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If the Luftwaffe controlling the air threatened the RN from above and and the u-boats threatened the surface ships from below, the landing, most likely, could have been done. And the English Army was so reduced after leaving all their equipment in France, would have been no match for German Panzers.

Erm no

The disparity between the Royal Navy and what was still operational of the Kriegsmarine was just huge. This was further exacerbated by the need to find crews for the invasion fleet, so those ships the KM still had afloat were now undermanned. There was then the issue that there simply were not enough transports and also the French northern ports would have lacked the harbour space if there were. The Heer (army) asked for the landing of 40 divisions in two waves as the minimum requirement, the Navy could offer to land 26 divisions in three waves as its maximum effort. The Army wanted to land on a broad front, the Navy could not defend a broad front from the RN and offered a narrow front. A senior German general described such a landing as equivalent to pushing his men through a sausage making machine.

Even without the Royal Navy there was the question of supply, the Germans simply did not have the means to cross beach supply such a large landing force and even if they could have taken the English south coast ports they still would not have sufficient supplies, meanwhile the diverted river barges were impacting the supply of vital coal to homes and industry and the fishing fleet was unable to meet the need for fish protein.

Further but the performance of the Luftwaffe against Royal Navy shipping was dispiriting even later in the Battle of Crete with 1/20th the aircover (so in practice none at all) the RN was able to turn back all the Italian/German attempted sea landings until it switched to evacuation mode.

It gets worse, I could bore you all to tears with a long winded explanation of how the British notion of what constituted an under equipped division far and away exceeded the equipment saturation levels of all but the most elite German divisions and how the British still had slightly north of a million regulars in Britain not to mention the Home Guard, fixed fortifications and the fact that the British intended to paint any invasion force green from the air (not as funny as it sounds, Paris Green is a nasty insecticide and skin irritant).

A lot but not all the problems were understood from the German side

An analysis of the plan from a German viewpoint pdf version
 
Erm no

The disparity between the Royal Navy and what was still operational of the Kriegsmarine was just huge. This was further exacerbated by the need to find crews for the invasion fleet, so those ships the KM still had afloat were now undermanned. There was then the issue that there simply were not enough transports and also the French northern ports would have lacked the harbour space if there were. The Heer (army) asked for the landing of 40 divisions in two waves as the minimum requirement, the Navy could offer to land 26 divisions in three waves as its maximum effort. The Army wanted to land on a broad front, the Navy could not defend a broad front from the RN and offered a narrow front. A senior German general described such a landing as equivalent to pushing his men through a sausage making machine.

Even without the Royal Navy there was the question of supply, the Germans simply did not have the means to cross beach supply such a large landing force and even if they could have taken the English south coast ports they still would not have sufficient supplies, meanwhile the diverted river barges were impacting the supply of vital coal to homes and industry and the fishing fleet was unable to meet the need for fish protein.

Further but the performance of the Luftwaffe against Royal Navy shipping was dispiriting even later in the Battle of Crete with 1/20th the aircover (so in practice none at all) the RN was able to turn back all the Italian/German attempted sea landings until it switched to evacuation mode.

It gets worse, I could bore you all to tears with a long winded explanation of how the British notion of what constituted an under equipped division far and away exceeded the equipment saturation levels of all but the most elite German divisions and how the British still had slightly north of a million regulars in Britain not to mention the Home Guard, fixed fortifications and the fact that the British intended to paint any invasion force green from the air (not as funny as it sounds, Paris Green is a nasty insecticide and skin irritant).

A lot but not all the problems were understood from the German side

An analysis of the plan from a German viewpoint pdf version

That’s what I was trying to say earlier, but our squirrel was able to do it sooooo much better! :)
 
We shouldn't forget that in the 1930's, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Chamberlain was the major proponent of Military spending, especially on the RAF, against fierce opposition (derided as "the merest scaremongering; disgraceful in a statesman of Mr Chamberlain's responsible position"). It was this preparation, without doubt, that enabled the RAF to win the Battle of Britain and forstall a German invasion, which, despite Churchill's marvelous rhetoric, would have succeeded in conquering Britain.
It should also be noted that Sir Arthur Harris favored bombers, and there was a struggle in the RAF about how many resources should be given to "defensive" Fighter Command. Hugh Dowding not only held his own, he was the architect of the network of radars, bases, and analysis centers that won the Battle of Britain. Without these, the courage of the "So Few" would have been wasted. Commanders not only inspire, they anticipate, they plan. Dowding was worth a hundred MacArthurs (as was Nimitz).
 
Yesterday was celebrated as the 550th anniversary
of the birth in 1469 CE of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion



 
Tree should look for a new writer as a search on CF (another great feature of the internet) reveals that he's told this "joke" at least six times before. Too bad the borscht belt is gone...
Statistically, the risk to such repeats increases with the size of CF, increasing age of the poster (and with the accompanying decrease of his/her memory), and with the cumulative amounts of Seagram's (or other booze, since I do not drink it) consumed.:roto2nuse::roto2cafe::drink9:
 
Statistically, the risk to such repeats increases with the size of CF, increasing age of the poster (and with the accompanying decrease of his/her memory), and with the cumulative amounts of Seagram's (or other booze, since I do not drink it) consumed.:roto2nuse::roto2cafe::drink9:
Or the amount of confusion in one's head at any given time.
 
I thought older women were called 'coyotes' ... what does Tree know???
I thought older woman were called "cougars". It's a mixed bag. Coyotes are wilier, nimbler, and as a pack animal persistent and with more endurance. Cougars are more of an ambush predator, stronger and more dangerous. But horny, older men are "goats". I happen to think highly of goats myself, and find them very useful for cleaning out brush nothing else would touch, but I do think the comparison is somewhat biased toward women. (And I think all the animals would resent all the insinuations.)
 
Today marks 169 years since the first publication in the US of Moby Dick. (It was published four weeks earlier in the UK.)

Luck to ye, Mr. Starbuck. Luck to ye, Mr. Stubb. Luck to ye, Mr. Flask.
This is what ye have shipped for, men. Are you with me?

This was based on a real event, when a wounded sperm whale "stove" the wooden whaling ship Essex (if I recall the name). Melville was on a ship which encountered Essex searching for lost crewman in capsized boats and heard the story. In the United States, everyone used to read this in high school and hated it. But coming back as adults everyone loves it.
I assume that this work is off copyright and the estate can no longer claim royalties. So, Starbucks can make a pile of money and keep it all.
 
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I thought older woman were called "cougars". It's a mixed bag. Coyotes are wilier, nimbler, and as a pack animal persistent and with more endurance. Cougars are more of an ambush predator, stronger and more dangerous. But horny, older men are "goats". I happen to think highly of goats myself, and find them very useful for cleaning out brush nothing else would touch, but I do think the comparison is somewhat biased toward women. (And I think all the animals would resent all the insinuations.)
goats are edible, too :p
 
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