Bolt Action: Operation Sealion Minis

[Kommando_J]

Watched the video on full screen with pause at the ready, found out the following:

Regular British forces

Royal Navy force

Dads army force

Volunteer force which includes leaders, waterway units, rollerblades rules, boy scouts and a longbowmen club!

Buf forces include rules for a buf officer plus various buf mobs, also included are rules for a gang boss(officer) and gang unit.


Oh and of course early war Germans.

[Ewan]

Volunteer force which includes leaders, waterway units, rollerblades rules, boy scouts and a longbowmen club!

Footsore make a nice runner on roller skates and 1st Corps have an excellent set of Boy Scouts.

[Chris Abbey]

I'm really looking forward to this.


We've designed an extensive range of British pillboxes and other British defenses to go with our British 1940's building range. I'm busy painting up some early war Germans to go against by BEF & Homeguard.

http://wargamesbuildings.co.uk/SeaLion

[carlos marighela]

OK, it's fantasy, I get it but has anyone asked themselves where the BUF were in 1940?

The hardcore, like Mosley  and co were interned for the duration. Those who weren't and were of military age were likely being called up. Nicholas Mosley recalled in his memoirs, how by strange coincidence two members of his platoon in Italy in 1944 were ex-members of the BUF and were given to singing old BUF songs (delightful irony). It wasn't a large movement to start with, with maybe 20,000 members, hangers on and sympathisers at its peak in the early/mid 'thirties and it had split as a movement with folk like Joyce fucking off to the Fatherland.

While we are at it, where did the lads in the piccy get their SMLEs? After the fall of France Britain was desperate for weapons. The Home Guard got Lend Lease P-17s, with a literal handful of ammo. Somehow the vestiges of the BUF have managed to arm themselves with .303s?

OK suspension of disbelief turned on. Carry on!

[commissarmoody]

OK, it's fantasy, I get it but has anyone asked themselves where the BUF were in 1940?

The hardcore, like Mosley  and co were interned for the duration. Those who weren't and were of military age were likely being called up. Nicholas Mosley recalled in his memoirs, how by strange coincidence two members of his platoon in Italy in 1944 were ex-members of the BUF and were given to singing old BUF songs (delightful irony). It wasn't a large movement to start with, with maybe 20,000 members, hangers on and sympathisers at its peak in the early/mid 'thirties and it had split as a movement with folk like Joyce fucking off to the Fatherland.

While we are at it, where did the lads in the piccy get their SMLEs? After the fall of France Britain was desperate for weapons. The Home Guard got Lend Lease P-17s, with a literal handful of ammo. Somehow the vestiges of the BUF have managed to arm themselves with .303s?

OK suspension of disbelief turned on. Carry on!

I am guessing they are just going the whole fictional weird war rout with the 5th columnist being more prevalent then they where in real life. I mean honestly I would think if the invasion did kick off that most of the remaining fascists would have sided with old Blighty against the Hun. 
But makes for good a good story all in all. Like in "It happened here" what was left of the British military was shipped off to the Russian front, or enlisted into the English SS units, still Russian front. And the only guys fighting the Free British forces and Americans where Germans. 

[Arlequín]

The BUF are pretty much the pantomime villains and are expected to be present by most. They did have a membership upsurge after Munich, but once war was declared that was pretty much it for them and their leaders were interned (474 of them iirc). I would be surprised if some members didn't have weapons hidden, but as some figures seem to be carrying clubs, there seems to be an element of game balance and realism (sort of) at work. Let's face it an unarmed force is going to suffer in-game.

The shortages in the army were mostly due to its massive expansion, the whole 'hardware left on the beach' thing is somewhat over-blown and for the most part was about 40% of stock of most things, but 60% of the tanks (iirc). So many new units needing equipment meant most got just a minimal share for training purposes, but the units in being and trained were being brought up to strength in equipment as it rolled out of the factories.

The dire shortages and LDV with pitchforks largely stem from before France was lost. From August things began to improve quite quickly and as early as September the Army was not bad off all things considered. Okay so maybe 21st Armoured Brigade was equipped with Vickers Mediums and Mark II lights in September, but they also had the first ten or so Mk III Infantry Tanks (which would later be christened the Valentine). 1st and 2nd Armoured Divisions were in reasonable shape, albeit not quite at full strength equipment-wise.

I wouldn't want to preempt what might be the scenario they've gone for, but it's possible that the BUF appear as auxiliaries or 'milice' in occupied areas (and if we're honest there would be a fair few collaborators if the war looked lost). I'm also inclined to think that the idea of a 'war in the North' and an 'unoccupied zone' (like with France) gives the scenario legs beyond the initial invasion.

