November 2015 – General Whiskers' semi-historical wanderings

Operation Sealion – rival news broadcasts

Early on 17th September 1940 these broadcasts were intercepted by our monitoring department

Transcription

This is the BBC Home Service. We interrupt our programme to bring you an announcement by the Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill.

“Britons. The hour for which we have been preparing since the fall of France has arrived. Despite the valiant efforts of the Royal Air Force, early this morning Nazi parachute troops began to land near the South coast of England. The British Army, with the aid of the gallant forces from the Empire, is already driving them back into the sea.

We must assume that this is no mere raid, but the prelude to a much stronger blow against our shores.

Do not be downhearted. Remember the instructions issued by the Government. Stay in your homes. Do not make unnecessary journeys. Keep the roads free for troop movements. Disable your motor vehicles and hide or render unusable your bicycles. Obey the orders of the Civil and Military Authorities. Do not assist the invader in any way.

The Nazis may be expected to behave in the same beastly way as they have in Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Low Countries, Belgium and France. We will not tolerate them in these islands. If your life is threatened remember your duty and “Take One With You”.

I must now be about my task of organising the defence of our beloved country. We will beat Herr Hitler just as surely as we did the last little corporal who tried to invade this country.

May God go with you.”

Transcription (translated)

“The High Command of the Armed Forces announces:

This Morning Parachutists from the Air Force were landed in several Places in the South of England. They have already had great Success in capturing Airfields for future Troop Landings and securing important Centres of Communication.

The German Navy has transported many Thousands of Troops to the south Coast of England and they are driving towards London, linking up with the Parachutists who have captured the main Roads.

The Leader has meticulously planned this Operation and we can be sure that England will fall before the might of the German Armed Forces, as have Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France before them. We have destroyed the Bulk of the English Army at Dunkirk. There is Little that can resist us.

Mr Churchill continues to bluster from his comfortable House in London, but England has surrendered in France all military Equipment that they could wish to have used to resist our always-victorious Armed Forces. Hail Hitler.”

The Trumpeter 4th July 1808

Here is the latest published edition of “The Trumpeter”, the newspaper that brings news of the goings-on in the Iberian Peninsula during the play-by-email campaign.

1808 07 04 Trumpeter

Note: The map shown in this issue was created using the American Civil War board game “Battle Cry”. The actual battle was fought on the wargame table but sadly no pictures exist.

My new toys ready for action

I am very pleased with my newly discovered Adler Miniatures WW2 infantry models. They are nominally 6mm, but actually 8mm tall, and fit well with GHQ 1:285 models.

I have painted up some German Gebirgsjaeger, Pioneers and machine gun teams in marching mode. They have good action poses and are well detailed, in fact so well that the guns are very fragile and have a tendency to snap off if care is not taken.

I mounted my new troops on the bases from Renedra. These are slightly thicker than the 1.5mm MDF I have used previously, but have the benefit of being precut with a slightly sloping edge and a roughened surface to take glue well.

Both manufacturers are highly recommended.

Here is the initial German assault force for Cuckmere Haven, 17th September 1940. The central group is Adler, as are the pioneers in the left foreground and the mortar team left rear. Other models to the left are GHQ and the floating gun platform is scratch-built from kit components. 88mm Guns are by Heroics & Ros and the crew GHQ.

G Cuckmere Haven B assault force

Warfare 2015 – a shopping expedition

Back from the wargame show “Warfare” at Reading.

I bought exactly what I set out to buy, and then several other things caught my eye.

So the final haul was:

3 x Morris 15cwt Radio trucks and 2 x 75mm German Mountain Howitzers from Heroics & Ros for my Sealion campaign. (pre-ordered)

Army painter Satin spray varnish and two new brushes (pre-planned)

Four packs of green plastic bases made by Renedra Limited. I have never seen these before but they appeared to be on every second trader’s stand throughout the show. They are perfect for my 6mm wargaming and will save endless cutting of thin MDF. (Impulse purchase)

A whole lot of World war Two Infantry from Adler Miniatures to accompany my new GHQ tanks and equipment. It’s looking like my entire WW2 stock will gradually be replaced with slightly larger, better sculpted figures. (Impulse purchase)

Three MDF 10mm Adobe Fort sets from LaserCraftArt. These look like the solution for building city walls for my 6mm Peninsular war campaign. About the right height with wide walkways for my 2cm bases. (Impulse purchase)

6mm Armoured train from Heroics & Ros bought second hand from Colonel Bill’s. Planned for later purchase, but grabbed when available.

I ogled lots of other pretty things but thankfully the scale was too large.

There were some interesting demo games. Unusual topics were Hyboria in the style of Tony Bath using similar flat figures (as seen in Donald Featherstone’s “War Games” book) and what appeared to be a snowball fight for Santa’s Grotto as a participation game for younger gamers. The RAF Wargamers were playing an assault on a farmhouse (La Haye Sainte?) with on the sidelines a model film crew and first aid station. I’ve played that before in 1830mm scale.

At 11:00 the entire show stood silent for one minute in tribute to the victims of yesterday’s atrocities in Paris. A very good indication that most of us deplore actual violence while striving for it’s perfect representation in miniature.

“The Trumpeter” 3rd July 1808

Henceforth in my play-by-email campaign, instead of sending reports of activity elsewhere in the peninsula by courier, a “Newspaper” will be published to all and copied to my blog. This “red-top” rag rejoices in the name of “The Trumpeter”

I hope this will eventually provide an alternative history of the war as played. Here is the latest edition.

1808 07 03 Trumpeter

Operation Sealion is underway

I cannot give too much information at this time because the initial stages of the invasion are still taking place and the information is not yet available to both players.

It is in campaign time around 6 am on 17th September 1940. The German player has given his initial assault orders. Parachute landings began five hours ago. Initial German seaborne landings are beginning.

As I create each battlefield I am sending both German and British players a “pre-war aerial photograph” published by the fictitious companies “Deutsche Luftfoto GmBH” and “Airograph Ltd”

Here are the first two:

Hawkinge village and airfield 1938. There is an “oops” in this picture. If you look carefully at the left end of the wood you will see a crashed DFS230 glider!

Naturally by 1940 the defences may well look somewhat different, but this is the sort of information the Germans were relying on for their planning at the time.

I am indebted to Google Earth and to the publications “Adolf Hitler’s Holiday Snaps” and “Adolf Hitler’s Home Counties Holiday Snaps” to help fill the detail of the original battle maps provided by S-2 Shop Productions LLC, on which the campaign is based.