Don't misunderstand me, I agree completely that stopping to consolidate before renewing war against the USSR is the correct course of action from the German point of view, but I have to say I rather doubt that the European Axis military chiefs would feel that cautious in the situation TTL sets them up in. We know how confident they were at the beginning of OTL Operation Barbarossa, and here such confidence would presumably be noticeably boosted by having won against the Soviet Union twice already.
"Goring's Reich" An Alternate World War II
- Thread starter galveston bay
- Start date
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- world war 2
there are some reasons I haven't posted yet regarding weapons of mass destruction and rumors of such. Also some new toys the Germans are working on
This would be the 3 freighters they have left?
The Germans didn't lose too much, about 25% of their merchant fleet to internment or combat. A lot of ships are sitting in Argentina but the bulk spent the war in the Baltic or in coastal waters. The Italians and Spanish lost well over 60% of their merchant fleets, particularly their larger more valuable vessels like tankers and large cargo ships. Most of their passenger ships survived, although not all of course. The other Axis powers didn't have much to begin with other than coastal shipping.
You can expect them to work on remedying that however
This would be the 3 freighters they have left?
This isn't Japan. They had a lot of their merchant fleet idling in port. Obviously sending them out would have been idiotic.
The Liberation of the Philippines Part 1
Philippines Campaign – Preliminaries
The Battle of Guam June 1944
The first major operation is the assault on Guam, which Towers and Nimitz hope will draw out the Japanese fleet. However the Japanese have already determined that while critical, they cannot get all of the needed airpower into position to support the Mobile Fleet in the Marianas. The 11th Army, commanded by General Osanoe, has 45,000 soldiers and sailors and orders to fight as long as possible. He has constructed strong positions and intends to meet the Americans on the beaches and then crush them in a full scale counterattack. The Americans storm ashore with the 1st Marine Division and Americal Division, with the 41st Infantry Division in reserve commanded by General “Howlin Mad” Smith. Heavy gunfire support by six old battleships all armed with 14 inch guns, as well as numerous cruisers and destroyers and air support from a fleet of 12 escort carriers is enough to get the landing force ashore in spite of heavy losses. Without valuable intelligence provided by locals led by Petty Officer George Tweed, who survived 3 years on the run from the Japanese after Guam fell, the assault might have been even more costly. The Marines and National Guardsmen take the island in fierce fighting with the climax a massive banzai charge with 10,000 Japanese troops against the 132nd Infantry Regiment, an Illinois National Guard regiment assigned to the Americal very nearly destroys all three of its infantry battalions before support from the two adjacent regiments and a strong attack by the 162nd Infantry Regiment (Oregon National Guard) with tank battalions from all 3 divisions destroys the spearhead and overruns the survivors. In a week, the 3 American divisions suffer 13,000 casualties, including 4,000 dead, but have shattered the Japanese as an organized force. The the National Guard troops mop up resistance over the next two weeks, with the island completely secured by July 3. Only 3,000 Japanese and Korean troops are taken alive.
Yap and the Palau Islands
These landings occur on June 24, and involve General Geiger's II Amphibious Force with the 2nd Marine Division (Yap) 3rd Marine Division (Peleleiu) and 5th Infantry Division as a reserve. Defending is the Japanese 15th Army (Mutaguchi) with a brigade of the 86th Infantry Division at Yap, and a brigade of the 81st Infantry Division at Peleliu. This time the Japanese try a different strategy, foregoing the previously fierce counterattacks and have dug into caves and tunnels for a longer drawn out defense. This works very well, and in spite of heavy fire support from the 16 and 14 inch guns of six American battleships and strong air support, clearing both islands takes nearly six weeks and costs the Americans a total of 20,000 casualties, including 6,000 dead, and neither Marine Division will be combat effective again until March 1945. Both divisions are pulled out of action after a month, and the Army infantry finishes up the final mopping up. In all 16,000 Japanese are killed, with only 500 captured in this costly battle.
Iwo Jima and Ulithi
However, with the capture of Guam, Pelelieu, and Yap, as well as the capture of Ulithi atoll (defended by a single company of Japanese naval troops), the Allies have the air and naval bases needed for the invasion of the Philippines. Although costly, the 10th Army (Simpson) still has reserves available after these landings and takes the opportunity to land the 5th and 6th Marine Brigades at Iwo Jima on August 18, which is defended by only a brigade of Japanese naval troops, and in a week of fighting and 2,500 American casualties destroys the 3,000 man Japanese garrison and secures an island within long range fighter range of Tokyo.
