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  1. What if the attack on Pearl Harbor was an utter disaster?

    Rainbow 5 (as well as every other OpPlan) wrote the PI off as indefensible. The problem is, of course, that the U.S. is a democracy, even in wartime, and allowing the "battling bastards of Bataan" to slowly die on the vine would be extremely difficult to sell politically, doubly so when the...
  2. WI: No Coup Against Allende In Chile

    This thread is heated enough without turning it into a debate on Israel. Please keep political subjects, especially known 3rd Rail subjects in Chat. Thanks.
  3. What if the attack on Pearl Harbor was an utter disaster?

    Another rather serious potential disaster for the U.S. in this scenario is the Administration succumbing to what would sure to be extreme pressure to mount a relief expedition to the Philippines. The Republican media outlets (and some of the non-political but nonetheless enamored of MacArthur...
  4. What if the attack on Pearl Harbor was an utter disaster?

    Well, this scenario calls for the attack waves being savaged, something that would allow both AAF and USN/USMC land based attacks to be made in addition to the carriers. Frankly, I find the scenario to be weak, especially in the amount of damage that can be visited on the fleet. There are...
  5. What if the attack on Pearl Harbor was an utter disaster?

    The appalling lack of damage control preparation endemic across the IJN was undoubtedly a factor, something that is something of a theme throughout the war (just look at the fate of Taiho one torpedo hit and the combination of lousy D/C training and a remarkable lack of survivability being built...
  6. What if the attack on Pearl Harbor was an utter disaster?

    The IJN had major problems with AAA, starting with the belief that carriers should be able to take care of themselves without much in the way of AAA support from the rest of the escort (pretty much the opposite of the USN/RN system). The Zero CAP is a different matter, even though the...
  7. Which is more ASB: Sealion or D-Day failing?

    Yes and no. A fogbank that prevents WAllied air power from engaging or even an unexpected storm can be seen as a random real world event, weather forecasting was not close to an exact science at the time. An Ice Age is a different matter. This is actually why I chose them as the examples...
  8. What if the attack on Pearl Harbor was an utter disaster?

    Totally different incident types. The Japanese could make a reasonable argument that the the Panay was simply a screw-up by a few pilots on a grand scale, promise to take proper discipline on the individuals, and pay an indemnity ($33 million 2014 dollars). Even then the American...
  9. Which is more ASB: Sealion or D-Day failing?

    Sealion by a mile. If the weather wizards had been wrong, D-Day could have been a complete FUBAR. There was little chance that they would be that wrong, but one did exist. Sealion, on the other hand, would require almost literal divine intervention to even become remotely plausible (not...
  10. Best Date for a 1943 D-Day?

    The probable RoI.
  11. Best Date for a 1943 D-Day?

    I was actually getting ready to respond, then I realized...
  12. Best Date for a 1943 D-Day?

    The Japanese were decidedly NOT on the defensive post Midway. They suffered severe losses, but their expansion continued apace in the Southwest Pacific, including Guadalcanal. Had the U.S. not landed forces there in August of 1942 the Japanese would have had a major air base there by September...
  13. Best Date for a 1943 D-Day?

    How do you define a "strategic defensive in the Pacific"? Allowing the Japanese to complete the bases planned for the Southwest Pacific? Lose Fiji, New Caledonia and likely Samoa to the Japanese and leave Australia cut off from the U.S. Pacific sea lanes? Reduce support to the Soviets...
  14. Best Date for a 1943 D-Day?

    It isn't just the initial divisions, it is the follow on forces. IOTL the WAllies put 875,000 troops (50+ division equivalents) into France between late June 5 and June 30 1944. It was a logistical miracle, one that the WAllies were utterly incapable of accomplishing any time in 1943. Without...
  15. AHC: Japan not in the WWII

    Well, in that case it would no longer be a world war.
  16. Best Date for a 1943 D-Day?

    At the Casablanca Conference Brooke stated: (The forty-four German divisions estimated to be in western Europe, he said, would) "overwhelm us on the ground, and perhaps hem us in with wire or concrete to such an extent that any expansion of the bridgehead would be extremely difficult...
  17. Major war in the mid 19th century .

    May 1853 http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_crimean.html July 1870. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War
  18. WI: No Coup Against Allende In Chile

    Ease back. Thank you.
  19. Best Date for a 1943 D-Day?

    It wasn't just the merchant shipping. The WAllies didn't have enough landing craft at the time, not even close (the assault on Tarawa was a bloodbath, in part, because the U.S. lacked enough LVT to properly conduct the landing). As was the U.S. had to more or less halt construction on a number...
  20. Best Date for a 1943 D-Day?

    May of 1944. There was no good day in 1943. The battlefield had not be prepared, especially the air element. In mid 1943 the Luftwaffe was very much still a threat. The WAllied forces were still figuring out the entire idea of opposed amphibious landings and the tactical thought wasn't, in...
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