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#3514569 - 02/08/12 10:35 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) ***** [Re: HeinKill]  
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Indeed! Meanwhile, the battle rages . . .

Seelowe 9: Sept 24 morning, S-tag +2

After devastating engagements with the British Home Fleet overnight, Kriegsmarine Admiral Raeder has demanded more air support over the Channel to minimise shipping losses. But most LW air support continues to be used for escort of resupply aircraft and ground attack. The Kriegsmarine put to sea with 3 destroyers and 17 E-boats, but was successfully engaged by British destroyers and cruisers, losing all 3 destroyers and 7 E-boats. 1 British destroyer and 1 cruiser were sunk by U-boats, and one U-boat was lost in a surface engagement. Germany now has 10 Divisions ashore at Folkestone and Newhaven, but many are incomplete and awaiting arrival of their second echelons. Sailing conditions are deteriorating as poor weather moves over France. Lympne airfield was abandoned by first light due to intensive British bombing, but German armour forced the New Zealand Division to fall back from Folkestone and Hawkinge Fighter Command airfield, with 35% casualties, while the German 34th Division has broken through British lines and is driving on Dover. The German 22nd Division has broken out of Folkestone and started its push on Canterbury, with British forces trying to regroup around Selstead. British RDF masts on the Isle of Wight, Folkestone coast and Dover have been knocked out by Stuka attacks - less effective mobile units are filling the gaps.

[i]0730 GST. At Selstead, the retreating NZ Division digs in to make its stand. In woods and fields...





In camps hastily erected and patrolled...





They nervously wait for the enemy they know is rushing toward them...

Scouts of the German 22nd Division meet them and engage



While heavier armour of General Ferdinand Schaal's 10th Panzer grinds toward the new front line





Further south, along the Folkestone to Dover road, the 8th Panzer begins its advance





Precious supplies following close behind



Overhead, Blenheim light bombers, volunteers all, make for the newly captured and heavily reinforced Hawkinge Airfield, now bristling with German and captured British light and heavy AAA.



At Hawkinge, the weary pilots of LG2 respond to the alarm, and prepare to lift into the air. The previous night they had abandoned Lympne under a hail of bombs and returned to Calais. At dawn they were ordered back to the battlefield, to Hawkinge, and yet another day in the menacing shadow of the RAF.



The triple-A starts its heavy barking as they lift off.



The whistle of bombs frighteningly clear even over the throb of their straining engines. The British dithering over the attack on Lympne the day before now replaced with a cold resolve to disloge the Luftwaffe from wherever it may perch.









Back at the Folkestone-Dover road, Erpro 210 banks toward the front, now marked by the hulls of burning tanks and shattered guns.



They close on British AT emplacements flanking the road into Dover...the precariously thin line of brown uniforms that is all that stands between the Wehrmacht and the biggest port along the South Eastern coastline. Their bombs fall...



Shattering life, limbs, and minds...







But not resolve. British AAA answers back...



And rushing down from Croydon, Hurricanes of 111 Squadron arrive just in time to chase the marauders off









Pushing their mighty Daimler Benz engines to the limit, the 109s of LG2 reel in the Blenheims and fall on them like hawks on sparrows.







And to the East, Spitfires from 64 Squadron at Manston approach. Their orders...support the defence of Dover, engage enemy ground forces on the Folkestone Dover road and help the ground troops halt their advance - at any cost!

The Spitfires scream across the harbour, as the troops in their trenches cheer...



Then they swoop inland, guns blazing







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#3514577 - 02/08/12 10:41 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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(Continued)

One Spitfire breaks away, and spots a telltale plume of smoke on the railway tracks along the base of the Cliffs near Folkestone. A captured German troop train! Headed east toward Dover and the front.



The young pilot drops his nose and pours a stream of lead toward the engine



But the behemoth chugs onward, completely unmoved. He counts the carriages as he flashes past...seven, eight, nine...





He hauls his machine around for another pass, the train hidden in an alley of poplars, visible only by the steam from its engine



He closes again...lower...lower...his finger only reaching for the firing button at the last possible minute this time





While at Selstead, the German advance grinds to a halt, stymied by a Kiwi refusal to admit defeat.







On the train line near Folkestone, the Spitfire pilot watches his bullets march harmlessly alongside the tracks and the troop train powers on...



He pulls his machine up and banks desperately as the cliffs flash before him





He turns one more time. And as he drops his Spitfire toward the alley of trees once again, he does the arithmatic in his head.



9 carriages.

