Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

September 24th, 1942

Battle of Singapore - IV
In the absence of Lord Gort, General Yamashita has all the captured British senior officers (generals and colonels) to formalize the surrender of the Singapore fortress to the troops of the Empire of Japan. But nothing can make us forget that it was not a real surrender of the city, all these officers having surrendered with small units.
Moreover, a few isolated soldiers are still fighting furiously in half-destroyed buildings.
The last defender of Singapore will be a Chinese! A maverick whose name has not been recorded in history, he will be shot only on October 1st, starving and drunk with fatigue. His last success will be to fall under Japanese bullets in the middle of the street, in front of many witnesses. Still even today, Kuo-Min-Tang and the Communists dispute the honor of having counted this hero in their ranks.
.........
"Singapore was occupied by two divisions, the Guards and the 5th, although the actual strength of the garrison was closer to that of the garrison was closer to that of a single division.
On the one hand, the Imperial Guard, reduced to 678 able-bodied men (!) as of September 23, received the reinforcement of the 2nd Regiment, stationed in Tokyo - but not more. The 3rd, 4th and 5th Regiments, crushed twice during the campaign, were however reconstituted - but without the general staff having officially admitted their destruction - from sons of "good families" of the Imperial entourage who had been "lucky" enough to be "detached" from their unit at the time of the hardest fighting.
On the other hand, the 5th ID, reduced to two regiments (11th and 42nd), could only symbolically reconstitute its two regiments destroyed since the beginning of 1942 (21st and 41st).
Malaya was occupied by the 9th, 18th and 27th ID. (with somewhat reduced numbers), while the 12th and 71st I. (after having received some reinforcements) were sent to the Burmese front, where the 55th ID had not been sufficient to take Rangoon and had even suffered a severe defeat.
Finally, the 33rd and 56th ID. were sent back to China via Indochina. In July 1943, after the catastrophic failure of the Typhoon operation, it is naturally to these two divisions that were called upon to reinforce the Japanese control over Indochina.
(...)
The Imperial Navy reduced its presence in the region. Around the aircraft carrier Junyo, the cruisers Kumano, Mikuma, Mogami and Suzuya, the seaplane supply ship Sagara Maru, the light cruiser Abukuma and two destroyer divisions, all under the command of Kurita, were to watch over the Straits and the west coast of Malaya in case of an offensive attempt by the Royal Navy. The battleships Hyuga and Yamashiro were to join them as soon as their repairs were completed (early October for the former, early March 1943 for the latter), freeing the heavy cruisers for operations in the South-West Pacific.
(...)
Yamashita received from the Japanese press the nickname of Malay Bear - the bear is a symbol of virility in Asia, but this nickname was double-edged, the Malay bear being known for its long periods of sleep (besides, it is mainly herbivorous). A quicker victory would have earned him a more prestigious nickname, but it was clear that the capture of Singapore had been both laborious and costly.
Nevertheless, Tojo was jealous of the prestige acquired by Yamashita, who had become military governor of Malaysia and Singapore. So, in February 1943, when the general made a diplomatic blunder (speaking to Singaporean officials, he referred to them as citizens of the Empire of Japan, whereas the Japanese government did not want this title to be extended to inhabitants of the occupied territories, Tojo did not hesitate to transfer him. Yamashita found himself in Manchuria, where two years later he would have to deal with a bear of a different species, not at all herbivorous this one.
Finally, the responsibility of Tomoyuki Yamashita in the sinister conclusion of the battle of Singapore remains very much debated. It must be admitted that the numerous atrocities committed by the Japanese Army after the capture of the city were not directly ordered by the commander-in-chief. The latter had to express his official regrets for certain exactions - hypocritical regrets, some have argued, since he did indeed cover up most of the massacres. Nevertheless, Yamashita - to make amends? - was then behind the decision to release the few Western civilians taken prisoner. Faithful to the instructions received from Tokyo, he also took great care of the Indian troops (apart from some summary executions in the first days) in order to favor the creation of the Indian National Army - but without much success: some images of tortured prisoners remained in all Indian minds.
According to the few witnesses of his last moments, he had in mind the dramatic conditions of the fall of Singapore when he personally led a desperate counter-attack against a column of Soviet tanks. His death under the tracks of an IS-2 may have spared him an ignominious hanging." (P. N'Guyen-Minh, War and Peace in Southeast Asia)

 

[Wings]

September 23rd, 1942

Guadalcanal - Under friendly pressure from the Navy, Vandegrift decides on a reconnaissance in force with the primary objective of destroying enemy supplies. His staff, rightly assuming that the lack of transportation was pushing the Japanese to set up the depots near the shore, proposes a sudden attack along the beach with two companies of armor from the 1st Tank Battalion, two companies of infantry from the recently landed Marines and a company of engineers.
The modesty of these numbers can be explained by the second step of the operation: to reembark everyone with the help of the few LCVPs and especially the LVP-1s of the 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion. We will thus avoid the risk of a counter cutting the attackers of their rear.
The machines of the 1st ATB seem to be well adapted to the task, in spite of the numerous defects which handicap the LVP-1 : lack of reliability of the engine, rust of the undercarriage, frequent damage to the coral reefs and especially a total lack of armor.
Unfortunately, the acclimatization of the 7th Marines and the concentration of forces requires a few more days. During this time, the Japanese reinforce their defenses.
.........
Ironbottom Sound - During the night, Iishi's patrol boats spot and torpedo the USS YP-284, a converted yacht.

Nouméa - The HMS Engadine lands 40 seaplanes in crates. They are 18 "Floatfires" Mk V, 16 Blackburn Sharks (this will be the only service at the front during the war for these biplanes built in Canada) and 6 Walrus. The assembly and testing of these machines starts immediately, to the great amusement of the American personnel, who did not think they would see so many biplanes (Shark and Walrus) at the same time.

 

[Wings]

September 23rd, 1942

Kokoda Track - The fight continues around Waju. The Japanese make repeated efforts to break through and some succeed during the night, after attacks and counter-attacks, often in hand-to-hand combat. At dawn, the Japanese are exhausted. The Australians then launch a series of attacks that lasts 24 hours and destroys the remaining defenders.

Milne Bay - Brigadier Fields reports to General Clowes that he has stabilized the situation on the front. He is also well informed of enemy movements in the marshes and lowlands through his patrols and the inhabitants report to him the movements of the Japanese near Milne Bay itself.

 

[Wings]

September 23rd, 1942

Rastenburg - Taking advantage of Hitler's good mood following the news from Ukraine, the military brings up a somewhat sensitive issue: the distribution of winter equipment to the troops. This equipment exists, but as Barbarossa predicted that the USSR would have fallen well before winter, nothing had really been planned to distribute it.
Today the OKH knows that even if Taifun succeeds, it will have to fight the next winter.
To make things easier, the staff turns the request into a way of presenting it as a way to allow the German soldiers to support more pleasantly the garrisons in the cold conquered regions, which implies that victory is assured...
Hitler, this time, does not make any difficulty to give his agreement.

 

[Atrophied]

Wait did hitler actually forbid winter gear cause they were going to win so fast cause the soviets were so rotten in otl ? And thats the reason why the winter of 42 was such a disaster for the germans ? Was this actually true in otl ?

