SEA LION: To Take The Empire

[Karen]

JULY 1940. France has fallen, the Wehrmacht seemingly stands triumphant as the last British troops flee the continent of Europe. With the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact holding strong, uncontested even, now the monstrous challenge of taking on the British Empire sits before the German Reich. While naval losses in Norway have dampened spirits somewhat, Hitler is optimistic that the Luftwaffe and Heer can carry the day and secure a decisive victory that may end the war. However, it is up to the general staff of Generalfeldmarschalls von Rundstedt and Ritter von Leeb to plan and out and execute the most daunting operation the Reich has faced thus far; the invasion of the Home Isles, and the capitulation of Britain.
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Premise

In SEA LION, players will assume the roles of military leaders within the Heer assigned to the preparation and execution of Operation Sea Lion, the ambitious (and oftentimes quoted as impossible) invasion of the British Isles. Daring both the difficult waters of the English Channel and the terrifying prospect of facing off the Royal Navy, it is a challenge of tactical skill and daring in order to achieve what on paper seems to be a fairly simple objective.

Given the game's start date (prior to the full creation of Sea Lion's directives) players will have the liberty of having most of France, occupied Belgium and the Netherlands to establish how they intend to make the crossing. In addition, the Luftwaffe is just about to set off into the Battle of Britain, something the players in charge of the overall campaign will have a great deal of influence over. While the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe will be NPC-run, assignments among players and the two Field Marshals will have the authority to move them however they need.

The challenge is thus; plan out and enact Operation Sea Lion before the start of Operation Barbarossa and before the already faltering resources of Germany's conquests begin running dry. It is both a race against the clock (and the GM's nerves) to see if victory can be achieved in what many historians consider impossible.

The game itself will be conducted through both Discord, linked below, and over the forums. Channels dedicated to 'RP' will be available for potential players. To join, simply claim three of the individuals listed below, though do note their rank. I don't expect a huge roster so don't worry about applying for X character. The names and such will be used primarily to allow for good differentiation.

Discord - Group Chat That’s All Fun & Games

Discord is great for playing games and chilling with friends, or even building a worldwide community. Customize your own space to talk, play, and hang out.

discord.gg

For the sake of customization, pre-existing historical formations (namely the two army groups and individual armies within) will not be there at game start, but instead a pool of forces made available to Ritter von Leeb and Rundstedt are listed below, in addition to Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe forces, though heavily simplified for the sake of making this game fun.

Orders will be handled through forums, however this game won't have deadline'd updates, but rather weekly or bi-weekly general updates detailing how things are going on the front and the growing pressure from Berlin to actually get it done. As a general rule of thumb, time will be essentially real-time up until the actual invasion begins. This is to encourage joint orders and a bigger emphasis on actually working on the more stat-heavy side of things as the imminent threat of losing all your air support to fighting the USSR gets closer.

Playables (marked with * are required)

Spoiler

• Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt*
• Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb*
• Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Reichenau*
  • Generaloberst Ernst Busch
  • Generaloberst Adolf Strauss
  • Generaloberst Hermann Hoth
  • Generaloberst Eugen Ritter von Schobert
    • General Erich von Manstein
    • General Viktor von Schwedler
    • General Georg-Hans Reinhardt
    • General Richard Ruoff
    • General Heinrich von Vietinghoff
    • General Walter Kuntze
    • General Walter Heitz
    • General Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg
    • General Walter von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt

All forces designated to the joint-command of Rundstedt and von Leeb, circa July 1940
Do keep in mind that these forces are available to you on paper, as not everything may be fully operational or at optimum strength, though this will be revealed at the start of the game.

Heer:

• 16 Infantry Divisions
• 4 Motorized Infantry Divisions
• 2 Mountain Divisions
• 2 Paratrooper Divisions
• 4 Panzer Divisions

Abwehr:

• Bau-Lehr-Battalion z.b.V. 800 Brandenburg

Luftwaffe:

• 1,464 fighters
• 1,482 medium bombers
• 327 dive-bombers
• 195 reconnaissance planes (can be repurposed to serve in CAS)
• 93 coastal support
• 734 air transports

Kriegsmarine:

• 2 battleships: Bismarck, Tirpitz
• 1 panzerschiffe: Admiral Scheer
• 2 heavy cruisers: Admiral Hipper, Prinz Eugen
• 4 light cruisers: Emden, Koln, Leipzig, Nurnberg
• 10 destroyers
• 12 torpedo boats
• 2 fleet tenders
• 440 landing craft
• 300 U-boats

 

[Mannerheim]

"Krieg gegen die Holländer väre völlig wahnsinnig."
Generalfeldmarschall: Walther von Reichenau
Age: 55

If a soldier is unable to bear the weight of his Fatherland's expectations on his shoulders:
Then he is no soldier, that the Fatherland wants.


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[Thiccroy]

Gerd von Runsteedt
"The vast-ness of Russia devours us..."​

 

[iAmJimmyHoffa]

Generaloberst Ernst Busch
16. Armee​

 

[Komrade Kermit]

General Erich von Manstein

Time to be on the wrong side of history.​

 

[Carol]

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[DanBaque]

Mr. Hoth, if you please

 

[Skrevski]

Generaloberst Adolf Strauss​

 

[Karen]

(click the image!)​

ROSTER
Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt - @Thiccroy Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb - @Carol Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Reichenau - @Mannerheim Generaloberst Adolf Strauss - @Skrevski Generaloberst Hermann Hoth - @DanBaque Generaloberst Ernst Busch - @iAmJimmyHoffa General Erich von Manstein - @Komrade Kermit General Heinrich von Vietinghoff - @Whoknows

IC thread will be going up with the map, hope to have a post with it too. I'll keep the game open until the 24th for new players.

 

[Whoknows]

I will take mister General Heinrich von Vietinghoff.

 

[Karen]

I will take mister General Heinrich von Vietinghoff.

Click to shrink...

Done. Adding you to the roster.

 

[Dato]

I'd like to pick General Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg

 

[Karen]

For those who have the thread watched but aren't paying too much attention to the Discord; we're nearing the "deadline" (the game's equiv of July 31st 1940), I'll be updating the roster fully then, and new claims will be closed, albeit I don't expect any more. The final-ish date for submission of plans for the invasion is Jan 26th.