From the Commonwealth POD impacting this.....
Operation Judgement with feckin bells on (Ark Royals air group joins in) ravages the Italian fleet in a single night sinking all of the battleships and heavy Cruisers
Malta is reinforced earlier with Spitfires prized from Fighter command in early 41 for both the Islands Defences and the DAF
Australian and NZ commanders delay their units being sent as part of W force to Greece until they get orders from their own governments
By the time this happens the op is scrubbed as the German plans become known and instead as the Germans invade Greece the merchant shipping that was to have shifted the W force elements instead rescue as much of the Greek army as possible to Crete and goes to great efforts to rearm them with equipment captured in Compass
Rommel much weaker (due to a stronger Malta providing greater interdiction of SLOCs) and the British forces much stronger relative to OTL results in the DAK and Italain forces obliged to sit on the defensive into 1941.
Op Mercury is a disaster - Crete holds.
With the situation in North Africa much better, the violent invasion of French Indochina in Mid 41 causes great concern to the Australian and New Zealand governments and they demand the return of their Infantry Divisions within a year but agree to use those forces to defend Malaya and the region.
The British 18th Division is sent to North Africa along with the 1st Armoured Division earlier than planned and the same ships then move the 6th and 9th AIDs to Malaya where they begin to train how to operate in the Malayan environments. (OTL around this time there was a large number of British Divisions in the UK this POD simply sees several of them move to North Africa Earlier)
7th AID is to follow in early 42 along with the NZ Division once further reinforcements arrive from the UK 'Garrison' (including a Canadian Division 'allowed' to serve in North Africa)
RAAF and RNZAF squadrons in North Africa/UK are also replaced with RAF units from the UK giving the Commonwealth air forces in Malaya 3 additional P40 Squadrons with the P40s in North Africa being replaced with Hurricanes - allowing the existing 'porcine' F2 equipped Squadrons to largely reequip with the better P40 fighters.
With them come better commanders and improved ways of doing things and the use of revetments and decoys (both Aircraft and fake airstrips) as well as dispersed aircraft improves the survivability of aircraft on the ground.
With the Australians now providing the majority of the forces Gen. Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the Senior commander.
Using the veteren 6th Division - Blamey decides that if it looks like the Japanese are going to invade Thailand then the Division will execute Operation Matador and immediately seize Pattani and Songkhla and form a defensive line along the Kra Isthumas reinforced by the 11th Indian Division and both formations begin training for this role including night moves and full sized manoeuvres making Blamey very unpopular with the locals.
As part of the 2AICs commitment to the defence of Malaya the 1st Australian Armoured Division sets up a training school on the peninsular and moves elements of the Division HQ and 1st Brigade there.
The lack of tanks is somewhat overcome by the delivery of 150 Mk2 and Mk3 Covenanter Cruiser Tanks and 70 odd MKIV light tanks.
This along with an assortment of other AFVs and armoured cars allows the 1st Australian armoured Brigade to be equipped with Cruisers as well as the 6th, 8th and 9th Cavalry regiments (from the 3 Australian Divisions) to re-equip with a mix of light tanks and armoured cars.
The armoured formations start to learn how to use their charges in the region with the Covenanter 'regiments' becoming very good at tank maintenance and everyone becoming proficient at pulling tanks out of the mud.
Rejected for combat use due to being overweight, not capable of matching the then German tanks of the day and having cooling issues (which had been largely overcome by late 41) the Covenanter was deemed perfect for training however and was expected to serve until better tanks could be provided.
To that end 300 Valentine tanks had been ordered from Canada (with the first units expected to arrive in early 42) with the Australian Government standing up their own 'Australian' Valentine Production at the New South Wales Railway company expected to start delivery of tanks in mid/late 42.
None of these would arrive before fighting started.
Blamey also convinces the powers that be to not squander forces in Hong Kong and along with C force elements of the HK Garrison which are reduced to a trip wire force are instead used to garrison the strategic locations of Ambon, Timor and Rabaul with each at Brigade strength allowing the 3rd Brigade of the 8th AID to reform on Malaya and used as a mobile reserve.
