For the last two years I have been unable to provide any valid official photographic identity. Recently I have re-applied for a new UK passport, my old one having expired in 2020.
Today I received my new UK passport which is already out of date. Despite my application having been submitted after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, my passport is issued in the name of Her Secretary of State. They used to be issued in the name of the sovereign when I first applied for one.
So, should I apply for a new, valid, passport authorised by His Majesty’s Secretary of State, or will one of the final ones from the former regime be more valuable? Personally, I would prefer one in the name of the new King, but since the monarch is now only mentioned en passant I don’t suppose it matters.
The time is 11:33. Rather than a blow-by-blow account I will leave this battle, for the time being, with a shaky video tour of the battlefield.
Starting at West Bay we move up the road towards Bridport, passing the Brandenburg Company defending the north of the town to see the devastation caused by the shelling from the offshore destroyer, which halted the British counter-attack.
Then we move across the river Brit, pulling back to the coast where several burnt-out tanks litter the landscape. From there we move to the surrounded Radio Transmission Station, where A Company 4th Dorsets surrendered after being surrounded and then shelled by enemy tanks.
After a view of the confrontation between a squadron of A-13s and a company of Pz IIIs we see the British heavy artillery that never quite deployed before the camera pulls back through Lower Eype, the village held by the Gebirgsjäger Company.
The British will now withdraw to the next map square to the north and automatically receive all the reinforcements from the pool to deploy. The Germans will receive all their reinforcements but begin off table.
But this will have to wait. For the time being I move to my next game in the list, stalled since early last year.
I fought the first two hours of this German raid on the Dorset coast in July 1940 using my own gaming rules. I was not content with the tank vs tank combat, which clearly made hitting the enemy too difficult.
I decided to investigate the “Flames of War” system, adapting it for 6mm models on 10cm hexagon tiles. I have the first edition rulebook.
I wanted to make everything “hex-compatible”, avoiding measurements, and so I spent two days writing a converted rule set. I think that I have a usable version, but the continuing battle will show, one way or the other.
The first job was to analyse the game figure, ground and time scales. The only one claimed by the writers is that one model is one real-life counterpart. I will mention in passing that the result in their own photo’s of 15mm battles is a “phalanx” of wheel-to-wheel tanks.
Even reducing the scale to 6mm/1:300 one 10cm hexagon would be only 30 yards/metres.
After converting the rules from 15mm to 6mm by a simple “inches to centimetres” method I investigated movement rates.
From the infantry move rate, allowing marching men to move at 3MPH/5KPH it appeared that the game move was a time period of only 12-13 seconds, and that, comparatively, a jeep at full “at the double” speed on road could only achieve 26 KPH/16MPH.
So we are dealing with an abstract concept and the 1:1 ratio may as well also be abandoned.
With this in mind I decided to divide all forces by 4, and to make each rule for a platoon apply to a company. A company would become a battalion, or more likely a “Kampfgruppe” or “Battle Group”.
Movement rules were adapted to hexagons by using the inches measurement as centimetres and then adjusting to hexagons by rounding. With many moves close to the “half-hex” I worked this method:
3-7cm = 0 hexes*, 8-12cm = 1 hex, 13-17cm = 1 hex*, 18-22cm = 2 hexes, etc. * indicates that a die roll of 4,5 or 6 allows 1 more hex (2 rather than 1, etc.) Road moves were rounded up by default.
For firing ranges I simply divided the stated range in cm. by 2. for hexagons. In retrospect I could have done the same for movement but the numbers worked out better the way I have done it.
I then investigated the FoW “Blitzkrieg” book for orders of battle and reconstructed each of my units at 1/4 scale by adding all the men/weapons in a company and dividing them by 4. I similarly allocated weapons.
Thus a British Infantry company becomes:
1 HQ element of 3 figures (assumed to include the platoon AT Rifles and 2” mortars as needed) and 3 Platoons each of 1 x Rifle element (4 figures) and 1 x rifle/MG element (4 figures).