I'm quite interested in the whole idea, but they pretty much had me at 'Sealion' anyway.    

[carlos marighela]

I wouldn't want to preempt what might be the scenario they've gone for, but it's possible that the BUF appear as auxiliaries or 'milice' in occupied areas (and if we're honest there would be a fair few collaborators if the war looked lost). I'm also inclined to think that the idea of a 'war in the North' and an 'unoccupied zone' (like with France) gives the scenario legs beyond the initial invasion.

Key words being 'if the war looked lost'. The Germans trawled the POW camps in 1943 and '44 and of the 200,000 or so British and Commonwealth POWs they came up with 27 mental midgets to join their British Free Corps. Contentious I know but whilst there is ample of evidence of co-operation and a degree of fraternization,  there's not a great deal of active collaboration in the four and a half years the Germans occupied the channel islands. The most famous example being Eddie Chapman, which rather spectacularly and amusingly back fired on the Germans. The British are not joiners on the whole.

All I'm saying is that if the scenarios are pitched after a successful invasion, then yeah, maybe the odd collaborator but during the invasion? Just cashing in on the chance to offload some new toys. Odd really, as there are plenty of bits of 1940s invasion scare Britain that could be modelled/gamed, including the stay behind Auxiliaries.

[FramFramson]

Seems like a transparent grab at the VBCW market, one with low risk since it ties into their existing lines. And as Arlequin said, were the war to really look lost, I'm sure some collaborators might be found. The Norwegians aren't joiners either, but the Germans found enough here or there to serve their basic needs as collaborators once the nation was overrun. 

Can't really fault Warlord for the shoehorning, and it seems the decision has plenty of fans here anyway.

[commissarmoody]

And if else, the they will make good little baddies for pulp games. Especially being as lightly armed as they are. Can't have them shooting up the hero to early in story.

[Arlequín]

The 'Sealion' industry is an entity that predates VBCW and even provided a lot of source material to inspire it back at its beginnings. The BUF in power in any scenario is pretty ridiculous though and the Germans liked to work with existing structures. A government with someone like Lord Halifax at the helm and the Duke of Windsor as a figurehead would be their goal; one acceptable to a fair chunk of what was still largely a deferential population back then.

As a subversive organisation the BUF's lifespan would be brief and if we were being objective, how many BUF members would be prepared to aid a foreign invader? Even Mosley for all his faults, was a patriot, he despised the Germans and was a veteran to boot. "Mind Britain's business" is not the same as "Help the Hun" and wouldn't be palateable to many members. Joyce and his mates were not dismissed without reason, most of the anti-semitist and pro-Nazi thetoric went with them.

I wonder in fact where an anti-occupation force would come from in reality? The CPGB were 'allies' until Barbarossa and many of the 'establishment' had been wooed pre-war. They didn't need convincing that the working class had got too big for their boots and that 'something should be done'.

I've always thought Len Deighton had it right with his 'school tie' and old boys' network left hand, with a grass roots working class right hand, neither hand having much idea what the other was doing. Ask the average Brit about life in Greater Germany and you'd still get "Musn't Grumble" as a response. If you look at the briefings related by ex-auxiliaries, there was little doubt that the locals would give them up and local collaborators were one of their defined target types.

The Invasion would be resisted by the many, but the Liberation would be the work of the few.  

[Kommando_J]

Personally I like this whole idea, it will certainly give VBCW the shot in the arm its needed, and tbh I like the setting idea as it does allow you to make a force that could be used for VBCW but also allows you to use those german minis you have.

As Mosey was considered in the actual Sealion plan as someone to be trusted to from a government who knows? Hypothetically he may feel collaboration is best.

One thing that does bother me is ive heard the Churchill mini that was supposed to be done for warlord games day is being reused as the books promotional miniature.

[Arlequín]

No, I like the concept from what I've seen and it is pure fiction in any case.

Tommy Gun Winston is a bit cliche, I would have thought Alan Brooke, or Colonel Blimp might have been more appropriate. Blimp being more achievable by Warlord as many of their figures give you the impression they've been working up to him for some time already.

 

[joroas]

Looking forward to this👍🏻

[Elk101]

I've always fancied running a Sealion what if campaign but not with the VBCW mash up. It's kind of an unnecessary element in many respects but as people have already stated you can kind of see where they're going with it. Fair enough.

Didn't Mosley actually formally offer the services of his organisation in support of the country? I seem to recall reading that somewhere.

[Ballardian]

Looks interesting, I may finally succumb to Bolt Action.