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Get some!
Spruance on the prowl.
Monty controlling the action in Malaya. Who's the Tiger this time?
Sensible strategy on Luzon.
Just keeps getting more fun.
Spruance on the prowl.
Monty controlling the action in Malaya. Who's the Tiger this time?
Sensible strategy on Luzon.
Just keeps getting more fun.
Holding the Japanese for 10 days is far more important than it initially seems.
In OTL, the army and air force were constantly bounced south, with little chance to gain useful experience and disseminate it.
Now the Army has a reasonable idea of how to slow and stop the IJA, and with Montgomery in command this will be fed to the other divisions. Each time they fight, the Imperial forces will learn more.
The same will likely apply to the air forces. Japanese plains attacking supply convoys aren't a long term problem; first the Imperial forces are falling steadily back along their own logistics trail, second they will be arranging for their logistic convoys to move at night.
In fact, given that in OTL the Japanese had run out of supplies by the time they got to Singapore, unless there is a complete collapse in Malaya (which is ASB levels of unlikely), they can't get to Singapore. It also means its pretty unlikely they get into Burma at all, let along conquer it.
While the better defence in the PI is welcome, it probably wont lead to them holding out as the possibility of resupply is simply not there. However they can bleed the Japanese more, the USN can keep sniping, and its quite likely some of the other Japanese shoestring invasions get called off or fail.
In OTL, the army and air force were constantly bounced south, with little chance to gain useful experience and disseminate it.
Now the Army has a reasonable idea of how to slow and stop the IJA, and with Montgomery in command this will be fed to the other divisions. Each time they fight, the Imperial forces will learn more.
The same will likely apply to the air forces. Japanese plains attacking supply convoys aren't a long term problem; first the Imperial forces are falling steadily back along their own logistics trail, second they will be arranging for their logistic convoys to move at night.
In fact, given that in OTL the Japanese had run out of supplies by the time they got to Singapore, unless there is a complete collapse in Malaya (which is ASB levels of unlikely), they can't get to Singapore. It also means its pretty unlikely they get into Burma at all, let along conquer it.
While the better defence in the PI is welcome, it probably wont lead to them holding out as the possibility of resupply is simply not there. However they can bleed the Japanese more, the USN can keep sniping, and its quite likely some of the other Japanese shoestring invasions get called off or fail.
I can foresee the PI becoming as much of a running sore to Japan as China. They could lose an entire army in the early PI, and have constant guerilla warfare afterwards. There are some islands they may never venture onto at all. In OTL is was a balancing act, taking scarce resources from one theater and sending them piecemeal to another. ITTL, its already much worse.
Story 1005
December 23, 1941 Coral Sea
Five cruisers, one American, one New Zealand manned, and three Australian, two destroyers and six lesser warships entered the Coral Sea. The polyglot force had been formed near Fiji as the American brigade group in the Pensacola convoy needed an escort once war came to the South Pacific. There had been debate about moving the force to Manila but with the fall of Davao, there was no clean route to bring the force through. Instead, the engineering battalion would be dropped off at Darwin to begin building base facilities while the rest of the force was heading to Timor. The Australian Sparrow Force had recently landed and it was a needed but nowhere near sufficient reinforcement of the Dutch garrison. An infantry regiment with organic artillery and tank support might be sufficient to hold the island and thus keep open the eastern entrance to the Java Sea.
Five cruisers, one American, one New Zealand manned, and three Australian, two destroyers and six lesser warships entered the Coral Sea. The polyglot force had been formed near Fiji as the American brigade group in the Pensacola convoy needed an escort once war came to the South Pacific. There had been debate about moving the force to Manila but with the fall of Davao, there was no clean route to bring the force through. Instead, the engineering battalion would be dropped off at Darwin to begin building base facilities while the rest of the force was heading to Timor. The Australian Sparrow Force had recently landed and it was a needed but nowhere near sufficient reinforcement of the Dutch garrison. An infantry regiment with organic artillery and tank support might be sufficient to hold the island and thus keep open the eastern entrance to the Java Sea.