 

[Wings]

September 23rd, 1942

Operation Typhoon
The northern wing offensive - On the side of the 2. PzG, the men of the LVI. PanzerKorps of von Manstein, who had advanced during the night under heavy rain and storms, join the XLVII. PanzerKorps and the 3. Panzer to attack in the direction of Nejyne.
While the weather remains very bad all day, preventing air operations on both sides, the Soviets are pushed back to Nejyne, but they hold on to the southern bank of the Ost'or River (another tributary of the Desna).
In the sector of the 3. PzG, the rest of the LVII. PanzerKorps (18. ID and 19. Panzer) comes to support the 12. Panzer of Harp in its march on Bakhmash. The weather is even worse than in the west front; the storms are such that the adjustment of artillery fire at long range becomes very difficult. The German forces progress, but slowly. At dusk, they have not yet reached Bakhmash: it is clear that considerable Soviet forces are deployed in the area.
At the end of the day, facing the battle that begins on the line Nejyne-Bakhmash-Konotop, the Stavka orders the creation of new reserves in Kursk with troops from the Siberian Military District.
...
The southern wing offensive - Under stormy showers that will last until early afternoon, the German troops attack again. The Soviet artillery makes deep cuts in the German infantry, but Dovator knows that he will need his tanks to stop the enemy. By noon, the Soviet troops begin to fold, as Sepp Dietrich commits the 57th Infantry Division. The Germans enter Mirovnika, where a deadly game of hide-and-seek between Panzer IIIs and BT-5/7s and T-26s starts.
The Soviet air force, despite the weather, succeeds in bombing the German starting positions (its airfields are in the south-east and the cloudy front is heading north), but Dovator must think about stalling in order not to be destroyed. Covered by the artillery, which operates in direct fire, not without suffering heavy losses, his troops can clear Mirovnika around 16:30 while inflicting significant losses to the attackers.
At 18:00, Sepp Dietrich can be satisfied. He took Mirovnika and pushed back the Soviets towards the river. He could now advance towards Korsun-Chevchenkivsky, along the railroad.
By nightfall, his troops are halfway there.
However, on a soaked ground, the German tanks - whose pressure on the ground is stronger than that of their opponents - fall behind. What's more, the Soviets win another day and the 58th and 59th Armies are now almost completely at work. They reinforce their positions on the right bank of the Ros' and strengthen their connection with the 14th Army, whose remnants have taken position around a loop of another tributary of the Dnieper.
In the north of the sector, the 26th and 6th Armies, arched around Kiev, force the German 17th Army to stretch its position to maintain contact with the PanzerArmee.

Approximate situation of Typhoon-South on the morning of September 24th (Dark blue - Germans/Hungarians (Top-to-bottom 17th Army, 2nd PZG, Hungarian Corps), Red - Soviets (T-t-B 6th Army, 26th Army, Dniepr Flotilla, Dovator Group, 58th and 59th Armies, 14th Army, 45th Army))

 

[Wings]

September 23rd, 1942

Dachne (north and northwest of Odessa) - After reorganizing in the west and northwest of Odessa, the XXX. ArmeeKorps of General von Salmuth prepares to attack on a wide front.
Opposite, the Soviets have dismantled the defense of Dachne. Since the 157th ID has been sent to the east of the city, only NKVD units, militiamen and troops from fortified areas continue to hold this position. They have no armor except for old Ford-A Izhorzskiy self-propelled guns and a single T-28th multi-turret tank extracted from the army warehouses. The latter also provide M-30 (1-K) 37 mm anti-tank guns, of very poor effectiveness on armour more than 25 mm thick. Only the NKVD troops have their normal supply of Maxim machine guns and FM DP 28.
But, deployed on the second line of trenches, these weapons are not aimed at the Germans, but on the militiamen placed in the front line, who have to be dissuaded by all means from fleeing.
At 07:14 in the morning, the German and Romanian guns begin to pound the Soviet lines. Half an hour later, the panzers emerge from the swirls of smoke and dust raised by the shells. The tanks break through without difficulty, crushing the trenches under their tracks and going around them to knock down machine-gun nests and anti-tank positions. When the German infantry and the Romanian cavalry breaks through the Soviet lines, the survivors offer only sporadic resistance.
The attack causes a real collapse of the Soviet defense north of Odessa. The 5th Romanian Cavalry Brigade under General Mainescu exploits the breakthrough to move northwards and take the Soviet positions one after the other. During this time, the 14th ID of General Stravescu advances northward to take the Altestove bridge while the 198. Infantry-Division is moving towards the bridge of Boharka, further north. In the evening, the Soviet units of the Odessa pocket still fighting north of the city are cut off from their rear.

Along the Dniester - When the XI. ArmeeKorps encircled Odessa, Soviet troops were isolated further west. In this sector, the front stabilizes on the course of the Dniester, a natural obstacle swollen by the rains of September. This is why the Pionier-Btn 195, helped by units of the Romanian engineers, tries to build a floating bridge not far from Berehove.
Around 11:00, it is done.
The 6th Romanian ID of General Ionovici can cross and join the 14th ID, coming from Altestove, and the 198th ID, coming from Boharkha.
.........
Between Illichivka and Krasnosilka (eastern suburbs of Odessa) - During the night, a deceptive calm reigns over this sector of the front line. Taking refuge in the tiny station of Kulindorovo (halfway between Illichivka and Krasnosilka), the armored train is repaired. So, as the first light of day tints the horizon pink, the Soviets defend the now reinforced lines, while the tanks are concentrated on the flank of the German position. The tension of the wait before the assault can be read on the faces of all the soldiers concentrated along the railroad. The surprise effect will not play any more, not after the fighting of the previous day. All night long, the sentries hear the sound of engines and a muffled movement from the Fascist trenches. No one doubts that the invaders had also received reinforcements.
The plan of the day's attack is inspired by German maneuvers. All available armor is gathered around Krasnosilka to launch a sickle stroke attack, crossing the enemy lines at an angle. The infantry is to follow to occupy the trenches. A mortar fire is unleashed on the unattacked sectors, in the hope of destroying the anti-tank guns.
The advance of the Soviet tanks, slowed down by the cratered terrain, is not a light cavalry charge, especially since a storm of iron and fire is falling on it. The German howitzers hit indiscriminately and the infantry is almost pinned to the ground. The tanks manage to reach the first enemy lines, but the artillery preparation by the mortars is not very effective and the tanks are eliminated one after the other by the anti-tank guns and the StuG-III and Marder self-propelled guns.
Blitzkrieg is still a German specialty...

 

[New Potomac]

