Caranorn -> RE: Amphibious Assault (3/4/2011 5:43:16 PM)
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After Norway and the cancelation of Sealion the German Navy as far as I recall wasn't all that concerned with ampibious operations. The catastropic casualties taken during the Norway invasion precluded the use of those old tactics. For Norway (iirc) the means to bring troops to shore was by transportation of light troops on cruisers and destroyers, heavier equipment on a small number of hastily assembled civilian cargo ships, all directly into defended (mines, torpedoes, shore artillery) ports. This system led to the loss of at least two cruisers and a large number of destroyers crippling the German surface navy for the rest of the war. Assets for an alternative assault system were established for Sealion, but left in North Sea ports after the cancellation of that operation (barges existed, though not comparable to those used by the Western Allies in 42, 43 and 44, , amphibious tanks §units disbanded iirc) also minesweepers, patrol boats of varyious tonnage and types, a number of destroyers). Those assets could not be transferred to the Baltic on a whim if at all. Accordingly I think a medium to long distance invasion by a substantial force was entirely out of the question for the German Navy in 1941... P.S.: I don't recall whether the plans for an invasion of Sweden by Germany involved amphibious invasion, most likely not.
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