Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

January 17th, 1942

Cambodia - Japanese-Thai forces are still reorganizing.
.........
Cochinchina - Saigon and Bien Hoa are the target of numerous air attacks.
.........
Tonkin - Japanese forces that have taken Haiphong are approaching Hanoi, which French soldiers and the colonial authorities evacuated during the night. To avoid the massacre of the population, High Commissioner Jean Sainteny and General Martin declare Hanoi an open city. The AVF planes redeploy to Viet-Try.

 

[Wings]

January 18th, 1942

Romania - Ploesti oil wells are bombed by 36 Stirlings and 48 Consolidated-32. Two British and one French bomber are shot down by Luftwaffe night fighters based in Northern Greece and Bulgaria.

 

[Wings]

January 18th, 1942

Burma Campaign - Although essential to the supply of China, Burma is weakly defended. It did not appear to be necessary, as in order to seriously advance west, the Japanese had to get rid of Malaya first - and the Singapore fleet. The disappearance of Admiral Phillips' fleet put all this into question. If Malaya falls, Burma would be in great danger!
The commander-in-chief in Burma (GOC Burma), Lieutenant-General Tom Hutton, recently appointed by Wavell (as CiC India) to replace general McLeod, does his best with what he had to obey the orders he received.
The presence of two Chinese Republican Army "armies" in training in the Shan states* allows him to deploy the 1st Burmese Division to the border, but it is understaffed, under-equipped and undermanned, inexperienced and even unreliable. It is therefore deployed in the border with Thailand, between Kemapyu and Papun, in the least threatened area, on the west bank of the Salween.
In the southeastern tip of Burma (the Tenasserim), three small battalions are scattered from the 1st Burma Division: from south to north, the 2nd Burma Rifles at Mergui, the 6th at Tavoy and the 3rd in front of Ye, covering the Three Pagodas Pass.
The best unit, the 8th Indian Division (Major General Charles Harvey), is deployed at Moulmein. Its three brigades, the 17th, 18th and 19th, are fully manned and reasonably well equipped.
Hutton had requested armor from Wavell, but none is available. There is no question of getting equipment in transit to China, and Wavell only authorizes Hutton to use the modern equipment from the training centers only in case of absolute emergency. Forced to be creative, Hutton asks for and receives permission to raise independent volunteer units and to appeal to the public for help in improving the capabilities of the BVAS. So, while in Calcutta in December shortly after the Japanese attack, he was having dinner at the Saturday Club when some elderly gentlemen bearing medals asked him what the Calcutta Light Horse could do for him. If, for more than twenty years, this unit is only a club of sorts, and all of its service-age members have already enlisted, there still remain in Calcutta a certain number of veterans of 14-18 willing to serve. At the beginning of January, 25 of them, having recruited several hundred volunteers from various backgrounds (e.g. transport units), formed an armored battalion in Rangoon with 22 old Vickers Medium tanks and 20 small Vickers Mk V Light tanks. These relics were taken from training centers or depots in India or Egypt, unless they were sent from England to China and even the Chinese considered them outdated. To give this unit some anti-tank capability, 12-pound naval guns were grafted onto four of the Vickers mediums, without really knowing if the assembly would not fall apart after the first few rounds. The Calcutta Light Horse will be officially reconstituted in early February at Payagyi.

* After intense negotiations during 1941, the British built three training and re-equipment centers in Rangoon, Prome and Mandalay. Each center had British cadres in charge of training Chinese instructors. The three units of the Chinese Republican Army that were to occupy them, the Fifth, Sixth and LXVI Armies (the LXVI did not arrive until early 1942), were each the equivalent of a small British division, but they are three of the best Chinese units, commanded by Lt-general Lin Wei (the Chinese mission in Burma was led by Lt. General Lo Zhuoying). These troops once re-equipped and trained, are to be sent back to Chongqing and Changsha to be replaced by others in Burma. At first stunned by the abundance (albeit relative) of the equipment at their disposal, the Chinese quickly adapted. They were delighted to have at their disposal South African Marmon-Herrington self-propelled guns, Vickers Mk.VI light tanks, "French" 75 mm cannons (in fact manufactured in the United States)...

