

This ultimately placed responsibility for Sea Lion's success squarely on the shoulders of Raeder and Göring, neither of whom had the slightest enthusiasm for the venture and, in fact, did little to hide their opposition to it. Nor did Directive 16 provide for a combined operational headquarters under which all three service branches (Army, Navy, Air Force) could work together under a single umbrella organisation to plan, coordinate and execute such a complex undertaking (similar to the Allies' creation of SHAEF for the later Normandy landings).



Upon hearing of Hitler's intentions, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, through his Foreign Minister Count Ciano, quickly offered up to ten divisions and thirty squadrons of Italian aircraft for the proposed invasion. Hitler initially declined any such aid but eventually allowed a small contingent of Italian fighters and bombers, the Italian Air Corps (Corpo Aereo Italiano or CAI), to assist in the Luftwaffe's aerial campaign over Britain in October/November 1940.

COMBAT REPORTS

21 September 1940: Operation Sealion, S-tag ('Sealion-Day') Minus One, afternoon

This morning the Luftwaffe began operations in response to Reichmarshall Goering's 16 September directive to resume attacks on RAF fighter bases and production facilities. Ju88s hit Brooklands Hawker factory but in general it was a quiet morning. Hit and run raids by small formations of enemy aircraft attacked both Kenley and Biggin Hill aerodromes but these were met by fighters from Kenley, Biggin Hill and Croydon. 238 Squadron had accounted for one destroyed while the Spitfires of 602 and 611 Squadrons accounted for one each destroyed. One Do17 damaged by 802 Squadron managed to get back to the French coast, but crashed at Landerneau killing all on board. However reconnaissance of the French coast indicates significant shipping movements at the ports of Le Havre, Calais and Dunkerque. Further reconnaissance was ordered and confirmed German shipping was marshalling off the French coast, including freighters, converted barges and car ferries.

21 September 1940: Operation Sealion, S-tag Minus One, evening
Further recon indicated a large fleet was being assembled off Calais for a possible night crossing, in calm and clear conditions. British GHQ put all forces on full alert with codeword 'Cromwell' indicating 'invasion imminent'. Bristol Blenheims of 23 Squadron and Wellingtons of Bomber Command 2 Group, flying from Ford airbase hit the fleet at dusk, destroying several ships, but losing 8 out of 11 Blenheim and 4 out of 8 Wellington aircraft in the attack. Luftwaffe Bf109s of Lehrgeschwader 2 at Calais and Bf110s of ZG76 out of Abbeville claimed the downed bombers, while Spitfires of 64 Squadron were also engaged, claiming 3 Bf109s and 1 Bf110 destroyed without loss. During the night, Bomber Command and Coastal Command conducted further raids on the German fleet, without significant effect. Admiral Raeder's Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe FW200s mined the Eastern approaches to the Channel, while intercepted radio traffic indicated a second invasion force was being prepared in Norway for a possible landing near the Thames estuary. German heavy guns concentrated fire on Dover, indicating a possible second landing zone.

22 September 1940: Operation Sealion, S-Tag, Dawn

The first wave of a planned 330,000 men hit the English beaches at dawn. Rather than land at Dover or the Estuary (these were diversions) 4 divisions of Army Group A land between Folkestone and Rottingdean (near Brighton), XIII Army Corps under General Der Panzertruppe Von Vietinghoff gannant Scheel, 17th and 35th infantry division together with VII Army Corps under Generaloberst von Schobert, 1st Mountain Division and 7th Infantry Division. In addition 7th Paratroop Div land at Lympne to take the airfield.

Further West the 9th Army made shore between Bexhill and Eastbourne. 2 Divisions of the XXXVIII Army Corps under General von Mannstein, 26th and 34th Infantry Divisions, and from the VII Army Corp under General Heitz, the 6th Mountain Division, 8th and 28th Infantry Divisions.

Opposing them on the British GHQ stop line are the rebuilt forces of the VII Corps (1st Armoured Div, 1st Canadian and elements of 2nd Canadian Div, elements of New Zealand Army Corp Inf Div and the recently arrived Australian 9th infantry division diverted from Africa), Strategic Reserve centred on Surrey and North Hampshire, and the XII Corps (1st London Div, 45 Inf Div, 29 Inf Brigade, 1st Tank Brigade) based in Kent and West Sussex.