September 21st, 1942

Battle of Singapore - IV
All morning, the Japanese artillery shells the city. Some batteries target military objectives, but most of them do not have any and bomb randomly. The shooting only stops long enough to let the air force bring its share of explosives to the deluge of fire that falls on what was once the pearl of the British Empire.
11:55 - The guns fall silent.
12:00 - Six Japanese divisions attack in a concerted manner, with the same rage to finish...
13:10 - In one hour, the 5th and 33rd Japanese divisions dislodge the 11th Indian Division from Mont Faber and force it to withdraw completely into the city of Singapore.
13:20 - The 27th ID. takes Government House. Yamashita, who had hoped to sign the surrender of the British forces in this more symbolic than strategic place, has to give it up as the building was totally destroyed by fire*.
13:45 - The Japanese 56th Division advances into the eastern suburbs of Singapore. But it has to fight violent street battles that slow it down seriously.
14:30 - Passing through the Kallang airfield, the 18th I.D. enters Singapore itself. Following Yamashita's instructions, it waits until the other divisions have also entered the city before making a new push (which will be the case half an hour later, with the 9th ID.). No divisional general can claim to have taken the city!
16:00 - The Japanese forces begin the final cleanup. The fighting at the end of the afternoon is indescribable, like all street fighting, especially in a large city.
The last Australian armoured vehicles, ambushed at some crossroads, create pockets of resistance around them and make the Japanese pay dearly for the slightest progress. Only one tank is captured intact.
The professional soldiers of the Indian Brigade, the Highlands Brigade, the artillery or armor, fight to the last cartridge, often literally, but the Singaporean, Malayan and especially Chinese volunteers will not consider surrendering.
Only regular battalions or companies of the Indian or British forces offer their surrender. Their Chinese and Malay comrades have, unfortunately, good reasons to fight to the death.
Indeed, all Chinese and many of the Malays caught in arms, or even just in uniform, are massacred immediately. But this is not enough for the Japanese. The very evening of the fall of Singapore, General Tomoyuki Yamashita orders, in addition to the establishment of normal prisoner of war camps, the creation of assembly centers where Chinese males between 18 and 50 years old have to go to be evaluated. Those identified as "anti-Japanese" (according to the definition chosen by the assessment officer) will be taken to a discreet corner and shot without sentencing. In the first days of the occupation, at least ten thousand Chinese are killed in this way, not to mention the exactions committed in an unorganized way against the whole civilian population, whatever their ethnic origin, sex or age. It is likely that the total number of civilian victims is between 50 and 100,000 dead.
.........
From our special correspondent in Singapore - Lord Gort died last night while trying to cross Japanese lines. I ran into his orderly, who escaped. The general died as he lived, as a soldier.
In the city, the sappers who could not find anything else to destroy use their explosives to slow down the advance of the Japanese soldiers. The latter infiltrate slowly and cautiously - no soldiers like street fighting. They bypassed the pockets of resistance and headed for the heart of the city. Already they have invaded Chinatown and the runaways tell of the abuses they have witnessed. Incredulous, I went there to do my job as a journalist. Alas, words fail to describe what is happening in Singapore right now. I thought I had seen the worst twenty-five years ago in Ireland. Unfortunately, I was far from it.
With nothing left to loot or destroy, the Japanese are taking it out on the people. Very young children were thrown in the air and caught on the point of the bayonet. Older children are thrown against the walls, some several times. The luckiest men are shot on the spot while others are tied up for bayonet training. The women and nubile girls (or even younger ones) are raped in a chain. Often the last one finishes his task with a bayonet.
The officers do not wield the bayonet, but the sword. It seems that they have a contest to see who can cut off the most heads.
Men have been seen playing ball with human heads. They also roasted men and women on improvised grills.
The contempt of the Japanese for human life, added to the memory of the humiliation suffered in April and the exasperation of this interminable siege is apparently at the origin of these behaviors.
Some soldiers surrendered individually or in small groups, but the Japanese despise those who surrender, especially men who surrendered without the order of an officer - and this contempt can result in immediate execution. This is why soldiers who have lost their units try to join another one or, if they are isolated, decide to resist until the end and to drag some Japanese to their deaths.
I am now in the cellar of the Grand Post Office where Mynheer Wim continues to work. I dictate this article to him. Mr. Wim is Dutch, he is old and widowed, he is also terribly short-sighted. He held the telex station during the whole siege and we share our last moments.
He prepared several grenades to destroy his installations at the last moment.
On my last outing, the Mikado soldiers were less than a quarter mile away. I heard only sporadic shooting and explosions. All organized resistance seems to have ceased. I think about my witnesses of the last few days. How many are still alive? Did they manage to reach the jungle? I barricaded the cellar entrance with a table and some rubble. I've ducked behind with my Webley. We hear voices, it's the Japs. That's it, footsteps in the cellar.../ Transmission interrupted, end of transmission, end of transmission, end of
end of transmission.
Ray O'Brady, for The Times of London
.........
Editor's note accompanying the above article in the Times - "This is the last report received by our office. Raymond O'Brady has not been heard from life since. To date the Japanese have not forwarded to the Red Cross any list of prisoners taken in Singapore.
Ray worked for the Times for ten years. Our thoughts are with his wife and children.
In his last moments, Ray ceased to be a witness and became an actor of the events, however briefly. He was a good man and no good man could stand by and be inactive in the face of the acts perpetrated by the Japanese and reported by him.
It is in his honor that I conclude: Long live Ireland and the Irish."
...........................
Report of Lieutenant Masahiro to his superior, Captain Tashi (5th Division) - As per orders, we took the Grand Post Office. No resistance, except in the basement, defended by two men, shot down. Casualties: one killed, one wounded.
Transmission equipment captured, but trapped with grenades. Deadly explosion in this confined space. Casualties: two killed. Long live the Emperor!"

* After the war, it will be rebuilt identically. It is now the famous Singapore War Museum (which only deals with the 1941-1945 war in Malaysia and Singapore)

And so Singapore and Gort fall.

This was quite the read I won't lie. It's still a massive loss for the empire, but Gort and the sacrifice and him and his men will have done much. A modern Thermopylae.

 

[trekchu]

And so Singapore and Gort fall.

This was quite the read I won't lie. It's still a massive loss for the empire, but Gort and the sacrifice and him and his men will have done much. A modern Thermopylae.

There's a couple of critical differences here compared to the IRL version.

1) They made the Japanese bleed for it and hard. By rights in this timline no one outside India will ever hear of Imphal, i.e. the Japanese won't get anywhere near as deep into Burma.
2) This should actually lift Commonwealth morale, given that this is bound to end up as part of the list of legendary last stands. A latterday mix of Rouke's Drift and the Alamo.
3) The defenders bought critical time not only for Burma, but also for the Pacific War in general. I mean Guadalcanal is already going on, and the Japanese have lost the initiative.

 

[naraht]

Hmm.
Two comments here...
1) The dates describing the Singapore indicates the war goes until 1945.
2) The Japanese are *highly* unlikely to take any significant land that they don't already have.

I think they are reaching their high water mark. I think the fights in late 1944 are going to be on the Chinese Mainland killing the IJA while the Allies decide how long they want to wait until the downfall equivalent and then the Nukes are going to arrive just in time to keep from having a downfall equivalent. And that additional experience and training with US weapons will make the KMT able to keep the communists from spreading much beyond the Soviet Border areas such as Manchuria.

 

[Garrison]

Wait did hitler actually forbid winter gear cause they were going to win so fast cause the soviets were so rotten in otl ? And thats the reason why the winter of 42 was such a disaster for the germans ? Was this actually true in otl ?

No, they just weren't expecting the battle to last so long and they didn't prepare for it. In the winter of 1941-42 there was a clothing drive mounted in Germany to provide warm clothing for the Ostheer. The problem was production capacity and logistics, not some mythic 'crazy Hitler' order.

 

[Atrophied]

its was mentioned , that kmt expects a serious japanese offensive against the communist area thanks to the american airbases there apparently and considering japanese behaviour against chinese they are kinda thrilled about it.

Ok good , but here the army realizes that cold weather will be a issue and will have like a month or two to get stuff to the front to blunt the issues compared to their otl issues. And im pretty sure 42 winter was very very cold . No idea what 43 winter was like tough . Cause in otl they just kept pushing towards moscow rather than prepare for winter somewhat is the impression i got.

 

[John Farson]