 

[Wings]

January 18th, 1942

Annam - A part of the column advancing towards the south tries to take Da-Lat by surprise in the early morning, but falls into an ambush 5 km from the city. The attackers
suffer heavy casualties when the road is destroyed under the wheels of their vehicles by buried mines. The rest of the column, advancing along the coastal railroad, approaches Phan-Thief at the end of the day.
.........
Tonkin - Japanese troops enter Hanoi.

 

[Wings]

January 18th, 1942

Malaya Campaign
The Battle on the Border - As the weather improves over Kedah, Japanese Navy dive bombers reappear and attack Australian positions around Alor Setar. On the ground, a first attempt to break through by a Japanese regiment is stopped at the confluence of the rivers that irrigate the area. However, the Australian counter-attack is too weak to be effective. The Australians has to use their tanks as mobile artillery to cover their infantry when it falls back on a second line of defense.
.........
The Battle in Central Malaysia - Ki-21 Army bombers attack Kuala Lumpur and the Subang field. At the same time, 12 Ki-48s attack Taiping; One of them is shot down by flak.
.........
The Battle in South Malaya - Japanese troops advance slowly toward Kluang in the west, but their southward advance is halted again before Kota Tinggi.
.........
The air battle of Singapore - The port is attacked during the day by aircraft from the carriers, which sink the minesweeper HMS Gleaner and two Fairmile launches, the ML 137 and 138. Army Ki-21s based in Kuching attack the city during the night, but the Defiants shoot down two of them.
.........
South China Sea - Escorted by two destroyers, the battleships Hiei and Hyuga leave Mako (Pescadores) to join Kondo's 2nd Fleet.

 

[Wings]

January 18th, 1942

Borneo - Pontianak and Singkawang are attacked by Japanese Army planes based in Kuching. Singkawang-II is bombed twice by Ki-30s.
.........
Sœrabaya - A new raid by Navy planes based in Kuching hits the port and the city. The bombers attack unopposed, as the surviving fighters are concentrated on the Maospati field. Direct hits destroy the Dutch submarines K-VII (Luitenant ter zee 2e klasse [LV] P.J. Mulder) and K-XIII (CC M.A.J. Derksema), the American S-36 (Lt J.R. McKnight, Jr), as well as the minelayer Rigel and the minesweeper Pieter de Bitter. The port equipment is also hit hard.
.........
Celebes Sea - The G4M1 bombers based in Jolo redeploy to Manado (north of Sulawesi).
The 4th Surprise Attack Force arrives at Tarakan. Admiral Kyuji Kubo commands 24 transports, the mine-sweepers Itsukushima and Tatsuhara Maru, the seaplane carrier Kamoi (6 F1M2, 4 E13A1, 2 E8N), six submarine hunters (the CH-10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15) and six minesweepers, plus seven small patrol boats and auxiliary minesweepers. This force is accompanied by the cover group of Rear Admiral T. Tagaki with the CAs Haguro, Myoko and Nachi, the light aircraft carrier Ryujo (25 A5M4 and 18 B5N2), the seaplane carrier Chitose (12 F1M2, 8 E13A1, 4 E8N), the DD Shiokaze and a group led by Rear Admiral R. Tanaka with the CL Jintsu and the DD Hayashio, Kuroshio, Natsushio, Oyashio, Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze.
Some of the transports unload their contents in Tarakan.

 

[Wings]

January 18th, 1942

Tachikawa, Japan - In the presence of representatives of the Koku Hombu, the first Army Dokuritsu Sentai (independent group) for ground support is established. Inspired by the German experience of the French and Greek campaigns, supported enthusiastically by General Yamashita and all senior Army officers in Malaya, this autonomous unit is to be formed of two Chutai, each comprising 12 dive bombers (in theory, Navy D3A1s, Ki-89s in the Army's nomenclature), a tactical reconnaissance and close support Chutai with 6 Ki-51s and 6 Ki-36s, and a command Chutai with 3 Ki-51. With 39 aircraft, including 24 dive bombers, this specialized unit is to be allocated to the ground forces in charge of attacking heavily defended positions and replace long-range artillery if conditions prevent the deployment of the latter. However, as no Ki-89/D3A1 is available (all produced units are intended for Navy units), the first Dokuritsu Sentai will start its operational training on some of the 50 Aichi D1A2 dive bombers abandoned by the Navy. In any case, the Army staff believes that a variant of the Kawasaki Ki-45 heavy fighter, expected in late 1942 or early 1943, would make a perfect dive bomber.