100 men in each.

Nearly a thousand German troops, headed for Dover.

One Spitfire.

5,000 lbs. 8 Brownings. 48 Gallons of fuel.

One pilot.



One life to give.

He touches his fingers to his forehead, making a sign of the cross. And drops his Spitfire down into the alley of poplars.



He thumbs the gun button and his Brownings hammer





He keeps his finger on the button, even as he closes his eyes











It is 0815 on S-tag +2



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#3514897 - 02/09/12 01:07 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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#3515281 - 02/09/12 10:27 PM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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How did that german steam engine (56 class) get to England?

Also, thanks for the "Dark Blue World" (Spitfire + Train) flashback.

Last edited by Heretic; 02/09/12 10:27 PM.
#3515800 - 02/10/12 05:58 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
How did that german steam engine (56 class) get to England?.


Ha! Any true trainspotter can tell you it is fact a type 56e/f, the Kruppverk eksport version of the 56 class produced between 1923 and 1933 and widely used in the UK, where the largest purchase order was in fact placed by the Dover and Bexhill Steam Transport Company Plc.

copter


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#3517420 - 02/13/12 04:07 AM Re: AARs from Day 2 of Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) [Re: HeinKill]  
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Great AARs, please keep em coming. Some of your greatest so far.


I used to work for a living, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
#3517656 - 02/13/12 03:09 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
Ha! Any true trainspotter can tell you it is fact a type 56e/f, the Kruppverk eksport version of the 56 class produced between 1923 and 1933 and widely used in the UK, where the largest purchase order was in fact placed by the Dover and Bexhill Steam Transport Company Plc.

copter


Nice try. wink biggrin

Last edited by Heretic; 02/13/12 03:09 PM.
#3518373 - 02/14/12 02:33 PM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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Sept 24 1230 GMT, S-tag +2

The Fuhrer Conference, held at 0800, broke out into bitter inter-service rivalry - the Army wanted the remainder of their second echelon sent, with the navy protesting that the weather was becoming unsuitable, repeating that overnight naval losses rendered the Channel indefensible without greater air support. Reichmarschall Hermann Goring countered this by saying this could only be done by stopping the terror bombing of London, which in turn Hitler vetoed. It was however agreed to increase air attacks on British coastal airfields to reduce RAF pressure on ground forces, and to initiate a planned decoy landing to confuse British response to the invasion. The second echelon of troops was ordered to embark and the remaining destroyers of the Kriegsmarine Navy Group West were ordered to escort duty.



At Selstead, midway between Folkestone and Canterbury, the 10th Panzer batters a hole in British lines and pours through while British troops flee in disarray







Their new objective, Kingston, just south of Canterbury, and its two vital bridges over the River Stour, where the 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions lie in wait, under cover of trees, or dug in on ploughed fields, watching the smoke of the front lines move inevitably towards them.





Bomber Command keeps up its incessant pressure on the Luftwaffe field at Hawkinge, determined to wipe it from the map. Wellingtons close on Hawkinge, heavily escorted by Hurricanes of 111 Squadron now flying out of Croydon in London...





As they look down, burning vehicles and buildings mark the front lines, only increasing their resolve.



The battle hardened pilots of Lehrgeschwader 2 turn to meet them





This is no clean, clinical war. Chaos reigns as fighters and bombers fling themselves through the sky



Allies collide, one Hurricane pilot watching in horror as his prop slices through the wing of his fellow pilot



With dread he follows him down, preying to see a chute



But the doomed Hurricane craters the ground, the pilot still at the stick



The Wellingtons unload, bombs scattering across Hawkinge field





Still sick to his stomach the surviving Hurricane pilot checks his machine then hauls it back into the fray. He closes on a 109 below him, guns hammering to blot out the memory of the collision...





The 109 tries to out turn him, but he stomps on the rudder and Sydney Camm's wonderful wide wings do the job, bringing him inside the German. He fires across the circle.







The victory a small measure of compensation. As he looks around, he realises he is alone in the sky. And alone with his conscience.



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#3518374 - 02/14/12 02:34 PM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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(Continued)

Further East, in the Channel off Ramsgate, Goering's bombers prosecute their orders to drive the RAF out of 11 Group. The target now is Manston, the last operational Fighter Command airfield in Kent.



Without it, British fighters will have to sortie from airfields around London or north of the Thames, adding precious minutes to the time it will take them to reach the front. Four Spitfires of 64 Squadron, now down to fewer than 6 aircraft after two days of fighting, mount a standing patrol over Manston. RAF Fighter Command's Hugh Dowding will not risk more fighters for Manston, but neither will he abandon it.