A German infantry company is an HQ element and 3 platoons of 2 x 4 rifles and 1 x MG element. I could have made it 3 platoons of 3 rifle/MG elements but decided on the organisation as listed for more interesting battlefield tactics. (Also I have many distinct rifle or MG bases available).
Surprisingly, most tank units were reduced from 3 to 2 tanks, but the British acquired some MkVI light tanks.
And so the battle resumes at 07:00 with these forces (British at the rear, Germans in front)
The Germans also have artillery support from an offshore destroyer (9 x 150mm guns = 2 guns in game terms)
After this revision the Germans have a better chance of expanding their bridgehead. Both sides are waiting for reinforcements.
Early in the morning the first bombs fell on London, specifically Harrow. Gale force winds and heavy rain precluded large raids. German artillery at Cape Gris Nez, France, shelled a convoy in the Straits of Dover for 80 minutes, but no ships were hit. Later Junkers Ju88s and Bf109s attacked the convoy and were engaged by Spitfires of 54 Squadron and Hurricanes of 610 Squadron. One Ju88 and one Spitfire were shot down, and one Hurricane by “friendly” fire. In the evening, thirty German aircraft bombed coastal towns in Kent. There is an artillery duel across the Straits of Dover between the German battery at Cape Gris Nez and a British 14-inch naval gun at Dover.
Overnight, Aberdeen, Bristol, Pontefract, Bradford and Hull were bombed. In total, six German aircraft and five RAF fighters were lost.
Fairey Swordfish from HMS Peregrine (the Royal Navy Air Station at Ford, Sussex) bombed German invasion barges at Daedereide on the Dutch coast. One Swordfish was shot down and the crew captured.
Three Swordfish from aircraft carrier HMS Eagle sank Italian submarine Iride and the depot ship Monte Gargano in the Gulf of Bomba, Libya. The Italian torpedo boat Calypso was also damaged. This prevented a planned attack on Alexandria by Iride using manned “human torpedoes”.
Britain promised to send air and sea forces to aid Greece if Italy attacked the country.
The RAF bombed targets in Cologne and Frankfurt.
Game day 357 – Great Britain
The British withdrew their infantry from Italian East Africa (Abyssinia) into Sudan. In Kenya the forces continued northwards towards the Italian threat.
The carrier with fighters for Malta and the troopships with armour and infantry for Egypt docked at Gibraltar. The two battleships pursuing the French reached Malta, where they received news that the French ship had already passed the island.
Two submarines were on patrol in the North Atlantic. One returned to port in the Clyde while the other continued south-west in search of German U-boats, reaching point 220,77. The convoy from Canada to Liverpool reached the mid-Atlantic (195,87)
In the Indian Ocean three freighters sailed past the Cocos Islands en route for Australia, while a task force of three battleships sailed southwards past the west coast of Africa.
In Australia four new Infantry units were deployed in Canberra, while the armoured unit reached the port of Adelaide ready for shipment to the Middle East.
Five infantry units moved from Jordan across the Suez Canal into Egypt. Four infantry units were raised in cape Town, South Africa.
One Bomber unit attacked German shipping in port on the north coast of France. No damage was caused on either side.
Gaming Notes. With the more detailed and correct map I am able to rationalise distances and movement rates. In future the movement will reflect the actual number of days between each country’s turns. Ships will follow historical shipping lanes as far as practical. Gradually I will introduce more detail into the generic “Industrial Resources” and divide some of the game areas into their historical countries.
Cloudy weather again frustrated German attempts to send big raids against British airfields. At noon, 300 aircraft flew over the Channel to attack Dover and Folkestone. Simultaneously, Manston airfield in Kent was bombed for the second day running. No. 65 squadron was engaged over Dover, so Manston was undefended apart from the 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns which shot down two Messerschmitt Bf110’s. Later RAF Middle Wallop in Hampshire was bombed by Stukas and Heinkels.
Bombing damaged the sloop HMS Kingfisher and the tug Carbon in Portland Harbour.