 

[Wings]

January 19th, 1942

Lorient - It's the big departure for the crews of U-67, U-156 and U-502, who are sailing for the Caribbean Sea. The first one has to attack the port of Curacao, the second one and the last one will attack the shallow-draft tankers that supply the Dutch refineries from Venezuelan oil fields via Lake Maracaibo.
The three submarines are scheduled to begin their attacks simultaneously on February 16th.
Two other U-boats will set sail in the following days. The mission of the U-161 is to attack naval traffic near the port of Trinidad and then west of the French Antilles, while U-129 is to attack cargo ships loaded with bauxite southeast of Trinidad.

 

[Wings]

January 19th, 1942

Greece - New night raid by Allied heavy bombers. This time, 18 Stirlings of the RAF and 24 Consolidated-32 of the Armée de l'Air attack the Larissa train station, in central Greece. Using the Gee navigation system, this raid is relatively accurate.

 

[Wings]

January 19th, 1942

Moulmein - When he first inspects the position he is to hold, Maj. Harvey is appalled. Hutton had ordered him to keep the Japanese off the Burma Road, which passes near Sittang in many places, with his 8th Indian Division. Harvey is therefore ordered to fight as far forward as possible, east of the Salween. But he discovers that this meant he would have to fight against a river seven kilometers wide, with no bridges and few ferries. Moulmein itself is a city of 50,000 people whose three main streets run parallel to the river.
It is indefensible. To cover it, we would need at least two divisions - but all that is possible is to take another battalion (the 4th Burma Rifles) from the 1st Burma Division.
Harvey expresses his dismay to Hutton, who explains that he agreed with him but that there was nothing he could do about it and that the orders are to defend east of the Salween. Despite these orders, Harvey orders his most recently arrived brigade, the 19th (Brigadier Ford), to remain on the west bank and prepare defensive positions there, under the pretext that it lacks means of transportation. The 18th Brigade (Brigadier Lochner) is deployed in front of Moulmein and the 17th Brigade (Brigadier Gracey) further east, on the road from Kawkareik (in Thailand). Moreover, a battalion of engineers from Rangoon is ordered to prepare defensive lines far to the rear: on the east bank of the Sittang, to cover the approaches to the only bridge over this river.
Meanwhile, the terrain of Tavoy (capital of Tenasserim, the southern tip of Burma) is occupied by the 3rd Battalion of the Japanese 112th Rgt. The garrison (the 6th Burma Rifles, a former police battalion) is dispersed without difficulty.
In Rangoon, the first elements of the 267th Squadron (Sqn 17, 135 and 136) arrive, with Squadron Commander Pennington-Leigh and Squadron Leaders Carey and Stone... but no aircraft.

 

[Wings]

January 19th, 1942

Cambodia - It is now clear that Japanese-Thai forces are preparing for a large-scale attack in the next few days.
.........
Annam - The Japanese continue to advance south along the coast toward Saigon.
.........
Tonkin - Japanese units moving from Hanoi toward Viet-Try were harassed by P-40s of the AVG. Army aircraft attempt to drive the AVG out of Viet-Try, but lose 5 Ki-48s and 3 Ki-27s in exchange for two P-40s. However, at dusk, the AVG loses two more aircraft, shot down in a raid by what the AVG now call "the new Japanese star fighters" (Ki-44s).