September 22nd, 1942

Battle of Singapore - IV
The Japanese have taken the fortress of Singapore, but that is not enough for them... They would like to find Lord Gort! Preferably alive - in the Philippines, they had to make do with the corpse of MacArthur. But in Singapore, even this small satisfaction will be denied them.
.........
"Late on the 21st, the last formed units still fighting in the city of Singapore surrendered. I was at that time with men of the 64th (Lancashire) Brigade, but the Brigade did not surrender. Only its component battalions, their ammunition depleted, asked to stop fighting. This was the case of the battalion with which I was with, in fact an ad hoc grouping of men from various origins, including the proud 1st Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.
The irritation of the victors was palpable. As soon as the battalion had laid down its arms, they demanded the separation of the officers and non-commissioned officers and men. For some obscure reason, they classified me as an officer, refusing to take into account my civilian papers. I soon discovered that I was not the only one - it seemed that all Western civilians were in the same situation as me.
With my fellow prisoners, I was lucky enough to be able to get to a cricket field that had seen better days and that was to be used for some time as a senior prisoner camp. I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by two of the Duke of Cornwall's officers, two young captains whom I had met before the Japanese attack began, in September. Bertram (Bertie) and Frederick (Freddie) were the best of friends, but spent their time bickering with each other on the grounds that these two representatives of society had been educated at Oxford for one, at Cambridge for the other. Apparently, neither of them minded my personal education - a public school in New York City, nor did the hint of a Yiddish accent that I got from my parents.
Bertie and I made our way to the cricket field supporting Freddie, who had taken a shrapnel wound in his left leg. His wound must have been very painful, but he seemed to suffer far more from his friend's sarcasm, who pretended to think he was faking it, "like those sissies from the Cambridge rugby team" (rugby is a sport close to our football, and its practitioners are not exactly softies, in Cambridge or elsewhere).
On the morning of the 22nd, we were waiting, quietly sitting or lying on the lawn, for the waiters who would bring us our early morning tea (Bertie said), but some of us were beginning to fear that the breakfast would be very mediocre, "maybe even continental, Good Gracious!" (said Freddie, who would have needed treatment and was in too much pain to get up). The appearance of a dozen Japanese soldiers in arms, including a commander, triggered booing: they were not carrying a single tray. When calm was restored, the commander spat out a few words while brandishing his pistol. He had an interpreter with him who hurriedly said: "We know that General Gort is hiding among you! If he is an honorable man, he must show himself at once!"
A few laughs were the only response at first. I heard someone comment, "Old Man No Surrender played a good trick on them!"
The Japanese commander drew his sword and began to wave it in a ridiculous manner while making a speech to which Herr Hitler's convulsive nonsense sounded like a baby's lullaby. The interpreter began to translate in a shaky voice, but we all understood that we were threatened with all sorts of horrors - and we knew that the Japanese were masters of this.
Then, on the other side of the stadium, a man stood up very straight, almost to attention, and shouted, "I am Lord Gort!"
Of course, it wasn't him, it was a tall blond man who couldn't have been more than 26 or 28 years old.
The Japanese commander understood this as well as we did and went into a black (or yellow?) rage. To which the tall blond man calmly replied: "I am Lord Gort!" Still shouting, the Japanese threatened him with his gun. "I am..." repeated the tall blond man, before remaining silent forever. The Japanese was a bad speaker, but a good shot.
The intensity of the silence that followed still grips my heart.
I think only Bertie and I heard Freddie - very pale and still pinned to the ground - whisper, "Sure." muttering, "Of course... Spartacus sum!" "What?" whispered Bertie. "There's only an Oxonian not to have understood this. Spartacus sum!"
Bertie turned as pale as his friend and jumped to his feet, shouting, "I am Lord Gort!"
The Japanese commander became frantic. On his command, his men fired a salvo into the air. It was then that another man stood up and shouted, "I am Lord Gort!" And then, it was almost funny, because he was an Indian lieutenant, dark as night - since the Japanese failure in April, quite a few natives (as the English say) have been appointed as officers.
The Japanese showed us that we had not seen anything yet in terms of rage. He ordered a new salvo, but not in the air - several men fell. The next moment, the whole stadium, including yours truly, was on its feet shouting, "I am Lord Gort! I am Lord Gort!"
The Japanese fled, shooting wildly, just as the Roman soldiers had two thousand years earlier, in front of the defeated slaves who shouted:
"Spartacus sum, I am Spartacus!"
We noted seven dead - including Bertie.
Pious hands took off their dog tags and handed them to me. They thought that as a civilian, my chances of survival were better. When Gen. Yamashita, wishing to show the world the greatness of the Empire of the Rising Sun, and his own, decided to embark on a Portuguese ship the Western civilians captured in Singapore, the soldiers who searched me found nothing wrong with me taking these few pieces of metal.
It is well known today that the monument to Lord Gort, completed in 1947, which stands on the site of the cricket field, is not really a tomb, since Old No Surrender's body has never been found. Everyone knows that his famous words are engraved on the main façade: "I shall never surrender". But it is less known that, on the other side of the monument, the identity plates of the seven Lord Gorts fallen on September 22nd, 1942, are inlaid in stone, underlining these four words carved in capital letters: "I AM LORD GORT."
From Robin "Doc" Meyrson's book, The Great Siege - Singapore Facing the Rising Sun, New York, 1948

"I am Lord Gort!"

"I am Lord Gort!"

"I am Groot."

I regret nothing.

 

[Wings]