In total the Germans lost thirty aircraft while the RAF lost three Spitfires and five Hurricanes.
The British hold off Italian attacks at Tug Argan in Somaliland. Major-General Godwin-Austen requested permission from General Wavell (Commander-in-Chief Middle East) to withdraw from British Somaliland.
Three British motor torpedo boats and the destroyers HMS Malcolm and Verity engaged three German motor torpedo boats (Schnellboote) escorting a convoy of six trawlers off Texel Island, Holland. One Schnellboot and one trawler were sunk.
Off the north coast of Ireland, U-59 sank the British steamer Betty, carrying 2,726 tons of rice from China to Liverpool.
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved Rainbow No. 4, an emergency plan to defend the entire Western Hemisphere from attack. The plan required a massive number of soldiers and would have mobilized the National Guard and Reserves as well as introduced conscription.
Nazi administrator Gustav Simon abrogated the Constitution of Luxembourg, banned all opposition parties and made German the only official language there.
Game day 349. Britain and the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth began to ramp up war production. Two destroyers were launched on the west coast of Britain and two freighters in South Africa. Two new fighter units were deployed in the UK. In Australia two armoured units became available. A destroyer and freighter were launched in Eastern Canada. An industrial complex was completed in New Zealand. Five infantry units were deployed in Transjordan.
In the north-east Atlantic three British submarines maintained their patrols searching for enemy submarines or raiders. One was located to the east of Scotland and engaged, but the British submarine was sunk. The Aircraft carrier bound for Malta reached the Bay of Biscay. Two troopships left Southampton for Egypt carrying one armoured and two infantry units.
In the Mediterranean the three British Battleships were made aware of the flight of the two French battleships from Marseilles and pursued them. In the resulting gunfight each side lost one ship. Three more battleships sailed south from the Bay of Biscay to the West African coast.
Two convoys departed from Canada and rendezvoused south of Newfoundland (Map ref 25,37) to form a single group of one Canadian destroyer and a freighter carrying an armoured unit, two British battleships and two freighters carrying six resource points for Britain
The battleship which left Britain some weeks ago finally reached Singapore. The unescorted convoy in the Indian Ocean continued towards Australia.
In Egypt the Commonwealth forces held on against the Italians but did not attack. To the south a total of fourteen infantry units attacked six Italian infantry at map ref 70,65 from three sides. The Italians lost two units and retreated eastwards.
Wind and low clouds deterred much flying over southern England. Hurricanes of 85 Squadron intercepted and shot down a Dornier Do17 bomber reconnoitring a shipping convoy east of Lowestoft. One British pilot was killed when his Hurricane crashed on take-off and caught fire. One German aircraft bombed the RAF station at Llandow, South Wales.
The first contingent of airmen from Southern Rhodesia arrived in Britain to join those from other Commonwealth nations, as well as Polish, Czech, French and other exiles.
The British submarine HMS Sealion was rammed and damaged by the German antisubmarine vessel UJ-123 while running at periscope depth attacking a convoy off the south coast of Norway.
The British submarine HMS Pandora reached Malta from Gibraltar with ground equipment and spare parts for the Hurricanes delivered by the aircraft carrier HMS Argus on 2nd August.
The Italians captured Odweina in British Somaliland.
The American ambassador to Belgium, John Cudahy, said that the food situation in Belgium and northern France was desperate and suggested that the Nazis seemed to be expecting outside aid to solve the food shortage for them. Britain was blockading shipments to Germany the occupied countries.
The U.S. Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, called for a massive arms build-up to dissuade hostile countries from attacking the U.S.A.
Game day 341. Great Britain and the commonwealth.
Britain collected 28 Industrial Resource Points.
The Battleship bound for Singapore left India and sailed east towards the Strait of Malacca, and the troopships for Australia sailed into the Indian Ocean.