Filipino Uprising in the Philippines
The Army of the Philippines was left a strong cadre from the beginning, with a regiment of each of the 10 Filipino Army divisions having orders to act as stay behind troops and form the cadre of a resistance force. By 1944 all of these divisions are up to full strength in numbers, with a total of 75,000 full time troops led by trained American and Filipino officers and armed with weapons such as the M1 Carbine and a variety of mortars and a sizable number of bazookas as well. Routine visits by submarines brought in specialists and special equipment throughout 1942 and 1943, and with the American conquest of western New Guinea in early 1944, the Filipino Army has constructed a number of air strips and prepared landing zones so that American cargo planes can bring in or airdrop many tons of supplies and even more specialists. A network of radio stations has been established throughout the islands, while in much of the interior the Filipinos are in complete control and a shadow government, led by appointees from the Filipino Commonwealth government (in exile) handles much of the civilian administration. In addition to the full time guerillas there are also nearly 250,000 others who are part-time members of the National Army or who are providing intelligence to the Allies. All of this is being led by General Allen Dulles of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) with General Robert Frederick, who led the 1st Special Service Force in the Aleutians Campaign having been brought into the Philippines to command the ground combat forces in October 1943.
In August, even as American aircraft begin operations out of Yap and Peleliu, and the 13th Air Force transitions from a tactical air force to an airborne assault and airlift force, the Filipino Army begins full scale operations to push the Japanese out of the hinterlands in the central and southern Philippines and push them into smaller more easily defended but more compact areas. The Japanese fall back to the port cities under heavy pressure in fighting that will eventually cost 100,000 Filipino lives (most of whom are civilians) but also inflicts over 40,000 Japanese casualties throughout the islands as fighting also becomes frequent in the highlands of Luzon.
The Japanese in the Philippines consist of the 13th Area Army (Okuda) with the 14th Army in Luzon (2 divisions (Kuroda) plus several brigades of Naval troops, the 18th Army (Adachi) with a division each in Cebu, Leyte, and Paney, and the 43rd Army (Hoskara) with 2 divisions in Mindanao, and another in Palawan. All told the Japanese have 200,000 troops in the islands, a far cry from the planned 400,000 they had planned on (or authors note, the 530,000 in OTL). The Soviet entry into the war has pulled every available unit of the Imperial Army into Northern China, Manchuria and Siberia and while new formations and divisions are hurriedly being formed, none are available for deployment. The Japanese do however have a powerful Air Army with 500 combat aircraft deployed in Luzon, as well as nearly 2,000 land based Naval aircraft and 600 carrier aircraft assigned to carry out Operation Sho-Go.
In early May, the first Allied special operations troops begin to arrive in quantity as the Canadian-American 1st Special Service Force, the Australian-American 2nd Special Service Force, the Alamo Scouts and the 1st and 2nd Army Ranger Battalions arrive in the Philippines by submarine and transport aircraft. This provides Dulles and Frederick high quality commando type troops to spearhead attacks by their Filipino guerrillas. Also brought in by air is a mobile army surgical hospital for Mindanao and another for Samar, where General Peralta and his 61st Filipino Infantry Division have contained the Japanese on Panay island and forced their evacuation from Samar itself.
The Filipinos are more than ready for liberation by Eisenhower and his armies.
Philippines Campaign – Preliminaries
The Battle of Guam June 1944
The first major operation is the assault on Guam, which Towers and Nimitz hope will draw out the Japanese fleet. However the Japanese have already determined that while critical, they cannot get all of the needed airpower into position to support the Mobile Fleet in the Marianas. The 11th Army, commanded by General Osanoe, has 45,000 soldiers and sailors and orders to fight as long as possible. He has constructed strong positions and intends to meet the Americans on the beaches and then crush them in a full scale counterattack. The Americans storm ashore with the 1st Marine Division and Americal Division, with the 41st Infantry Division in reserve commanded by General “Howlin Mad” Smith. Heavy gunfire support by six old battleships all armed with 14 inch guns, as well as numerous cruisers and destroyers and air support from a fleet of 12 escort carriers is enough to get the landing force ashore in spite of heavy losses. Without valuable intelligence provided by locals led by Petty Officer George Tweed, who survived 3 years on the run from the Japanese after Guam fell, the assault might have been even more costly. The Marines and National Guardsmen take the island in fierce fighting with the climax a massive banzai charge with 10,000 Japanese troops against the 132nd Infantry Regiment, an Illinois National Guard regiment assigned to the Americal very nearly destroys all three of its infantry battalions before support from the two adjacent regiments and a strong attack by the 162nd Infantry Regiment (Oregon National Guard) with tank battalions from all 3 divisions destroys the spearhead and overruns the survivors. In a week, the 3 American divisions suffer 13,000 casualties, including 4,000 dead, but have shattered the Japanese as an organized force. The the National Guard troops mop up resistance over the next two weeks, with the island completely secured by July 3. Only 3,000 Japanese and Korean troops are taken alive.
