Red Flood
Well, there is a break in the championship and Kraxis is back - so why not starting a new interactive today?
The rules are simple. You are a German officer. The story starts in 1940. You will first get an introduction into the situation, then a mission. The mission will change during the campaign, but only slightly due to the different boundaries.
You are not a mighty leader. Therefore it is not enough to have brilliant ideas, you must convince your leaders.
What is new is that you do not only have to choose between several options, you can make your own proposals and you will have to gather informations along the way. You will need them later!
The scenario may look easy. In fact I think there is only a very small window to success. Do not miss it!
So enjoy the game!
Chapter 1 - Triumph
Fort Eben-Emael; June 14th, 1940
The warm spring sun sends its beams to Fort Eben-Emael. It illuminates a surprisingly peaceful scene. A young lieutenant leads a group of generals through the main entrance of the fortress. He is going to show them the turrets and tell them that this was the world’s biggest and strongest fortress; He has been giving explanations about the different parts and their functions for almost two weeks now and the run on the fortress does not decrease.
Aside stands an officer with the insignia of an Oberstleutnant of the Wehrmacht. His name is Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke. He is 50 years old. He climbs on Cupola 120 and enjoys the warmth of the sun and the beauty of the spring day as he is looking at the arrangement of the fortress.
He does not need a guide. He knows the fortress inside out.
Ramcke has had a long and changeful career. In 1905 he entered the Imperial Navy as a ship boy. He was on duty on several ships before the Navy sent him to the Marines. He fought at the fields of Flanders, where he repelled six British assaults at a single day. At the end of the war he was highly decorated and joined the Free Corps ‘von Brandis’. In 1919 he finally joined the new Reichswehr, now as captain of the army infantry.
Two years ago he first met Kurt Student. From their first meeting he was fascinated of this man and his ideas. Since then Ramcke has tried to become a member of the Fallschirmjäger. Well, during the last weeks he has passed most of the training courses of the Fallschirmjäger and now he hopes to get the transfer order to the Luftwaffe soon.
Small elite formations do special airborne operations. This idea is the consequence of the assault tactic of WW1, and yet, it is more, it is revolutionary. Since the first encounter Ramcke and Student have met regularly and discussed technical and tactical issues of the new arm. And Eben-Emael. In his mind Ramcke has been inside the fortress many times before and he has simulated the German attack over and over. Recon planes had seen the garrison playing football on the roof. The Germans concluded that there were no mines there. At the first light of day 10 gliders touched down at the roof of the fortress. They came out of nowhere and the garrison did not even know they were there. They carried 85 soldiers of the 1. Fallschirmjägerdivision, 85 men equipped with novel hollow charge bombs. 20 Minutes later they had razed the turrets and the armored observation stands with loopholes. The fortress was blinded. The commander of the fortress had no idea what was going on. He could not explain how the Germans were able to destroy his turrets so easily. However, he knew that he was lost if he could not get rid of these Germans on the roof. While the Germans started to bomb their way into the fortress the garrison sallied. Before they reached the plateau the fire of German planes and infantry stopped them. The garrison had to accept its fate. They surrendered. The Germans occupied the fortress with only six casualties, 1200 Belgian soldiers surrendered.
Ramcke looks at the hole at Cupola 120. It is one thing to make a plan and to devise a new, revolutionary scheme. But it is a different thing to stand on this turret and see how the scheme became true.
The operation showed that small elite groups with innovative technology and tactics could beat enemies with superior numbers and material. Next time, he hopes, he will take part of the operation.
Ramcke reflects the events that happened since then. The German troops invaded the Netherlands and Belgium. They broke through the Ardennes and cut off the French and English troops. The English had to leave the mainland. The Germans continued the invasion of France. Everywhere the Germans were successful. The advance was fast and unstoppable. German planes controlled the skies and German tank advanced in the rear of the enemy. What a difference to Ramcke’s own experience of World War 1? How hard had they tried to break through, to reach their goal: Paris. How often did they stop the English assaults at Flanders? All in vane.
In meantime there are three more groups of visitors. Ramcke decides to leave and to drop over the town commander’s office. There he hears the news: the 87. Infantriedivision occupied Paris. Incredible! Paris, the target of so many operations in the Great War! Paris, the capitol of France! That stands for the defeat of the French army. That stands for the end of the war! Soldiers are jubilating. War is over. France is defeated.
Spontaneously Ramcke decides to take a trip to Paris. He has some free time and he has to see Paris with his own eyes. He sends a telegram to Student and then orders his chauffeur to drive to Paris.
The road to Paris is filled with German troops. At some places it is damaged but in general the traffic flows slowly but steady. They pass long columns of German infantry. The soldiers look tired and weary, but everyone is cheering. Sometimes they pass the wrecks of bombed convoys.
They advance slowly and Ramcke has enough time to think about the situation. The news excited him. A German division marches in Paris! Incredible! All the nightmares of the past months fall apart. He is looking back on the situation last September, when France and England had declared war against Germany. It was like a deja vue, a nightmare, being trapped between superior armies. How could Germany dare to challenge France, the nation with the strongest army and Britain, the biggest sea power on earth? The military was sure that they would loose the war. They all blamed Hitler for his foolish gambling that led the nation into this awful situation. Well, Ramcke is not a follower of Hitler. However, now he has to admit that the military was wrong and Hitler was right. France might have had the strongest army; however they did not have the spirit to fight. And the English? All its sea power did not prevent the disaster. Now they will have to accept Germany’s new position.
How could this happen? It is true; the French army was strong and so is the British sea power. However, what the general staff did not see was the fact that the French nation was not ready to fight. They could have defeated the Germans in 1939, but they did not. They hesitated. Their military doctrine was defensive, immobile. Hitler knew that. He did the right assessment of the French and British. While the generals saw the superior numbers Hitler had more information and he came to the right conclusions: Germany could defeat the allies if it attacks them as soon as possible.
The English will have to accept a ceasefire. If not, … In this case the Germans will land on the islands. The Fallschirmjäger will play an important role and this time Ramcke will take part. The invasion of the British islands will be challenging and they will have to get heavy arms to the Fallschirmjäger as soon as possible. Ramcke has discussed this issue with Student before. Maybe it is time now to think about these issues again.
Task for today: Get all information about the German airborne units in 1940; their strength, their training, their equipment, their tactics, their planes, their strengths and weaknesses.
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Originally Posted by Drone
- for "On this day in History"
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