In Egypt the British and Commonwealth infantry held their line. A two-pronged attack was made by eleven infantry units against six Italian armoured units. Two Italian units were lost for one British and the Italians retreated westwards. To the south, on the Sudanese border with East Africa the British counterattacked with eleven infantry units against three. The British lost three units to the Italians two, but the remaining Italian unit withdrew to the east, pursued by five British units. Britain recruited eight new infantry units locally. Five more infantry units were recruited in Trans-Jordan, the other side of the Suez Canal.
In Kenya/Rhodesia eighteen Infantry units advanced north and east to meet the Italian threat.
The planned attack by the naval force in Gibraltar against French warships at Mers-el-Kebir was called off after Algeria, including the naval units there, had joined the Free French. However, there were two battleships in Marseilles that needed to be dealt with, so the three battleships sailed from Gibraltar and an ultimatum was given to Vichy France to surrender their ships, to sail them to a neutral port, or have them destroyed.
One Merchantman escorted by two battleships reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, to collect Canadian troops. A Canadian merchant ship loaded one armoured unit aboard in the St. Lawrence River. Two loaded cargo ships sailed from Boston to Halifax to join the convoy.
Six bomber units flew from the UK to attack factories in Germany. Flying a dog-leg route to avoid enemy troops they managed a spectacular six points of damage to production. This severely disrupted the production of more fighters for the Luftwaffe.
An aircraft carrier set out from Liverpool to deliver fighters to Malta. Note that Malta does not exist on the game map, so I created it.
Five submarines in the North Atlantic fanned out to seek the German submarines and two successfully located the enemy. There was a one-on- one engagement to the east of Scotland, which was inconclusive. Further west one submarine located and attacked three Germans. One German submarine was sunk.
A hundred German aircraft in five groups crossed the Straits of Dover and were engaged by four squadrons of British fighters off “Hellfire Corner”. Five Messerschmitt Bf109s and two Heinkel HE111 bombers were shot down for the loss of two Spitfires. The Luftwaffe won a significant strategic victory, forcing the Royal Navy to withdraw all destroyers from Dover to Portsmouth during daylight, as warships are vulnerable to dive-bombing by Stukas. Overnight, there was widespread minelaying along the coast and bombing of targets in England, Wales and Scotland.
Eighty miles west of Ireland U-99 sank the British MV Auckland Star, carrying 10,700 tons of general cargo from Australia to Britain via the Panama Canal. The crew escaped in lifeboats and reached Ireland.
Seven hundred miles east of Brazil, near the island of Trindade, German and British armed merchant cruisers exchanged fire. The British HMS Alcantara was hit by three shells while chasing the German raider Thor, causing Alcantara to slow down. As Thor turns away to break off, Alcantara hit her with two shells. Both ships survived the encounter.
President Jozef Tiso, Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka and the Hlinka Guard leader Alexander Mach of the Slovak Republic met with Hitler at the Berghof. Hitler demanded that “Slovakia should adhere loyally and unequivocally to the German cause in her domestic politics.”. This followed meetings with the Rumanian and Bulgarian premiers in the precious two days.
The German fighter ace Werner Mölders was wounded in the legs by enemy fire during fighting over southern England but managed to return to his base at Wissant. He was hospitalised.
In France, Germany closed the border between Vichy France and the occupied zone.
Game day 332. United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth.
1 Bomber unit flew from England to Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean. Three warships also arrived at Gibraltar. Three more sailed southwards past Portugal heading for the South Atlantic.
A cargo ship escorted by two warships passed Newfoundland en route for the USA. The convoy was diverted to Canada to collect troops there. Canada deployed two infantry and one armoured unit, as well as launching a new cargo ship.
Six bomber units attacked the German warship heading for Norway. The battleship was hit five times and sank. Britain launched a new aircraft carrier with two fighter units aboard. The Anti-Aircraft units in the London area began to disperse to cover fighter bases.
Five submarines shadowing the German battleship came into contact with three German submarines off the north coast of Scotland. One of the German submarines was sunk. The other two retreated.
The Battleship en route for Singapore docked at Calicut, India. The three merchantmen destined for Australia passed through the Straits of Hormuz.