Yap and the Palau Islands
These landings occur on June 24, and involve General Geiger's II Amphibious Force with the 2nd Marine Division (Yap) 3rd Marine Division (Peleleiu) and 5th Infantry Division as a reserve. Defending is the Japanese 15th Army (Mutaguchi) with a brigade of the 86th Infantry Division at Yap, and a brigade of the 81st Infantry Division at Peleliu. This time the Japanese try a different strategy, foregoing the previously fierce counterattacks and have dug into caves and tunnels for a longer drawn out defense. This works very well, and in spite of heavy fire support from the 16 and 14 inch guns of six American battleships and strong air support, clearing both islands takes nearly six weeks and costs the Americans a total of 20,000 casualties, including 6,000 dead, and neither Marine Division will be combat effective again until March 1945. Both divisions are pulled out of action after a month, and the Army infantry finishes up the final mopping up. In all 16,000 Japanese are killed, with only 500 captured in this costly battle.
Iwo Jima and Ulithi
However, with the capture of Guam, Pelelieu, and Yap, as well as the capture of Ulithi atoll (defended by a single company of Japanese naval troops), the Allies have the air and naval bases needed for the invasion of the Philippines. Although costly, the 10th Army (Simpson) still has reserves available after these landings and takes the opportunity to land the 5th and 6th Marine Brigades at Iwo Jima on August 18, which is defended by only a brigade of Japanese naval troops, and in a week of fighting and 2,500 American casualties destroys the 3,000 man Japanese garrison and secures an island within long range fighter range of Tokyo.
Filipino Uprising in the Philippines
The Army of the Philippines was left a strong cadre from the beginning, with a regiment of each of the 10 Filipino Army divisions having orders to act as stay behind troops and form the cadre of a resistance force. By 1944 all of these divisions are up to full strength in numbers, with a total of 75,000 full time troops led by trained American and Filipino officers and armed with weapons such as the M1 Carbine and a variety of mortars and a sizable number of bazookas as well. Routine visits by submarines brought in specialists and special equipment throughout 1942 and 1943, and with the American conquest of western New Guinea in early 1944, the Filipino Army has constructed a number of air strips and prepared landing zones so that American cargo planes can bring in or airdrop many tons of supplies and even more specialists. A network of radio stations has been established throughout the islands, while in much of the interior the Filipinos are in complete control and a shadow government, led by appointees from the Filipino Commonwealth government (in exile) handles much of the civilian administration. In addition to the full time guerillas there are also nearly 250,000 others who are part-time members of the National Army or who are providing intelligence to the Allies. All of this is being led by General Allen Dulles of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) with General Robert Frederick, who led the 1st Special Service Force in the Aleutians Campaign having been brought into the Philippines to command the ground combat forces in October 1943.
In August, even as American aircraft begin operations out of Yap and Peleliu, and the 13th Air Force transitions from a tactical air force to an airborne assault and airlift force, the Filipino Army begins full scale operations to push the Japanese out of the hinterlands in the central and southern Philippines and push them into smaller more easily defended but more compact areas. The Japanese fall back to the port cities under heavy pressure in fighting that will eventually cost 100,000 Filipino lives (most of whom are civilians) but also inflicts over 40,000 Japanese casualties throughout the islands as fighting also becomes frequent in the highlands of Luzon.
The Japanese in the Philippines consist of the 13th Area Army (Okuda) with the 14th Army in Luzon (2 divisions (Kuroda) plus several brigades of Naval troops, the 18th Army (Adachi) with a division each in Cebu, Leyte, and Paney, and the 43rd Army (Hoskara) with 2 divisions in Mindanao, and another in Palawan. All told the Japanese have 200,000 troops in the islands, a far cry from the planned 400,000 they had planned on (or authors note, the 530,000 in OTL). The Soviet entry into the war has pulled every available unit of the Imperial Army into Northern China, Manchuria and Siberia and while new formations and divisions are hurriedly being formed, none are available for deployment. The Japanese do however have a powerful Air Army with 500 combat aircraft deployed in Luzon, as well as nearly 2,000 land based Naval aircraft and 600 carrier aircraft assigned to carry out Operation Sho-Go.