By Nov 41 this Gave Blamey:
3 Australian Infantry Divisions each with 3 Full brigades each with an Artillery Brigade and Armoured Cavalry Regiment plus an Armoured Brigade with 3 Armoured Regiments and a regiment of Motor Infantry
The 11th and 8th Indian Army Divisions gave him 5 more infantry Brigades although none of them could be considered fully equipped or trained to the same standard as the Australian forces.
As well as over 300 aircraft many of them P40s.
The 2nd MTB squadron as well as 2 Insect gunboats arrive from Hong Kong in Oct.
The 6 MTB's base themselves in Kota Bharu and the 2 Insects move to the West side of the Peninsular where they can patrol the coastline
On Timor, Ambon and Rabaul - composite forces of a Brigade sized regular force plus local forces secured those vital locations (some of the elements not arriving until after 7th Dec)
Percival released from his thankless task with the arrival of Blamey and significant reinforcements and one for which he had been promoted above his ability is instead allowed to concentrate on rooting out anti British elements in Malaya and Singapore with some success as well as building an intelligence network in the region which will prove to be very useful in the months ahead.
The Japanese surprised and dismayed by the influx of reinforcements increase the size of the forces to be used.
Initially this is by stripping forces from the planned invasion of the Philippines - namely the well trained 48th Division and 2 of 14th Armys 4 Anti tank Regiments as well as the 4th Tank regiment (one of 2 slated for the invasion) - and adding them to the follow on forces to be used in the Malaya campaign.
In an effort to overcome the reduction in forces the 65th Brigade intended to act as a garrison force on the Philippines is subtly reinforced and instead given an assault role for which it has had little training and initially at least lacked much of the equipment necessary.
Ultimately this all leads to both campaigns bogging down into 42 and the Commonwealth and USA able to gradually reinforce their forces and ultimately defeat the IJA in 1942
This leaves the Burma Road open for business allowing for far greater movement of equipment to the NRA forces making things harder for the Japanese in China.
Operation Judgement with feckin bells on (Ark Royals air group joins in) ravages the Italian fleet in a single night sinking all of the battleships and heavy Cruisers
Malta is reinforced earlier with Spitfires prized from Fighter command in early 41 for both the Islands Defences and the DAF
Australian and NZ commanders delay their units being sent as part of W force to Greece until they get orders from their own governments
By the time this happens the op is scrubbed as the German plans become known and instead as the Germans invade Greece the merchant shipping that was to have shifted the W force elements instead rescue as much of the Greek army as possible to Crete and goes to great efforts to rearm them with equipment captured in Compass
Rommel much weaker (due to a stronger Malta providing greater interdiction of SLOCs) and the British forces much stronger relative to OTL results in the DAK and Italain forces obliged to sit on the defensive into 1941.
Op Mercury is a disaster - Crete holds.
With the situation in North Africa much better, the violent invasion of French Indochina in Mid 41 causes great concern to the Australian and New Zealand governments and they demand the return of their Infantry Divisions within a year but agree to use those forces to defend Malaya and the region.
The British 18th Division is sent to North Africa along with the 1st Armoured Division earlier than planned and the same ships then move the 6th and 9th AIDs to Malaya where they begin to train how to operate in the Malayan environments. (OTL around this time there was a large number of British Divisions in the UK this POD simply sees several of them move to North Africa Earlier)
7th AID is to follow in early 42 along with the NZ Division once further reinforcements arrive from the UK 'Garrison' (including a Canadian Division 'allowed' to serve in North Africa)
RAAF and RNZAF squadrons in North Africa/UK are also replaced with RAF units from the UK giving the Commonwealth air forces in Malaya 3 additional P40 Squadrons with the P40s in North Africa being replaced with Hurricanes - allowing the existing 'porcine' F2 equipped Squadrons to largely reequip with the better P40 fighters.
With them come better commanders and improved ways of doing things and the use of revetments and decoys (both Aircraft and fake airstrips) as well as dispersed aircraft improves the survivability of aircraft on the ground.
