Matrix Games

Location : United Kingdom
Opponents : Both
Date :   1 JUL 1940
Scale : No hex

Description :

What-if scenario Operation Sealion is underway. Arguably the biggest gamble in military history is about to unfold. The premises for this what-if scenario are: 1/ Luftwaffe have fought the Royal Air Force to a stalemate in the air over the Channel coast, 2/ The Royal Navy Home Fleet, basing mainly out of Scapa Flow, will be at least two days before it makes its presence felt in the Channel. When it arrives, Kriegsmarine will have to fight and win a decisive battle to keep supplies flowing into the beachheads. The Wehrmacht have landed with six infantry and gebirgsjäger divisions (not nine as originally planned, there wasn't enough transport) in different beachheads along the English channel coast with support from the Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger and various commando units. The situation on the ground is dire for the British. After the very recent debâcle in France, Army forces on British soil number just 22 divisions. Actual historical sources indicate these were at about 50% strength during the summer of 1940, and that they were almost completely de-motorised. The vaunted Home Guard, although numerous (at about 1.5 million men at its height), had almost no weapons at this time, only 1 in 20 men were armed, and no training to speak of. Coastal defenses were, according to Fieldmarshal Alan Brooke, scattered and mostly for show and morale purposes. This scenario describes events around Hythe and Folkestone during the initial landing. At the start of the scenario, the German 17th Infantry Division is landing south of Hythe, and German Fallschirmjäger are parachuting in to seize the high ground north of Folkestone. The British will have to scramble everything to contain the beachhead with their limited ressources. With only 22 regular Army divisions, and six beachheads to cover, they will be thin on the ground. The vital prize in this sector is Folkestone harbor - without it, the Germans will not be able to land vital heavy equipment, supplies, artillery, panzers, and the invasion will ultimatively fail.