 

[Wings]

January 19th, 1942

Malaya Campaign
The Battle on the Border - As the weather continues to improve in Kedah, Japanese air activity increases further. Australian troops around Alor Setar, bombed repeatedly by Navy D3A1s and Army Ki-51s, slowly give ground. At the end of the day, the Japanese control part of the city and the airfield, but the latter was carefully devastated by British engineers.
.........
The Battle in Central Malaysia - The Army's medium bombers, Ki-21 and Ki-48, concentrate their attacks on Subang and Ipoh airfields, which are then strafed bby Ki-43s. These attacks make it possible to destroy 4 Hurricanes on the ground coming from Rangoon via Sabang. In response, the flak shoots down two Ki-43s.
.........
The battle in South Malaysia - The Japanese slowly advance towards Kota Tinggi. To the west, they advance faster toward Kluang, which is under fire by the end of the day from their artillery fire.
.........
The Air Battle of Singapore - Carrier aircraft continue to circle all day in the skies over Singapore. In the afternoon, Ki-21s based in Kuching bomb the airfields.

 

[Wings]

January 19th, 1942

Java - A powerful Japanese formation coming from Kuching - 18 G3M1/2, 18 G4M1 and 27 A6M2 - attacks the Maospati field. Again, the local air defense control reacts too late and only six ML-KNIL B-339s, five USAAF P-40Es and three RAF Hurricanes can take off to intercept the raid. The allied fighters shoot down three G3M2, two G4M1s and four A6M2s, but lose four B-339s, three P-40Es and one Hurricane - not counting three B-339s, three P-40Es, four Hurricanes and two Martin WH3 bombers destroyed on the ground. The raid leaves Java with almost no flying fighters.
.........
Timor - Kupang is attacked by surprise at dawn by 72 G4M1 coming from Manado. The ships anchored in the bay are targeted by 45 aircraft, while 27 attack the airfield.
Only three P-40Es in transit from Darwin to Java can take off. They shoot down four bombers at the cost of one of their own, but 12 P-40Es and a DC-3 are destroyed on the ground.
In the bay, the American fleet is caught in the middle of a refuelling operation. The rear turret of the Houston is hit by a bomb that puts it out of action. The old destroyers Hopewell, John D. Edwards and Whipple are severely damaged by bombs. The Whipple quickly sinks in the harbor and the other two, in flames, have to be beached. In addition, the destroyer supply ship Black Hawk is badly damaged.
.........
Makassar Strait - The submarines USS Saury (Lt Cdr J.L. Burnside, Jr) and Pickerel (Cdr B.E. Bacon, Jr) join the Dutch HNLMS K-XIV (LV Th. Brunsting) off Balikpapan to reconnoiter the Sulawesi Sea, up to Tarakan.

 

[Wings]

January 20th, 1942

Moscow - Arrival of an important American delegation led by Harry Hopkins. This visit is to discuss the new situation created by the Japanese aggression in the Far East.

 

[Wings]

January 20th, 1942

Great Britain - The large convoy "Stone-Age" (nineteen transports) leaves Bristol and Plymouth for Rangoon, with a strong escort, including the aircraft carriers Illustrious and Furious.

 

[Wings]

January 20th, 1942

Rome - General Vittorio Ambrosio, head of the 2nd Army, at the head of which he had led the campaign against Yugoslavia, is appointed Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito.
He replaces General Mario Roatta, who takes over the 2nd Army.

 

[Wings]

January 20th, 1942

Moulmein - Three Hurricanes preparing to take off for Raheng are attacked and destroyed by a Ki-27 raid. A few hours later, a Ki-36 on reconnaissance in the area is surprised and destroyed byTF Mohan Singh, his fourth victory in the air. "It is a very maneuverable aircraft and could have easily dodged the attack of a Hurricane or a P-40", comments Singh. "But with my old Fury, it was a sitting duck!"
.........
A Blenheim raid heading for Mehsoht (six Blenheims escorted by six Chinese P-40s) is intercepted by chance over Kawkareik by Ki-27s. A Japanese fighter, a P-40 and a Blenheim are shot down.

 

[Wings]

January 20th, 1942

Cambodia - The Hell's Angels, third squadron of the AVG, launch several raids against the Japanese-Thai troops massed on the road from Kompong Cham to Saigon.
.........
Cochinchina - Japanese forces from the Annam coast advance toward Saigon.

