Folks,

Dux:

Thanks, all systems are now back to about what passes for normal. In the end...it was just another 24 hr. virus. It seems I will live. All those pesky vultures that were expectantly perched near my bedroom window have cinched up their belts a notch and flapped away one by one.

The Simpsons! Ahhhhhhh Dooouuuuggghhhnnuts! If Homer is the very fellow to be in charge of safety controls at the local atomic power facility then who am I to fault his epicurean tastes? Even the Duff Beer served at Moe's Tavern ain't too bad if you don't get any of the caustic foam in your beard. Someone accidentally poured a barrel of Duff into Lake Springfield. That would be the glow-in-the-dark spot of swampy wetness a tad too near the power plant. Two short days later all the three-eyed fish were dead.

I'll see that gad Dux and I'll raise you 2 odds bodkins. Indeed, Sealion is masterful work that boarders upon a veritable historically based masterpiece. It occurs to me that his story would make a fine board game or perhaps even a PC simulation. In any event, Z2 is well worthy of congratulation. I believe he already possesses the coveted HWH DFWC with stars, bars, propellers, beer mugs and Diamonds. I ask you sir, is there ANY higher honor that can be bestowed? Hmmmm. Well, OK, maybe that golden sashy thingy the Druids gave you one Midsummer's Eve.. the one that Olga has moldering in her Lenin (yes Lenin) closet but what else?

Speaking of moldering, this next chapter has been doing that for far too long. Here it is, back from the dank and gloomy archives, swept of cobwebs, and fully polished to its original luster. Fit indeed for all to enjoy once again.

Sealion
BY: Zerosan2 (the magnificent)
HWH Continued
Page 85
9/16/04

PART EIGHT
It might have happened this way.

06.22 hrs, 29th September 1940

Desperation

The mood of the people of Britain shifted in unison with the forces on the ground. As the German thrust pushed deeper into Southern England, as more homes were destroyed or overrun, as more refugees clogged the roads, so the morale of the people waned.

Civil unrest reached new heights during the previous afternoon and evening. In London there was rioting as those who no longer wanted a part in the unfolding drama sought to get out of the city. As the authorities attempted to prevent them doing so, certain elements fought back. Guns were not hard to come by, and for the first time, some members of the population fired on their own Police and Security detachments.

On the morning of the 29th, things had never looked bleaker for Britain, not to the people, not to the press, not to the eyes of the outside world, not even to her own Government.
Preparations were being made to pull the Government and the Royal Family out of London. Only Churchill prevented this. He considered that the effect of this on the people would be catastrophic, and forbade it until there was absolutely no other way. He desperately needed something to lift morale.

In fact, just about the only other group of people to have reason to be bleaker than Churchill were the Staff Officers responsible for supplying the German Armies in Britain. By the evening of the 28th, a decision had had to be made regarding transport priorities. Losses of transport vessels and barges had been high, and the supply situation was deteriorating. Therefore, a temporary halt on bringing fresh Divisions across had been implemented in an effort to free up more space for equipment, fuel, ammunition, medical supplies, food and so on. In light of the storms that were being forecast, a little consolidation was now being recommended by some members of the German High Command.

Reinhardt felt a little uneasy about the situation facing 41st Panzer Corps. Being too busy with other things, he hadn’t immediately noticed the relatively easy manner with which the Infantry had breached the British lines on the previous day. Now, looking through his binoculars at the British defence positions on the high ground on the other side of the River Rother, he was a little suspicious. Why would the British give ground so easily, lengthening their lines as they did so ? There were only two possibilities.

Either they were so short of forces they had been compelled to fall back to protect the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth. Or they were lengthening their line, and by default his line aswell, on purpose. Reinhardt respected the British. They might be planning a counter attack. But he did not believe them capable at this point of a serious counter stroke. They did not, he believed, have the forces necessary for this.

He gave orders to probe the positions ahead for a gap or a weak spot while he waited for the Infantry to catch up. His Corps was one of exploitation. He wasn’t going to blunt it against these positions. The Infantry could assault it, while he found a way round it. That was the concept of Blitzkrieg. He wanted to keep momentum up.

On the map tables of the Generals, events on the field of battle don’t always appear as they really are. And while Reinhardt was staring through his field glasses, a different sector of the line was worrying Ironside. The Germans had mounted an attack toward the Guildford area which now looked worrying. It was worrying because it didn’t figure in his plan.

This German operation was a ‘subsidiary’ one. Its purpose was not to take Guildford, but to ‘lever’ the flank. In other words, to detach the enemy’s line and hold open his flank. But on the map, this is not how it appeared that morning. It appeared to be an attack headed for Guildford. And that was bad for Ironside’s plan because it was directly in the path of his own diversionary attack scheduled to be released at around 10.00hrs that morning.