At first light, Blenheims make a run on a beach-head a Folkestone


Ju88s sweep across the battlefield to hit British reserves in the rear




German 7th Paratroop division attacks poorly prepared defences at Lympne as 111 Squadron scrambles to get their machines away





Gunners on German car ferries cover the beach as the armour unloads under fire from British defences





LG2 109s and 64 Sq Spitfires in a deadly dance



22 September 1940, S-tag, afternoon: West of Folkestone (flyables, as above, plus Bf109E4bs and Bf110C7s of Erpro 210)

German troops of the 17th and 35th infantry divisions supported by the 8th Panzer division have established a beach-head west of Folkestone and are driving through the town of Hythe for the Port. Their objective is the bridge over the Canal. The land battle is taking place house by house, street by street, as British mobile reserves throughout Kent are mobilised. A second invasion fleet has been spotted leaving ports in Norway. Large numbers of German fighters and bombers are sweeping the coast, and attacking naval forces in the Channel.

64 Sq Spitfire scramble from Hawkinge in their third sortie of the day


British forces are caught on the bridge at Hythe as German troops, with motorcyle borne MGs in the vanguard, race to take the crossing


British light armour reinforcements, on the move to strengthen the GHQ stop line, while British anti-tank guns lie in wait in the grass outside Hythe



Anarchy on the beachhead west of Folkestone as Blenheims strike and freighters collide



Erpro 210 moves in to hit British land and sea forces around Hythe




German armour and troop carriers advance on the village, as the concealed British anti tank guns hit back




Erpro 210 strikes British positions along the canal



While in the air, the defenders and attackers tangle





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#3492256 - 01/11/12 01:59 PM Jan 17 Update: Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) Sept 22, evening [Re: HeinKill]  
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Continued . . .

British armoured forces reach the front line and engage the Panzer force in the village





But are beaten back, and the village and bridge are taken




While at sea, Erpro 210 despatches a British destroyer which has penetrated the mine cordon





So starts the invasion of Britian...



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#3492415 - 01/11/12 06:06 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Sweet AAR and screenshots Heinkill. thumbsup


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#3492539 - 01/11/12 07:48 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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A most excellent read! Beautiful screenshots.

#3496731 - 01/17/12 08:31 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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22 September evening: Margate

Throughout the night of 22 September and the next day, Kriegsmarine Minensuchboot have been mining the shipping lanes at either end of the Channel to prevent the Royal Navy from entering the Channel to attack the invasion fleet. The British Home fleet, with its cruisers and battleships, is the primary threat, and is currently steaming south past the Thames Estuary. Luftwaffe FW200 aircraft have also been mining ports such as Dover to prevent shipping there from sallying forth. The British 11th Destroyer Flotilla, comprising HMS Vimy, HMS Walker, HMS Warwick, HMS Whirlwind and HMS Winchelsea has steamed ahead of the main fleet to engage the Kriegsmarine mine layers. RAF 11 and 10 Group squadrons are heavily engaged further west between Folkestone and Brighton assisting with the invasion defence. Luftwaffe fighter units are providing cover for the German ground forces, while the Erpro 210 experimental ground attack unit is harrying British merchant and naval shipping up and down the coast. At 1330 hours a British hospital ship made a desperate escape from Folkestone harbour and is now steaming for the Thames Estuary.

In the poor evening light, Blenheims locate the Kriegsmarine Minensuchboot fleet and attack





64 Squadron takes off to cover the destroyer flotilla, their 5th sortie of the day



Erpro 210 Bf109e4Bs attack the Royal Navy 11th Destroyer Flotilla, steaming south to disrupt the mine laying







Destroyers and mine layers clash





Stukas of StG 3 take off for a low level hit and run raid on Manston



A British hospital ship steams into the danger zone



Spitfires of 64 Sq arrive at the scene, better late than never! They outnumber the 109s, but are outclassed







The Stukas close on Manston as 111 Squadron arrives





A British gun emplacement is shelled by heavy guns on the Minensuchboot fleet





The Stukas strike Manston







Manston burns



As the Kriegsmarine mine layers head to Davy Jones Locker...



if you have Cliffs of Dover, you can get the Operation Sealion missions here: www.bobgamehub.blogspot.com



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#3496757 - 01/17/12 08:55 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Wow, great AAR and some awesome screens! Thanks.

#3497389 - 01/18/12 05:24 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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More (please)!


Hint: There's a typo in the link to the missions.

#3501220 - 01/22/12 10:50 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Thx all! Next installment...


23 September, morning, Folkestone falls

During the night, British forces retreated from Folkestone Port, and Lympne airfield. Large numbers of civilians remain trapped behind enemy lines due to the speed and surprise of the attack. German ships are now able to unload directly to the docks at Folkestone and an air bridge has been established at Lympne to ferry Luftwaffe aircraft and supplies to this new Luftwaffe base in England. British reconnaissance indicates further German forces massing at Cherbourg and British land forces have been diverted to the South-West to counter this anticipated second landing. The German XXXI army corps is en-route to Lympne, while British long range artillery targets the airfield. Overnight the Blitz on London continued unabated.

In the hills overlooking Folkestone, AT guns dig in and wait







At the captured port, an invading army pours ashore



The 8th Panzer breaks out of Folkestone and begins a push on Hawkinge.





But the British line holds...as long as they can hold the ridge.





111 Squadron scrambles from Manston, while Blenheims of 212 and Spits of 64 squadron close on Folkestone







The newly arrived LG2 lifts off from their new base at Lympne





While JG26 escorts an air train of fuel and ammo laden He111s bringing in vital supplies





Erpro 210 wheels above the British lines, striking with fury







While the Blenheims drop their noses for the port - their targets, the massive heavy cranes



And they miss...the AAA driving them wide




In the sky above, fighters wheel











While the wounded stagger home



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#3501355 - 01/23/12 02:36 AM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Another good one Heinkill. smile


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#3502513 - 01/24/12 04:54 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Seems to be an interesting campaign. I wonder how it'll end.

#3507304 - 01/30/12 08:24 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: Heretic]  
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Originally Posted By: Heretic
Seems to be an interesting campaign. I wonder how it'll end.


Who knows...it is, after all, alternative history... popcorn

S-tag +1, 23 September, afternoon, the Tank Park

So far the Luftwaffe has flown 1200 fighter, and 800 bomber sorties. The British response has been concerted and desperate, even using jury rigged Tiger Moth aircraft to drop light bombs. Luftwaffe fighters are still hampered by having to fly most missions from bases on the European mainland, while the captured Lympne airfield is under constant attack and short on fuel and ammunition. So far the Luftwaffe has lost 165 of 732 fighters, and 168 of 724 bombers. The British have lost 237 aircraft out of 1048 (167 fighters and 70 bombers). The first British counterattacks by 42nd Division have halted the German 34th Division in its drive on Hastings. Meanwhile, the Australian AIF (diverted while en route to Egypt) is engaged with German forces trying to take the port of Newhaven. New Zealand troops preparing a counterattack on Folkestone were surprised by an attack in their rear by the German 22nd Airlanding Division. Cautious after losses in Norway to air attack, and early losses in the Channel, Britain is keeping its Home Fleet Battleships and Carriers out of range of the Luftwaffe, but squadrons of destroyers and cruisers have successfully engaged German shipping, causing heavy losses in the Channel, while armed motor boats are inflicting significant losses closer inshore.

At the captured Lympne airfield, the Luftwaffe continues to ferry men, fuel and ammunition in to the newly landed Luftwaffe fighters and fighter bombers.





The RAF harries them all the way...







On Killingwood Ridge, British troops hold fast against wave after wave of German attacks





While British artillery pounds the distant invasion beach head





Overhead, Bomber Command Wellingtons close for a strike on Lympne. "The enemy reports that he has captured Lympne," thunders Churchill in an address to troops on the GHQ Stopline, "I say to him, Sir, by the end of the day, you will be sitting atop a blazing ruin!"









British scouts radio in a report of German armour massing in Kiln Woods, East of Lympne



High flying recon finds nothing. In desperation, the call goes out for volunteers for a suicide mission. The objective...approach the woods at treetop level, find the German tank park, if it exists, and get home with the location. All available combat aircraft are already committed, so the task falls to 2 instructors from the No 5 Elementary Flying Training School in their Tiger Moths. They use Lympne as the landmark to start their recon, watching as the bombs of the Wellingtons lay waste to the airfield.





Approaching the woods, the sky erupts with flak, and one of the machines is swatted from the sky



It only makes the surviving pilot more determined. He swings around for a low level pass, hugging the treeline...In the distance, the funeral pyre of his comrade marks the spot where he guesses the tanks must be...





At the last minute he pulls back on the stick and swoops over a clearing...there they are!



He dives away and turns for Hawkinge, only five minutes away.



But it is under attack from Bf110s as he arrives.



He must get down with his information. Ignoring the strafing 110s, he slams his Tiggie into the turf.







As the 110 pulls away, he dashes for the nearest trench.



The Tommy next to him smiles, "You should have stayed up there mate, it aint much fun down 'ere"

The Tiger Moth pilot grimaces, "Oh, this is nothing old chap. I just passed about a hundred Panzers in the woods west of here, and they all had their noses pointed in this direction."










