OBSOLETE
~1941: Fire in the east
January 1941: Seeking to capitalise on Commonwealth force withdrawals to the Far East and force them to the negotiating table, Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to intensify the bombing of Britain.
January 1941: Japanese troops invade Burma from Thailand. Commonwealth troops intended for the defense of Sumatra are diverted to strengthen the defense.
January 1941: Naval reinforcements in the form of two battleships, two modern and two old carriers are dispatched to strengthen the forces in Asia. Two further improved mobilisation carriers are also ordered. However as all yards in Britain, Australia and Canada are already occupied, they will be built in South Africa and India.
January 1941: A combined Commonwealth and Netherlands cruiser squadron Under Dutch Admiral Karel Doorman clashes with a Japanese squadron under Admiral Takeo Takagi in the Java Sea. The revolutionary Japanese Long Lance torpedo proves decisive in the battle and the allied squadron is destroyed, giving the Japanese undisputed control of the South China Sea.
January 1941: The newly developed cavity magnetron is placed in production in factories across the Commonwealth leading to a revolution in radar technology.
January 1941: Despite the flow of volunteers having slowed after the ceasefire, there are now over 20,000 US citizens serving in Commonwealth forces. One of President Wallace's first acts is sign an executive order granting a blanket Presidential pardon to all those serving with the warring parties.
January 1941: After heavy fighting the Commonwealth fall back and hold at a defensive line on the Salween river in Burma.
January 1941: An uprising against the Dutch begins in northern Sumatra.
January 1941: The capture of the U-104 has allowed the Commonwealth to break the German naval codes. U-boat losses begin to climb and shipping losses fall.
February 1941: The Japanese land in Sumatra and New Guinea.
February 1941: Fifty Seafire Mk I, simply converted older Spitfires, are completed for evaluation and carrier familiarisation.
February 1941: US exports to the Commonwealth have all but ceased since the outbreak of war due to the Neutrality Laws. The damage being done to the US economy is undeniable. President Wallace, despite still facing an isolationist controlled Senate, obtains their repeal, allowing trade to resume.
February 1941: The Free French declare war on the Japanese.
February 1941: Japanese carrier aircraft bomb Darwin. As a result, the Tiger, Arcadia and Zealandia are deployed to protect Australia.
February 1941: President Wallace meets with Lord Halifax to discuss US assistance in the war. Agreement is quickly reached regarding intelligence sharing. More radical is that the Eagle Legion will be strengthened with a volunteer air group directly recruited from the US military under Colonel Claire Chenault for service in China.
February 1941: With US assistance, Commonwealth cryptoanalysts break the Japanese naval codes.
February 1941: The Commonwealth has established a solid defensive line in New Guinea. The Japanese begin planning an amphibious operation to out flank the line.
March 1941: Despite the withdrawals to the East, air defences in Britain have been growing steadily stronger and Luftwaffe losses are now climbing alarmingly, as are those of the U-Boats. Also the Japanese attack in the East Indies has allowed the Soviets to withdraw forces from Siberia to strengthen the west. There are growing concerns in the German leadership over both the losses and increased Soviet strength. Hitler offers a twelve month ceasefire in Europe, confident the Soviets can be defeated by then. The war cabinet is again deeply divided but in the end the steadily worsening situation in the Far East and the continuing need to rearm proves decisive in convincing the Commonwealth accept the ceasefire.
March 1941: The Japanese campaign in the East Indies has achieved rapid success. By the end of February Borneo, the Celebes and Java have fallen. But the Commonwealth is still clinging on in Malaya and northern Sumatra.
March 1941: Commonwealth leaders meet in Cairo to discuss strategy. There is common agreement that the situation must be stabilised in the Far East before any new operations be launched in Europe. The government comes under intense criticism for not maintaining sufficient naval strength during the interwar years, there are intense questions about the value of the Commonwealth itself. Eventually agreement is reached that while Germany represents the greater long term threat, the Far East is more pressing concern. It is decided to stabilise the situation in the East with the aim of imposing a naval blockade on Japan and return to the offensive in Europe with the end of the ceasefire in 1942.
March 1941: The Eagle Legion, now at division strength is deployed to Burma.
March 1941: The Germans begin constructing a series of hardened submarine pens in France and Norway. Their construction is halted when the Commonwealth informs the Germans they regard their construction as a breach of the ceasefire.
