Post by simpleton on Sept 5, 2017 20:46:44 GMT
OTL the US, Britain and the DEI had a formidable force, but it was thinly spread over a huge area, close to Japanese airfields and naval bases. The PI were completely irrelevant for the war effort, since they produced no strategic materials. Moreover, with dozens of islands, it was impossible to defend them with a smaller fleet.
PH was the worst place to concentrate the fleet. War games had proven its vulnerability even to carrier biplanes. It was too far to counter attack in time in the PI with the slow BB and all the oil and much of the food,etc, had to be shipped to keep a large number of men there. Should the Japanese attack with the whole fleet, the USN would be wiped out in the Pacific and Hawaii could be invaded island by island, isolating Oahu, which could not hold with ample supplies. Churchill sent a large army with few planes and no tanks and 2 BB with ridiculously few DD and no cruisers to Malaya-Singapore and 2,000 Canadians to Honk Kong, making them extremely vulnerable to Japanese air and naval superiority. The RN kept a large number of old ships in Ceylon, Aden, Hong Kong, etc, which would have a difficult time deploying in the Pacific, shold the Japanese attack. The Dutch had a small fleet and few troops spread over too many DEI islands to defend effectively any of them.
The US placed 12 scarce and invaluable Wildcats in untenable Wake and spent a fortune building a small base in untenable Midway. Yet there were no Wildcats in the PI or invaluable DEI. The US sold defective Buffalo with a weaker, export engine, which good Dutch and British pilots had to fly against greater numbers of superior planes. MacAthrur had an impressive air force, which was completely exposed to attack by a large Japanese air fleet in Formosa, but before the war, there were no modern American planes in the DEI, Malaya or Burma.
The tiny American volunteer air force in China, could hardly make a difference in huge China and was asked to counter attack in Burma.
Sumatra and Java were far away from Japanese airfields and naval bases and close to Singapore, Ceylon and Australia, they were much easier to defend, reinforce and supply in the long term and they would provide a shield to keep the Japanese out of the Indian Ocean and produce oil, rubber, tinl nickel, food, etc, for allied forces.
Admiral Richardson opposed Roosevelt's absurd decision to deploy all BB and moden ships in PH. Roosevelt replaced him with Kimmel, who had much less experience and insight into Japanese affairs.
When Japan dis strike, it destroyed all planes in the PI and a large number in PH, sank or damaged most BB
ATL
Richardson is not fired. Roosevelt admits that his decision to deploy all ships in PH was ungrounded and unsound and asks Richardon to prepare for war. Richardson and Fisher inform Roosevelt and Marsahll that against the IJN and IJA, Wake, Guam, the Pi, Midway, Malaya, Singapore, the DEI (except Timor, Sumatra and Java) and even Hawaii and Alaska are untenable if attacked with overwhelming force. In contrast, if Britain, the US and Holland concentrate all forces in very defensible and vital Sumatra , Java, Rangoon, New Caledonia and Timor, Japan will have to waste invaluable time, ships, planes, etc, trying to take them. Allied bombers and submarines can attack Japanese oilwells, tankers, warships, etc, from these large islands for years. Their oil, rice, rubber, etc, will be invaluable to the war effort in the area and denied to the Japanese. Moreover, Sumatra, Java and Timor will shield Australia, Ceylon, India, etc, from Japanese invasion or raids.
Accordingly, in Oct 1941 Richardson and Marshall evacuate Guam, Midway, the PI and most of the force in Hawaii. Roosevelt convinces Churchill that as in France, Greece, Crete, etc, a large army without planes and tanks is useless and that Britain must give up on Malaya and Holland must abandon the rest of the DEI in order to reinforce Sumatra, Singapore, Java and Timor. The allies will also reinforce Rangoon, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Australia.
Just like the USSR is the only hope of grinding down the WM, so China is the only hope of grinding down the IJA. Therefore, Rangoon and the Burma road must be defended at all costs.
