Divine Wind, a Pacific War TL

When the Japanese convoy of six transports departed Simpson Harbor in Rabaul on February 16, it was escorted by seven destroyers and carried 5,200 Japanese infantry. They were sent along the north coast of New Britain to evade attack from Allied aircraft and to hopefully deceive the Americans into thinking that the real objective was Madang, but code-breakers managed to intercept messages revealing the true nature of the Japanese operation.

On February 18, an American B-24 Liberator patrol bomber located the convoy, which was moving at about 8 knots.

On February 19, a PBY Catalina flying-boat caused minor damage to one transport, but was then shot down by a Japanese A6M3 fighter. Then a flight of eight B-17s managed to sink one transport and damage two others, while six more B-17s damaged two other transports the next day. Another B-17 was shot down by a Zeke.

On February 21 came the payoff. The weather at this point was fair, and nine RAAF Bristol Beaufort bombers from No.100 squadron took off from the airbase at Milne Bay. They located the convoy without much difficulty, and managed to torpedo two transports and a destroyer. After that, 10 B-17s arrived and scored hits and near misses on several of the transports. 13 Bristol Beaufighters from No.30 squadron then attacked the destroyers with guns, and B-25 Mitchells hit two transports and one destroyer. The last attack group consisted of Douglas A-20 Havocs, and they fatally hit the last transport, plus another destroyer.

Now all of the transports were alight or sinking, but that night a force of PT boats led by Lieutenant Commander Barry Atkins attacked the destroyers which were picking up survivors from the water. Two of the destroyers were sunk.

On February 22, the surviving destroyers were attacked again by American and British bombers. One more destroyer was sunk, and the other two were damaged.

Out of the 5,200 soldiers who left Rabaul, only 900 made it to Rabaul. Some were strafed in the water by Allied aircraft, an act which has been called a war crime. Nevertheless, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea of February 19-22 was over, and it gave a much-needed morale boost to the Allies. Six Japanese transports and four Japanese destroyers were sunk at virtually no loss. In addition, air battles fought along the convoy's route during the battle between Japanese fighters and Allied bombers and their escorts resulted in the loss of 21 Japanese and 8 Allied aircraft.
 
Badly Photoshopped Map
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*The earlier occurrence of the battle caused the Japanese ships to depart before the heavy storms of late February/early March, so the Allies had an easier time locating and destroying the ships. However, the rushed convoy had fewer ships in it, so overall, losses were not much worse than OTL.

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Things are definetely not going Japans way at the moment. It does seem like OTL is returning again....

Sadly in a way, for all the dedicated effort put into AH Japan timelines, once the Japanese start scurrying around the Pacific like rats on speed its only going to end in one way, Japan crushed under the USN steamroller. We can posit different starts and early actions, but eventually the Japanese just get squashed.
 
Sadly in a way, for all the dedicated effort put into AH Japan timelines, once the Japanese start scurrying around the Pacific like rats on speed its only going to end in one way, Japan crushed under the USN steamroller. We can posit different starts and early actions, but eventually the Japanese just get squashed.

That's why I'm going to wrap this up after New Georgia and Lae are taken. I've still got some other TL ideas though.
 
Blair Witch thing?

While that may be true, butterflies from alternate wartime events may have an impact in the post-war world... just saying. :)

Marc A


Could'nt you do a "Blair Witch" thing....Where Yamamoto (instead of Manstein and/or Rommel)and some other clear sighted General/Admirals gain much more influence, and develops better doctrine as well as materiel....and then gives the US some much bigger defeats initially...?
 
Could'nt you do a "Blair Witch" thing....Where Yamamoto (instead of Manstein and/or Rommel)and some other clear sighted General/Admirals gain much more influence, and develops better doctrine as well as materiel....and then gives the US some much bigger defeats initially...?

What, an uber-Yamamoto-god instead of an uber-Manstein-god?
Would still suffer from the lack of, well, reality....
 
Yep!

What, an uber-Yamamoto-god instead of an uber-Manstein-god?
Would still suffer from the lack of, well, reality....


Exactly my point! :D A Genius Yamamoto, who from, let's say, 1930, starts developing naval doctrines, focusing even more on carriers, and torpedo/aviation development...Then we just have to "promote" some Japanese General to update the Army (e. g. no Banzai attacks, better tanks and rifles). Maybe less focus on China, freeing more ressources elsewhere.

Off course reality will set in eventually, but this time around the Japs might reach India proper, and seize Midway....maybe butterfly some extra oil ressources in somewhere....and I am sure a person with much more knowledge than myself (KYLE!) could beef up a Japanese TL, with more succes/Stamina?
 