On the border between Sudan and Italian East Africa twelve Infantry units attacked six Italian infantry units. The Italians lost three units to the British one and fell back to the south, pursued by the British.
To the north the six Australian infantry units moved south-west with the intention of completing the British defensive line in Libya.
With fine flying weather the Luftwaffe attacked convoys along the south and east coasts of England and the east coast of Scotland. The Germans bombed a convoy near Dover, sinking the SS Pulborough and damaging the destroyer HMS Brazen, which was towed back to port. Brazen’s anti-aircraft guns claimed three German aircraft shot down. The destroyer HMS Acheron was bombed and damaged by near misses ten miles off the Isle of Wight. during the day the RAF lost five Hurricanes, one Spitfire and one Blenheim. The Germans lost at least six fighters, two bombers and a seaplane.
Following the Battle of Cape Spada in the Mediterranean on 19th July, six Swordfish torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle at Sidi Barrani sought the Italian cruiser Giovanni dalle Bande Nere at the Italian naval base at Tobruk. Bande Nere was not there so they sank the destroyers Ostro and Nembo and the steamer Sereno instead as targets of opportunity.
Jean Decoux became Governor-General of French Indochina.
The British government banned the buying and selling of new cars.
Game day 324. Great Britain
At sea three warships neared Gibraltar on their way to the Mediterranean. Three more, off Brest, headed into the Bay of Biscay bound for the South Atlantic. A single merchantman escorted by two warships continued across the North Atlantic towards the U.S.A. Nine more cargo ships, aware of the presence of the German Navy off Scotland, remained in port, while five submarines continued to pursue the German ship without making contact.
In the Red Sea the warship heading for Singapore sailed into the North Indian Ocean while the convoy returning to Australia continued south through the Red Sea.
In the air, RAF Bomber command launched a successful attack on German factories, effectively destroying the new resource stockpile which had arrived from Czechoslovakia the previous day. Fighter command held its four units in reserve to defend against enemy air attacks.
In Egypt six Australian infantry units moved westwards to support the British defensive line in Libya. Further south infantry moved to block the intended Italian invasion of Sudan. Eighteen new infantry units in Kenya moved towards the Italian force which had invaded. It would take several weeks to reach the enemy positions.
Britain needed more fighter aircraft and naval units, but would be reliant on the U.S.A. for both unless British manufacturing could be improved.
In the North Channel between England and Ireland, U-56 hit the British transport ship Dunera with a torpedo that glanced off without exploding. Dunera is carrying 2,542 “enemy aliens”, many of whom were survivors from the British liner Arandora Star sunk on 2nd July.
In typical British summer weather (low clouds, rain showers and occasional sunny periods) , British fighters engaged He111 and Do17 bombers with fighter escorts targeting a large convoy off Essex and Suffolk. Two Spitfires and 1 Hurricane were lost. In the West of England, JU87 Stukas covered by Messerschmitt Me110s bombed Portland and Exeter. The Stukas were vulnerable to attack when pulling out of their dive and two were shot down. A lone Heinkel He111 from Stavanger was shot down near Aberdeen and dropped its bombs on the city before crashing into the city’s ice rink.
South-west of Ireland, U-99 sank the Greek steamer Ia carrying wheat and stopped the Estonian steamer Merisaar carrying lumber. Rough seas prevented the sinking of the Merisaar with torpedoes or deck gun, so she was ordered to sail to Bordeaux.
After the Battle of Calabria, Italian bombers attacked the British battleship HMS Warspite and the cruiser HMS Liverpool for two hours, causing no damage. HMS Liverpool was hit by a bomb that failed to explode. A Sea Gladiator from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle shot down an Italian bomber, but then made a forced landing alongside HMS Liverpool where it was recovered.
Pierre Laval was appointed Vice Premier of Vichy France and Marshal Pétain’s successor.
Game day 316. Great Britain
The five submarines in the North Atlantic moved north in pursuit of the German warship off Ireland. Three battleships in the Bay of Biscay continued southwards towards Gibraltar while the three off Brest continued their attack on the single remaining German submarine.
