User:DeadRaiser/sandbox/Battles/Battle of Delaware Bay

The Battle of Delaware Bay, also known as Unternehmen Säbel (German: Operation Saber), was a land, air, and naval engagement that occurred from 7-8 September 1946, and amongst the first major naval engagements between the Allied and Axis powers on the American Front of World War II. The action saw the allies use combined air, land, and naval forces to defend against an Axis attempt to secure the Delaware Bay, effectively cutting off any vessels docked, being repaired, or under construction in Philadelphia and Camden from getting into open water. Later, if the bay was secured, Axis forces had planned to use the are as a beachfront for the main invasion force.

After receiving the refusal to surrender from the Allied powers, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy commenced the start of Unternehmen Steinadler, the full-scale invasion of the American eastern seaboard, while the Japanese would carry out their own plan to attack from the west coast. The Allies, due to War Plan Black-Orange, were heavily prepared for the two-front invasion and had largely finished replacing manpower and material losses from the failed campaigns in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific. With the beginning of the invasion on 26 August, the Germans and Italians were swiftly made aware that the lack of long-range air support and inability for bombing defensive positions made securing a foothold on the American coast nearly impossible. With no effective way to stop land-based aerial attacks against their ships and troops, German and Italian leaders made the decision to limit the seafaring capabilities of the Allies, heavily focusing efforts on attacking docks, port cities, and securing water ways to prevent movement of naval forces. A large task force was assembled, including four battleships and the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, were sent to secure the entrance of the Delaware River. Receiving late notice of the attack, American coastal defenses stationed on both sides of the bay were bombarded late in the night on the 7 September, holding out long enough for a combined American-Free French naval task force, supported by land-based aircraft, to reinforce the channel in the early hours of the morning.

During the daytime surface action, both sides lost several warships with substantial losses of life. By the early afternoon of the 8 September, the battered Axis force withdrew from the area after being unable to secure it. This engagement saw the first use of monitors in combat since the American Civil War and the debut of American jet aircraft. The successful defense of the defense hampered the Axis ability to attack the northeastern portion of the seaboard, allowing the many shipyards along the Delaware River to remain intact and active, thus forcing a change in Axis strategy towards an invasion elsewhere on the seaboard.