Operation Sealion historical fiction

Hi, this might be a bit odd for this part of the forum, but i'll try it anyway- I'm attempting to write a historical fiction book(yeah) about Operation Sealion, as it's always been a personal dream to be an author . It's going okay, but I just want to hear opinions about it.

1. Is the topic okay? I don't want to write about something nobody wants to read about.

2. This is from the German perspective. Do you think it will be accepted as well or even just a little bit less than from an allied perspective?

3. Examine and report.

4.(temporary) Did the Germans have a Panzerschrek or something of the like in 1942? If not, what man-portable ATGs did they have?

"The storm was still raging as they approached the beach. Rain beat down on their helmets, and a fog had settled over the sand. All the better for them not to see us, thought Albrecht. Maybe some of us will come out of this alive. Just as he thought that, he heard a thud, and the machine gunner on the top of the boat slumped over his weapon, dead. The men on the boat saw the glaring hole in his back, and knew for sure that they were not coming out of this unscathed. “Ramp ready to lower!” someone yelled over the crashing of a mortar shell exploding right next to their boat, showering them with bits of water and rocking the boat further. The men on the boat watched the spectacle of the tower of water with grim amazement. Then they went back to checking their rifles and sub-machine guns, cleaning and polishing them one last time before the fight."

If you want me to post more, say so and I will do so. Thanks for any and all helpful posts.

 

Lose the storm.
Germany's capacity to launch a successful invasion is minimal at best, without them having to attempt to do it in the middle of a storm.

 

Thanks Redcoat, but I think this is a stretched scenario as it is. Might as well break it, right? Besides, the storm is sort of... detailed. Takes up space. Know what I'm saying? If I get rid of that, I lose... a page? Two? Three? Further, it provides a lot of sensory details. I know that with English Channel weather (as I actually mention, with one character thinking "Typical English weather.") they couldn't have possibly done it, as the Allies couldn't either. But this is historical fiction. I suppose I could replace it with a bright sunny day, but a storm just makes it more dramatic. However, I'll take it into account, (oh, and by the way the storm is clearing up by the time they get to the beach) and thanks again for the advice. G'day mate.

P.S. Is the whole mortar exploding right next to them part any good? 'Cause I like it.

 

C121,


"The storm was still raging as they approached the beach.":-


.......after 30 hours in their UNpowerd barge, recently unhooked from the tug, and being PUSHED the last 100 metres or so to the breakers approaching 2 metres high!

As the 100 metres turns into 20 metres, the barge gradually turns side on to the surf and is swamped. This is a blessing from the furious onslaught of 10,000 Lee-Enfilds and many 100s of Brens. A head in the surf is a smaller target than a chest on the sand!

Many are drowned in that 20 metres, and the surviving, sea-sick, Germans slump on the sand to await their captors...........

It was a dark and stormy night........



John.

 

An afterthought,



portray it as it REALLY would have been.

...from a sodden diary washed up on a Calais beach,


"here we are, to the sound of nazi party beer-hall songs to teach the poms (English) who is the boss around here. Adolph is with us in spirit.

The tug seems a bit slow with our three barges, I wonder if it can make enough speed to get us across, hope so, otherwise....

Well, 12 hours later and we are not even half way, and I am SEA SICK!!!

What is that HUGE ship coming straight for us? A Royal Navy battleship????

WOW!! Look at that BOW WAVE!!!!

GLUG GLUG

GURGLE GURGLE

SOB"





John.

(sorry, I got carried away.)

;-)

 

Sigh. I know I said "Assault Boat" in the paragraph, but I mean the German equivalent of the things on D-Day. Do you know it's name so I can use it? And btw, that's pretty much what happens. They hit one of the numerous obstacles, slowly sink, all jump off the boat, half get shot, and that's where I am right now. Happy? Oh, and a character does get seasick.

 

The German equivalant of an "Assault Boat" for SeaLion was for the most part a Rhine River barge. There are some extensive threads some with some good pictures on SeaLion over on the axis history forum. A while back they were partitioned topically all though the BOB thread in the What if section also has a lot of Sea Lion info. I think they also planned to use some sort of boat to transfer troops from some of the larger vessels to shore but most were to cross and land using barges.

 

The German assault boat is a standard engineer item with the Wehrmacht of the time. It is a large powered row boat (like what we would call a "Bass boat" today) that holds 6 to 8 men. It is open topped and has bench seats.
The power supply is an outboard motor on the rear with a long shaft with screw. This powers and also steers the boat.

And, for Seelöwe, the Germans intended to have these tiny boats cross the Channel under their own power to deliver their 6 to 8 passengers to the English shore. Imagine having to cross the Channel in choppy water in a motor boat designed for use on calm rivers and lakes with half a dozen other heavily loaded troops bailing water out and hoping the thing doesn't get run over in the dark or sink when a wave swamps it all the time knowing that you are going to soon land on a hostile shore and go into battle with all of your equipment and yourself chilled to the bone and soaking wet.

 

Thanks for the info! I personally thought they used the metal things with the ramps, but I guess not. I'll have to edit it to make it line up.