In early May, the first Allied special operations troops begin to arrive in quantity as the Canadian-American 1st Special Service Force, the Australian-American 2nd Special Service Force, the Alamo Scouts and the 1st and 2nd Army Ranger Battalions arrive in the Philippines by submarine and transport aircraft. This provides Dulles and Frederick high quality commando type troops to spearhead attacks by their Filipino guerrillas. Also brought in by air is a mobile army surgical hospital for Mindanao and another for Samar, where General Peralta and his 61st Filipino Infantry Division have contained the Japanese on Panay island and forced their evacuation from Samar itself.
The Filipinos are more than ready for liberation by Eisenhower and his armies.
The Decisive Battles: The Philippine Sea and Sulu Sea
September 1944
On September 17, 1944 the US 7th Fleet arrives in Ilman Bay, Mindanao carrying General Collins and the X Corps, with the American 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions and the Australian 6th Infantry Division comes ashore in the face of no resistance, as the Japanese were convinced that Americans would attack Davao directly. At the same time, in a large airlift, the 511th Parachute Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division is parachutes onto Del Monte Field as Filipino guerrillas launch a series of attacks on the Japanese battalion holding the airfield. In quick fighting the American paratroopers and Filipino guerrillas and Army Rangers of the 2nd Ranger battalion take the field wiping out the garrison.
Meanwhile Japanese patrols discover the American landing and reconnaissance find the American 7th Fleet. Operation Sho-Go 1 is ordered on September 20, 1944.
The Japanese fleet is divided into three groups. The Southern Force, commanded by Admiral Mikawa has 4 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 20 destroyers, and its mission is to engage and destroy the American transport force in Ilman Bay. It will depart last, steaming from Brunei through the Sulu Sea through the Sulu Islands into the Moro Gulf and into Ilman Bay. A second prong, consisting of the Northern Force under the command of Admiral Shima consisting of 4 fast battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 20 destroyers will steam from Formosa southwest to the southwestern side of Luzon and link up with the Southern Force and at that point Admiral Mikawa will take command of the entire group. To draw off the American carriers, Admiral Ozawa will take the 1st and 2nd Air Fleets, with all 9 remaining Japanese carriers, 700 aircraft and 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 30 destroyers and attack and destroy with the help of land based aircraft of the entire 3rd Air Fleet (all 6 air flotillas) that are already rebasing to Luzon to draw off the American carriers while land based air destroys as much of the American amphibious covering force as possible so that Admiral Mikawa can achieve its mission. The survival of the carriers is secondary to achieving the mission. The Japanese believe that destroying the amphibious shipping at Ilman Bay will permanently crippled the American drive in the Pacific and buy time for a negotiated peace.
One of the most serious flaws in this plan is that by the time the Japanese can reach Ilman Bay, the overwhelming majority of the American amphibious ships will have completed their unloading and will have left the area. A serious misunderstanding of the power of the American carrier force is the other severe flaw in the plan. However the first of the flaws that would doom the operation is the Japanese ignorance of the continued American codebreaking and the superb intelligence coming from Luzon regarding the Japanese air buildup.
Counterair at Luzon
Leaving 1 task group off the south coast of Mindanao to provide cover for the 7th Fleet, Towers takes 10 fleet and 6 light carriers north along with their escorts to hit the Japanese airfields at Luzon. In a 2 day fight lasting September 19th – 21st, the Japanese lose 1,200 aircraft destroyed or knocked out of action in the air or on the ground by American carrier planes and anti-aircraft fire along with several attacks by Filipino Guerrillas and elements of the 2nd Special Service Force that manage to fight their way into Japanese airfields and inflict losses on ground crews and delay repairs of facilities and aircraft. However the Japanese manage to inflict some serious damage of their own. A Judy dive bomber manages to drop a bomb on the Franklin as she is preparing to launch a strike and a series of devastating blasts kills nearly 700 American sailors, nearly a quarter of her crew. Attempts to save her fail when a pair of Jill torpedo bombers successfully hit her with 2 torpedoes and deciding that she is a total loss, Admiral Bogan, commander of Task Force 38.1, orders her abandoned and scuttled.
