The Invasion Plan
It’s 1875 and the German Invaders have landed near Worthing, advancing north through Horsham to what could be a decisive battle near Dorking. Meanwhile there’s been a feint landing at Harwich and an attempt will be made to seize the Woolwich Arsenal. So far, so ‘Reminisces of a Volunteer’, written by George Chesney and published in May 1871. However, this project does not follow the book exactly as it is written, both in varying the units involved and in including a subsequent landing on the north of bank of the Thames. The latter being intended to seize intact the Royal Gunpowder Mills at Waltham Abbey, the Tower of London and the East End docks after taking out the Artillery ranges at Shoeburyness and the fort at Tilbury.
As an aside, at the time of writing (2023) this wargaming project has been in development for a few years, initially as Victorian Gothic Horror set in 1888 Whitechapel and more recently as Victorian Military Fiction, with this German Invasion primarily set in 1875 Sussex and then Surrey. Despite the 11 year time difference there is, of course, some crossover of project resources especially as, somewhat conveniently, at the time the two geographic areas were linked by virtue of the London Brighton & South Coast railway (LBSC), which was also running its distinctively liveried trains on the East London Line (but more of the actual trains in another post).
For this project, the fuller German Invasion Plan extrapolates from Chesney’s novella and - using a map from 1913 as it has the necessary detail - looks broadly as follows:
- Feint landings to seize and hold the docks at Harwich in Essex
- Primary landings at Worthing in Sussex (the Southern Bridgehead)
- Pushing from Shoreham through Horsham to a likely ‘Stop Line) near Dorking, just south of London
- Secondary landings on the north bank of the Thames in south east Essex (the Eastern Bridgehead)
- Pushing from South Essex into East London, taking control of the artillery at Shoeburyness, the Thames-side forts at Tilbury, the East London docks, the Tower of London, the Royal Gunpowder Mills and the Woolwich Arsenal
- Connecting the Southern Bridgehead and the Eastern Bridgehead
- Relieving the small force holding the Harwich Docks and consolidating the Eastern Bridgehead
- Pushing into East Sussex, Surrey, South London and Kent, consolidating the Southern Bridgehead while controlling or isolating more ports
- Moving north east to surround London
- Moving south west to surround London
- Moving west to isolate and then capture the Royal Navy base at Portsmouth
The following map dates from 1845 and shows the major and minor rail routes. Comparing the Invasion Plan and the locations of railway lines, it is clear that the railways are an integral part of the German Empire’s war machine, providing the means to quickly move men, equipment and supplies.
A research jaunt took in Dorking, Worthing and that which lies between, summarised as follows:
