Fearless Leader
Donor
Hey everyone, while reviewing an old story of mine about an alternate Charles Lindbergh who decided to fly with the AVG in WWII instead of staying put, I came across some of my own notes regarding the future of the story. The idea was to have Lindbergh influence the Burma campaign in such a way that the Japanese advance was stopped short of Rangoon and that the Allies somehow held their ground until the monsoon season in May keeping the Burma road open.
In TTL Lindbergh plays a minor role in convincing the British Commander Thomas Hutton to allow the 17th Indian division to withdraw behind the Sittang River 5 days earlier than OTL (when the 17th's commander initially asked). Thus in TTL the British are able to put together an effective fighting force to take advantage of the favorable terrain and inflict a severe defeat on the Japanese forces in late February 1942. This then buys time for the British to send in reinforcements, and leads to the Chinese holding the strategic city of Toungoo. Despite the arrival of future Japanese reinforcements, the situation becomes a stalemate and the Japanese are not able to make any more significant gains before the advent of monsoon season.
Is the above scenario plausible? If not, what kind of POD would be needed for the Burma Road to be kept open? (The later the better!)
Just how important was cutting the Burma Road to the Japanese? Is it merely a matter of when rather than if the Japanese take it? How would the Indian Ocean Raid proceed if Rangoon was still held by the British? Were there any naval troops that could be used to launch an amphibious assault on Burma?
Any additional thoughts/comments would be welcome.
In TTL Lindbergh plays a minor role in convincing the British Commander Thomas Hutton to allow the 17th Indian division to withdraw behind the Sittang River 5 days earlier than OTL (when the 17th's commander initially asked). Thus in TTL the British are able to put together an effective fighting force to take advantage of the favorable terrain and inflict a severe defeat on the Japanese forces in late February 1942. This then buys time for the British to send in reinforcements, and leads to the Chinese holding the strategic city of Toungoo. Despite the arrival of future Japanese reinforcements, the situation becomes a stalemate and the Japanese are not able to make any more significant gains before the advent of monsoon season.
Is the above scenario plausible? If not, what kind of POD would be needed for the Burma Road to be kept open? (The later the better!)
Just how important was cutting the Burma Road to the Japanese? Is it merely a matter of when rather than if the Japanese take it? How would the Indian Ocean Raid proceed if Rangoon was still held by the British? Were there any naval troops that could be used to launch an amphibious assault on Burma?
Any additional thoughts/comments would be welcome.
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