| August 10 |  |
Editor says, what if Great Britain was defeated by indirect action in WW2? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the August 2011 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1934, on this day Admiral Erich Raeder was killed in an auto accident in Berlin; within six years his less conventional successor as professional head of the Kriegsmarine Großdmiral Karl Döenitz would advocate the aerial mine drop strategy that would close the UK's deep water ports forcing Great Britain to the brink of collapse.
Indirect Action
By Ed and Scott PalterThe rivalry between Raeder and Goëring threatened to create a resource allocation conflict between their respective service arms. But with Döenitz's arrival, the direction radically changed; it soon became clear that German would not build a big battle fleet.
Instead, the small submarine and coast defence force that was assembled was mostly lost during the Norway campaign. In fact the extreme logistical difficulties experienced by both sides discouraged any serious consideration of an invasion attempt on the British Isles.
Consequently the Nazi High Command was of one mind that Great Britain could only be subdued by indirect action. And so was conceived a dastardly plan to starve Great Britain into submission by closing her deep water ports. Operation Sea Lion was born.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Indirect Action Labels: Milch, Raedar, Hitler, Germany, Great Britain. Editor says, in reality the major consequence of the Battle of Britain was the closing of the Port of London which was effectively shut until 1944, however the other deep water ports particularly Liverpool continued to function.
~ Suppose some of the mines turned out to be duds?
~ Mining would have worked...in Dunnigan's _How to Make War,_ it says that about fifty years after WWII, they finally released statitistics showing that mines had done more than submarine torpedoes to shut down the Imperial Japanese sea lanes. And once dropped, mines can hang around 'til needed...you aren't risking valuable crews. Subs adapted for minelaying would have been quite a bit more useful in a lot of ways than subs noodling around on the sea looking for something to shoot a torpedo into.
~ Miscommunication here. Raeder would have been followed by Doenitz. I answered Milch as the answer to Goring being replaced. Also the change would have to have been 1934-35. Otherwise spot on. Adolph the Idiot refused to let them use the pressure box mines by air drop but a lot of this was pressure from Raeder [who feared retaliation in kind] and indifference from Goring [who never groked strategic air war]. Fixed - thanks. Ed
~ Thanks changes applied. There is an interesting article on the History Forum web site.
~ England wouldn't have been tough enough to knuckle-down even without harbors? Stiff upper lip is hard to keep with an empty belly, I suppose.
~ Comment from Les Mills on Google Groups - in this case, you'd be better off getting Goering to try this. He did
not like any other branch of the military or government using aircraft
outside his control.
At any rate, we get Germany devoted to dropping mines, presumably at
the expense of their U-boat fleet.
Either the mines get dropped too close to ports, where the RN
minesweepers clear them as a matter of course, or get dropped too far
away from them, where they largely fail to make contact. Also, air
mining missions run the risk of being intercepted by the RAF, so this
is not going to be a cheap effort.
The RN slightly shifts its production priorities from escorts to long-
range minesweepers, merchant losses (OTL not nearly enough to starve
the UK into defeat) become marginal. RAF and RN fighter pilots gain
some more experience as the Luftwaffe mine layers need to operate
beyond effective Luftwaffe fighter range in order to lay mines against
enemy shipping lanes.
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