Story 1006
December 23, 1941
The sun hurt. The entire convoy was now trusty shellbacks and if there was never a chance to inflict the indignity of the ceremony upon new pollywogs, Sergeant Donohue would be happy. The afternoon anti-aircraft and anti-submarine watch was always the longest for the soldiers aboard the transports. Rumors had them going to at least seven places. The best scuttlebutt was that the 182nd Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard was heading to Rabaul, Brisbane or Manila. So far none of their officers had told them anything besides keep on training.
As the ship's bells rang and the watch changed, Sergeant Donohue sipped some lukewarm water from his canteen. He waited and watched his team hand off responsibility for the .30 caliber machine gun that they had expeditiously mounted two weeks ago. Short report, mechanical checks, ammunition checks and water checks. The team was coming together. Fifteen minutes later, he was the senior sergeant on a platoon exercise as every man was now carrying a 100 pound pack and began a long tour of the ship through the most inefficient set of passages possible. Up and down, to the ground and crawl under steam pipes and then up a ladder and through a hatch. An hour later, legs burning but chests not heaving, a gunsmith from the attached ordinance company began his lecture on field repairs for machine guns.
The sun hurt. The entire convoy was now trusty shellbacks and if there was never a chance to inflict the indignity of the ceremony upon new pollywogs, Sergeant Donohue would be happy. The afternoon anti-aircraft and anti-submarine watch was always the longest for the soldiers aboard the transports. Rumors had them going to at least seven places. The best scuttlebutt was that the 182nd Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard was heading to Rabaul, Brisbane or Manila. So far none of their officers had told them anything besides keep on training.
As the ship's bells rang and the watch changed, Sergeant Donohue sipped some lukewarm water from his canteen. He waited and watched his team hand off responsibility for the .30 caliber machine gun that they had expeditiously mounted two weeks ago. Short report, mechanical checks, ammunition checks and water checks. The team was coming together. Fifteen minutes later, he was the senior sergeant on a platoon exercise as every man was now carrying a 100 pound pack and began a long tour of the ship through the most inefficient set of passages possible. Up and down, to the ground and crawl under steam pipes and then up a ladder and through a hatch. An hour later, legs burning but chests not heaving, a gunsmith from the attached ordinance company began his lecture on field repairs for machine guns.
Story 1007
December 23, 1941 1630
The single Dauntless dive bomber lugged a single 500 pound bomb. Four combat missions in three days and only a single bomb dropped. The Admiral wanted the scouts to be double and triple checking pieces of the ocean. So far no one had seen nothing.
Off in the distance and slightly to the right a hint of a fading wake was visible. The pilot nosed over and followed the disturbance in the sea. He yelled at his gunner/radio operator in back to get a good fix. Four minutes later, that one wake was seven wakes. The radio operator sent his first message of position and multiple wakes. He then grabbed his binoculars and strained hard as the stubby bomber proceeded up the wake trail.
A dozen ships including at least three ships that could either have been battleships or large heavy cruisers were below. The radio operator put down his glasses and started to pound away another sighting report. Enterprise acknowledged the report of the convoy heading towards Wake at 13 knots. At this speed, they would be arriving just before dawn at Wake.
Three more minutes and another message to Enterprise and Wake was sent. The dive bomber had started a long climb to attack altitude even as half a dozen other scouts had radioed their intention to converge and attack the invasion force. As the single dive bomber passed through 12,000 feet, both men checked their straps one last time just before they entered the range of the defenders' heavy anti-aircraft guns. Shrapnel ripped sky and clouds around the dive bomber, near misses jostled the two men as the pilot tipped over. Seventy degrees was a steep dive but the bomber was pushing itself to almost eighty degrees. Both men grunted as the force of gravity fought with their bodies. The pilot became one and the plane and the brain were a weapon system intent on only delivering a 500 pound steel bomb precisely on target.