September 23rd, 1942

Operation Torch - D-Day+4
Night of riot in the Ionian Sea
Shortly after midnight, the British MTBs of the 7th Flotilla (which had redeployed to Syracuse the day before) spot an Italian convoy off Acireale, obviously heading towards Catania. It is in fact a small squadron composed of the light cruiser Attilio Regolo (Capitani Romani class) and the large destroyer Nicolo Zeno, in charge of covering five torpedo boats - the old Audace, Enrico Cosenz and Nicola Fabrizi and the recent Antares and Calipso - that carry troops of the 102nd Motorized Division Trento: the I/61st RI Sicilia, reinforced with a battery of 65 mm guns and a company of machine gunners. This limited engagement will allow to make illusion and to gain time. Suspecting that sooner or later he would have to give up some ballast, Ambrosio was already working on an argument stating that mountain infantry units are better suited to the Sicilian theater!
The commander of the Attack Force, Admiral Rawlings (RN), planned such a move and sent a squadron to patrol the Gulf of Noto to support the light forces. These are the light cruiser MN Gloire and the three destroyers Cassard, Kersaint and Tartu. Moreover, at the same time, southeast of Catania, the destroyers HMS Middleton and RHS Kriti, the British 10th MTB Flotilla and the minesweepers HMS Speedy and Parrsboro escort the heavy monitors HMS Erebus and Terror (Heavy Fire Support Squadron), which shell the Italian troops defending Lentini.
00:31 - As the Vosper torpedo boats of the 7th Flotilla maneuver to attack the Italian squadron and the Gloire group is alerted, the radar of the Attilio Regolo picks up echoes of the enemy towards the south. The Italian commander immediately orders to fire flares and, having identified MTBs, rushes them at 35 knots with the Attilio Regolo, followed with great difficulty by the Nicolo Zeno, in order to prevent the boats from getting into firing position. At short range, against these small targets, the main artillery is ineffective and the 37 mm and 20 mm tracer shells illuminated the night.
00:34 - The French, who have also accelerated, arrive on the scene and the Gloire opens fire with its 152 mm.
00:36 - While exchanging friendly words with the French in the form of shells, the Attilio Regolo comes to 125 and launched its torpedoes, imitated shortly after by the Zeno. But only the front sight of the Regolo works and its torpedoes are widely dispersed; on the side of the Zeno, if the torpedo tubes work normally, these torpedoes are too few in number and fired from too far away to be effective.
00:38 to 00:45 - The Regolo comes to 85, hoping to attract the French away from the convoy. It is sailing at more than 38 knots in the middle of the small British launches, one of which is put out of action by the enormous bow wave raised by the cruiser and finished off by its small arms, which also destroy a second one. The three destroyers accept the challenge, but can "only" give 37.5 knots. The Regolo hits twice the Cassard, which loses its 138 mm gun III, but in exchange it receives a shell that put its rear fire control out of action.
Meanwhile, the Gloire, unable to follow the infernal race of the four others, engages the Zeno, which cannot give more than 29 knots. Directed by radar, the cruiser's fire proves to be more precise than that of the destroyers and the Zeno is hit three times in two minutes, losing its double rear 120 mm gun mount and one of its 37 mm AA guns. The Zeno also comes to the east, at heading 70, and the Gloire's radar, hampered by the echoes generated by the Sicilian coast and the Etna massif, does not detect the Italian convoy. On the other hand, the cruiser continues to pound the Zeno, now brilliantly illuminated by a violent fire near its rear chimney.
A few nautical miles south-west of this action, the group of heavy monitors is in the front row. To the commander of the Erebus, who is questioning him, the commander of the Middleton, who is in command of the escort, says with a touch of envy: "Our French friends are obviously having a jolly riotous night."
night binge.)
00:46 - The Regolo loses its 135 mm turret III on a lucky shot of the Kersaint and shoots down towards the north, making smoke to mask its movement. The French thought they had damaged the Italian cruiser, but the Regolo is now making 39 knots and gradually increases the distance to its pursuers. At 00:48, it is heading due north, but its movement was not detected before 00:51. Indeed, the three destroyers have British radars which are not very reliable when they are subjected to the violent vibrations beyond 35 knots (they were not designed for ships capable of such speeds!). When the French also come north, the distance exceeds 9 nautical miles.
00:54 - The Gloire gets closer to the Zeno, whose speed has dropped to less than 20 knots since a strong explosion shook the stern of the ship, which is now only firing with its forward gun sight. The Frenchman's 152 mm shells spread death and destruction on the Italian, which soon burns from stern to bow and slows down little by little until it stopps.
01:02 - The Zeno sinks rapidly by the stern "with the sound of a red-hot iron plunged into a tub of cold water", said a sailor from the Gloire. At that moment, the cruiser recalls its destroyers, which are still uselessly chasing the Regolo. It also tries to contact the MTBs of the 7th British Flotilla, but have difficulty in doing so.
01:06 - The commander of the 7th Flotilla reports that he is regrouping his ships. In fact, some of them have been scattered to the four winds by the Regolo's charge and others collected the survivors of the two sunken boats. However, the MTB-61 and 77 slipped along the coast and spot the Italian convoy on the horizon of the open sea, while remaining themselves not very visible along the coast.
01:08 - Less than 5 nautical miles from Catania, a torpedo hits the old torpedo boat Nicola Fabrizi, which sinks in a few moments. His companions react violently with their anti-aircraft weapons. Zigzagging to avoid enemy fire, the MTB-61 breaks apart on a reef.
The captain of the MTB-77, emitting as much smoke as possible, runs to the sinking ship and retrieves her crew under what he later describes as "very accurate 20 mm fire.." One British sailor is killed and two wounded during this daring rescue operation.
01:20 - The four Italian ships enter the port of Catania.
01:55 - Warned by the 7th Flotilla that the convoy has reached Catania, the Gloire, followed by the three destroyers, approaches the coast and opens fire on the port with its 152 mm guns, imitated by the destroyers with their 138 mm. The ships shell Catania for 20 minutes, engaged by several guns of the coastal artillery, including those of the TA 120/4/S armoured train.
The latter succeeds in placing a 120 mm shell on the cruiser, but only scratches it.
02:20 - The French squadron moves away towards the Simeto estuary. The British heavy monitors, having completed their mission, leave for Augusta and Syracuse.
.........
"Death of a lone Ranger"
02:30 - Admiral Rawlings, Admiral Derrien (back in Malta with the Richelieu, as it has become clear that the Regia Marina will not attack in force) and Rear Admiral Hewitt, with the carrier force, are informed of the action off Catania (named Battle of Acireale, in order to avoid confusion with the land battle of Catania).
04:00 - Fearing that this convoy, whose size is uncertain, is disembarking forces (in fact, only the equivalent of a reinforced battalion reached Catania), Rawlings asks Hewitt to launch a raid against the port "if possible". The American admiral, hoping to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the Ranger's Dauntless, agrees and the carrier force, cruising 50 nautical miles southeast of Cape Passero, begins to approach the Sicilian coast.
05:30 - Several threatening trackers are detected by HMS Sirius' radar, then by the Ranger's.
05:55 - Pilots of the "dawn patrol" of the VF-9 shot down a Ju 88 too curious, but two other twin-engine German aircraft, flying at high altitude, escape. Hewitt calls off the raid, requests land-based fighter cover and sets course for 140.
06:35 - The Mustang II of the 7th EC, coming from Gozo, soon followed by 8 Banshees of the RAF, appear above the fleet which withdraws towards the south-east. Ten nautical miles north of the aircraft carriers, on the "main axis of the threat", is the CLAA HMS Sirius, escorted by the destroyers USS Wainwright and Mayrant. The aircraft carriers are in line, with the USS Ranger in front of HMS Furious, with the destroyers USS Trippe, Rhind and Wilkes on port and the destroyers USS Swanson, Ludlow and Ericsson on starboard, the French CLAA Marseillaise sailing inside the screen on the port side ahead of the Ranger.
06:40 - The Ranger recovers the Wildcats from VF-9 and launches twelve F4F-4s from VF-41, while four Fulmars from the Furious patrol at low altitude against a possible attack from torpedo bombers.
06:45 - The approach of a massive raid is detected by the Sirius' radar.
General Geisler sends his dive bombers in the lead: 27 Ju 87 B2 and D1 (from I/StG 1 and II/StG 2) and 33 Ju 88 (from I/LG 1 and II/LG 1), escorted by 40 Bf 109F (from I and II/JG77).
To make the most of the confusion created by this first wave, 12 Bf 109F Jabos (from III/JG 77), armed with 250 kg bombs, follow at very low altitude. Finally, the second wave of bombers is composed of 24 He 111H-6 torpedo planes, accompanied by nine survivors of the Italian attacks of the day before (five SM.79B and four Re.2002) and escorted by 16 Bf 109F (from II and III/JG 77). In all 161 attackers.
While the Sirius directs the 16 Mustang IIs towards the raid, the Ranger launches eight other F4F-4 from VF-41 and 12 from VF-9, and the Furious launches 10 Martlets II from Sqn 809. At this moment, 70 allied fighters are in the air. In Gozo and Malta, 16 other Mustang II and 8 Banshee II take off.
07:01 - The Mustangs dive into the Ju 87 formation, but are caught by the Bf 109 whose pilots are experienced and well trained. Five Mustangs, six Bf 109F and four Stukas are shot down during this first confrontation. However, while the attackers' losses are low, the battle cost the hardy Bf 109s a lot of fuel.
The F4F-4s take advantage of this. A wild, spinning battle breaks out over the Sirius, as the Wildcats try to break the German formation. Casualties are heavy - nine Ju 87s, seven Ju 88s and seven Bf 109s in exchange for eleven F4F-4s. It is the turn of the British - the Martlets, Fulmars and Banshees destroy seven of the slow-moving Ju 87s and three Ju 88s, losing only one Martlet, as the Bf 109s are no longer there.
Fifteen Ju 88s break through and the flak opens fire. The density of the fire is spectacular; the Furious' commander described the Marseillaise as "firing so hard and so fast that the cruiser itself seemed to be on fire" (In fact, the cruiser's crew had to use the fire hoses to cool down the 5-inch gun tubes - see Kerdonval's letter).
Two Ju 88s are shot down, but the others show their accuracy. The first hit is the destroyer USS Ericsson, stopped dead in its tracks by a 500 kg bomb. The Ranger is then severely shaken by three bombs which just miss it, just before taking a SC-500 in front of the rear elevator. This bomb causes a huge fire and the main rudder is disabled. But the most serious damage is linked to the mine effect of the three near misses on the relatively weak hull of the old carrier. Part of the machinery is out of order and the ship suffers a severe electrical shock that cripples the damage control teams fighting the fire.
07:32 - The Ranger burns violently and its speed has dropped to 10 knots. It is obvious that the ship is not going to be able to recover its planes; some are directed towards the Furious and the others to the Pachino field.
By this time, the Sirius has detected the wave of torpedo bombers and directed the Mustangs and Banshees that had just arrived, when it is assaulted by the Jabos of III/JG 77.
The twelve fighter-bombers begin climbing to within five nautical miles of their target, before diving. The Wainwright shoots down one and the Sirius another, but a 250 kg bomb hits the cruiser on the quarterdeck, near the Y turret. It opens a hole of almost 7 meters in the main deck and a smaller one in the lower deck, igniting a fire near the 20 mm ammunition stores. The Y turret itself and the guns of the X turret are damaged by shrapnel. Two or three other bombs fall not far from the ship, on the port side, showering the ship's side and superstructure with shrapnel and disabling the radar and electrical equipment. The cruiser escapes, but has to leave for England, where it would be undergoing repairs until the end of January 1943. The Wainwright receives a 250 kg bomb in front of the bridge, under the B turret - fortunately, the bomb did not explode, but the turret is put out of action.
The Marseillaise resumes the task of directing the Sirius' fighters as the Allied fighters intercept the torpedo bombers and their escort. This one is less lucky than the dive bombers, and the Mustangs take all the attention of the Bf 109Fs, which allow the Banshees to make a massacre of the Heinkel 111s weighed down by their torpedoes
eleven are shot down and eight others have to get rid of their torpedoes to escape, while one Banshee is shot down by a lucky shot from a Heinkel gunner (two others, damaged, had to land at Pachino). The Mustangs shoot down eight Bf 109s, plus three SM.79s as a bonus, at the cost of six of their own.
The five surviving He 111s and the two SM.79s try to cross a curtain of fire erected by the screen: three Heinkels and a Sparviero are shot down and the torpedoes are launched from too far away to be dangerous. But the attack distracted the flak and the four Re.2002s, attacking alone, are spotted at the last minute. The small fighter-bombers in dive place two 250 kg bombs on the Ranger, which moves slowly and does not steer anymore, before escaping at low altitude without any trouble. A bomb penetrates in the engine room where it explodes, depriving the ship of energy. The second one hits the flight deck and explodes in the hangar.
07:59 - The Ranger stops. The fires have gotten out of control.
08:05 - Captain C.T. Durgin orders the evacuation. If the 21 Wildcats that survived the fight reach the Furious or land in Sicily, all SBD-3s are lost (but their crews are safe).
08:52 - After multiple explosions, the carrier sinks, still burning violently.
"Death of a lone Ranger...", comments darkly an officer of the ship. This Western-style comment is not just a play on words - in the face of many land-based fighters, his ship was the only large aircraft carrier, with the Furious being little more than a back-up.
The Ericsson, definitively immobilized, is scuttled because no one wants to take the risk of towing a damaged ship under the threat of air raids.
.........
"Avenge the Ranger!"
The second naval air battle in the Gulf of Noto is a tactical victory for the Xth FK.
But with an aircraft carrier and destroyer sunk and a cruiser damaged, the cost is frightening. The FliegerKorps lost 69 aircraft, plus 40 damaged, out of 152 engaged.
On the Allied side, the result is painful. The Ranger was a fragile ship, but it carried a large number of aircraft, which had allowed it to dominate the naval air war in the Mediterranean since March 1942. However, its loss is only a setback with limited consequences. The landing of troops and equipment in Sicily is not affected.
Better still, this setback is more than compensated for by General d'Astier de la Vigerie's decision to redirect the air raids planned for the day to Cosenza and Reggio Calabria. The raids planned against Messina (as the day before) are sent against Cosenza, with a motto that particularly motivates the American crews: "Avenge the Ranger!" The 48 B-24 escorted by 48 P-38 strike at 13:20, followed at 13h55 by 81 B-26 escorted by the P-51B of the 79th FG of the USAAF.
At 14:20, Reggio Calabria is attacked by 54 French DB-73 (of the 23rd and 25th EB, based in Malta) escorted by Spitfire Vs of the USAAF and the French Air Force (10th EC, Polish) based in Gozo. At the end of the afternoon, Reggio is again shelled, this time by American B-25 escorted by RAF Spitfires.
These raids destroy or seriously damage 60 German aircraft (finishing in particular aircraft hit during the morning fighting). In the evening, General Geisler does not even have thirty planes in flight condition, whereas he had 185 planes at his disposal the same morning, 164 of which were operational!
.........
The situation on the ground
The troops of the French 4th Corps who advance along the coast are the most successful. The first armoured elements reach Ribera at the end of the day. The 26th D.I.M. Assietta shows signs of disintegration and some of its troops retreat into the hills. However, once their landing at Licata was completed, the tanks of the Tancremont Brigade of Colonel Piron drove all night along the coastal road to join the 14th DBLE and the 2nd Spahis (see below "The Belgian tanks attack!").
The naval air battle and the destruction of the Ranger had notable consequences on the Caltanisseta front. The air support to the ground troops is indeed more sporadic than the day before, which probably prevented the fall of Caltanisseta that day, despite the progress made by the Franco-Belgian forces, which partially encircled the small town.
In the sector of the French 3rd Corps, General de Lattre's forces, now supported by American troops from Vizzini, advance towards Piazza Armerina, which they reach at about 10:00. Arriving by two different routes among the many villas and houses in a rather wooded area, the vehicles were difficult to spot by the defenders installed in the Aragonese castle, which overlooks the city by only 100 meters. Only the barricades set up at the entrances to the city can give the alert before being eliminated. Enervated by the wait, the Italians open fire as soon as they see a silhouette, which earns them an immediate reply from Leclerc's tanks. The latter, while north of the city, sent two small groups of the two brigades to surround and reduce the medieval fortress, which is quickly executed. In the numerous small streets of the ancient city - which still has 24,000 inhabitants - the progression is cautious. But the Italian infantrymen have few heavy weapons, and even fewer anti-tank guns. The fights are therefore rare and brief, but nevertheless violent. To avoid being locked in, General Chirieleison quickly retreats towards the road to Enna. When night falls around 19:00, calm had returned to the old stones.
It is in the east of Sicily that the most violent ground confrontations of the day take place. The British troops have trouble breaking the Italian resistance at Lentini.
Nevertheless, the combination of the night bombardment carried out the night before by the heavy monitors and a turning movement of the V Corps, which breaks through along the coast, forces the 54th D.I. Napoli to abandon its positions at the end of the day. In the evening, General Gotti Porcinari has to warn Guzzoni that he is withdrawing to the course of the Gornalunga and Simeto rivers, where he hopes to hold a last line of defense before Catania and Etna.
.........
The Belgian tanks attack ! (According to Jo Gérard, Reporter of war, Ed. Collet, Brussels, 1946)
"In the warm night of this Sicilian September, here I am, speeding along in an American-made all-terrain vehicle, a "Jeep", on the coastal road from Licata to Ribera. With his rustic Walloon accent, my driver tells me about the mixture of enthusiasm and apprehension that animates the brave soldiers of our 1st Armored Brigade. For two years now some of them have been training for this historic moment, when a great Belgian unit finally takes part in the fight in Europe. We can feel their pride and determination to honor the heroic memory of their comrades from Fort Tancremont, whose name their unit bears.
I told my driver that I was proud to have come up with this name during a meeting with Lieutenant-General Wibier in Algiers a few months ago.
Did I ever tell you about Jean-Baptiste Piron, who commands this brigade? I was able to glean some information from this silent man a few days before the crossing, on the occasion of his promotion to the rank of colonel. This solid fellow, born in 1896 in Couvin, near the French border, was accepted at the Military Academy in 1913, when he was still only 17 years old. He fought in the Great War with distinction, receiving his baptism of fire on August 18th, 1914 at the battle of Hautem-Sainte-Marguerite. He fought in the trenches of the Yser, and then the 22nd Line Regiment, and his courage earned him the Croix de Guerre on February 14th, 1917.
Unable to serve in the infantry due to appendicitis, our stubborn Couvinois chose to return to combat in the air force, where he was wounded. He finished the war at 22 years old, as the youngest Captain in the Belgian army. During the Eighteen Days Campaign, he was deputy chief of staff of the 5th Army Corps. Taken captive by the Germans, he escaped from a prison camp in Aachen. Driven like no other by the spirit of the Resistance, Piron then began an eight-month journey through France, Spain and Gibraltar, to join the Belgian Forces in North Africa. He landed in Algiers on October 10th, 1941 and immediately placed himself at the disposal of the Belgian military authorities.
His curriculum and his sense of organization and discipline made him stand out, and he took charge of the training of the 1st Armored Brigade which was being reconstituted. What do his men think of him? It's hard to say: he was the object of religious devotion on the part of some, while others reproach him with extreme coldness. It is said that, during an inspection at the end of particularly painful maneuvers in the desert of the Tunisian south, he made several remarks about poorly maintained shoes and missing buttons on the uniforms.
But let's get back to our story. The Belgian troops landed throughout the day in Licata, not quite the place originally planned. The British had the delicate attention to make our infantry cross Bizerte on board the Prince Leopold, one of the liners of the Channel which was converted by them into a troop transport - a Belgian ship for Belgian troops, what could be more normal? A specialized American ship transported our tanks and their crews - those tanks that we missed so much two years ago, because of the imperiousness of our Government which saw it as an offensive weapon "inappropriate for a neutral country"!
On the way, we hear behind us the powerful guns of the naval artillery knocking out the Italian defenders. As we arrived at the level of Porto Empedocle, I saw two armored trains on the railroad track below the road, completely destroyed by shells.
Around 04:00, we were in sight of the front lines at Ribera. My heart accelerates. Now, no more doubts! In a few hours, the first armored unit in the history of the Belgian army will go into battle."
.........
The last cards of the Xa MAS
At nightfall, the torpedo boat Ardente, which had arrived from Naples the night before, takes four MTM boats from Livorno to Reggio Calabria. There, it finds two MAS boats from Messina and everyone is camouflaged for the following day. Meanwhile, the submarine Durbo (CC Giovanni Cunsolo) leaves Livorno with three SLC with double heads on board.

