The Riddle of the Sands

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War I] >> Guns of August 1914 - 1918 >> The Riddle of the Sands

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The Riddle of the Sands - 7/8/2004 5:46:48 PM

SirRodneyOfGout

Posts: 41
Joined: 6/28/2004
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OK, just to keep things lively, how about another alt-history fave... can the Germans attempt an invasion of England (i.e. is there any provision in the game made for this)?

To me, this seems much more possible in WWI than Seelowe in 1940, with the lack of airpower until late in the war to deter this. And if a Jutland had been a Tsushima, with the RN badly beaten (unlikely, but possible)...

Likewise, how about a Brit naval invasion of Germany?

Any thoughts?

(Hey, we gotta help wodin & dirtdog keep up the pre-release barrage here!)

Cheers,

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RE: The Riddle of the Sands - 7/8/2004 7:27:41 PM

Dirtdog20

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Joined: 1/17/2003
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As far as a WWI Sealion I dont think it possible w/o a Tushima style Jutland. Even though in 1911 IIRC Beatty was able to outmanuver the Home Fleet and land a few Bn. of Marines in an exercise that was cut short by W.C. because he was afraid it would show the Germans that it could be done.

Sir Jacky Fisher upon rentering the Admiralty in 1914 set upon a crash building progam of shallow draft vessels to use in the Baltic. His plan was to force passage of the Denmark Straits drawing the German fleet to battle, defeating them; and then loading a 100,000 man Russian invasion force to land on the coast near Berlin. W.C. was not enamored of this plan and several of the vessels went to the Med for the Gallipoli landings instead. This was one of several events that led to the breakup of the Fisher/Churchill time at the Admirality. To finally answer your question: yes if Churchill had sided with Sir Fisher it would have been attempted. As history would show time and again Churchill was not a man who lacked vision or courage. Now on the other hand Sir Jellico may have echoed another Officer on my side of the Atlantic and muttered "Dam* the torpedoes..." while trying to force the straits. But that is another topic isnt it?

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RE: The Riddle of the Sands - 7/8/2004 7:46:42 PM

*Lava*

Posts: 1924
Joined: 2/9/2004
Status: offline

Hi!

To answer your questions, the answer, I believe, is yes and yes.

Amphibious operations are available to both sides, although I didn't test this part of the game. If I remember correctly, Eric Larsen tested this and he was able to attack the UK with German forces and vice versa from the sea.

Mind you, just because you have the capability, doesn't mean you can do it. The RN is a rather large impediment, however, to invading the UK.

Ray (alias Lava)

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RE: The Riddle of the Sands - 7/8/2004 10:36:23 PM

SirRodneyOfGout

Posts: 41
Joined: 6/28/2004
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OK, but can the Central Powers player redirect the focus of the German submarine force to sinking Brit BBs etc. instead of merchant shipping? I'm well aware of the strategic consequences that such a change would engender (again, hopefully modelled in the game), but the U Boats were quite successful early on in sinking British warships, and an all-out attempt to gain the upper hand in naval supremacy isn't beyond reason...

Maybe this is too early to ask, given where the game is in development, but I'm sure you can follow the reasoning for a German strategy to defeat/outwit the RN and put troops on British soil. Obviously hard to do, just wondering if it is a possibility, even a slim one, in GoA?

Any chance the Central Powers AI would try this? (I can already hear the laughter from the developers / programmers. Cue the music: "Blue sky, nothing but blue sky...". Sigh. As a gamer, I can come up with plenty of blue sky ideas. As a system development PM I had my guns trained and ready to shoot at blue sky ideas before they even got off the ground, if possible. )

Cheers,

_____________________________

"Consult the book of armaments!" - Monty Python and the Holy Grail

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Post #: 4

RE: The Riddle of the Sands - 7/9/2004 4:27:57 AM

*Lava*

Posts: 1924
Joined: 2/9/2004
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quote:

ORIGINAL: SirRodneyOfGout

OK, but can the Central Powers player redirect the focus of the German submarine force to sinking Brit BBs etc. instead of merchant shipping?

Yes of course. In the pre-alpha naval units had several different missions would could be ordered. The naval war, however, is a bit more abstracted, as this is an operational level game.

Ray (alias Lava)

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RE: The Riddle of the Sands - 7/9/2004 8:06:12 AM

Dirtdog20

Posts: 213
Joined: 1/17/2003
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So I assume that as the Germans you can conduct several different types of submarine warfare with all the diplomatic fall out that attenuates to them? I also would then assume that the RN is given the option to close or stand off blocade and laying of minefields?

So many questions I know.

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You mean that we gotta take a test after we read this stuff?!?

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Post #: 6

RE: The Riddle of the Sands - 7/9/2004 6:52:13 PM

Rainbow7

Posts: 404
Joined: 11/4/2003
From: Ottawa
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I have nothing to add to this discussion, other than that I happened to have just read Erskine Childers' book last year. I'd recommend it for a quick, fun read.

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RE: The Riddle of the Sands - 9/23/2004 7:59:32 AM

FrankHunter

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Joined: 3/26/2004
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Subs can be used against warships by putting them on "patrol" missions. Or they can be used against merchant shipping by putting them on "shipping" missions.

Going to "unrestricted" increases the chances of finding and killing merchant ships at a cost in the diplomatic sphere.

(in reply to Rainbow7)

Post #: 8