Britain Invaded!, the plan that never happened Options

[Jeff Truzzi]

On 13 August 1940, Hitler agreed that the invasion front should to be narrowed, with the most westerly landing area being around Worthing. This meant that the only one German Army Group - Army Group A - would carry out the invasion. The revised invasion plan was issued by the German High Command on 30 August.

The attack group of the 9th Army (Part of Army Group A) was to leave from Le Havre and land in the Brighton-Worthing area of Sussex. The first assault wave was to secure the beachhead.

The second wave packed the real punch for it was made up of two Panzer Divisions - each composed of tanks, artillery, mobile troops and Panzer grenadier assault infantry - and one motorised division. The role of the panzers was to break out of the beachhead and then sweep west towards Portsmouth.

The attack group of the 16th Army (also part of Army Group A) was to leave from the Calais-Ostend-Antwerp area and land in the Folkstone-Dungeness area around Rye and at Bexhill-Eastbourne.

The first wave here was to consist of two infantry divisions, while the second wave was to include two Panzer Divisions that were to break out of the beachhead and advance north - to destroy the main reserves of the British army and establish crossings over the River Medway.

These landings were to be supported by parachute troops, who were to drop on the Downs above Brighton, to assist in the securing of the beach head for the Brighton-Worthing assault group, and north west of Folkestone in Kent to seize the Royal Military Canal of Napoleonic war vintage.

The Germans saw this canal, which had been built to stop French invaders storming across Romney Marsh on their way to London, as a significant anti-tank obstacle that could, if not bridged, stall the advance of their panzers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwt...on_ww2_01.shtml

[Jeff Truzzi]

I was looking at British perspectives on the American Revolution (or 'war of the colonies') and stumbled across these marching orders for Operation Sea Lion in the WWII section.

Hitler didn't really want to invade Britain. He admired the British for their accomplishments and their empire (particularly India) and considered them on an ethnic par with Germans.
Britain not remaining neutral in WWII is really the only thing that didn't go exactly to the plan he laid out in "Mein Kampf" 17 years earlier...to his chagrin.

[Jeff Truzzi]

Well, that and a few serious setbacks on the eastern front.

[The Lost Jockey]

Aside from the German failure to gain air superiority they didn't have the right number of the right landing craft. Sealion was always a non-starter. Scary still the same.