"Persuaded that they had routed the last French defenders on the coast, the Japanese were caught off guard by a counter-attack carried out near Xuan-Loc by two battalions of motorized infantry, a battalion of Vietnamese volunteers and the last two companies of the GBMS operating east of Saigon, each of which still possessed twelve Sav-41 medium tanks and four M2A4 light tanks. The Sav-41 of Fernand Naudin and Roger Carmaux is part of the party: "Can you believe it, Fernand! We are at the other end of the world and we are fighingt hand in hand with Vietnamese comrades against the Japanese fascists! If this is not the triumph of the Communist International!" says Carmaux, who can lo longer contain his joy since he realized that the backbone of the Vietnamese battalion was composed of members of the local CP... The Japanese suffered heavy losses and were pushed back 15 km towards the coast."
(Pascal N'Guyen-Minh, War and Peace in Southeast Asia).

.........
Tonkin - After discussing it with the High Commissioner Jean Sainteny, General Chennault orders the Adam & Eve squadron of the AVG to redeploy to the "Epervier" base in Muong Theng, where most of the installations are now completed, while the Panda Bear leaves to Kunming, China. French and local forces begin to evacuate southern Tonkin via the Black River.

 

[Wings]

January 20th, 1942

Malaya Campaign
The battle on the border - Wellingtons and Wellesleys Singora and the Japanese armament depots on the Kra Isthmus during the night. This kind of bombardment is not very effective.
At dawn, the Hudsons of Sqn 7 and 8 of the RAAF attack the Japanese columns on the march from Jitra to Alor Setar, with more success.
At that time, Japanese troops were already heavily engaged against the Commonwealth forces around Alor Setar. A limited Australian counter-attack, supported by tanks, pushes the Japanese back to the (destroyed) railroad bridge for a while. At 11:00, as the D3A1 dive bombers appear over Alor Setar, the operation is interrupted to avoid exposing the precious tanks. Until the night, the heavy "infantry tanks" are used as mobile redoubts, effectively blocking Japanese counter-attacks. However, the commander of the 8th Australian Infantry Division, Major-General H. Gordon Bennett, has to prepare his withdrawal to Gurun, where the 11th Indian Division holds a new defense line.
.........
The Battle in South Malaya - Japanese forces enter Kaltang at first light, after having forced the Commonwealth troops back in a series of turning movements. However, under constant harassment from Allied artillery, the Japanese are unable to prevent their opponents from retreating in good order towards Kluang airfield. However, in the course of the afternoon, it becomes clear that, as the Commonwealth troops continue to retreat westward, a serious crisis is brewing on that front.
On the other hand, the Japanese advance towards the south, towards Kota Tinggi, is continually slowed down by roadblocks, minefields and small British counter-attacks.
.........
The Air Battle of Singapore - Japanese Army Ki-21 bombers based at Kuching attack the Singapore grounds without escort. This presumption is punished by the loss of three of them to two Hurricanes and a lone Martlet.
"With my departure," writes Yvon Lagadec, "Danny Potter had become the only FAA fighter pilot in the Far East, and even the only fighter of one of the allied naval aviation the area! He took advantage of this to equalize the score of our friendly duel, started in the Mediterranean. On the evening of January 20th, we were at eleven all!"
At the end of the day, considering that the Japanese dominated too clearly the airspace of Malaysia to risk other pilots, the local command decides to transfer some units to the Palembang-II airfield of the ML-KNIL, in Sumatra, to reconstitute them there. The first pilots to be transferred are those of the RAAF Hurricane squadrons (and Danny Potter). It is planned to use Palembang-II for the refueling operation of Sabang from Rangoon.
.........
Singapore - In the evening, returning from Bandœng where he conferred with General Wavell and other senior officers (including the French representative, Admiral Decoux), Lord Gort announces that Air Marshal Brooke-Popham has been relieved of his responsibilities in Malaya. It is not a sanction, but the creation five days earlier of the ABDAF Command removes any justification for the existence of Far East Command. Moreover, the Air Marshal had been giving signs of physical and nervous exhaustion for some time.
GOC Malaya, General Percival, being only acting Lieutenant General, General Gort proposes to Churchill to take personal charge of the defense of Singapore and Malaya, Percival playing the role of a chief of staff. "It is clear, Prime Minister," Gort explains in his message to him, "that the situation here is very unfavourable. By taking command of His Imperial and Royal Majesty's Army in the region in person, I intend to force the Japanese Emperor's Army, whose officers place their honor so high and behave so often, I am told, like barbarians, to pay the highest price for Singapore and Malaya. For this purpose, I know that I can count on the loyalty to the Crown of men all over the Commonwealth who will fight to the end and who can, to the end, count on my presence by their side.
God save the King."
Churchill is sensitive to these arguments. However, in order not to overshadow Wavell (at ABDAF Command) and not to appear to be demoting Percival, this new command remains unofficial for seven weeks, Gort having in theory only an extended inspection mission.