The mood of Italy - Pyrrhic victory
"The outcome of the attack of the Xth FK against the Allied fleet was feverishly awaited in the Quirinal, where Mussolini hoped for a miracle. At 10:30, when he received the news of the destruction of the Ranger, he immediately called the German ambassador, to congratulate him warmly. At 13:00, he pronounced a vibrant speech from the balcony of the Quirinal, without even noticing that the crowd listening to him was more than sparse.
But in the afternoon, the Duce's mood worsened when General Ambrosio and the staff
of the Regia Aeronautica came to bring him more gloomy news. The Italian troops were being pushed back along the entire Sicilian front, and the air force was unable to resume operations against the enemy. The squadrons of Sicily and Sardinia no longer existed, and those in southern Italy were so weakened that even the defense of their of their grounds and bases like Taranto would be extremely difficult in the days to come.
"Don't worry," Mussolini told his generals. "The Luftwaffe will not let us down! When all the enemy ships have suffered the fate of this aircraft carrier, their troops will be trapped in Sicily!"
But in the evening, he was informed of the losses suffered by the Xth FK. It was not necessary to count on the Germans to resume offensive operations until they had received many reinforcements. For all its propaganda value, the second battle of the Gulf of Noto was, at best, a Pyrrhic victory." (Francesco Folcini, op. cit.)

