The Beginning of the End, for Britain - Summer 1942

    With the Singapore campaign coming to a close, the time was approaching to prepare for the next major expedition.  The Americans are piled up so thickly around San Diego that an offensive there is out of the question for the time being.  Thus, I am left with four reasonable choices: South Africa, Turkey, Spain, or Great Britain.  I rule out South Africa; they have little of value, and the occupation of that country and the neighboring Allied colonies will be time consuming.  Turkey is somewhat more appealing; with the distribution of their victory points, they can be conquered quickly.  However, they likewise have little of value, and the bulk of my army would not be needed for the operation.  Spain is a more tempting option, but its rough terrain and high level of unity promises a lengthy war.  Great Britain, then seems the most appealing option.  Large amounts of energy and metals, a large number of factories, and, most promisingly, a large number of victory points within striking distance.  Besides, after all the trouble we went through for Singapore, I am ready for a bit of payback.

Clearing the Deck

    Obviously enough, the biggest problem for would-be invaders of Great Britain is the Royal Navy.  After steadily driving them out of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, British warships become increasingly scarce.  Unlike the naval war against the Americans (and the French, and the Dutch, etc), I can’t really identify any particular battles where I really walloped the Royal Navy.  Consequently, from the summer of 1941 until the summer of 1942, I operated under the assumption that the British had retreated the remainder of their fleet, which I estimated at around five capital ships and a dozen escorts, to Scapa Flow for a last ditch defense of the home island.  Starting in the spring of 1941, I deployed three gunship and two carrier fleets to German-occupied France.

    As it turns out, I was being needlessly cautious.  I started by launching convoy raiding missions in the Eastern Atlantic.  This was intended as a trap; I assumed that once we sunk a few convoys, the British Navy would sally out in force, and I could concentrate on them and destroy them quickly.  Yet they didn’t take the bait.  I gradually moved my raiding closer and closer to Britain, and in wider areas of operation.  For months I had five fleets ripping apart the Allied merchant marine, and not a single warship came out to challenge us.  In June I finally got bored (or curious) enough to begin reconnaissance of the major ports.  After cycling through every port on the island, I found only a single battleship, the Conqueror.  This, then, was the last remaining holdout of the much vaunted Royal Navy.

    I began port strikes with the venerable 10 Kaigun.  This turned out to be the final hurrah of the Royal Navy, and they participated only as bait.  While the navy may have been nearly annihilated, the Royal Air Force was still quite vigorous.  Within a matter of hours I was given such a horrific drubbing by countless interceptors that one squadron returned to fleet with 1% strength.  Not organization, strength.  With a newfound appreciation of British capability and determination, I sent 10 Kaigun off to Kiel to recover, and let the remainder of my fleet relax and enjoy low-risk convoy raiding for the next few months.

Plymouth, Rocked

    Having invaded Britain from many directions, I’ve found two basic approaches that work well.  If I am playing as Germany or USSR, I like to attack in either the Hull-Grimsby area, or around Newcastle.  The former option allows for greater port facilities and is closer to London, while the latter option allows me to cut the country in two by occupying only three provinces.  When my base is to the west (namely, if I’m playing the USA), I like to attack around Bristol.  Here, there are a large number of suitable nearby ports, and I can pick which ones I occupy first based on convenience.

    Invading Britain from Japan, however, is a new experience for me.  My main concern is the length of the convoy route.  By the summer of 1942, I have over 150 convoys (an impressive increase over the nine I had three years ago).  Even still, all of these are taken up shuttling supplies to the far reaches of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.  Accordingly, I modify the “American” invasion route slightly.  Instead of landing near Bristol, I will land along the Southern Coast, at Taunton.  From here, I can immediately attack westward and occupy Plymouth, then head north to take Bristol.  This route has fewer options available once I land, but allows for more efficient air supply from France, if needed.

    In early August the operation is set into motion.  VIII, IX, and LI Gun are at the staging area in Brest, while VI and VII Gun will be transferred over as soon as they complete their missions on the Malay Peninsula.  VIII Gun takes the lead role.  My normal procedure for a landing like this is to land across a wide area; in this case, I would normally land two divisions at each of Exeter, Taunton, and Weymouth.  Plymouth and Bournemouth both have naval forts, and are likely defended.  It is likely the Brits will send troops in to block the landings, but by landing in three places, it makes it more likely that the center landing (at Taunton) will be unopposed.  For some reason, I believe for the sake of simplicity, I did not do that this time.  This is mistake #53, in case you’re counting.

The landing operation.  British forces are in red; my failed landing is in yellow, while the successful landing on August 20 is in green.

    As predicted, British troops start to move in from all directions.  These troops, noticeably, are regular infantry, not garrison units, and they quickly reach Taunton and settle in to a long defensive battle.  Here is where the wider landing would have helped (possibly).  Troops from Bristol arrive quickly, but I am able to chase them off during a multi-day long battle.  However, by this time, troops begin to arrive from Bournemouth, Plymouth, and possibly farther away.  The fight drags on, day after day, with no indication I will ever establish a foothold.  Eventually, I give up the “simple” route; I leave three divisions on the offensive here, and send the remaining three to Exeter and Plymouth.  Fortunately, these two provinces are now empty, and the attack at Taunton prevents the British from occupying them.  My troops finally make landfall on August 20^th.  I break off the landing at Taunton, and bring the remaining divisions ashore via the ports at Plymouth.