It’s not good vs bad - it’s threat level. The British Fleet was a threat to the German colonies and to the self-image of the German polity. The German Fleet was an existential threat to the UK - because if it could hold off the Home Fleet, it could allow the Germans to land the best army in...
I don’t think you can get that without a major change to the status of Britain and the RN - the No1 Naval power, upon whom the country depends to defend it and in which the public see the continuation of ancient liberties does not just allow challenge without a fight. Because it and the...
The issue is that a German Fleet powerful enough to carry out the tasking German leaders believe they need (protect German maritime SLOCs against the British) is also big enough, in concert with the German Army, to be an existential threat to Britain. This is because any German Fleet that can...
Practice the simplest of anti-submarine warfare techniques on the East coast - blackouts, proper air scouting, convoys - thus minimising the impact of operation drumbeat and the second happy time - about 3.1m tonnes were sunk at the key moment of America’s entry into the war
Without the massive attacks by heavies in early 1944 (operation judgement) would the allied air forces have been able to draw up enough of the Luftwaffe to destroy, allowing them to gain air superiority over Normandy? Without this Overlord is much harder and the breakout from Normandy slower.
It's not whether a navy could intervene in a military coup over the government - because who cares who your taxes are going to, really? - it's about the much smaller ability of a naval rating to (while under orders) barge into your house and make off with all your goods while "foraging" - that's...
Prussia was described as “not a country with an army but an army with a country” by one of its own ministers in the C18th so it’s not a new point of view in the early C20th.
I threw this together a few years ago when I was a bit less busy. It's not hugely well formatted (and includes a bunch of acronyms and stuff I should have expanded) but it's my take on the 'what if Germany decided to go for the UK'...
Don’t forget Rocky Horror was originally a stage show (with Tim Curry, Patricia Quinn Little Nell & of course Richard O’Brian), with the first performance in 1973. It wouldn’t have been made into a film without being a critical and commercial success in the West End, which included the audience...
If more aircraft types designed specifically for army co-operation are produced, it is possible that the arguments over who should control the close air support forces fall on the side of the army - this would prevent AVM Coningham developing the succesful CAS tactics used - the difference in...
I think you're mixing up First Lord of the Admiralty (political head, in reality just a fancy name for Secretary of State for the Navy) and First Sea Lord which is the military head of the Royal Navy and command position
The RN is 'man-marking' both the KM and the RM. The Home Fleet (based at Scapa Flow) significantly overmatches the KM, but even in a scenario where it destroys the KM at the cost of gutting its own capability, the RM is overmatched by the Mediterranean Fleet - especially when you consider the RN...
I'm not sure Pterry counts - knight of the realm, international multi-million selling, front page news when he died. Maybe coulda been bigger is Mort had actually been a movie and trumped Bill and Ted for 'comedy with Death as a character' but he's one of the biggest authors of his generation...