8 slow American and 3 RN BB, all available USN Pacific fleet, Dutch and RN submarines CV, CA, CL, DD will be deployed around Sumatra, Java and Timor. Airfields in Papua-New Guineas msut be rapidly expanded to receive all the planes from the PI, Alaska, Hawaii and the west coast. Several modern airfields are hastily built by Sea bees and the US army in these locations. Oilwells, tin mines, oil refineries, smelters, sugarmills, airfields, etc, in Malaya, British and Dutch Borneo, peninsular Burma, the rest of the DEI (except the defended islands) must be sabotaged. All strategic materiasl, grain, rubber, tin, etc,must be evacuated to the defended areas (especially to Melbourn, Australia). The British must prepare strong defensive positions (they have none) in Singapore, Rangoon, the Burma road, etc, and relocate all troops from Malaya, Hong Kong, etc, to the defended areas. Excellent British submarines and torpedoes are much more useful against Japan than against Germany, so most will deployed to the Pacific. China msut provide troops to help defend the Burma road. Chenault's forces must be greatly expanded and ideally, Chenault should leave an experienced officer in charge and relocate to Sumatra.
Richarson keeps constant communication with Chenault, to learn effective tactics, weaknesses of Japanese planes, etc, which the US army air coprs is largely ignoring. Richardson also learns about skip bombing from his British colleagues and realizes the great advantages in accuracy and much cheaper bombs than torpedoes and rapidly organizes marine squadrons with B-25, B-36, etc,specialized in it. They teach it to air corp pilots.
The US must start immediately to convert large freighters into small carriers and old, heavy cruisers into CL, to reinforce the few CVs. British CV must dump their planes in the Pacific and repace them with Wildcats, SBD and TBD.
AAA in all warships must be greatly strengthened.
The best British and Dutch pilots must receive P-40s and Wildcats and concentrate on Japanese fighters, while inferior planes and pilots attack bombers and ground forces.. The P-38 must be rushed into production for it's speed and range make it invaluable operating from Sumatra, Java and Timor and deployed in Burma and China.
The Corsaire must enter production and be deployed from airfields in the DEI.
6" and larger coastal guns must be deployed (even if old warships have to be beached to supply them rapidly) and thousands of mines (including magnetic mines) must be deployed around good landing sites. Allied submarines must form large wolfpacks to wipe out invasion fleets, coordinating with divebombing P-38s, torpedo beaufighters and B-25, etc,
B-17 must skip bomb to be any use against ships.
When the Japanese attack they rapidly seize all territories, except the defended islands, where they crash into a wall and experience extremely heavy losses in planes, ships and men for no gains.
PH was the worst place to concentrate the fleet. War games had proven its vulnerability even to carrier biplanes. It was too far to counter attack in time in the PI with the slow BB and all the oil and much of the food,etc, had to be shipped to keep a large number of men there. Should the Japanese attack with the whole fleet, the USN would be wiped out in the Pacific and Hawaii could be invaded island by island, isolating Oahu, which could not hold with ample supplies. Churchill sent a large army with few planes and no tanks and 2 BB with ridiculously few DD and no cruisers to Malaya-Singapore and 2,000 Canadians to Honk Kong, making them extremely vulnerable to Japanese air and naval superiority. The RN kept a large number of old ships in Ceylon, Aden, Hong Kong, etc, which would have a difficult time deploying in the Pacific, shold the Japanese attack. The Dutch had a small fleet and few troops spread over too many DEI islands to defend effectively any of them.
The US placed 12 scarce and invaluable Wildcats in untenable Wake and spent a fortune building a small base in untenable Midway. Yet there were no Wildcats in the PI or invaluable DEI. The US sold defective Buffalo with a weaker, export engine, which good Dutch and British pilots had to fly against greater numbers of superior planes. MacAthrur had an impressive air force, which was completely exposed to attack by a large Japanese air fleet in Formosa, but before the war, there were no modern American planes in the DEI, Malaya or Burma.
The tiny American volunteer air force in China, could hardly make a difference in huge China and was asked to counter attack in Burma.
Sumatra and Java were far away from Japanese airfields and naval bases and close to Singapore, Ceylon and Australia, they were much easier to defend, reinforce and supply in the long term and they would provide a shield to keep the Japanese out of the Indian Ocean and produce oil, rubber, tinl nickel, food, etc, for allied forces.
Admiral Richardson opposed Roosevelt's absurd decision to deploy all BB and moden ships in PH. Roosevelt replaced him with Kimmel, who had much less experience and insight into Japanese affairs.
