Dark Earth: The History of the Aircraft Carrier

The KNIL had 4 divisions on Java (1st,2nd,3rd,7th), 2 on Sumatra (4th and 6th) and 1 each on Borneo (5th) and Celebes (8th). After the fighting in Southern Sumatra, the 6th Division is largely destroyed as an effective combat unit, leaving the main Dutch unit as the reinforced 4th Division and 7th Divisions, whilst the 6th is rebuilt at Medan from Sumatran conscripts and volunteers from the Dutch West Indies.

Other Allied forces in early 1942, at which time a rough front line had been stabilised along the Kampar River, consist of:

XV Indian Corps
27th Indian Infantry Division
36th Indian Infantry Division
43rd Indian Infantry Division

XXXV Corps
1st Ceylon Division
4th Gurkha Division
55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division

The Japanese do not hold Malaya or Singapore. I am a little confused as to how anyone could get that impression from the material.

Recapping from what has been put up in 1942 so far:

- The Cardinal convoys arrive in early March 1942, carrying 4 divisions and hundreds of tanks and aircraft.
- Force R reinforces the Grand Fleet at the same time.
- The RN is increasingly limited to operating within shore based air cover from Malaya and Singapore.
- Britain prioritises the defence of Malaya over Java and Sumatra.
- Singapore will increasingly become a battleship, cruiser, destroyer and submarine base under the protection of its own air cover in 1942 until enough carriers can be mustered for offensive operations.
- In Malaya, Twelfth Army deploys 16 divisions (including 2 armoured) and 500,000 men, plus the fortress defences and garrison of Singapore and the Royal Marines. A further reinforcement convoy, codenamed Cardinal, arrives in March 1942, allowing sufficient reserves to properly hold a line from Kota Bharu to Kedah, supported by over 1500 tactical aircraft and the Grand Fleet. The Japanese achieve quite a bit of success, but cannot crack the line against a numerically superior force with more firepower and aircraft.
- Following on from the bloody draw in the South China Sea, both fleets adopted something of a circumspect approach over the next few weeks, with both having suffered enough losses to make decisive offensive action impossible to support. The Grand Fleet was further weakened by the necessity to dispatch a squadron of Invincible, Lion and Princess Royal to the Andaman Sea to support the increasingly beleaguered Twelfth Army in its retreat from Siam in the face of the strong Japanese and Siamese advance. Admiral Cunningham was limited to the rotational forward deployment of a single carrier task force in the Natuna Sea whilst he held the main body of his fleet in Singapore, where he had now been joined by the French Escadron d'Extrême-Orient. Control of this barrier sea, lying between Malaya and Borneo, was seen as vital in maintaining the crumbling Malay Barrier, which was being increasingly outflanked by the Japanese push southwards.
- The Japanese have the advantage of geography here, as they can outflank Malaya and Singapore by taking Borneo (Brunei and Sarawak) from the Sulu Sea and heading down into the DEI through the Celebes Sea. This causes an issue for how and where the Grand Fleet can operate. The other strategic offensive that will attempt to draw away Allied strength is the South Pacific thrust to cut off Australia from the United States, which does force the British to send carriers and battleships to Australia and New Zealand.
- Essentially, to break out, the Grand Fleet needs to field at least 12 carriers with improved aircraft, adjusted tactics and radar, greatly increased AAA on escorts and carriers (which is already substantially in advance of 1942, being more on the level of late 1944/early 1945 levels) and coordination with land based offensives to break out of the "bag" formed by Indochina, Borneo, Java and Sumatra.
- It is a difficult time of the war for the Allies, to put it mildly, and the British Empire has a very difficult fight to hold Malaya and Burma for exactly the reasons that you point out. The Japanese take Java and the southern half of Sumatra, forcing the RN into the Bay of Bengal, but not breaking the utility of Singapore as a fortified base or the very strong Commonwealth positions in Malaya. The Grand Fleet will return to the South China Sea, once the Japanese airpower in Sumatra is sufficiently attrited and their attention drawn in a number of directions.


The situation in 1942 is essentially the opposite - the Japanese conduct a protracted bombing campaign against Singapore and Malaya from Borneo, Sumatra and Java, but mainly from Siam and Indochina. This isn't a success for them, as the IJAF hasn't invested in a strategic bomber force to the same extent as the RAF and USAF.

Steve,

The Japanese will certainly be worn down by the next battle and by subsequent attrition. Using the Malay Peninsula and Kra Isthmus as a barrier between the carriers and the enemy does play more to the RN's strengths and position in the months to come. Holding Northern Sumatra keeps the supply lines open, nominally.

It is important to remember what happens between May and October/November in Burma and Siam...

Simon

The Japanese air forces in the area aren’t huge. Sumatra ranks behind China, Siam, Indochina, the Burma/Malay fronts, Borneo, New Guinea and Java, with an operational force of 150-200 aircraft available for frontline offensive operations, with over 200 aircraft focused on the air defence of Palembang and other major centres in occupied Southern Sumatra.

Generally static along the river line as described above, with further reinforcements (Imperial Service Corps consisting of Mysore, Hyderabad, Rajputana and Kashmir divisions, three African divisions and an Australian division) arriving over the coming months of 1942 to pin the Japanese forces in place and oppose them in depth. It begins to move once the Grand Fleet is fully repaired and operational, allowing its air groups to hit the Japanese in coordinated strikes from the Indian Ocean.

So both Yamamoto and Cunningham think they have made the best move, but in the end, only one will be left standing i guess.

Well in the battle i was saying, its nice to hear both are alive in the Darkearth verse.