Grumman G36 Wildcat, MN Lafayette, Second air battle of the Gulf of Noto, September 1942

 

[John Farson]

There's a couple of critical differences here compared to the IRL version.

1) They made the Japanese bleed for it and hard. By rights in this timline no one outside India will ever hear of Imphal, i.e. the Japanese won't get anywhere near as deep into Burma.
2) This should actually lift Commonwealth morale, given that this is bound to end up as part of the list of legendary last stands. A latterday mix of Rouke's Drift and the Alamo.
3) The defenders bought critical time not only for Burma, but also for the Pacific War in general. I mean Guadalcanal is already going on, and the Japanese have lost the initiative.

Hmm.
Two comments here...
1) The dates describing the Singapore indicates the war goes until 1945.
2) The Japanese are *highly* unlikely to take any significant land that they don't already have.

I think they are reaching their high water mark. I think the fights in late 1944 are going to be on the Chinese Mainland killing the IJA while the Allies decide how long they want to wait until the downfall equivalent and then the Nukes are going to arrive just in time to keep from having a downfall equivalent. And that additional experience and training with US weapons will make the KMT able to keep the communists from spreading much beyond the Soviet Border areas such as Manchuria.

The amount of IJA divisions involved in invading FIC, the East Indies, Malaya and Burma wasn't that great to begin with, and Singapore sucked an inordinate amount, with those divisions consequently not available for the other fronts until Singapore had fallen. And those divisions by and large are gutted. Even with two understrength divisions sent to reinforce the 55th at Burma, the Commonwealth forces have had plenty of time to fortify their positions on the Salween and their counterattack is only a matter of time. FIC is also very soon going to be another bleeding sore for the IJA. Thailand will then find themselves in the same position as Fascist Italy...

Meanwhile, with the combination of the Burma Road and the Hump, and the institutional reforms that are gradually making headway, the Chinese Nationalists are becoming stronger with every passing day, to Japan's detriment as shown by the first reversals on the China front and the early B-17 air raids against the Japanese war industry.

 

[Wings]

Letter from the marine engineer Louis de Kerdonval, embarked as technical advisor on board the CLAA Marseillaise to his brother Charles, officer in charge of the follow-up of the Jean-Bart's conversion work in the United States.

Central Mediterranean, September 24th, 1942
My dear Charles,
More than a year ago you were on the Marseillaise to tell me about your adventures.
Today, you have remained in America with the heavy task of supervising the work and the needs of the sailors in the transformation of the Jean-Bart. I will join you soon, because my role on board this proud cruiser is now over. Like the phoenix, the Marseillaise is now fully operational and yesterday has validated the choices made for her reconstruction. We both worked hard to make it happen and the result is as good as our efforts.
Yesterday, a great naval air battle took place off the coast of Sicily. Our Marseillaise had the mission of escorting the aircraft carriers Ranger and Furious. Here are the facts.
.........
Having trouble getting to sleep, I've been up since four in the morning. I've been going back and forth on board to learn more about the operations. It seems, from the elements we have by radio, that a battle is raging near the coast. Our people have come across an enemy surface force and the battle is engaged.
On board it is quiet, but we are now heading for Sicily. At 05:45, I am in the CO when, from the tactical network, the following message falls:
- All, this is Sugar tac - One or more target Tac possible mike peter able Tac tracking zero niner zero Tac speed two five zero Tac cap dog peter in progress for interception expected in five minutes - Over.
- Sugar, this is Love - Roger - Out.
The OQO explains to me that it is the Sirius (Sugar), a British cruiser placed on a radar picket to the north of the force, which has just detected one or more MPA coming towards it and that it sends the CAP in "dawn patrol", currently in the air, to intercept them. We are Love - charming, isn't it?
I then go to the bridge where the pasha is comfortably installed in his "captain chair" drinking a coffee.
- My respects, Commander.
- Ah! Kerdonval, did you sleep well? Not enough, perhaps, for a geumeu... In any case, it could be that today, we might have the opportunity to verify the validity of the work you have done in the United States.
Geumeu! Always this ancestral rivalry between these gentlemen of the Naval School and the "X", the Royale will definitely remain immutable in the cult of Colbert!
New message to the tactics:
- All, this is Able Tac bearing one four zero Tac stand by... stand by... execute.
- Able, this is Love - Roger - Out.
The order comes from the CTG, Admiral Hewitt. We turn back.
- Right 15, steer 140, the officer of the watch says.
- The helm is 15 right.
- Good.
- On the way to 140.
- Good.
I discreetly move away to take the air on the starboard wing. The pasha, who never misses one, signifies to me with a smile in the corner of his lips that, to enjoy the sunrise over the Mediterranean, I would be better off on the port side since we are sailing at 140° and that, if the technical services haven't changed the wind rose, the sun always rises in the east.
He really considers me as a passenger!
In any case, on the starboard side the show is just as interesting. The Ranger, just behind us, is getting his CAP back. The ballet of the Wildcats turning at low speed with the stock out, always leaves me wondering. How do they land on such a small surface, constantly moving slowly, but really, and all this after having fought. These pilots are really different. I hope they all made it back. The sailor on the nautical watch tells me that he heard that they had shot down a "Jinker".
Then the ballet continues in the other direction, it is the catapulting of another CAP. The F4Fs take off and circle over us before regrouping to disappear in a formation towards the north.
The sound of the bugle brings me out of my thoughts: battle stations! I grab a helmet and an armband and go up to the watchtower. The intercom soon clarifies what it is about: "All from OQO, massive hostile strike in 340 in pure radial, distance 30 nautical miles, estimated speed 250 knots."
A quick head calculation tells me they will be on us in less than 8 minutes. It is 07:00, the sun is on the horizon and it sets the Ranger ablaze with an orange-yellow light on which its three folding stovepipes slice, spitting a light whitish smoke.
The commotion on board quickly reminds me of the sad reality, the turrets of 127 swing from one side to the other, and the ship seems to follow an erratic course. We were making over 30 knots and a chief petty officer was glued to his rangefinder and said, "Sir, hang on, let's go for the zig and zag!
Indeed the wake of the cruiser looks like irregular sinusoids. Then it is a dizzying roar, the six double turrets of 127 start to spit fire in the same direction. I grabbed a pair of binoculars and saw a swarm of black dots suddenly scattering and taking different routes. The sky is strewn with small black clouds due to the firing of 127 shells with time fuses. Around us, the destroyers also spit fire.
Then it was the Bofors' turn to enter the dance and the sky is suddenly streaked with the orange trails of the tracers weaving a deadly spider web for the attackers. The building is surrounded by white smoke through which the flashes of the shots look like the neon lights I saw in Brooklyn last year, it's an extraordinary show of light and sound. Without interruption, all the artillery is now in action, I see the tubes of 127 which start to smoke and their "grey hull" paint which blisters and peels off. The tubes of the 40, cooled by water circulation, do not have this problem and continue to fire happily from both sides.
The black dots are now clearly identifiable, they come from all directions and some of them are almost on our bow, I think I recognize Junkers 88.
In the meantime, the security teams have deployed fire hoses to cool down the tubes of 127. For the next generation of automatic AA parts, I would recommend a circulating water cooling mantle* for large calibers as well.
All around us, sprays of water rise with each bomb that misses. I then spot two Junkers trying a clever kinematics to anticipate the evasive movements of the Ranger. Obviously, the pilots know their job because they fall in phase with the movements of the aircraft carrier. The first one succeeded in placing 2 or 3 bombs near the hull. The second one is more lucky, a lightning flashes and a cloud of black smoke seems to suddenly be coming out of the rear elevator. The cloud grows quickly and the Ranger slows down his pace.
I'm going down to the bridge to check in.
- All, this is Roger, speed one zero stand by... stand by... execute.
- Roger, this is Love - Roger - Out.
The force drops its speed to 10 knots, the carrier seems to be in bad shape.
In the meantime, here is the corvettard gunner who, making a smashing entry to the bridge, is visibly exulting in joy, bellowing at a level of noise that makes incomprehensible the words supposedly hidden behind them. The officer of the watch translates for me his screams which globally mean "We had two, at least!" The commander, although delighted, says: "Too much noise on this bridge, we are not finished."
As if to illustrate the pasha's words, the voice of the OQO is heard over the intercom: "CO abri, the Sirius informs us that it has been hit, we are taking over from it to lead the fighters, new hostile strike interception in progress vertical Sirius by the land-based fighters."
- Received from abri.
- CO abri we request CO direction.
- To all of Commander direction CO.
- CO abri come round by left to 85.
- Received from abri , left 30," said the officer of the watch.
- The bar is 30 left.
- Good.
Inside the Marseillaise, the FDO and his assistants must be busy between their radar screens and radios to direct the hunt for the attackers, but I prefer to stay on the bridge. Indeed, the artillery is redoubling its activity against aircraft identified as Italian by the crown watch.
- Captain, there are two that have made it!" announced the starboard watchman to the officer of the watch. I went out on the wing to witness a sad spectacle: the burning of the American aircraft carrier. Soon it is a "speed zero" and a request for assistance which are emitted on the tactical network, it's over for the Ranger. We turn around while the destroyers pick up the survivors, less than an hour later the carrier has made its hole in the water.
Seeing me somewhat depressed by this spectacle, the pasha walks up to me:
"Kerdonval... Nice work, I'm not talking so much for the gunners as for the electronics that you have put on board. We were able to detect, follow the enemy and especially direct the hunt from the OC, while informing the rest of the force. They too did a good job, according to the FDO. For me, who only knew the optical rangefinder and the Scott's projector, this is a revolution. Thanks to you and your American friends, Mr. Polytechnician."
Finally, this grumpy old man has almost become sympathetic to me.
So, my dear Charles, this is how I too witnessed the war at sea.
I must soon go ashore and return to Philadelphia. So we shall meet again in America on the Jean-Bart!
Your loving brother
Louis
...........................
NDE - Acronyms and abbreviations :
- CO: Central Operations.
- OQO: Officer of the Watch Operations.
- MPA: maritime patrol aircraft.
- CAP: combat air patrol.
- Geumeu (GM): nickname given by naval officers to the Marine Engineers.
- CTG: commander task group.
- Corvettard: nickname for corvette captains.
- Abri: navigation shelter (in fact the bridge)
- Direction CO: at this time it was the CO who directed the ship's manoeuvres and weapons and not the bridge.
- FDO: fighters direction officer

 

[Look More Closely Later]

September 24th, 1942

Battle of Singapore - IV
...Yamashita received from the Japanese press the nickname of Malay Bear - the bear is a symbol of virility in Asia, but this nickname was double-edged, the Malay bear being known for its long periods of sleep (besides, it is mainly herbivorous). A quicker victory would have earned him a more prestigious nickname, but it was clear that the capture of SSingapore had been both laborious and costly.
Nevertheless, Tojo was jealous of the prestige acquired by Yamashita, who had become military governor of Malaysia and Singapore. So, in February 1943, when the general made a diplomatic blunder (speaking to Singaporean officials, he referred to them as citizens of the Empire of Japan, whereas the Japanese government did not want this title to be extended to inhabitants of the occupied territories, Tojo did not hesitate to transfer him. Yamashita found himself in Manchuria, where two years later he would have to deal with a bear of a different species, not at all herbivorous this one.
Finally, the responsibility of Tomoyuki Yamashita in the sinister conclusion of the battle of Singapore remains very much debated. It must be admitted that the numerous atrocities committed by the Japanese Army after the capture of the city were not directly ordered by the commander-in-chief. The latter had to express his official regrets for certain exactions - hypocritical regrets, some have argued, since he did indeed cover up most of the massacres. Nevertheless, Yamashita - to make amends? - was then behind the decision to release the few Western civilians taken prisoner. Faithful to the instructions received from Tokyo, he also took great care of the Indian troops (apart from some summary executions in the first days) in order to favor the creation of the Indian National Army - but without much success: some images of tortured prisoners remained in all Indian minds.
According to the few witnesses of his last moments, he had in mind the dramatic conditions of the fall of Singapore when he personally led a desperate counter-attack against a column of Soviet tanks. His death under the tracks of an IS-2 may have spared him an ignominious hanging." (P. N'Guyen-Minh, War and Peace in Southeast Asia)

Since this is an Axis victory timeline, I would have thought that Yamashita would have been invited to commit suicide by his superiors, rather than hung, although I guess death by enemy tank in presumably one of the last battles of the war during the Soviet collapse could be considered an unconventional form of suicide.

'clear that the capture of SSingapore': 'SSingapore' should presumably be 'Singapore'.

 

[Tannenberg]

Since this is an Axis victory timeline, I would have thought that Yamashita would have been invited to commit suicide by his superiors, rather than hung, although I guess death by enemy tank in presumably one of the last battles of the war during the Soviet collapse could be considered an unconventional form of suicide.

'clear that the capture of SSingapore': 'SSingapore' should presumably be 'Singapore'.

This is actually an "Allies perform better" timeline, not an Axis victory one though. Germany is performing worse in Russia, Italy is on the verge of collapse and Japan is not doing that great if they took six months compared to OTL to take Singapore.

 

[New Potomac]

2) This should actually lift Commonwealth morale, given that this is bound to end up as part of the list of legendary last stands. A latterday mix of Rouke's Drift and the Alamo.

Cynically it should help some too that the American Navy hasn't exactly had the easiest go of things either. It won't be enough to make it so Canberra and Wellington don't look towards Washington in the future, but almost anything would be a benefit to the empire versus OTL.

 

[Look More Closely Later]

This is actually an "Allies perform better" timeline, not an Axis victory one though. Germany is performing worse in Russia, Italy is on the verge of collapse and Japan is not doing that great if they took six months compared to OTL to take Singapore.

https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...s-on-english-translation.524901/post-23329451
The Allies are losing ships (edit: by the dozen) which they never even lost in the original timeline... Imperial Japan is just losing ships it lost in the original timeline in different circumstances.
And Imperial Japan has successfully attacked the Panama Canal and is sinking ships in New York city (neither ever done by Imperial Japan in the original timeline), is in Guadalcanal on practically the original timeline schedule, and is still taking places that it took in the original timeline (such as Singapore), despite the fact that it is fighting more people in more places.
And Hitler has still kicked the door in in Russia, despite Stalin getting twelve extra months to unscramble the Russian army, and dig troops in.

That sure doesn't sound like an 'Allies perform better' timeline to me...
Unless we're talking about Allied diplomacy (Turkish cooperation greater than in original timeline, and Finland staying out of Barbarossa.)