March 1941: The Commonwealth fall back to Singapore. The first hasty Japanese attempt to take the city is repulsed.
March 1941: Sumatra falls.
March 1941: As part of their plan to out flank the New Guinea line, the Japanese occupy the Soloman Islands.
March 1941: The Japanese launch their assault to outflank the New Guinea line. Commonwealth intelligence is aware of the plan due to deciphered radio intercepts. The assault force is covered by the battleships Hiei, Kirishima and the light carrier Ryujo with 16 A5M fighters, 10 B5M torpedo bombers and 10 D1A dive bombers under Admiral Hiroaki Abe. The Commonwealth deploy Force G consisting of the Tiger, Arcadia and Zealandia with 12 Guillemot fighters and 8 Swordfish torpedo bombers under Admiral John Crace in an attempt to prevent the landing. The two forces clash off the Loiusiade Archipelago. Abe's search aircaft locate Force G early on the 24th. He immediately launches a strike of 12 bombers covered by 9 fighters, with the remainder in a second wave. Crace's fighters engage causing heavy losses and the bombers score no hits, the second wave is also decimated. Zealandia, following the mass strike doctrine, launches all her Swordfish in a single strike. Ryujo is hit by a single torpedo and develops a 15 degree list. Unable to launch another strike, Zealandia's aircraft hit her again later in the day, scoring another two hits, dooming her. With the loss of the Ryujo, Abe orders his force to turn back. However Crace presses his advantage. The fleets meet in a night engagement early on the 25th. Both sides have trained to fight at night. The Tiger and Arcadia both are heavily damaged, but by morning Abe's flagship, the Kirishima, is floating wreck and the Japanese are forced to scuttle her. Crace's victory at Louisiade will provide a vital morale boost for embattled Commonwealth forces.
April 1941: The first purpose built Seafire Mk II is completed. More suited to carrier use with strengthened undercarriage, it however lacks folding wings and production is limited by the still pressing need for land based Spitfires for the defense of Britain.
April 1941: Commonwealth intelligence receives information that the attack on Russia will begin in the first week of May. The Commonwealth informs Soviet leader Joseph Stalin who places Soviet forces on high alert.
April 1941: The USN rejects the unmodified XF4U fighter in favour of the Grumman XF6F due to problems with its landing characteristics. Vought shift their focus to the Commonwealth Comanche variant as the repeal of the Neutrality Laws now allow production to be carried out in the US as well.
May 1941: The Germans postpone their attack on Russia due to concerns regarding heavy rains. As the attack does not occur as scheduled, Stalin stands down his forces, believing the Commonwealth have attempted to provoke a war. Consequently when the Germans, along with Finland, Hungary and Romania, do attack, the Soviets are caught woefully unprepared and the front collapses. The initial German assault will see the first divisional level airborne assaults.
May 1941: President Wallace orders a massive new naval construction program. Two new battleships and carriers are ordered immediately, with another six battleships and eight carriers of a new design to follow.
May 1941: With their East Indies perimeter secured, arguments breakout in the Japanese command over strategy. The army wishes to switch to the defensive to face the inevitable counter attack. The navy however push for further expansion and an invasion of Australia. Finally it is agreed that Australia will be isolated by securing Fiji, New Caledonia and the New Hebrides.
May 1941: With the arrival of the monsoons the Burma front has ground to a halt. While the East Indies are in Japanese hands, the situation in the Pacific is stable, with the Japanese offensive seeming to have stalled due to logistics. However, the Soviets are collapsing. The war cabinet meets again. Fraser and the Far East faction demand an immediate counter attack in the Pacific to secure the Australian perimeter, Churchill and the European faction argue the Cairo Doctrine means the defeat of Germany take precedence and the war in Europe should be resumed immediately to prevent a Soviet collapse. Eventually it is decided that the naval forces in Europe should be maintained with new construction sent to the East. Supplies will be diverted to the Soviets but an limited offensive will be launched to reestablish the Java barrier and secure the defence of Australia.
June 1941: With the Germans making unprecedented advances, Stalin orders strategic industries to be dismantled and relocated east to the Urals.
June 1941: President Wallace establishes the Office of Strategic Services to conduct intelligence operations.
