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DerAdlerIstGelandet said:Yes there would have been no way for the Germans to even launch Seeloewe unless they had won the BoB. Without air supremecy it deffinatly would have failed.
RG_Lunatic said:plan_D said:I know FDR was a great man, with a lot of sense. As with China, he saw Britain as a line of defence before Americas borders. It's not a case of getting the men ashore, it's a case of keeping them well supplied. Plus a raw recruit army against an experienced force would not stand much of a chance. The American forces had a lot of time to prepare for D-Day, they'd have had no time to prepare for the defence of Britain. Plus the amount of time to get them to Britain in the first place, in large numbers, would be too long. It's a fantasy.
I know. That's ANOTHER reason why the German invasion plan would fail, only their 88s would be capable of stopping British armour. But there would be no way of bringing it ashore. That was my point!
Troops on British soil was not even necessary. FDR had the US Navy at his command. That was: 15 battleships, 6 aircraft carriers, 37 cruisers, 185 destroyers, 64 submarines, 19 PT boats, and 36 mine warfare ships.
The British had moved into Iceland in 1940 after the fall of Denmark, to prevent the German's from taking it. All they had to do was hand this over to the USA (which they did anyway in 1941) and FDR could have stationed several warships at this base, just 1000 miles north-northwest of Dover, and then US ships would have patrolled to the south of that point, putting them within easy striking distance of any German invasion. Just their presence would have been enough to prevent Hitler from invading, the USA would not even have had to officially enter the war.
And, as you know, I agree - the German's had no way to deploy any heavy equipment of any kind until after they secured an operation port. Since the British would surely have destroyed such a port before leaving it, and probably mined the waters near it, and the RN could shell it at night rather easily, it would have taken a long time for the Germans to establish an operational port.
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Lunatic
Udet said:Plan_D:
Thank you very much for showing who the real dazzed lost individual is.
The Germans were defeated at the Battle of Arras? No kidding!
It is funny you mention a local setback suffered by the Germans to attempt proving I have no clue on the battlefield facts!!
What was the benefit of the so called British "victory" at the Battle of Arras, when the bulk of the BEF arrived to England in shock and in trousers, escaping simply because Hitler allowed them to do so?
You can have your lollypop when you ve beaten nearly to death, with both your eyes deeply bruised and badly swollen lips.
Very funny Plan_D!!!!
Are you trying to suggest the British/Greek garrison at Crete did not have superior firepower to combat the German fallschirmjager?
Well mister, that is your very own problem.
Furthermore, no one ever said the German paratroopers did not have very high casualty rates; still those who touched the ground and unloaded their weapons were better lead, smarter and ferocious enough to bring the British and their allies down on their knees.
The German paratroopers had a very high casualty rate "even when the Luftwaffe had air superiority"? What does that have to do with anything at all?
The allied soldiers shot many paratroopers while they were hanging in their parachutes and several Ju52s were hit by antiaircraft fire while being loaded with the troopers.
So there is no connection AT ALL, between the high casualty rate of the German paratroopers in Crete and the air superioriy of the Luftwaffe in the area.
Since you believe you are very good at statisctics, can you tell the losses of the Royal Navy during Crete? How many cruisers and destroyers were destroyed by the Luftwaffe, plus those with several degrees of damage?
You trying to suggest Crete was only a minor issue for the British in terms of casualties?
Malta never fell? What about that?
Did the Germans ever try to seize it? They just ordered the Luftwaffe to bomb it, and during such time, the island experienced a very black period.
The German army had numerical superiority over the British everywhere they clashed??? This deserves a monument Plan-D. So you are suggesting during Fall Gelb the Germans outnumbered the allies?
As I said before, just like the British enjoyed the benefits of the very short range od the Bf109 during the Battle of Britain, the Germans enjoyed the benefits of each battlefield were they clashed with the British. The rule also applies for Germany.
