Scenario: A Pinniped Sea Mammal

[Mobhack]

This scenario is for test purposes - I'll be interested in any comments as to its difficulty level (too easy or too hard etc).

An Alien Space Bat (ASB) has given the Nazis a design for a workable landing barge to supplement the wallowing unpowered Rhine barges and so they decide to put operation sea-mammal into actuality as a prelude to invading the USSR.

This scenario was done as an idea for the starter for a short no rebuild points campaign. No resupply/repair since the RN and RAF will destroy any barges PDQ, the invasion force being on a one way trip to the Canadian POW cage, for any survivors. But since only a few masochists would play that, it will probably just remain as a one-off.

References: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=180901

[Firestorm]

Are you implying that Sealion is an over-used AH plot?

Very well, what about Operation Tannenbaum instead? Instead of "the Germans swam across the channel and died" we can have "the Germans climbed up the mountain and died".

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by Firestorm

Are you implying that Sealion is an over-used AH plot?

Very well, what about Operation Tannenbaum instead? Instead of "the Germans swam across the channel and died" we can have "the Germans climbed up the mountain and died".

It's a somewhat overdone trope on alternatehistory.com - that's why there is a sticky on the subject, and why people starting yet another 'Nazis win the sea mammal' thread usually get rather short shrift over there.

I'm not going into the details of why the unmentionable dea mammal is impossible - just read through the arguments made in the existing threads over there if you're interested.

But that is why you are invading Walmington on Sea after all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmington-on-Sea. It's a fictional episode..

A skilled player may be able to get better than a draw here, if he keeps his troops from being sunk in the barges too much and does not kamikaze his armour. Plus being lucky with the bombers creating screening dust and debris on the beach. Its then a case of dealing with the beach obstacles and a thin crust of troops before fighting through the town to the green fields beyond.

(A non-ASB version would be with the barges reduced to perhaps 1 hex movement, and unarmoured. Plus the tanks reduced to 1 section of panzer 2 and 1 section of Tauchpanzer. In which case it will probably need quite a few turns more added to the scenario too, just to get ashore. )

Cheers
Andy

[Rosollia]

Got a Marginal Victory in this one. It was a really frustrating experience until turn 25-26 when I finaly broke through the beach defences. But it was really satisfying after that routing and chasing the enemy.

Smoke from the minelayers proved vital. Also the flame traps provided a nice permanent shield for my troops stranded in the beach. I landed all my forces in the town ignoring the North & South cliffs.

[Rosollia]

I posted a small AAR about this scenario here:
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?p=812838

I think the dificulty level was hard but not insanely so. As with all beach landings the begining was very difficult but luckily it became easier later on. I enjoyed this scenario.

[Bryan]

Hello all, newbie to the forum but not to SP.

This scenario puzzled me at first. I opened it, okay, marine mammal hypothetical. Played it generally liked it. Went on to the next thing. Things stuck in the back of my mind- why so oddly specific with place names and characters? Knew I was missing something.

Then a few nights ago, I happened on an episode of 'Dad's Army' on Youtube. Click- lights came on. Paused it and opened up the game. Yep. A little further digging explained 'Alien Space Bats'.

Now I had the context, and it intersects with some things that I've done in life, so it caught my interest. I've now played it a bunch of times, trying different things. Many times as German and once as British. As Germans, I used the minesweepers to reduce the AT and MG bunkers the moment they were identified. Pushed infantry up to the wire obstacles, popped lots of smoke, then the Pioneers were free to move up and do their stuff. Luftwaffe beat the stuffing out of the British artillery, AA, and mortars as soon as they were located.

Playing as the British, it was an absolute slaughter, and I only command-detonated one Fougasse. Even the minesweepers were destroyed. Sgt. Wilson and Captain Mainewaring never even saw action.

I like Alternative History scenarios every once in a while. If it had been a no-resupply mini-campaign, I'd have played it.

New here but I'm guessing this isn't the thread for a full AAR, so I'll try to put one where those belong.

[IronDuke99]

Dads Army remains a very funny show about a Great Britain that is almost nothing like the place today, sadly, although when I was a small boy in the 1960's and 70's the characters still made sense.

[Bryan]

Much of my family was from England, and we're about the same age. The characters ring with me, just from all of the stories that I've heard from them. My auntie (who we just lost recently) was involved in aircraft spotting during the Blitz; she lived in London at the time.

[IronDuke99]

"Who do you think you are kidding Mister Hitler, if you think old England's done..."