Melvin Loh
January 21st, 2005, 10:48 AM
during WWII, after the fall of Singapore and the destruction of the British Empire's Singapore Strategy to protect Australia & NZ, the presence of British forces in the SWPA were quite minimal- with the exception of the dispatch of HMS FORMIDABLE with 48 Hurricanes and several anti-aircraft batts and tanks bns to Java which were again caught up in the Jap steamroller, there were really only token British forces in the SWPA after early 1942, including guys like Col. Ivan Lyon (Gordon Highlanders) and Capt R.M. Ingleton (RM) who'd escaped from Singapore and Java, and No. 1 Fighter Wing RAAF which included 1 RAF sqn (No. 54) dispatched to protect Darwin with Spitfires during early 1943. The bulk fo the fighting in SWPA of course fell to Australian and US forces (with some small Dutch NEI forces too such as No. 18 RAAF/RNEIAF sqn with B25 Mitchells), while the bulk of British forces fighting in the Pacific were involved in Burma and India. Only in late 1944/early 1945 were British forces to play a major part in ops in the SWPA, with the British Pacific Fleet dispatched to Sydney and launching airstrikes against oil facilities in Sumatra and Borneo. Of course, the fall of Singapore severely undermined Australian and NZ faith in the Mother Country's promises to defend them in time of need.
Now, besides a more successful Singapore Strategy, how could British forces have played a more prominent role in the SWPA ? WI more men and materiel had escaped from Singapore and Java, such as if HMS EXETER and her escorting destroyers hadn't been sent to the bottom during the Battle of the Java Sea, or if the Hurricanes and ground units sent to Java had been evacuated before the Allied surrender in March 1942 ? What about if the 18th East Anglian Div wasn't shipped to Singapore as virtual ready-made POWs, but actually got sent to Australia ? I also remember reading in a collection of Aust FP documents a few yrs back how Churchill was intending to send 1 inf and 1 armd div to defend Australia in mid-1942 if ever needed- WI he'd made good on his promise somehow ? With a greater British presence in the SWPA, how would London's relations with Australia and NZ have been better preserved instead of IOTL Canberra starting to swing towards the US to meet Australia's defence needs ?
Now, besides a more successful Singapore Strategy, how could British forces have played a more prominent role in the SWPA ? WI more men and materiel had escaped from Singapore and Java, such as if HMS EXETER and her escorting destroyers hadn't been sent to the bottom during the Battle of the Java Sea, or if the Hurricanes and ground units sent to Java had been evacuated before the Allied surrender in March 1942 ? What about if the 18th East Anglian Div wasn't shipped to Singapore as virtual ready-made POWs, but actually got sent to Australia ? I also remember reading in a collection of Aust FP documents a few yrs back how Churchill was intending to send 1 inf and 1 armd div to defend Australia in mid-1942 if ever needed- WI he'd made good on his promise somehow ? With a greater British presence in the SWPA, how would London's relations with Australia and NZ have been better preserved instead of IOTL Canberra starting to swing towards the US to meet Australia's defence needs ?