When Japan dis strike, it destroyed all planes in the PI and a large number in PH, sank or damaged most BB
ATL
Richardson is not fired. Roosevelt admits that his decision to deploy all ships in PH was ungrounded and unsound and asks Richardon to prepare for war. Richardson and Fisher inform Roosevelt and Marsahll that against the IJN and IJA, Wake, Guam, the Pi, Midway, Malaya, Singapore, the DEI (except Timor, Sumatra and Java) and even Hawaii and Alaska are untenable if attacked with overwhelming force. In contrast, if Britain, the US and Holland concentrate all forces in very defensible and vital Sumatra , Java, Rangoon, New Caledonia and Timor, Japan will have to waste invaluable time, ships, planes, etc, trying to take them. Allied bombers and submarines can attack Japanese oilwells, tankers, warships, etc, from these large islands for years. Their oil, rice, rubber, etc, will be invaluable to the war effort in the area and denied to the Japanese. Moreover, Sumatra, Java and Timor will shield Australia, Ceylon, India, etc, from Japanese invasion or raids.
Accordingly, in Oct 1941 Richardson and Marshall evacuate Guam, Midway, the PI and most of the force in Hawaii. Roosevelt convinces Churchill that as in France, Greece, Crete, etc, a large army without planes and tanks is useless and that Britain must give up on Malaya and Holland must abandon the rest of the DEI in order to reinforce Sumatra, Singapore, Java and Timor. The allies will also reinforce Rangoon, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Australia.
Just like the USSR is the only hope of grinding down the WM, so China is the only hope of grinding down the IJA. Therefore, Rangoon and the Burma road must be defended at all costs.
8 slow American and 3 RN BB, all available USN Pacific fleet, Dutch and RN submarines CV, CA, CL, DD will be deployed around Sumatra, Java and Timor. Airfields in Papua-New Guineas msut be rapidly expanded to receive all the planes from the PI, Alaska, Hawaii and the west coast. Several modern airfields are hastily built by Sea bees and the US army in these locations. Oilwells, tin mines, oil refineries, smelters, sugarmills, airfields, etc, in Malaya, British and Dutch Borneo, peninsular Burma, the rest of the DEI (except the defended islands) must be sabotaged. All strategic materiasl, grain, rubber, tin, etc,must be evacuated to the defended areas (especially to Melbourn, Australia). The British must prepare strong defensive positions (they have none) in Singapore, Rangoon, the Burma road, etc, and relocate all troops from Malaya, Hong Kong, etc, to the defended areas. Excellent British submarines and torpedoes are much more useful against Japan than against Germany, so most will deployed to the Pacific. China msut provide troops to help defend the Burma road. Chenault's forces must be greatly expanded and ideally, Chenault should leave an experienced officer in charge and relocate to Sumatra.
Richarson keeps constant communication with Chenault, to learn effective tactics, weaknesses of Japanese planes, etc, which the US army air coprs is largely ignoring. Richardson also learns about skip bombing from his British colleagues and realizes the great advantages in accuracy and much cheaper bombs than torpedoes and rapidly organizes marine squadrons with B-25, B-36, etc,specialized in it. They teach it to air corp pilots.
The US must start immediately to convert large freighters into small carriers and old, heavy cruisers into CL, to reinforce the few CVs. British CV must dump their planes in the Pacific and repace them with Wildcats, SBD and TBD.
AAA in all warships must be greatly strengthened.
The best British and Dutch pilots must receive P-40s and Wildcats and concentrate on Japanese fighters, while inferior planes and pilots attack bombers and ground forces.. The P-38 must be rushed into production for it's speed and range make it invaluable operating from Sumatra, Java and Timor and deployed in Burma and China.
The Corsaire must enter production and be deployed from airfields in the DEI.
6" and larger coastal guns must be deployed (even if old warships have to be beached to supply them rapidly) and thousands of mines (including magnetic mines) must be deployed around good landing sites. Allied submarines must form large wolfpacks to wipe out invasion fleets, coordinating with divebombing P-38s, torpedo beaufighters and B-25, etc,
B-17 must skip bomb to be any use against ships.
When the Japanese attack they rapidly seize all territories, except the defended islands, where they crash into a wall and experience extremely heavy losses in planes, ships and men for no gains.