The arguments you displayed make no point in taking substance to my comments and are only explanations to justify the British defeats.
I did say Seelowe was not launched because Hitler was not interested in doing so; if you read well, I also said, Seelowe, if launched, might well have failed.
Hitler´s fundamental interest was placed EAST, and would not waste valuable men in such a venture.
Supporting the army had not been a gentle task for the navy. Each of the army's failures had exacted a heavy toll on the navy. In Norway, at Dunkirk, Greece, Crete and North Africa with it's effects on Malta, all of these operations required the utmost sacrifice of the navy.
It was in the Mediterranean that the Royal Navy really learned to fear the Luftwaffe. The aircraft carrier Illustrious was badly damaged by air attack, the cruiser Southampton was sunk. In the withdrawal from Crete the cruisers Naiad and Carlisle were damaged, while the cruisers Gloucester and Fiji were sunk. The battleship Warspite was also damaged by air attack. The entire operation saw 2 battleships, an aircraft carrier, six cruisers and seven destroyers damaged, while three cruisers and six destroyers were sunk, all of this by air attack. Crete was a very expensive operation for the Royal Navy.
The support of Malta was also expensive. In a single convoy combined attacks by submarines, torpedo boats, and aircraft, one aircraft carrier was sunk and another badly damaged. Two cruisers were badly damaged and two others sunk.
http://www.jubilee.freehomepage.com/royal.htm
20 May
Operation Merkur (Mercury): the German invasion of the island of Crete, begins with an airborne assault by the Luftwaffe's 7th Parachute Division. Although Allied ground units on Crete, and naval vessels in the surrounding waters, fight tenaciously, the defenders are forced to withdraw from the island during the period 28 May to 1 June.
18,000 British and Commonwealth troops are evacuated by the Royal Navy - 2,000 men are killed during the battle for Crete and a further 12,000 taken prisoner. Royal Navy losses around the island are also extremely heavy. However, the defenders, for their part, inflicte heavy casualties on the Luftwaffe paratroop and airlift units that take part in the assault - over 4,000 men are killed, mostly from 7th Parachute Division and 220 of the 600 Junkers Ju52 transport aircraft used in the operation are destroyed. Mercury was to be the last large-scale airborne operation mounted by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/milestones-of-flight/british_military/1941_3.html
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:No offense but at the time I think the Germans would have been more scared of the Royal Navy then the US Navy.
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:I too do not think it would have succeded but I think RG_Lunatic that you underestimate the German fighting machine quite a bit. With a little more planning the Germans could have succeded in Seeloewe. And I think most would agree. It would have come with very heavy losses and the British would have never stopped fighting as they were a very superb fighting force but they were already beaten and on there knees after Dunkirk. Once they recovered they again fought on with great skill as the British always have and could match anyone but in the state that the British forces were in if the Germans had planned more, and succeded in the BoB it could have succeded. Please dont take me wrong I too think it would have failed but I do not underestimate what the German military could have done.
RG_Lunatic said:DerAdlerIstGelandet said:I too do not think it would have succeded but I think RG_Lunatic that you underestimate the German fighting machine quite a bit. With a little more planning the Germans could have succeded in Seeloewe. And I think most would agree. It would have come with very heavy losses and the British would have never stopped fighting as they were a very superb fighting force but they were already beaten and on there knees after Dunkirk. Once they recovered they again fought on with great skill as the British always have and could match anyone but in the state that the British forces were in if the Germans had planned more, and succeded in the BoB it could have succeded. Please dont take me wrong I too think it would have failed but I do not underestimate what the German military could have done.
A little more planning?
For God sakes, look at the plan they had put together. Every aspect of it is pure crap.
I'm not underestimating them. THEY HAD NO AMPHIBIOUS INVASION CAPABILITY! NONE! Their entire plane rested on the belief that somehow they were going to be able to make due by putting land soldiers onto rafts and river barges and towing them across the channel. That was the extent of it.
