Q&A · 3:00:23-3:02:02

Planning a three-week-warning Channel Dash interception

An interception exercise uses mines and converging surface groups to close the Channel around the German squadron.

Question

What force should Britain assemble to intercept the Channel Dash with three weeks' warning?

Short answer

Mine the route, prepare air power, and place destroyer and capital-ship groups at both ends so the German force is trapped between converging threats.

Notes

The hypothetical gives British planners three weeks' warning of the Channel Dash. Air readiness and mining the German route come first, followed by surface forces positioned to intercept the squadron before or within the narrow waters. Destroyer flotillas would cover both ends, each supported by a pair of capital ships. Nelson and Rodney are proposed for one of those groups. Converging threats ahead, astern and to seaward are intended to deny the German ships a clear escape route; the exercise does not establish that all these forces were historically available together.