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#3507545 - 01/31/12 01:05 AM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Originally Posted By: HeinKill
Who knows...it is, after all, alternative history... popcorn


I know. But will it be an alternative "Homeguard Heroes" ending or rather "Grossengland"...?
That's what I'm wonderin' about. wink

#3508132 - 01/31/12 07:23 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Ah, you want to skip straight to the last page...

Honestly? It could go either way depending on how the missions play out! skullhead

Last edited by HeinKill; 01/31/12 09:50 PM. Reason: Deleted rant

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#3508137 - 01/31/12 07:31 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Heinkill, my hat is off to you.

You almost convinced me to buy this game! smile
I really lked all of your previous writing, but this is really something else.
Please, keep up!


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#3508149 - 01/31/12 07:41 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Originally Posted By: HeinKill
Ah, you want to skip straight to the last page...


Who doesn't? biggrin

Quote:
Honestly? It could go either way depending on how the missions play out and, frankly, whether Angela Merkel supports this new finance tax which is going to take 3% off my pension savings overnight! If she does, the German army will be swimming back to France I can promise you that! skullhead


"Either way"?
Does that mean the campaign is (semi-)dynamic?

I haven't delved into the last part of your post yet, but I think it's better suited for the "My politics better than your politics!" part of the forum. wink

#3508249 - 01/31/12 09:50 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: Heretic]  
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Originally Posted By: Heretic

I haven't delved into the last part of your post yet, but I think it's better suited for the "My politics better than your politics!" part of the forum. wink


True. I hereby retract...

Originally Posted By: Heretic

"Either way"?
Does that mean the campaign is (semi-)dynamic?


It's actually from a campaign that I am building myself, writing the AAR as each mission is added. So although I have a plot outline, the way the missions play out is also in itself driving the storyline...


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#3508638 - 02/01/12 01:07 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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On with the story...(apologies in advance that some of the screens are quite dark, but it is a night mission!)

S-tag +1, 23 September 1300

At 1300 the British High Command convened at Chequers for a briefing on the invasion situation. It quickly became clear that GHQ Stop Line was holding at Bexhill and Eastbourne, and that an expected landing by German forces at Southend was a feint to draw British forces north. However the main German push was developing in the Folkestone area, aided by the capture of both Lympne, and Folkestone, and there was a significant risk the British lines would collapse. If this happened, the Fighter Command airfield at Hawkinge and the city of Canterbury would lie open. German forces could then isolate Kent, the SW of England, and quickly secure the port of Dover and Manston airfield to provide a reliable supply line between the European mainland and Britain. The first part of the conference had been spent debating the wisdom, and necessity, of committing the heavy ships of the British Home Fleet to disrupt German resupply shipping, without first having secured air superiority over the Channel.

"With German fighter bombers flying out of our own damned airfields, we would be sending our capital ships to their certain doom!" argued Admiral Dudley Pound, First Sea Lord. Pound was still smarting from the loss of nearly a dozen destroyers and the Cruiser Curlew from air attack during the Dunkirk evacuation and the crippling damage delivered to other heavy ships such as the Cruisers Gloucester in July and the Liverpool in October. While his intelligence officers told him the risk of losses to German AP bombs was low, bitter experience had taught him otherwise. Nonetheless, he was ordered by Churchill to commit the Home Fleet to the disruption of German resupply lines in the Channel.

The British PM then turned his attention to the air war. He pored over the situation map, then jabbed the butt of his cigar down on Lympne. But his first question was not to the Air Chief Marshall, it was to the Chief of the General Staff, Marshall John Dill, "Hmmm...General...how do you rate your chances of taking back Lympne?"

Dill hesitated, "Less than spectacular, Prime Minister," he traced his finger along the line of hills and wooded country from Folkestone to Hythe, "We are barely holding the German main thrust along this line. To pull any of my forces out for an attack on Lympne could weaken the line irrevocably."

Churchill considered this, then waved at a unit marker behind the line, "What is this unit?"

Dill peered, "That is a small mobile reserve unit Prime Minister, a detachment of the 1st Tank - a handful of Valentines and motorised troop transports. It is, in fact, our only armoured reserve along that section of the line," he warned.

"Send it against Lympne," Churchill decided. "We have one chance to unseat the Luftwaffe from British soil and it is now. If you do not succeed," he turned to the Air Marshall, Charles Portal, "...if you do not succeed John, then Charles, I want Bomber Command to reduce Lympne to a blackened and fallow field by morning light." Both men nodded gravely.

