The Battle of Britain, 1940

Background

In the spring of 1940, Hitler's armies smashed across the borders of the Netherlands and Belgium and streamed into the northern reaches of France. The German "Blitzkrieg" moved swiftly to the west and the south, splitting the British and French defenders, trapping the British army at Dunkirk and forcing its evacuation from continental Europe. The Germans entered Paris on June 14 and forced France's surrender on June 22. The British now stood alone, awaiting Hitler's inevitable attempt to invade and conquer their island.
 
Great Britain was in trouble. The soldiers rescued from Dunkirk were exhausted by their ordeal. Worse, most of their heavy armaments lay abandoned and rusting on the French beaches. After a short rest, the Germans began air attacks in early summer designed to seize mastery of the skies over England in preparation for invasion. All that stood between the British and defeat was a small force of RAF pilots outnumbered in the air by four to one.

Day after day the Germans sent armadas of bombers and fighters over England hoping to lure the RAF into battle and annihilate the defenders. Day after day the RAF scrambled their pilots into the sky to do battle often three, four or five times a day. Britain's air defense bent but did not break. By September, the Germans lost enthusiasm for the assault. Hitler postponed and then canceled invasion plans, turning his attention to the defeat of Russia. In appreciation of the RAF pilots' heroic effort, Winston Churchill declared: "Never before in human history was so much owed by so many to so few."

Campaign Map

Frame 1

Country Percentages

RAF - 40%
LW - 60 %

Units:

RAF:

Hurricane Mk I ? 70% (A10, A12)
Spitfire Mk I ? 30% (A6)

Luftwaffe:

Bf 109E-4 ? 40% (A48,A46, A45)
Ju 88A-4 ? 30% Formations (A39, A50)
Ju 87 Stukas 30% (A35, A37, A60)

Orders:

RAF:

Destroy any enemy aircraft attempting to strike targets.

Restrictions:
Allies are not to cross channel midpoint or should not go east of the 13 line before enemy contact.
(Base flashing or visual contact)

Luftwaffe:

Attack the following targets.

Primary target:
Port 105 and City near port.

Secondary targets:
Air fields A10 and A12

Secret target:

Informed to CO on begin of the frame.

Restrictions:

Axis must strike the first targets within 45 minutes of launch.

Frame 2

Frame 3

Country Percentages
RAF - 50%
LW - 50 %

Units:

RAF:

Hurricane Mk I ? (A16)
Spitfire Mk I ? (A10,A12)
Boston III - (A14)

Luftwaffe:

Bf 109E-4 ? (A48,A46, A45)

Orders:

RAF:

Our radar stations have spotted enemy aircraft over the English Channel.
Intercept!

Secret mission:
Informed to CO.

Restrictions:
Allies fields open t+5

Luftwaffe:

Perform a fighter sweep over southeastern England.

Secret mission:
Informed to CO.

Restrictions:

No restrictions.

General victory conditions:

Spitfire I & Hurricane I - 10 points
Bf 109E - 10 points
Ju-88 - 25 points
Ju-87 Stuka ? 15 points
Boston III ? 25 points
Hangars ? 25 points
Guns ? 5 points
Radar ? 10 points
Buildings ? 3 points
Fuel ? 5 points
Secret target - 50 points

Arena settings

1. Terrain - Bob04
2. Icon Range - Short
3. Wind - None
4. Time -09:00 x1
5. Fighter & Bomber Warning Range - 42,000 (about 8 Miles)
6. Enemy Collisions - On
7. External view for bombers (F3) - on
8. Visibility - 10 miles
9. Friendly Collisions - off
10. Fuel - 1.5
11. Ack - 0.5
12. Kill shooter - off
13. Tower Range - 84,000 (about 16 miles), radar/counters alt 700
14. LW Radar ? off, Tower based counters on (to substitute air-raid warning posts)
15. RAF, Tower based radar on

Designer Notes
2 lifes for every player. Both sides may rearm/refuel on hotpads.

CM Notes
Move any Task Groups out of the way.

Design By
Sasmox and Kanga