Three fighter units were moved south from Scotland to East Anglia. Six bomber units flew from Britain to attack a German bomber airfield at map reference 50,27. They were intercepted by one fighter unit from northern France. The bombers shot down the fighter and went on to destroy the lone German bomber unit on the ground.
In the Middle East British and Empire troops continued to move into Libya and towards Italian east Africa to confront the Italians. The Australian troopships began their return voyage while the Battleship continued down the Red Sea en route for Singapore.
On the economic front a second industrial complex was completed in India. Two merchant ships sailed from Canada to the U.S. east Coast to pick up supplies, and an escorted convoy departed from Bristol for the United States.
The French armistices with Germany and Italy came into effect and fighting was over in France. France had lost 92,000 dead, 250,000 wounded and 1.5 million taken prisoner*. British losses in the campaign were 68,000 killed, wounded or captured. The German army and Luftwaffe losses were 29,000 dead, 133,000 wounded and missing. Since 21st June Italy had 631 dead, 2,631 wounded, 2,151 hospitalised with frostbite and 616 missing, while the French defenders against their attack suffered only 37 killed, 42 wounded and 150 missing.
*With Britain continuing to fight, many of the French prisoners would remain incarcerated for four more years, instead of the few weeks expected by the Generals who negotiated the armistice.
To compound the French misery, Hitler ordered the destruction of the 1918 Armistice site at Compiègne. The railway carriage, a massive dedication tablet and the 1918 Alsace-Lorraine Monument (depicting a German eagle impaled by a sword) were removed to Germany. However, Hitler left the statue of the French WWI victor, Maréchal Foch, watching over the remains.
Hitler addressed the German nation, praising the Wehrmacht for its victory and ordering that all flags be displayed for ten days and that church bells be rung for a week. German troops were issued English phrase books in preparation for an invasion of Britain. France observed a day of national mourning.
The Petain government, now in Bordeaux, called on the French colonies to cease hostilities. Forces in North Africa, Somaliland, Syria, Lebanon and Indo-China indicated their support for the alliance and their will to continue the fight.
Churchill made a speech to the House of Commons on the Franco-German peace and, specifically on the disposition of the French battleships and other warships. He said: “…the solemn declaration of the German Government that they have no intention of using them for their own purposes during the war. What is the value of that? Ask half a dozen countries what is the value of such a solemn assurance”. He was clearly worried about the fate of the French fleet, despite the assurances of Admiral Darlan.
U-51 attacked convoy OA-172 about 400 miles west of Land’s End, sinking the British SS Windsorwood, carrying 7100 tons of coal and the British tanker Saranac
Canadian destroyers HCMS Fraser and Restigouche were sent with the British cruiser HMS Calcutta to rescue 4,000 allied soldiers trapped on the Bordeaux coast. In rough seas and poor visibility, HCMS Fraser collided with HMS Calcutta and was cut into three pieces. 66 men were lost.
Game day 299. Great Britain, its Empire and Dominions
The Battleship unit (task force?) en route to Singapore passed through the Suez Canal and began its journey down the Red Sea. In the opposite direction the convoy carrying six infantry units from Australia sailed northwards up the Red Sea towards Cairo.
In Egypt the infantry stationed around Cairo moved eastwards while the six units already in Libya moved north-west towards the Italian force. Eighteen new infantry units were deployed in Egypt.
Around Britain the story was all about consolidation of resources against an expected German invasion. The supply convoy left Portugal and headed for Britain, taking advantage of the French naval force sailing southwards and screening it from the German raiders. Two Royal Navy units were despatched from Portsmouth for protection of these vital supplies.
Four infantry units were evacuated from Cherbourg and returned to Southampton.
Credits: Historical information: http://www.worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com, Wikipedia, Chronicle of the Second World War (JL International Publications, 1994). Background image to game maps: Hasbro Ltd. Other maps and photographs Odhams Press Limited.
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General Whiskers' semi-historical wanderings 