I November 1940: Invasion Averted

Thanks to six straight weeks of crappy weather, the invasion scare has seemed to have abated.



Having learned their lesson from earlier in the year, the Royal Navy refused to throw away their destroyers in an attempt to close with the Germans. But a second task force entered Deadly Sea Zone 13 in the North Sea, sinking both the cruisers Nurnberg and the Scharnhorst (thanks to the sacrifice of the last of the British coastal subs), racking up 18 victory points in a half-turn. The UK lost the Hood and Resolution, also losing 18 victory points, despite the fact they were both battleships. The disparity is owed to the fact that the Royal Navy is far more able to suffer losses than the Kriegsmarine. The third sea battle between the two forces was technically a draw (or possibly a marginal RN victory), with the Germans withdrawing.



In the air, the Germans tried a different tack, seeking to terror-bomb cities outside the protection of the UK air shield. The net result was a meager 3 victory points, hardly worth the cost of aircraft. It didn't help that the poor weather halved air power, forcing the Germans to send twice the number of craft to achieve the same effects they got in August.

Far more effective was the Luftwaffe's attack on air units at their bases. Each hit on an inoperative unit results in a kill, which could ultimately lead to a group reduction penalty of 5 victory points, given enough hits.

In the UK turn, the RAF continued to throw bombers at the shipping in the Netherlands, gaining 3 VP, but at a heavy cost: 2 x Wellington 1C bomber squadrons lost, 1 x Hampden bomber squadron aborted, and two more bomber squadrons turned back by both AA and the new German night fighters.

Less successful was Britain's ambition cross-channel attacks on German airbases. Hoping to give the Jerries a taste of their own medicine. 2 x Messerschmidt 109E's were destroyed and another was aborted, but at the cost of a Spitfire-1 squadron eliminated and four more fighter squadrons aborted.

The end result of the turn? 26 VP's for the UK and 26 for the Germans. A draw, but enough to reduce the Germans' victory level from a major victory to a marginal one. Basically the difference between the German victory over France and the German victory over Norway.