Cannon fire began to ripple and machine gun tracers sought to either distract or kill the pilot. He did not know that half a dozen machine gun rounds went through his left wing until after he landed in the dark on Enterprise. 1,300 feet from the sea, the bomb was released and the dive bomber strained to break free of its fall. The pilot pulled up fast and level at 300 feet and began the long run. As the pilot concentrated on coming home, the rear gunner saw a 5,000 foot plume of smoke emerge from the forward turret of a Japanese cruiser.
173 miles away, Admiral Halsey debated his options. He had two carriers ready to strike but between launching and assembling a strike, the attack would not arrive on the invasion force until after sunset. Few, if any, of his pilots were trained for night landings. He would hold them back to strike first thing in the morning. Instead, a signal was sent to Admiral Spruance. His cruiser force would depart at 1800 to intercept the Japanese invasion convoy.
The single Dauntless dive bomber lugged a single 500 pound bomb. Four combat missions in three days and only a single bomb dropped. The Admiral wanted the scouts to be double and triple checking pieces of the ocean. So far no one had seen nothing.
Off in the distance and slightly to the right a hint of a fading wake was visible. The pilot nosed over and followed the disturbance in the sea. He yelled at his gunner/radio operator in back to get a good fix. Four minutes later, that one wake was seven wakes. The radio operator sent his first message of position and multiple wakes. He then grabbed his binoculars and strained hard as the stubby bomber proceeded up the wake trail.
A dozen ships including at least three ships that could either have been battleships or large heavy cruisers were below. The radio operator put down his glasses and started to pound away another sighting report. Enterprise acknowledged the report of the convoy heading towards Wake at 13 knots. At this speed, they would be arriving just before dawn at Wake.
Three more minutes and another message to Enterprise and Wake was sent. The dive bomber had started a long climb to attack altitude even as half a dozen other scouts had radioed their intention to converge and attack the invasion force. As the single dive bomber passed through 12,000 feet, both men checked their straps one last time just before they entered the range of the defenders' heavy anti-aircraft guns. Shrapnel ripped sky and clouds around the dive bomber, near misses jostled the two men as the pilot tipped over. Seventy degrees was a steep dive but the bomber was pushing itself to almost eighty degrees. Both men grunted as the force of gravity fought with their bodies. The pilot became one and the plane and the brain were a weapon system intent on only delivering a 500 pound steel bomb precisely on target.
Cannon fire began to ripple and machine gun tracers sought to either distract or kill the pilot. He did not know that half a dozen machine gun rounds went through his left wing until after he landed in the dark on Enterprise. 1,300 feet from the sea, the bomb was released and the dive bomber strained to break free of its fall. The pilot pulled up fast and level at 300 feet and began the long run. As the pilot concentrated on coming home, the rear gunner saw a 5,000 foot plume of smoke emerge from the forward turret of a Japanese cruiser.
173 miles away, Admiral Halsey debated his options. He had two carriers ready to strike but between launching and assembling a strike, the attack would not arrive on the invasion force until after sunset. Few, if any, of his pilots were trained for night landings. He would hold them back to strike first thing in the morning. Instead, a signal was sent to Admiral Spruance. His cruiser force would depart at 1800 to intercept the Japanese invasion convoy.
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If they are landed, the Japanese are going to have a harder time of it indeed. Having Timor in Allied hands, there are some interesting possibilities in this.
formion
Banned
Another question is what will happen to the Gull Force, that was wasted in Ambon in OTL.
Sparrow and Lark forces are in Timor and Rabaul. Are there any other Australian formations ITTL that are on the move? The 6th Division is already in Malaya or on its way east of Suez ?
Lastly, in November 22nd we had the 2nd Marine Brigade along with other formations, getting ready to depart at December 11. Has it left Hawai already ?
Sparrow and Lark forces are in Timor and Rabaul. Are there any other Australian formations ITTL that are on the move? The 6th Division is already in Malaya or on its way east of Suez ?