This meant that his diversion would collide head on with this thrust, rather than have the desired effect, which was to draw off enemy reserves behind the southern thrust.
He considered what he should do. After some short time, he concluded that he could not now change the plan. It was too late for that.

In front of this German attack were the 1st New Zealand Division and the 29th Infantry Brigade, both units that had already taken a battering. Supporting them were the 22nd Guards Brigade.
In consulting with Alanbrooke and the Staff, Ironside decided that the only course of action he could follow at this juncture was to proceed with the plan and launch the diversion as scheduled. But, he realised, this operation would now take on a whole different meaning.

From first light that morning, the fighting in the air resumed with the same ferocity as the previous day. German Do 17s attacked British positions behind Petersfield now that these had been identified, and further raids were made on positions around the perimeter of London. To all intents and purposes, 4th Corps continued to apply pressure to the British defences south and east of London, but they did not now have the forces or supplies to press the issue. Fighter combats continued in the skies throughout the day, but still neither side could claim to have any advantage, except for the Germans temporary periods of superiority over Dover and the beaches.

Reinhardt knew that time was now of the essence. At around 07.55hrs, his units probing the British line found what looked like a weak point around the village of Clanfield. The Infantry of 8th Corps were still an hour or so away from being able to mount an assault, so he ordered a composite group of 1 Regiment of 29th MID with some armoured support to try and push through the gap. Meanwhile, slightly further north, another gap was found, near the village of Liphook. The “Grossdeuschland” were ordered to push into it without further delay.

Through the corridor that had been punched into the southern end of the British line, the bulk of 8th and 13th Infantry Corps now spread back like a long serpent. Through the towns of Storrington, Pulborough, Petworth and Midhurst the roads were clogged with troops, transports, artillery, horse teams and the general mish mash of an army on the move. Many civilians, taken by surprise by the speed of the British withdrawl on the previous day, were now caught up in the nightmare.

On the southern route, along the coast through Arundal and Chichester to Portsmouth came 38th Corps, at this point with only one of its Divisions ashore, the 26th Infantry.
The larger part of 7 German Divisions, containing well over 100,000 men, were now moving west toward the Solent ports. Churchill again broadcast to the people that morning. He appealed for calm and gave assurance to them that everything was being done to restore the situation.

He asked for their support and their help. He all but begged them to remain hopeful. It was a speech of desperation, a speech of hope and a speech of anger. He took the step of warning the people not to fraternise with the enemy, not to help him or assist him in any way.
He asked them to be patient, for they would be delivered. Even the most unholy among the people looked to the heavens for their lord, and asked for his mercy.

29th Motorised clashed with 40th Brigade of 4th Infantry Division at around 09.30hrs, just north of Clanfield. At first they broke through the thinly held position, allowing tanks of the 3rd Panzer to pass through. But they didn’t get far before they ran into a strong defensive position in the heavily wooded area on the Oxenbourne Down.

The Panzer 38T’s were no match for the concealed AT guns hidden in the woods, and 9 were quickly knocked out before the 3rd were forced to withdraw.
Reinhardt ordered his artillery to soften up the position, and then asked Meyer of 8th Corps for help. They had to breach this position quickly and move on.

At precisely 09.40hrs British artillery, concealed behind Hermitage Hill north of Reigate, opened fire on German positions 10 miles away to the south around Crawley and Kingsfold. Shortly afterwards, 91 Matilda I and II’s of the 24th Army Tank Brigade left their start line south of Reigate, closely followed by the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, heading south toward Horsham.

4 miles to the west, the 59th (Stafford) Division left its start line at Dorking heading towards Cranleigh. The British counter-attack had started. They had assembled almost 300 artillery pieces, mainly 25 pounder field guns, to prepare the way for this assault. They were good weapons, light and easy to move around, with a good firing payload and a fast rate of fire.

The effect on the Germans to the south was one of surprise. The shells fell mainly on the positions of the 22AL as it moved up the Guildford road behind the 15th Infantry. The result was to throw the German advance into confusion as they were preparing to swing north around Cranleigh to take up defensive positions in the forested areas north of the town. 15 minutes later, as the bombardment switched its weight onto the area of Crawley, the 59th Division crashed into the flank of the 15th German Infantry, exposed in advance order and totally unaware of this new threat.

At about the same time, 22 Airlanding Division found British Tanks bearing down on their flank form the north east. The whole German operation to pin back the British flank was thrown into confusion by this sudden and unexpected assault. The two German Divisions scrambled to form a defence line off their axis of advance, which apparently directly crossed the path of this British attack.

22AL tried to throw up a makeshift defence at right angles to its axis, but was at a hopeless disadvantage from the start. By its very nature, it was lightly equipped and had few of its anti-tank weapons across yet. Within 30 minutes, the British tanks had broken through their positions and carried on into their rear. The 43rd Division were close behind and 22AL now found themselves in close quarter combat with British Infantry.

