Operation Sealion

[Vargas78]

The last time i tried this, i managed the get a minor victory but it was very costly and i lost a lot of prestige/good troops.

Next time round i was thinking (and let me know if this is viable or not) what if I dont actually try to invade and just back off and stand off and let the calender run it's course?

At least that way i will get to preserve my troops and probably go into the next mission with more prestige. Would it work that way?

[Crazed Possum]

i do agree that you may want to stand off a little before landing ships. Try to keep their big ships away from your landing craft. Also take not where the shore batteries are and take them out before getting your landing craft near them (their range) . Once you drop one of their batteries land there near an airfield and land with troops and at least one arty in the rear if possible.

[Vapules]

What year of sealion is this? 40? 42? 45?

[Vargas78]

1940. I'm thinking of keeping my troops in France and not attacking at all. Therefore mission fails, it will set me back some time but at least my army will be intact and i get to carry over my prestige points.

Last time i completed it I had little prestige to carry over and had lost some good troops.

[Magnus]

I found that I had to use the first few turns to weaken their navy and air force, before landing any troops......except for paratroops on the extreme left.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

One third of your army should land towards the north, one towards London and another towards the west. It is quite difficult but with 4 Ju88s the RN will be made of paper in comparison.

Certainly don't waste the opportunity and hide in France, '42 is much harder and without either you can't go to America.

[Turtler]

Ultimately, you need to knock out both Britain (Sealion/one of the variants) and the Soviet Union in order to progress to the victorious endgame. Fortunately, you get at least two bites at each apple so plan accordingly. Of those two I find Britain to be the more demanding to take out. Not entirely sure why, but it might be a combination of the fact that the Soviets only deal with the Land-Air dimension while Sealion makes you deal with the sea (duh), Western Grit, or my own mind.

A lot of times I find it better to skip a '40 Sealion so that I can concentrate on erasing the Soviets in 1941, or even when I do go for the early Sealion I tend to come out short of the BV needed to lock away the Western Front and so have to come back later. But again, you have to be mindful of the limitations. You HAVE to knock the British out in either 1940 or 1943, or you cannot obtain complete victory; because by the time you hit Overlord complete victory is out of your grasp (I learned this when the Kursk campaign was the shorted I've played, Kursk -> Moscow-> Overlord and End).

Ditto the Soviets in either '41 or '43 but I find them to be the less troublesome and you can still get them in 1943 in a way you can't with the WA.

The other thing that comes to mind is the problem of being too successful. Is it just me, or does endgame seem to creep up on you faaast if you're doing well enough? Moreso if you manage to knock out the British in 1940, and especially if you do that and then pick "Rush to Moscow."

Because there is going to be a major timeskip after you defeat the second big Theater Enemy and you invade the US cutting out so many chances to build up your core, both in terms of points but especially experience. You'll receive a lavish amount of support to represent the buildup, but you'll also be thrown into the big war for America in 1945-6 without any break period. So it might be jarring to take your troops from- say- 1941-2 level troops to 1945.

So keep that in mind. But I do think BiteNibbleChomp has it right. When in doubt, go for it.

[Vargas78]

Yeah i'm gona go for it, thanks for suggests. Hopefully i'll get through it with more PP this time round.

[Turtler]

Originally posted by Vargas78:

Yeah i'm gona go for it, thanks for suggests. Hopefully i'll get through it with more PP this time round.

Remember two things.

A: If it doesn't go well, you have another chance to win it after beating the Soviets.

But

B: Conversely, anything less than a BV Might as well be a defeat as far as getting into endgame. If you do not win completely your game will end at best. If not you're going to have to deal with pesky Western Allied comebacks onto the continent and more fighting because you can get a favorable stalemate of a victory.

So remember that. Though in particular regarding a 1942 Sealion, there is absolutely no reason to not gamble everything and everyone in a push to get those VHs.

[Crazed Possum]

Originally posted by Vargas78:

Yeah i'm gona go for it, thanks for suggests. Hopefully i'll get through it with more PP this time round.

Just don't try to land troops too quickly or keep the better ones far off shore and try landing cheap new ones ( cannon fodder).

[braccada]

My two cents on Sealion:

+ You have more time than you think or it might feel on the first failed attempt. So do not rush too hard.
+ I do not think you have to delay landing, but approach with care. Scout or note the position of the radar stations and move you transports just out of vision range.
+ There is a heavy cruiser in the narrow part of the channel. Destroy it on the first turn, if possible.
+ You can begin landing operations once a part of the channel is secured. It is not necessary to do a coordinated attack.
+ At least two strategic bombers are necessary to deal with the Royal Navy.
+ If you cannot destroy fighers or bombers at once focus on damaging all of them. Even a 9-strength plane will retreat and buy you more time. At least two turns (retreat and reinforce) maybe more, because you (and the AI) can only reinforce directly on an airfield.
+ Take or at least block reinforcements on one of the vicory location further away with Fallschirmjäger (use possible rain to move them forward undetected).

[Vargas78]

My favourite strategic bomber is the Ju 88. Is it the best vs sea targets or is it the same as heinkel and dornier?

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Originally posted by Vargas78:

My favourite strategic bomber is the Ju 88. Is it the best vs sea targets or is it the same as heinkel and dornier?

Its superior, by a considerable margin. I think the Heinkel is the better Strat bomber over land though.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Originally posted by braccada:

My two cents on Sealion:

+ You have more time than you think or it might feel on the first failed attempt. So do not rush too hard.

15 for a DV, at least 3 of which are consumed in the landing. If you're going for an MV its alright but a DV requires something of a rush, or at least a good airforce.

[Podovsky]

Keep you landingcraft safe for the first few turns, you might even move them back a few hexides. Target the navy first, use your subs on the big battleships. You can soon start landing on the narrow channel part. The paratroopers can go to the far left and take the west most coastal town and objective. When your infantry arrives at London you can move 2 infantry and arty across the river east of London towards the north east (ships will provide additional cover after destroying 2 enemy ships in the north sea).

[braccada]

Originally posted by BiteNibbleChomp:

Originally posted by braccada:

My two cents on Sealion:

+ You have more time than you think or it might feel on the first failed attempt. So do not rush too hard.

15 for a DV, at least 3 of which are consumed in the landing. If you're going for an MV its alright but a DV requires something of a rush, or at least a good airforce.

Minus 5 for DV on Guderian is possible, too. That is a rush indeed and depends on the weather, but for the regular difficulties there is some (not much) margin. The time limit is demanding, but it is not necessary to take extrem risks (like trying to land right away or force your way into London without proper artillery support). So yes something of a rush maybe is the correct description ;)