 

[Wings]

January 20th, 1942

Celebes Sea - The aircraft carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku, the destroyers Akigumo, Arare, Kagero and Shiranui, the seaplane carrier Mizuho and the minelayers Okinoshima and Tsugaru join Rear Admiral Takagi's force at Manado (Sulawesi), which arrived on January 18th. The fleet soon sets out for the Benda Sea (between Celebes to the north-west, the Moluccas to the northeast and Timor to the south).
.........
Macassar Strait - The Dutch submarine K-XIV spots a large Japanese convoy off the southeast coast of Borneo, near Balikpapan. It is the 4th Surprise Attack Force of Rear Admiral Kubo; having left some of its ships in Tarakan, Kubo has with him ten large transports (the Army transports Ashiyama Maru, Kumagawa Maru, Kuretake Maru, Sumanoura Maru, Toei Maru, Yukka Maru, Tatsukami Maru and Tsuruga Maru), the seaplane tenders Sanyo Maru and Kamoi, the CH-10, 11 and 12 submarine hunters, the PB-36, PB-37 and PB-38 patrol boats (former Momi-class destroyers) and the auxiliary minesweepers W-15, W-16, W-17 and W-18. This convoy is protected by Rear Admiral R. Tanaka's special group (CL Jintsu and DD Hayashio, Kuroshio, Natsushio, Oyashio, Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze).
LV Brunsting succeeds in placing his submarine in firing position and sinks the Tsuruga Maru (6,987 GRT) with a well-adjusted salvo.
At the end of the day, the convoy is tracked by a ML-KNIL Do 24K seaplane.
.........
Kupang Bay (Timor) - Warned by K-XIV of the existence of the Japanese convoy en route to Balikpapan, ABDAF-FLOAT (Admiral T.C. Hart) orders Rear Admiral W.A. Glassford, who had put his flag on the light cruiser Concord, to weigh anchor immediately and to proceed to the Macassar Strait with the DesDiv58 (DD Barker and Bulmer) and DesDiv 59 (DD John D. Ford, John Paul Jones, Pillsbury and Pope) to attack the enemy landing force at night. The seven ships leave Kupang Bay at 15:30.
None of them would return...
Hart also orders the seaplane supply ship Childs to leave Kendari (on the southeast coast of Sulawesi), now much too exposed. As for the heavy cruiser Houston, it is sent to
Sœrabaya to be more or less repaired. Despite the neutralization of its rear turret, the ship is far too valuable for the Allied forces to do without it and send it back to Australia for more extensive repairs.
.........
Batavia (Java) - Admiral Decoux, at the request of Admiral Hart, orders the Emile-Bertin (CV Robert Battet) and the Lamotte-Picquet (CV André Commentry) to lay a defensive minefield in front of Bandjermassin (the main town on the south coast of Borneo). The two cruisers leave Batavia around 17:20.
.........
Christmas Island (south-west Java) - The Japanese submarine I-59 sinks the Norwegian cargo ship Eidsvold, which had come to load phosphate. The I-59 is repelled by the fire of an old 6-inch gun installed on the island at the end of 1940, following the passage of the German raider Atlantis in October of that year. The Norwegian crew is evacuated a few weeks later to Australia.

French Navy Minelayer cruiser MN Lamotte-Picquet, Indonesia Campaign, January 1942