With the Australians now providing the majority of the forces Gen. Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the Senior commander.
Using the veteren 6th Division - Blamey decides that if it looks like the Japanese are going to invade Thailand then the Division will execute Operation Matador and immediately seize Pattani and Songkhla and form a defensive line along the Kra Isthumas reinforced by the 11th Indian Division and both formations begin training for this role including night moves and full sized manoeuvres making Blamey very unpopular with the locals.
As part of the 2AICs commitment to the defence of Malaya the 1st Australian Armoured Division sets up a training school on the peninsular and moves elements of the Division HQ and 1st Brigade there.
The lack of tanks is somewhat overcome by the delivery of 150 Mk2 and Mk3 Covenanter Cruiser Tanks and 70 odd MKIV light tanks.
This along with an assortment of other AFVs and armoured cars allows the 1st Australian armoured Brigade to be equipped with Cruisers as well as the 6th, 8th and 9th Cavalry regiments (from the 3 Australian Divisions) to re-equip with a mix of light tanks and armoured cars.
The armoured formations start to learn how to use their charges in the region with the Covenanter 'regiments' becoming very good at tank maintenance and everyone becoming proficient at pulling tanks out of the mud.
Rejected for combat use due to being overweight, not capable of matching the then German tanks of the day and having cooling issues (which had been largely overcome by late 41) the Covenanter was deemed perfect for training however and was expected to serve until better tanks could be provided.
To that end 300 Valentine tanks had been ordered from Canada (with the first units expected to arrive in early 42) with the Australian Government standing up their own 'Australian' Valentine Production at the New South Wales Railway company expected to start delivery of tanks in mid/late 42.
None of these would arrive before fighting started.
Blamey also convinces the powers that be to not squander forces in Hong Kong and along with C force elements of the HK Garrison which are reduced to a trip wire force are instead used to garrison the strategic locations of Ambon, Timor and Rabaul with each at Brigade strength allowing the 3rd Brigade of the 8th AID to reform on Malaya and used as a mobile reserve.
By Nov 41 this Gave Blamey:
3 Australian Infantry Divisions each with 3 Full brigades each with an Artillery Brigade and Armoured Cavalry Regiment plus an Armoured Brigade with 3 Armoured Regiments and a regiment of Motor Infantry
The 11th and 8th Indian Army Divisions gave him 5 more infantry Brigades although none of them could be considered fully equipped or trained to the same standard as the Australian forces.
As well as over 300 aircraft many of them P40s.
The 2nd MTB squadron as well as 2 Insect gunboats arrive from Hong Kong in Oct.
The 6 MTB's base themselves in Kota Bharu and the 2 Insects move to the West side of the Peninsular where they can patrol the coastline
On Timor, Ambon and Rabaul - composite forces of a Brigade sized regular force plus local forces secured those vital locations (some of the elements not arriving until after 7th Dec)
Percival released from his thankless task with the arrival of Blamey and significant reinforcements and one for which he had been promoted above his ability is instead allowed to concentrate on rooting out anti British elements in Malaya and Singapore with some success as well as building an intelligence network in the region which will prove to be very useful in the months ahead.
The Japanese surprised and dismayed by the influx of reinforcements increase the size of the forces to be used.
Initially this is by stripping forces from the planned invasion of the Philippines - namely the well trained 48th Division and 2 of 14th Armys 4 Anti tank Regiments as well as the 4th Tank regiment (one of 2 slated for the invasion) - and adding them to the follow on forces to be used in the Malaya campaign.
In an effort to overcome the reduction in forces the 65th Brigade intended to act as a garrison force on the Philippines is subtly reinforced and instead given an assault role for which it has had little training and initially at least lacked much of the equipment necessary.
Ultimately this all leads to both campaigns bogging down into 42 and the Commonwealth and USA able to gradually reinforce their forces and ultimately defeat the IJA in 1942
This leaves the Burma Road open for business allowing for far greater movement of equipment to the NRA forces making things harder for the Japanese in China.