June 1941: Aware of the Japanese plans through signal intercepts, the Far Eastern Fleet under Admiral James Somerville, with the carriers Eagle, Osprey, Inflexible and Indefatigable with 216 aircraft has been deployed to New Caledonia. Nagumo has the Akagi, Takao, Hiryu and Soryu with 298 aircraft at his disposal. Nagumo's aircraft now include the new A6M fighters, D3A dive bombers and B5M torpedo bombers, greatly outclassing Somerville's Guillemots, Chesapeakes and Albacores. The Commonwealth aircraft however are now fitted with radar for night attacks. This, along with his carriers armoured flight decks and strong antiaircraft batteries will prove critical. The Battle of Santa Cruz will be the high water mark of the Japanese advance. Nagumo claims the Osprey and Eagle in daylight but the armoured carriers shrug off the attacks. The Hiryu is sunk during the day and radar equipped Albacores claim the Soryu and cripple Akagi that night. Akagi will not return to service until 1942.
June 1941: Free French forces under General Philippe Leclerc invade Vichy controlled Lebanon and Syria. The fighting is heavy but the colonies will be taken in a five week campaign.
July 1941: Since the fall of Sumatra, Singapore has been cut off. The fourth Japanese assault finally overwhelms the exhausted defenders.
August 1941: The Commonwealth, now convinced of practicality of nuclear weapons, begins work in earnest under the code name Tube Alloys.
August 1941: The Canadian Vought Cherokee makes its first flight. There are numerous teething problems apparent, but the design shows promise.
August 1941: Commonwealth forces land in Timor to begin to reestablish the Java barrier. The Japanese resistance is unexpectedly fierce and a brutal ground campaign develops.
August 1941: The assault has gained spectacular success, driving the Soviets back deep into Russia. By August Leningrad has been besieged and armoured units are driving towards Moscow. However the very scale of the success is now slowing the advance as logistics become increasingly difficult and the Soviets show no signs of surrender. The German leadership is becoming increasingly concerned by the prospect of resumed hostilities in the west.
September 1941: A series of naval battles develop around Timor as the Japanese struggle to keep their forces supplied. These battles will see the Haruna and Kongo sunk during a night action in the Savu Sea with the Cambria and Britannia.
September 1941: Germany formally reincorporates Polish territory taken from Austria-Hungary and Germany back into the Reich.
September 1941: RAF squadrons using radar equipped Albacores are deployed to Timor, cutting off the Japanese ability to resupply the island. This is the turning point of the battle and will become a standard Commonwealth tactic in future battles.
October 1941: The Japanese has been reinforced by the newly commissioned carriers Shokaku, Zuikaku, Zuiho and Shoho. In an effort to counter Commonwealth night air attacks their larger warships have been fitted with crude radar and pilots trained for night fighting. Somerville however has been strengthened by the arrival of the light carriers Colossus, Ocean and Vengeance. With the Timor campaign in the balance, a major reinforcement operation is planned. In the Battle of the Timor Sea the new Japanese counter measures prove effective, catching the Commonwealth by surprise and their night strike is limited in effect. The next day Nagumo's aircraft strike. The battle is fierce, with Nagumo's superior numbers telling. The light carriers Ocean and Vengeance are sunk, with Colossus crippled. But the armoured carriers and strong Commonwealth antiaircraft fire again prove their worth, blunting the attacks. The Zuiho is sunk and Takao is heavily damaged. Despite the tatical victory, Nagumo is forced to abandon the reinforcement mission due to aircrew losses.
October 1941: The fully navalised Seafire Mk III enters production to replace the Guillemot.
October 1941: The Germans have reached the gates of Moscow, but their forces are exhausted, badly in need of refit and the end of an extremely long logistics tether. The Battle for Moscow rages for almost six weeks but the city remains in Soviet hands.
November 1941: Commonwealth forces begin to redeploy to Europe for the anticipated resumption of hostilities.
December 1941: The Soviets launch a massive counter offensive around Moscow.
December 1941: The Japanese renew their offensive in Burma in an attempt to break the Salween line.
December 1941: With it clear the Battle for Moscow raging and it clear that the war in Russia will not be won this year, Hitler begins attempts to extend the ceasefire with the Commonwealth.
December 1941: Unable to supply their forces, the Japanese withdraw from Timor.