The RAF flight lieutenant sees the incoming raid. The massed raids of August 1940 are behind them. Days when hundreds of Heinkels and Dorniers filled the sky from horizon to horizon. But he counts a dozen bombers, with heavy escort, against his four aircraft. He radios Sector Control to scramble the rest of his squadron and vector some assistance to Manston. Then he turns toward the attackers.



The escorts are out front and swing in behind the Spitfires before they can get within range of the bombers. The flight lieutenant watches as a 109 fires on his wingman, causing him to break off, trailing smoke.



He is on his own now.

He ploughs through the fighters, opening fire on a bomber head on and then sweeping back in behind it to fire again.





He climbs overhead, his lone machine caught in a hail of crossfire. Bullets rake his airframe, and his engine coughs, then splutters. The revs falling dramatically.



The bombers start to draw away from him, so he drops his nose. One more pass, just one! He plans to dive up underneath them, build up speed, bring up his nose...and fire. It's all he can think of. They creep closer, the sound of rushing wind over his wings louder than the cough of his dying engine.




In shock, he sees tracer flash over his canopy and looking back, sees a 109 in pursuit. And behind the 109, his wingman!



He ignores the threat. His entire focus on his gunsight. Centering the bomber, and firing...



Suddenly tracer whips over his head again, his machine shudders from multiple cannon impacts, a fist of iron pounding the armoured back of his seat. Then the firing stops, abruptly. Looking back, he sees why...and whispers thanks to his wingman.



But the battle is not over. As he drops away, his propeller barely turning over, he sees his target sail on heedless to his attack, its belly full of bombs. And the 109s are still in the mood for a kill.





Inside the Heinkels, bomber crews also whisper silent thanks, this time for their escorts, for the sting of their MGs, getting them to target and with luck, getting them home again. They settle to their task.







But the RAF attack has unsettled them. They drop late, and their bombs scatter over the fields to the north of Manston.

In the Spitfire, the flight lieutenant takes stock. His wings are holed, his engine at about 10% power. His machine is dragging left, with a rumble that tells him at least one of his wheels is down. He tries the gear lever, tries hand cranking the gear, but there is no response.



Behind him, he can see the stalking 109. His wingman won't be able to save him this time. He drops his shattered machine down to the treetops, Manston in view just above their canopies.





The 109 opens fire, so he bunts, hoping against hope the machine will respond. Watching as the rounds from the 109 kick up the dirt in front of him.




As he scrapes the treetops, the 109 is forced to pull up. The airfield Bofors open fire on the enemy fighter, as he settles to his approach.





His left wheel strut bites the turf, and collapses, and his right wheel drops out of the wheel well. His left wing torn away.



The Spitfire thumps down onto its belly, prop shattering, right wing ripping free.



With a sickening lurch, it bounces into the air. He feels the fuselage starting to roll to the left. Time slows. He knows the next few seconds are all that matters. He wrenches the stick to the right. Kicks the right rudder pedal hard. Closes his eyes, and waits for the end.



It is enough. What is left of the Spitfire responds, rolls right, and slams into the ground again.





The dust settles. He looks out of the open cockpit in amazement at where his wings used to be. He reads the writing on the wing root, ironic in the circumstances. 'Not to be stepped on'.



As an ambulance begins its dash toward him, he tries to undo his harness. His hands are shaking so violently he cannot grip the buckle. He lets them drop into his lap, and sits listening to the tick and hiss of his broken machine, and the sobbing heave of his own ragged breath.



It is 1315 GMT on S-tag +2. Germany has broken through the British GHQ stop line.




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#3518435 - 02/14/12 04:21 PM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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Amazing read, had me fixed to the screen!

#3518566 - 02/14/12 06:45 PM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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HEY! I´m sure ParaBellum is behind the German success!
Someone STOP HIM!


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Awesome reading, I was biting my fingernails...
I wasn´t so taken since Rainbow Six(book)...


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#3518745 - 02/14/12 11:49 PM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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These are really marvelous fatty. You are weaving small individual events into the larger operational scheme very well. Quite engrossing.


Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

Someday your life will flash in front of your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.
#3522049 - 02/19/12 11:53 AM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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In the little farming hamlet of Minster, just outside Manston Fighter Command airfield, the old potbellied Home Guard sergeant looks up from his position in the sandbagged embplacement at the ring of faces, sitting on the back of trucks and on top of ammunition cases around him. They're either too young, or too bloody old, he tells himself. Like me. The last war was supposed to be the war to end all wars. What am I doing here again? He shakes the mood off, and starts.

