Seelöwe: The German Invasion of Britain, 1940

About this board game

Seelöwe: The German Invasion of Britain, 1940 is a two-player wargame with an approximately 180-minute play time, released in 1974. It depicts the hypothetical German invasion of the British Isles known as Operation Sealion.

In this historical what-if, the invasion would have followed a Luftwaffe victory in the Battle of Britain. The game focuses on the plans considered for an attack across the English Channel and into England.

The map covers central and southern England together with the English Channel, providing the setting for three different invasion scenarios. Each scenario recreates a distinct approach to the proposed German landing.

• The Navy Plan: a landing on a narrow front in south-eastern England.
• The Army Plan: a landing on a broad front along the entire south coast.
• The July Scenario: a gamble that a small landing would be sufficient to ensure victory.

These three scenarios present contrasting visions of how Operation Sealion might have begun. The Navy Plan concentrates the landing, the Army Plan expands it across the south coast, and the July Scenario relies on a smaller initial operation.

Seelöwe invites two players to examine this unrealized invasion through its three proposed plans and the map of the English Channel and southern Britain. For players interested in World War II counterfactuals and operational wargames, it offers a focused depiction of the anticipated German invasion of Britain in 1940.