The second loss is at first light on September 21, when a Japanese Francis twin engined torpedo plane is hit attacking the Princeton as she is arming and fueling aircraft for a strike and the Japanese pilot crashes directly into her packed flight deck. A Japanese Jill manages a bomb hit soon after, and the burning listing carrier is ordered abandoned before noon. Much to the horror of nearby ships, the Princeton suffers a magazine explosion as the cruiser New Orleans has moved up to take on wounded survivors, and her decks are converted into a slaughterhouse. In all nearly 500 sailors are killed aboard both ships, with another 400 wounded, and the New Orleans is sent back to Pearl Harbor and ultimately San Francisco. A final strike manages to seriously damage the light carrier Independence, sending her home with a serious list from two bomb hits and a torpedo hit but through outstanding damage control efforts the ship is saved, although she is knocked out of action for a long time to come.
However this effort has completely drawn the fangs of Japanese land based Naval air and prevented any serious effort to attack the 7th Fleet. Reorganizing his ships on the move, Towers orders the other task group north to rendezvous with the rest of 3rd Fleet as it meets the Japanese carrier force as it steams through the Philippine Sea on September 23. He does take the precaution of sending Admiral Lee with the New Jersey and Iowa, along with a pair of light cruisers and 8 destroyers to reinforce Admiral Kirk's 7th Fleet.
Air Battle Southern Philippines September 19-24
Meanwhile, the Japanese 4th Air Army is making an all out effort to suppress American airpower over the Mindanao in the face of 5th Air Force Corsairs operating from the Jeep Carriers and newly opened or captured airstrips. While Allied losses are not light, the Australian, American Army Air Force and Marine Corps squadrons are able to maintain control of the skies over the transport area and their airfields and they butcher the relatively inexperienced Japanese Army pilots who were rushed into front line units over the last few months in the face of heavy continued attrition in Mongolia, Siberia, India, and elsewhere.
The Sulu Sea: The Great Shoot Out September 23-24
The Japanese successfully unite the Southern and Northern Force and steam south, hoping to make the final run toward Ilman Bay at night and reach the transport area just after first light. Admiral Kirk assembles two battlegroups to deal with them. The first battlegroup, Task Force 34, consists of Admiral Lee and his 2 fast battleships, plus 8 light cruisers and 16 destroyers. His orders are to get behind the Japanese in the Sulu Sea and strike once the Japanese run into Task Force 77. Admiral Olendorff and his Task Force 77 meanwhile will block the Japanese advance with 9 of his 11 old battleships (leaving only the Texas and New York out of the fight), along with 8 American and 8 Australian destroyers and the New Zealand manned battleship Malaya and the Australian manned battleship Valiant.
The Japanese force runs into trouble just before dark, when two American submarines, the Cavalla and Tambor fire spreads of torpedoes into the vanguard of the Japanese force, sinking the cruisers Ashigara and Myoko, and sending the cruiser Haguro limping toward Manila Bay with her bow blown off escorted by 4 destroyers. The next setback for the Japanese is when an Australian PBY equipped with radar finds the Japanese force and determines that it is heading for the Basilan Strait, the northern most passage (and best charted) route through the Sulu islands into the Moro Gulf. This is also the shortest route to the transport force and thus the route most easily reached by the slow old American battleships.
The Last Gunfight: the Battle of Basilan Strait.
The American battleline consists of the modernized 16 inch gun battleships Maryland, Colorado, West Virginia, the 15 inch gun battleships Malaya and Valiant, the 14 inch gun Nevada, California, Tennessee, Mississippi, New Mexico, Idaho, with the American destroyers and Australian destroyers each organized into a flotilla with orders to fire their torpedoes and get the hell out of the way. The Japanese proceed through the strait with 10 destroyers and 5 light cruisers, plus the heavy cruiser Nachi in the van, followed by 6 more destroyers. The 4 battleships led by the Haruna are behind them, then the 4 heavy cruisers led by the Mogami behind, and then 5 more light cruisers and 10 destroyers in the rear. On either flank are 5 destroyers, but these are forced to close up with the battleships as the channel narrows.
At 0200 Hours, Allied reconnaissance aircraft that have been tracking the Japanese fleet send off their final position reports. Admiral Lee and his task force are already 40 miles behind the Japanese and shifting into position to block their escape, and Admiral Olendorff orders his destroyers to attack. The Americans and Australian tincans launch and then flee south at high speed, and unaware of the Allied presence, as their own search aircraft are being knocked down by Corsairs and Black Widows equipped with radar as soon as they enter the area, the Japanese first discover the Allied presence when nearly 120 torpedoes comb the waters where the lead Japanese destroyer flotilla is steaming. All ten of the Japanese ships are hit and most quickly sink with the rest left burning helpless wrecks. The Japanese recover quickly however, firing off spreads of their own, and sink 2 US and 1 Australian destroyer and leave 3 American and 1 Australian destroyer heavily damaged and out of action. All four of these ships are fatally damaged as it turns out, as they are unable to get out of the way of the deluge of shellfire that will come in from the Allied heavy ships and the Japanese ships that see them as they pass.