"Right you lot, listen up! Today we are going to explore the art of improvisation, of making do with material lying around - and where this fails, using psychology to persuade enemy tank commanders, for instance, that the narrow defile through which he must pass is mined or booby trapped in some way.

"We are not completely useless against moving armour, and if we can halt it briefly we have a chance with home-made bombs or Molotov cocktails; there is also the chance that a turret might be opened giving us a slight opportunity of dropping a grenade into the tank. Of course, if the tank commander is foolish enough to pop his head up — Bingo!"

The group chuckles, nervously.

"Chains and cables running between trees can be made into psychological barriers to tanks by attaching an imitation bomb to them, an impression which should be augmented by running a length of cable from it to a position out of sight of a tank commander. These positions can be made even more authentic by breaking up the surface immediately in front of the obstacle and burying an old soup plate, or similar object.

"We have good supplies of .300 ammo available, unlike many other units. We also have adequate supplies of .303 for the Lewis gun and some .45 for the Thompsons. And we 'ave this beauty, gentlemen...it's, uh..." He turns around.

The group peers, almost in awe, at the anti-tank cannon in the sandbagged pit, being readied by two regulars from the 2nd London Infantry. One of them looks up, "It's a 2 pounder, sergeant," he says. "We're sighting it on the road down there," he points across cattle pasture to the road leading into Manston. "Jerry tries to move up that road - wham! You give 'im a broadside," he pats the barrel, "We calls her Betsy."

24 September, afternoon. S-tag +2

Transport Fleet C, with the last elements of the delayed first echelon of German troops from Calais, is making for Folkestone. On board the transports Europa, Bremen, Gneisau and Postdam are troops of the 1st Mountain Division, 7th Infantry Division, and Panzer Battalion A of the VII Army Corps. The bulk of the British Home Fleet is out of position in the North Sea, drawn by a sighting of the light Cruisers Emden, Nurnberg and Koln in the company of 11 steamers headed West from Norwegian waters. On land, German armour of General Ferdinand Schaal's 10th Panzer has broken through British lines at Selstead and is approaching Canterbury unopposed, delayed only by civilian refugee traffic. The 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions stand ready to meet them at Kingston. Dover remains in British hands with 29th Infantry Brigade and 1st London Division giving no ground. Southwest of Manston, Fallschirmjaeger Kampfgruppe Brauer, consisting of a full parachute battalion including engineers and light vehicles has been landed in gliders and Ju52s and is marshalling on the Minster to Manston road.




Light patrol vehicles and motorcyles of Kampfgruppe Brauer form a vanguard for a push on Manston. Their objective: force a way through the airfield defences for troops on foot to overrun the RAF base and hold it long enough for reinforcements to be flown in. With German fighters and fighter bombers able to fly out Manston and Hawkinge, the whole of SE England airspace will be under Luftwaffe control.





Their landing was uneventful. With British forces heavily engaged around Dover and Canterbury to the West, they had expected only light resistance, but so far they have encountered no British forces at all. The small convoy reaches the Minster to Manston road and turns toward Manston. All is quiet. They pull out of the fields, and onto the Minster to Manston road. Half a platoon of armoured scouts brought over in Ju52s which were crashed in a field and written off, and a dozen motorcycles with mounted MG 15s brought in by glider. Behind them is a full company of paratroops. It will have to be enough, they are the last unit of the 7th Flieger to join the battle.




Suddenly the lead patrol car bursts into flames and the convoy rocks to a halt. AT gun!



Above Manston, flying a defensive air patrol, Spitfires of 64 Squadron see the smoke rising and turn to investigate.




Up the hill, in the lee of some trees, the 2 pounder and crew reload.



The armoured cars turrets traverse, and they open fire with MG and 20mm cannon. A truck bursts into flames beside the gun pit. Mortar rounds begin to creep up the hill toward the emplacement.




Unperturbed, the spotter from the 2nd London calls another target as a second vehicle is hit.




The lead Spitfire sees the column of motorcycles pushing through a wheat field toward the road and lines up for a strafing run.




His rounds thump and flash as they march across the line of troops.





To the West, Bf110s of Erprobungsgruppe 210 close on Manston. Their objective, to suppress enemy AAA and AT positions around the airfield to assist the attack which should be underway within the next half hour. They are unaware that battle has already been joined.