The 15th fared little better. Pinned into position by the British 59th, they attempted to swing about to face this attack, only to find themselves also under attack from in front by the NZ Division. The situation did not look good. Further west, 8th Corps had arrived in front of Petersfield and, under pressure from Reinhardt, began preparing to assault the town frontally.

As this was happening, the “Grossdeuschland”, pushing into Liphook, came into contact with the 42nd Infantry who were awaiting orders to begin their part in the British offensive.
The 42nd were not expecting to find a crack German unit at the southern end of their position, and the “GD” were not expecting to find a whole Division drawn up in assault order. All hell let loose in a frantic meeting engagement.

The GD bumped the south end of 42nd’s line, and a series of swift, vicious engagements took place. Realising they were facing a whole Division, the GD then tried to withdraw, but was unable to under pressure from their accidental assailants. They were compelled to form a defensive position, calling for help from their parent Corps.8th Corps had now begun a determined assault on Petersfield as Reinhardt received this call from the “GD”. Events were moving fast.

Halder looked at his map as the fresh information came in. Just as Ironsides map had earlier portrayed a confused picture, so too now did Halder’s. The reports of British Tanks moving south through 22AL’s positions were being confirmed by aerial reconnaissance, and the operation to fix and secure the flank of the wider thrust to the south had ground to a halt. 15 and 22 Divisions were now under severe pressure and a small gap had appeared in the line between 4th and 24th Corps of the incomplete16th Army. To the east of 22AL, the 78th Infantry, facing British positions between Redhill and Tandridge, had been forced to “refuse the flank” by swinging the western end of its position round in order to prevent British units getting behind it. This was where the gap was appearing.

The only reserve units in 16th Army’s OA were the 7th Fallschirmjager and a single regiment of the 1st Mountain Division, in the area of Maidstone, too far away and lacking the punch to be effective against the British armour. To Halder and his staff, it appeared that this British attack was an attempt to cut off the whole of the 9th Army.

Halder had not become Chief of the Army’s Staff for being panicky. He surveyed the situation calmly. It was not at this stage a serious threat because 9th Army’s reserves could deal with it. On the other hand, the British had displayed an audacity that he had no longer believed them capable of. Therefore, he did not at this stage wish to commit the 9th’s meagre reserve in support of the 16th Army while the 9th remained committed to its present operation. That operation had to go on and a decisive breakthrough achieved by the next morning. Meanwhile, 9th Army’s commander, Janecke, would have to decide how he would deal with the threat behind him.

As noon approached, two large battles were now forming at opposite ends of the German thrust along the south coast. The first was to the south and east of Goldalming, as the 15th and 22nd Airlanding Divisions were forced into a horseshoe shaped defensive line as they were attacked by British units on three sides. The second, and largest, was around Petersfield as the whole of 8th Corps was committed to a frontal assault on the town, while the 41st Panzer shifted in a north westerly direction to try and find a way through the British defences and to support the “Grossdeuschland” Regiment around Liphook. Unknown to Reinhardt, his whole Corps was now moving directly toward the ground over which the second part of the British counter attack was scheduled to roll.

In the channel, another running fight took place between Royal Navy destroyers and the Luftwaffe as the former attempted to get at the transports in the Strait of Dover. The British lost another destroyers with a second damaged, but not before sinking the 5000 ton supply ship “Anton Weich” with torpedo’s.

General Leutnant Janecke commanding the 9th Army surveyed his own map and considered Halders words. He now had to deal with the threat to his rear areas whilst effecting a breakthrough to his front. A seemingly tall order, but not one he shirked from. Her was nervous about the British dispositions around him, but remained confident that they would succeed.

The reserves available to him were best described as ‘adequate’. In the centre of the forming corridor were the 33rd Infantry of 13th Corps, at Petworth. West of them, at Burgess Hill north of Brighton, were the 1st Regiment of the 7th Panzer Division, which the Staff had relented to and eventually bought across before the new ‘supplies’ first mandate. Further west and still forming around Folkestone, were the last unit to arrive, the 34th Division of 38th Corps.
Since the 34th would take at least a day to arrive, the logical course of action was to order the single regiment of 7th Panzer to take the British armour on whilst the 34th were on their way. The other alternative was to use both the 7th Panzer and the 33rd against this threat. The 34th would restore the reserve when it arrived tomorrow. This was the quickest option.

He decided on the later option. 33rd were to about face and block the British armour, while the single Regiment of 7th Panzer moved to cut it off by an assault to link up with the eastern end of 22AL’s line. It is often possible to see that the outcome of a whole battle often rests on a single decision. In this case, it was the whole outcome of the invasion of Britain. Janecke was not aware that he had just made that decision.


Originally Registered January,2001 Member Number 3044

"Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed" - Edmond Gwenn, "The Trouble With Harry"

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