Churchill returned to the map, squinting at a large red counter placed over Kiln Wood, where Tiger Moth pilots had reported German Armour was being marshalled in Brigade strength. "Hmmm...the main thrust appears to be developing here. Gentlemen, if this be Herr Hitler's Armoured Fist, then I would dearly love to rap his knuckles tonight." His eyes glinted, "Let us turn our minds to how."


S-tag +1, 23 September 1930


As darkness closed at 1930 hours, volunteers from the British 3rd Commando Battalion finished placing incendiary charges around the German armour encampment at Kiln Wood, checked their watches and their weapons, and chose their targets. They knew very few of them would survive the next half hour. At 1933 hours, they detonated their explosives, and opened fire on German positions within the clearing.





Above them, circling and waiting for the incendiaries to signal the start of the operation, newly commissioned cannon armed Beaufighter night fighters of 25 Squadron banked for their attack run, then swooped on Kiln Wood leaving mayhem and destruction in their wake.




Circling protectively, Spitfires of 64 Squadron watched both the fight on the ground, and skies above. At 19:45 hours precisely, Wellingtons of bomber command began their ingress, using the spreading fires in the German encampment to guide their run.







To the West, a detachment of the British 1st Tank Battalion, barely company sized, raced toward the German defences at Lympne. 2 miles short of the field, a German 88mm gun thundered and the British column scattered in panic.





The 64 Sq spitfires now turned their attention to Lympne, strafing parked aircraft to try to sow confusion among the defenders, the boom of tank cannons in the west now mingling with the wail of air raid sirens.





Sitting at readiness on the field at Lympne, Bf110s of ZG76 rolled quickly into the sky, and were soon set upon by the 64 Sq Spitfires.





Underestimating the sting of the Bf110s rear gun, one of the Spitfires took several rounds in his engine, and with his machine overheating decided his only option was to bail.





His arms flailing, he tried in vain to open his parachute. The sea swallowed him with barely a splash.





The Valentines had quickly flanked the German 88 cannon and silenced it, but not before most of the troop transports had been lost. Under fire from light arms, the tank commander decided to press on - at the very least, they could bring a halt to night time operations at the German airfield.



Two more Valentines became burning coffins as the group breached the German lines. Flying past the shocked German defences at speed, the remaining 3 Valentines burst onto the airfield at Lympne and opened fire on parked aircraft, fuel and ammunition stores.



German light AT guns were swung urgently 180 degrees to face the unexpected threat, and their rounds hammered against the hulls of the British tanks.




The first few rounds failed to stop the Valentines. They kept firing, turning Heinkels and Fockers into blazing wrecks.



But one by one, the British tanks fell to the AT guns, until the last finally ground to a halt, took a fatal broadside from the German guns...



and submitted.

The time was 20:03. Lympne airfield remained in German hands. The German armour spearhead at Kiln Wood had sustained heavy losses, but Germany now had 10 Divisions ashore.

At Bomber Command HQ, Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse received the simple but chilling message he had been dreading, "Proceed night attack on Lympne. Operations to continue until Luftwaffe presence at Lympne eliminated."










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#3508984 - 02/01/12 09:40 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Originally Posted By: HeinKill
It's actually from a campaign that I am building myself, writing the AAR as each mission is added. So although I have a plot outline, the way the missions play out is also in itself driving the storyline...


Interesting. Mission building drives mission performance drives mission result drives mission building.
Also sounds like fun.
"What would the Germans do next...?"


Curious as to how the aerial bombing of the airfield will play out.
Also, what the other divisions will be doing. My money is on a drive towards Bristol as this will at least isolate any possible coastal defense divisions located in the SW of the island (Plymouth or so).
(At least that's what worked for me in HOI.)

#3511293 - 02/04/12 08:38 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Actually the plot basis is the Sandhurst wargame of the 70s, as described in the Cox Sealion book. In that wargame the landings took place on a narrow fron between flokestone and Bexhill, and the Germans drove for Dover and Canterbury...we'll see how far they get!


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#3512122 - 02/05/12 09:35 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Originally Posted By: HeinKill
Actually the plot basis is the Sandhurst wargame of the 70s, as described in the Cox Sealion book. In that wargame the landings took place on a narrow fron between flokestone and Bexhill, and the Germans drove for Dover and Canterbury...we'll see how far they get!


This one?
http://mr-home.staff.shef.ac.uk/hobbies/seelowe.txt

Well, it doesn't look too good and won't get better.


I think this...

Quote:
Goring countered this by saying it could only be done
by stopped the terror bombing of London, which in turn
Hitler vetoed.


...is one of the most crucial factors as to why the landing didn't have a chance of succeeding. The forces involved could have been used to keep the RAF out of southern England and achieve something a bit closer to aerial superiority.

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