The Spitfires close on the armoured cars now. Knowing their .303s are unlikely to make much impact, but hoping to disrupt their advance.




A second AT round slams into the convoy as the Spitfire flashes overhead. Now only one remains. The motorcyle troops open fire on the AT position, trying to suppress it.




Erpro 210 arrives on the scene. Their commander quickly assesses the situation and sends two of his machines down on Minster.







Bombs ripple across the hillside, and the British emplacement erupts in flame.





The second echelon of Bf110s sweeps in. Spotting a British camp, a Zerstorer pilot lines up on the middle of a row of tents, and unloads, feeling his machine jump into the air as the bombs drop away. Then with horror, he sees the large white crosses on the tent! A field hospital!



It is too late to do anything. His bombs slam into the hospital, ripping it apart.




Mein Gott, what did we just do? both he and his gunner ask themselves, silently.

They don't have time for more recriminations with themselves, as the 64 Sq Spitfires round on them.





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#3522051 - 02/19/12 11:54 AM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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(continued)

One Spitfire climbs up unseen beneath the belly of the 110 that just hit the hospital, and opens fire. The 110 shudders as the rounds slam home.









The Bf110s rear gun hammers loudly, sending tracer flying back at the Spitfire. The stream of lead drills into the Spitfire's engine, and it bursts into flames, the Spitfire still firing.







Flames lick back toward the Spitfire pilots legs and he heaves the canopy open, rolls the machine on its back and falls out.









The stricken Bf110 banks hard away from Manston.



The pilot checks his instruments. What? What is wrong with his vision? He has trouble focusing, but can see the rev counter on his starboard engine is dropping. Scheiss.



5 minutes flying time back to German lines.

They can make it.

They have to.

He sees the Spitfire pilot, his chute falling beside his crashed machine. He hopes he is not too badly burned - knowing there is no hospital nearby to treat him anymore.



Now his port engine starts stuttering. He looks over at it through a red mist. A strange detachment starting to come over him.



Off his port wing he sees Dover. Not far now. Not far.





The engines stop their coughing and spluttering and wind slowly down.



So it won't be Hawkinge.

He is so tired. His arms seem so heavy. His gunner is calling to him. What? Oh, a field. Yes, he should try to land in the field. They won't make it. But he should try. Of course.



But it is too far away, the machine dropping too rapidly. He keeps his eyes on his gauges, trying to keep the Bf110 level. But he can't concentrate.

All he can see is crosses.

Red crosses on a white background.

He lets go of the stick.







It is 1745 GMT on Sealion +2. Kampfgruppe Brauer is approaching Manston airfield as the 10th Panzer approaches the vital bridges of Kingston over the River Stour.

A long and violent night lies ahead.


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#3522206 - 02/19/12 05:04 PM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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Is this still according to script or already a deviation? biggrin

Anyway, as usual, an enjoyable read!

#3522348 - 02/19/12 09:17 PM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: Heretic]  
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Originally Posted By: Heretic
Is this still according to script or already a deviation? biggrin

Anyway, as usual, an enjoyable read!


Thanks! As von Moltke said (or was it Clausewicz?) "No plan survives contact with the enemy"!

H


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#3522596 - 02/20/12 08:24 AM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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Awesome AAR.

Keep it up.

#3523238 - 02/21/12 07:26 AM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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Really getting into these AARs of yours. smile


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#3523750 - 02/21/12 11:16 PM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
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GER
Originally Posted By: HeinKill
As von Moltke said (or was it Clausewicz?) "No plan survives contact with the enemy"!


Probably Clausewitz.

So you're assuming that at least some reinforcements got across the channel, right?

#3524144 - 02/22/12 04:33 PM Re: AARs from Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain (Cliffs of Dover): update 8 FEB, S-tag +2 [Re: HeinKill]  
Joined: May 2006
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HeinKill Offline
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HeinKill  Offline
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,743
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Yes. Assumption based on Sandhurst framework is that by Sept 25 Germany will get most of 2 waves, or 90,000 men, ashore. There are three elements that play a huge role in coming days:

- can Germany get its 3rd echelon ashore and reinforce, when full force of superior Royal Navy home fleet is used by Britain, or
- can another port be captured, or can sufficient supplies be moved through Folkestone, to meet the materiel demands of the invasion, or
- can Germany capture sufficient strategic territory, eg Canterbury/Kent/Ramsgate, to provoke Britain to negotiate before resupply becomes an issue?

T


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