Lastly, in November 22nd we had the 2nd Marine Brigade along with other formations, getting ready to depart at December 11. Has it left Hawai already ?
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Story 1008
December 23, 1941 Lowell, Massachusetts
Snow sat on Elaine's eyelashes, and a cat curled in her lap. She would have been happy if she had come to her parents' home after a long day of work at the mill. Her loom unit had just received an order to produce enough cloth to equip a division. Overtime was plentiful this year and the money was flowing into her bank account. She had moved out of the apartment that her aunt and uncle rented to her and Patrick and moved back in with her parents. They had been looking forward to being grandparents and they still were anxious to encourage mischief underfoot but not yet, not after the hemorrhage that had sent her to her knees on the factory floor.
The doctors at Saint John's had stopped the bleeding fast enough and she received two pints of blood. Three days in the hospital and she had enough strength to go home. Now she was sitting on her parent's porch, alone and wanting to hold her husband and be told that everything would be okay. He was not there, he was somewhere on the far side of the world; he did not know where and she could not know even if he could tell her. Instead, she cried into her slowly cooling apple cider as she tried to think through the letter that she would have to write to him. She could not give him the child that they both wanted and the doctors were not sure if she would ever be able to do that for him.
Snow sat on Elaine's eyelashes, and a cat curled in her lap. She would have been happy if she had come to her parents' home after a long day of work at the mill. Her loom unit had just received an order to produce enough cloth to equip a division. Overtime was plentiful this year and the money was flowing into her bank account. She had moved out of the apartment that her aunt and uncle rented to her and Patrick and moved back in with her parents. They had been looking forward to being grandparents and they still were anxious to encourage mischief underfoot but not yet, not after the hemorrhage that had sent her to her knees on the factory floor.
The doctors at Saint John's had stopped the bleeding fast enough and she received two pints of blood. Three days in the hospital and she had enough strength to go home. Now she was sitting on her parent's porch, alone and wanting to hold her husband and be told that everything would be okay. He was not there, he was somewhere on the far side of the world; he did not know where and she could not know even if he could tell her. Instead, she cried into her slowly cooling apple cider as she tried to think through the letter that she would have to write to him. She could not give him the child that they both wanted and the doctors were not sure if she would ever be able to do that for him.
Sad for Elaine, hopefully when (if) her husband comes home they can be lucky next time. Win or lose fighting on Timor is going to be rugged, and survival is certaoinly not guaranteed.
Between the AM carrier strike, I assume they will take off as soon as they can do so safely and plan to arise shortly after the sun rises (cue irony), hopefully coming from the east, and the surface action, the invasion convoy is going to get hammered. If they make it to Wake, I doubt any Japanese soldiers will ever return home, some ships might but not any troops landed. Coming off the rails does not even begin to describe what is happening to the Japanese. One result of this is going to be the ability to devote even more effort to Germany - yes Japan's successes will need to be rolled back but given where the rollback starts, and fewer Allied losses to more Japanese, the amount of effort needed will be less...
Between the AM carrier strike, I assume they will take off as soon as they can do so safely and plan to arise shortly after the sun rises (cue irony), hopefully coming from the east, and the surface action, the invasion convoy is going to get hammered. If they make it to Wake, I doubt any Japanese soldiers will ever return home, some ships might but not any troops landed. Coming off the rails does not even begin to describe what is happening to the Japanese. One result of this is going to be the ability to devote even more effort to Germany - yes Japan's successes will need to be rolled back but given where the rollback starts, and fewer Allied losses to more Japanese, the amount of effort needed will be less...
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Errolwi
Monthly Donor
Good news! You can stop worrying about the odd status of the NZ cruisers! The NZ Division of the Royal Navy became the RNZN on 1 Oct 1941 OTL, so Achilles and Leander were HMNZS from then on. In the future, Neptune might survive the Med and also be transferred from the RN.
I'm really enjoying this TL.
The U-boat offensive of Operation Drumbeat against an apparently TTL same as OTL sadly unprepared America still has to be dealt with.
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