What Germany would have had to do to make SeeLowe viable would have been to spend over a year buidling an invasion fleet of some kind. They'd have needed landing craft capable of crossing the channel and delivering troops right onto the beaches and some means of getting heavy equipment ashore without having to secure an operational British port. Then they'd have needed to spend at least 3 months (probably 6 months) practicing making landings on safe beaches. Finally they'd have had to not only win the airwar against the RAF but also figure out how they were going to deal with the RN, something they had no capacity to do.
Until you can explain some way that Hitler was going to overcome these issues, the whole idea of a successful Seelowe is ludicrous. The German's had no experiance in amphibous operations and the Seelowe plan exemplifies this.
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Lunatic
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:I dont need to, you just did. As I said more planning and what you just said comes down to more PLANNING!(I can do that too you see).
So please take your attitude someplace else I dont need it.
As for the Royal Navy and the US Navy yes together they would have made a fleet that would have been very very frightening but again you were talking about the US coming to the rescue of the British (which you always imply that the US had to do), and this case the US Navy having to rescue the British Navy. I dont really think so the British Navy would have done fine all by themselves. Sorry the Brits did not need the US as you always imply.
I just don't see that as "planning". Planning implies no additional resources or accomplishements needed to be met first, only the right "plan" was needed. This was not the case.
As for the Brit's not needing the USA, of course they did. Without US supplies they'd have starved and been unable to fight.
As for the RN having been sufficient all by themselves, I would agree I think they would have been. However, had the USA positioned part of its fleet in a threatening position, it would have been yet another factor Hitler would have had to consider, making the likelyhood of an invasion almost nil. And again, the USA would not even have had to declare war, simply having 4 BB's, 10 cruisers, and maybe 40 destroyers within easy reach of an invasion would have been enough.
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Lunatic
plan_D said:Imagine Crete without German air superiority, effective AA cover and a proper determined garrison. Germany would have been slaughtered.
I totally agree.....the Brits were not a second rate military
and did not need the US military to fight off the Germans.
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:Yes it was planning. If there had been more planning, they would have had a better way to transport the forces including tanks, everything needed. They would have a better plan to obtain air superiority (not bomb the s**t out of cities but take out factories and air bases), they would have had a more realistic plan in place.
I think you took me wrong about England needing the US. Yes I agree that England did need supplies from the US. I completly agree with you but the Brits were a very capable fighting force that did not need to be rescued by the US on the battle field as it seems that you sometimes imply. Dont take me wrong I admire your patriotism, it is very noble but the Brits were not a second rate military and did not need the US military to fight off the Germans.
And yes as I said before if the US and the Brits had combined fleets it would have been an amazing fleet but at the time of the proposed Seeloewe there was no fleet better then the Royal Navy.
Lightning Guy said:Ok . . .if I may sum up the situation . . .
In order for Sealion to have been succesful . . .
1. German high command would have had to have avoided the blunders made duing the BoB (namely shifting to London instead of RAF targets)
2. The RAF would have had to have been effectively neutralized
3. The RN would have had to have been virtually anihilated
4. Germany would have had to have developed landing craft suitable for open water
5. Some form of large amphibious ship would have had to have been developed in order for Wermacht heavy equipment to be landed ashore
6. The US would have had to have remained completely neutral
7. The German forces would have had to have sustained a massive logistical operation by air and sea
8. The most determined foe yet faced by Germany would have had to have been defeated defending its own turf
lesofprimus said:I totally agree.....the Brits were not a second rate military
and did not need the US military to fight off the Germans.
That I disagree with.... There was no way that a small tiny Island Nation could forstall the innevitable Juggernaught of Nazi Germany for very long without a US military presence...... Dont think a landing in Normandy coulda been done by the Brits themselves...
Although, looking at your statement, it could mean that England didnt need USA to fight their battles for them, just help them out.........
If thats what u meant, then I agree with u...