Quick update

On April 2, 1943, Australian infantry attacked Japanese defensive positions near Mubo, 14 miles from Salamaua (which was on the northeastern coast of New Guinea). Two days later, more Australian forces moved to the south-west of Mubo near the Bobdubi Ridge. The forces greatly outnumbered the Japanese, but progress in the dense jungle terrain was slow.

Map of Allied thrusts towards Salamaua in early April 1943
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For the Japanese defenders of Guadalcanal, April 27, 1943 began with a wave of 40 carrier bombers soaring over the eastern horizon, well defended by fighter escorts. They were not Japanese.

Barracks, gun positions, the radio station, and Henderson Field were pummeled. Fewer than a dozen Japanese fighters managed to engage the American aircraft, and for every USN plane that was destroyed, the Japanese fighters were downed in twos and threes. After releasing their death-dealing cargo over the island, the American aircraft returned to the carriers Saratoga and Ranger. More, smaller strikes were made throughout the day, including some attacks by B-17s and B-24s.

On April 28, naval gunfire joined the fray, as the Indiana, Washington, and North Carolina began shelling the island, along with their accompanying cruisers and destroyers. On that day, bombardment operations also began against Japanese forces on Tulagi, where a seaplane base was (yet again) under construction. No significant Japanese naval forces were present.

On April 29, the 1st Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal. They encountered only some machine-gun fire and sparse mortar bombardment at first, but resistance quickly mounted, especially as the 1st Marine Regiment, commanded by Clifton B. Gates, moved towards Henderson Field. Expecting the Japanese to have been routed by the intense pre-invasion bombardment, the Marines encountered stiff resistance around Lunga Point and struggled to get off the invasion beaches. By nightfall, Henderson Field was in American hands, even though it was far too close to Japanese lines to make it safe to use and badly damaged as well. The Americans had also taken heavy casualties.

At the other invasion beaches, the Marines did much better. The 5th regiment (led by LeRoy P. Hunt), landing just to the east of the 1st, found only minor opposition in the form of snipers, light machine guns and the occasional mortar. The 7th regiment (under Herman H. Hanneken), which was the first to land (just east of Taivu Point), clashed with a ragtag force of Japanese heavy infantry of mixed quality that did a relatively poor job of defending their part of the island.

Map of landings with times
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Also, the bombardment of Truk was postponed by ten days in order to make room for the landings on Guadalcanal.

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On May 3, the Japanese launched a major counter-attack with their available troops against American ground forces aimed at dislodging the 1st Regiment from Henderson Field. It resulted in major defeat. Hyakutake suffered about 2,900 casualties and lost a dozen light tanks, and gained little ground; Henderson Field was still in American hands. Losses for the defending Americans were only 300 dead and 700 wounded. It would be known as the Second Battle of Lunga Point.

Meanwhile, Hanneken's 7th Regiment was pushing west to link up with the rest of the Marine forces on that island. On May 4 they launched a large assault along their two-mile-long western flank, and, amply supported by aircraft, successfully overcame Japanese defensive positions for the loss of 600 American casualties, but there were also 900 Japanese casualties. This would be known as the Battle of Taivu Point.

On May 6, the first units from the 11th Marine Regiment began to land in Guadalcanal to support the 1st Regiment. On May 7, nine Japanese G4M Betty twin-engined bombers and twelve A6M Zeke fighters attacked American troop installations where the 1st and 11th regiments were located, but they were intercepted by Wildcats. Three Japanese fighters, four Japanese bombers and three American fighters were shot down; only minor damage was done to American facilities on Guadalcanal.
 
Through the middle of May, the Japanese continued to attempt counterattacks on American forces. Prolonged assaults between May 7 and 12 succeeded in dislodging Marines from their more forward positions of the 1st and 11th Regiments at the cost of heavy casualties. Henderson Field was still not fully secure. However, the 5th and 7th Regiments were making rapid gains across the flat northern areas of the island. They linked up on May 31, surrounding an understrength Japanese battalion along the beach and in effect putting the nail in the coffin for the Japanese forces on Guadalcanal. Hyakutake was pressured into committing suicide.

Meanwhile, air raids on Lae and Rabaul continued, and Salamaua would be captured in August, the same month as the invasion of New Georgia would take place. By that time the operation on Guadalcanal would be handed over to General Patch and his Army forces, and all major resistance on the island would cease during September. Once again, American forces had gained the initiative, and this time, the Japanese would not take it back.

FIN
 
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