ORIGINAL: RangerJoe
Bombers dropping flares while the Fairy Battle fighters and other fighters shoot down the transports.
Destroyers, Motor Launches, and other small vessels destroying the slow and heavily loaded barges, No more sea lift.
The movie "Darkest Hour" showed Churchill being briefed about the Germans using fast motor boats for the invasion. Clearly, it was a very real concern.
The British still had an intact armour brigade. The 3.7 inch AA gun was their equivalent to the good German 88 Flak which was used as an AT gun. The British would have used theirs as AT weapons and the 40mm Bofors as well. Those were from their AAA units which are not engaging the bombers which are not flying over England.
The British never used AAA in an anti-tank role in the Desert War. Their attitude was that "if it was meant to be used against tanks, they would have called it an anti-tank gun."
I am not missing the point. The British would still prepare their defense. But if they say a bunch of transports and Gigants show up, then they will know what is happening. A Recon Spitfire would be hard for the Germans to shoot down.
The point is: They can't discount the invasion threat regardless of what the Germans do or don't do.
You mean that England south of London is not part of England? [&:]
Still not to the point that the bombers were beyond Me-109 range.
So do you prefer Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naoknj1ebqI
or
do you prefer Comfortably numb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrOQC-zEog
I prefer SPI.
You should look at some of the terrain that you want the panzer forces to drive through in Spain, especially number 5:
Basque in the beauty of the countryside
https://www.bmw.com/en/automotive-life/ ... Baskenland
Of course, that is with more modern roads. What light infantry could do to armour with gas bombs, other explosives, light artillery capable of be transported by horses/mules, or even ATRs, especially if they can get some 20mm ones from Finland.
Also note the nice road running right along the coast - an easy target for naval gunfire. [:D]
In many places, the Spanish Basque beaches have wooded hills right by them, perfect to drop off commandos to go inland and wreck havoc. Maybe linking up with guerillas as well.
Germany, which has easily conquered most of Europe between 1939-1941, over all sorts of terrain, isn't going to be brooked by the puny Spaniards. Their force is smaller than the BEF by itself - and that's from Warspite1's numbers, not mine. And, all they have to do is get to Madrid, whereupon Spain will surrender and her forces will dissolve.
After knocking about the Spanish hills and mountains, you want Germany to invade Turkey? European Turkey might be easy but unless you get a Navy capable of handling the Royal Navy then you won't be able to invade Asian Turkey unless you do a Black Sea invasion with naval forces there. This would be opposed by Turkey of course, but maybe some Soviet subs since there is no ship seen when they are submerged and engage the enemy.
That means that you will have to cross the Turkish straits.
The strait is 61 kilometres (38 mi) long, and 1.2 to 6 kilometres (0.7 to 3.7 mi) wide, averaging 55 metres (180 ft) deep with a maximum depth of 103 metres (338 ft) at its narrowest point at Nara Burnu, abreast Çanakkale.[3] There are two major currents through the strait: a surface current flows from the Black Sea towards the Aegean Sea, and a more saline undercurrent flows in the opposite direction.[4]
The Dardanelles is unique in many respects. The very narrow and winding shape of the strait is more akin to that of a river. It is considered one of the most hazardous, crowded, difficult and potentially dangerous waterways in the world. The currents produced by the tidal action in the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara are such that ships under sail must await at anchorage for the right conditions before entering the Dardanelles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dardanelles#Crossings
Think Gallipoli for that area. Difficult for armour, difficult for a pontoon bridge as well. There is no bridge across it now and there hasn't been one for a long time. Just fire artillery at people trying to build one or float explosive and/or fire boats down stream. Do you think that the Turks would allow any ferries to be captured?
The Bosporus (/ˈbɒspərəs/) or Bosphorus (/-pər-, -fər-/;[1] Ancient Greek: Βόσπορος Bosporos [bós.po.ros]; also known as the Strait of Istanbul; Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı, colloquially Boğaz) is a narrow, natural strait . . .
Most of the shores of the strait, except for those in the north, are heavily settled, straddled by the city of Istanbul . . . extending inland from both coasts.
Together with the Dardanelles, the Bosporus forms the Turkish Straits.
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The limits of the Bosporus are defined as the connecting line between the lighthouses of Rumeli Feneri and Anadolu Feneri in the north, and between the Ahırkapı Feneri and the Kadıköy İnciburnu Feneri in the south. Between these limits, the strait is 31 km (17 nmi) long, with a width of 3,329 m (1.798 nmi) at the northern entrance and 2,826 m (1.526 nmi) at the southern entrance. Its maximum width is 3,420 m (1.85 nmi) between Umuryeri and Büyükdere Limanı, and minimum width 700 m (0.38 nmi) between Kandilli Point and Aşiyan.
The depth of the Bosporus varies from 13 to 110 m (43 to 361 ft) in midstream with an average of 65 m (213 ft). The deepest location is between Kandilli and Bebek with 110 m (360 ft). The shallowest locations are off Kadıköy İnciburnu on the northward route with 18 m (59 ft) and off Aşiyan Point on the southward route with 13 m (43 ft).[8]
The smallest section is on a sill located in front of Dolmabahçe Palace. It is around 38 000 square meter. The Southbound flow is 16 000 m3/s (fresh water at surface) and the northbound flow is 11 000 m3/s (salt water near bottom).[9] Some even speak about a Black Sea undersea river.
The Golden Horn is an estuary off the main strait that historically acted as a moat to protect Old Istanbul from attack, as well as providing a sheltered anchorage for the imperial navies of various empires until the 19th century, after which it became a historic neighborhood at the heart of the city, popular with tourists and locals alike.
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Between its northern limits at Rumeli Feneri and Anadolu Feneri and its southern ones at Ahırkapı Feneri and Kadıköy İnciburnu Feneri, there are numerous dangerous points for large-scale maritime traffic that require sharp turns and management of visual obstructions. Famously, the stretch between Kandilli Point and Aşiyan requires a 45-degree course alteration in a location where the currents can reach 7 to 8 knots (3.6 to 4.1 m/s). To the south, at Yeniköy, the necessary course alteration is 80 degrees. Compounding these difficult changes in trajectory, the rear and forward sight lines at Kandilli and Yeniköy are also completely blocked prior to and during the course alteration, making it impossible for ships approaching from the opposite direction to see around these bends.
(Hey, great places to hide machine guns and artillery to fire down the strait without be seen from directly across the strait.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosporus#Crossings
There are overhead satellite images of both locations.
So the Germans would have to fight down a narrow peninsula in order to cross at one end of the Turkish straits where the land is rough. Artillery fire from Asia would support the defenders in Europe. Then the Germans would have to try an cross to the other side. In WWI, there were Ottoman forts in the area which still might be there with BIG guns. Have fun trying to do this fast.
The other end has a very large city on both sides. City fighting is not fast and is a tank trap if not supported by infantry, while in fact it is infantry country. Then cross to the other side with a swift current pushing the crossing vessels sideways, then more city fighting. Again, artillery fire from the Asian side to help the European side.
Both routes favor the defenders and are anti-armour territory.
Did you see my post about that pitiful Turkish division in Korea? The Turks had just been relieved of their entire empire in the previous war. They are not a serious conventional force. Yes, the straits will be tough. But, considering the overwhelming force that will be brought to bear on them, coupled with strategic surprise and the poor quality of Turkish forces, it will not hold up.
Past that point, there are rail lines all over the country. More than adequate for completing the conquest.
SPI agrees with me, too.
; Julia Child
