Operation Sealion - Possible? Outcome?

A divine wind destroyed Kubla Khans invasion of Japan. The Spanish Armada was destroyed (mostly) by weather. I think the Brits knew who their best friend was.
I'd pull up a lawnchair, grab a couple of pints and watch them be "dashed" upon the rocks.
Then I'd shoot the survivors.
If it weren't for Mulberries Overlord would have failed. I believe in a soon after storm some of them were.
After that the advance all but halted until Antwerp could be taken. Like being on a leash, woof woof.
Naples harbor was destroyed and filled with scuttled ships because the Germans knew that without re-supply you are doomed.
Without re-supply you are a "come as you are" army.
Enough perhaps to take a beach, and possibly the first battle, but without re-supply you are dead.
There in the problem lies. Getting re-supplied, and keeping those supplies comming. All this through hostile weather, and hostile fire.

 

Ah, but the Allies had an answer for that; in particular the Americans and to a lessor extent the British. They assembled teams skilled in naval salvage, harbor clearance, mine clearance and, harbor construction and put them to use right from the start of their involvement in the war.
In the case of Naples harbor it took USN salvage crews a mere 14 days to clear 8 berths for use. Just over two months later the entire harbor was cleared and 30 berths (more than existed prior the war) were available.
For the Normandy campaign the same thing occured. The Wehrmacht thought that both Cherbourg and LeHarve were rended useless as ports for the duration of the war. Yet, the US moved in at Cherbourg and had it partially cleared in less than 60 days and operational in under 100. The same held true with LeHarve. In both cases, the salvage crews commented that the German demolitions were amateurish in quality showing no real understanding of naval salvage in particular. For example at Cherbourg the Germans sank a very old and very unstable French submarine lift ship in the harbor entrance. It was in such poor condition it had to be cut up and lifted in chunks. Had they taken several other vessels available and piled them on top of this one sinking the lot it would have plugged the harbor for many months. Instead, they were satisfied with the one vessel, sinking the rest in other locations.

 

I've seen the pictures of American talent in this area. The piers built on to and out of sunken ships.
I didn't mean to suggest the Americans would be stimied by this act of scorched earth policy. I only meant to stress the point of "supply" and the retardation/disruption of it being important to any army. Especially during an invasion.
I've heard what wins wars is the 3-Bs
Beans
Bullets
Benzene

 

Brittany seems to be a bit too far away from the front though.

The Red ball express

The Red Ball Express lasted only three months from August 25 to November 16, 1944. But with out the Red Ball Express the campaign in the European Theater would have dragged on for years.

After the first month of operation, the Red Ball Express wore out 40,000 tires Most where retread and came back glued and taped together. The biggest problem was carelessly thrown away ration tins that littered the highways.

http://www.fatherryan.org/blackmilitary/redball.htm


Antwerp : On November 28th (!!), the first large boats used the port. By December 14th, 19,000 tons of supplies were being unloaded at Antwerp each day.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/antwerp_and_world_war_two.htm

 

I have read a quote somewhere about logistics, "Amateurs talk tactics, Professionals talk logistics." That is what it really is all about isn't it? Without all the logistical planning that went into Operation Overlord it could not have succeeded. Did Germany put that much logistical planning into any of its major operations?

 

Actually probably not..I read somewhere that the Germans would have run out of several sorts of artillery ammo if the war in the West 1940 had lasted any longer...