At this point, the 11 ships in the lead of the Japanese column, 6 destroyers and 5 light cruisers, have been tracked by radar for several minutes and Olendorff has assigned a battleships to service each target. They open fire and the night sky is lit up by the flashes of Allied heavy guns and tracers and the streaks of shells as they fly through the sky are bright enough to nearly turn night into day for a few moments. Not one of the Japanese ships survives more than 5 minutes before blowing up and sinking under the rain of shells, and the Americans and Anzacs quickly shift to the next targets.
Mikawa orders an emergency turn but it is too late, as shells are already falling on his heavy ships. The Japanese fire back desperately and indeed with considerable accuracy, inflicting heavy damage on the upper works and fire control of the Maryland, WestVirginia, Colorado and getting a torpedo hit that severely damages the Malaya but the Allied ships convert the cruiser Nachi and all four Japanese battleships into blazing wrecks and indeed the Nachi explodes in a massive fireball that leaves nothing but fragments in its wake. Mikawa aboard the Mogami is appalled by the slaughter, and orders a retreat, while Admiral Shima was converted into gas by the detonation of the Nachi. In a 20 minute battle, the Japanese have lost 4 battleships, 1 heavy cruiser, 5 light cruisers and 16 destroyers and of the over 12,000 men aboard those ships only a few hundred remain to now fight for their lives in shark infested seas. Allied losses are 4 American and 2 Australian destroyers sunk, 3 American and 1 New Zealand battleship knocked out of action, and 2,000 dead or missing. Most of the Allied survivors are picked up after daylight as are nearly 500 Japanese survivors.
Gunfight in the Sulu Sea
At 0400 hours Task Force 34 is in position to block the Japanese as they retreat, and Allied search planes are still shadowing the Japanese using radar. Task Force 77 remains as a cork in the bottle to the southwest blocking the Japanese from reaching the transports, and now the Americans are on their retreat route as well. Mikawa is badly shaken by the utter destruction of half of his fleet, and unaware that the Americans are now in front of him again. His first inkling is when his lead destroyers report warships ahead as 16 American destroyers launch their torpedoes into the 10 destroyers in his van. The Japanese hurriedly launch as well, but are at a disadvantage in time and position, and soon 7 of the Japanese destroyers are hit and on fire, with 3 sinking immediately. Only 5 manage to loose their torpedoes in return, failing to score, and the American light cruisers Cleveland, Columbia, Montpelier, Denver, Santa Fe, Birmingham, Mobile, Vincennes (II), open rapid fire with their 6 inch guns into the 5 Japanese light cruisers that were steaming behind the destroyers while their 5 inch guns and those of the destroyers finish off the Japanese lead destroyer group. None of the Japanese ships survive the night as they are all blasted into wreckage but they do manage to hits of their own, particularly the Oi and the Kiso, whose torpedoes gut the Montpelier and Denver, leaving both severely damaged and indeed damage control fails to stop the influx of water into the Montpelier and she goes down just after dawn. The Japanese heavy cruisers and destroyers swing wide at flank speed heading away from the Americans to the south, firing at the American cruisers and destroyers as they turn, and nearly every American ship suffers light or moderate damage. However the Iowa and New Jersey open fire at this point, well back from the cruisers and destroyers, and Mikawa is shocked when several 16 inch shells convert the Chokai into a fireball while more blow the stern completely off the Takao. He orders a torpedo attack by his destroyers while the cruisers fleet, and while none of the 5 remaining Japanese destroyers score a hit, and only 3 survive, they manage to force Lee to order his ships to evade and thus saves the Japanese cruisers.
At dawn, the sun rises over the pyres and oil slicks marking the death of most of the Japanese surface navy. Mikawa and 3 heavy cruisers and 8 destroyers are all that remain of the of the 64 ships he had the day before. 5 more ships are in Manila Bay, but the rest are gone. With them are nearly 20,000 men either dead, or in the case of nearly 1,000 survivors, picked up by the Americans and Australians from the sea. The Allies have lost 1 light cruiser and 6 destroyers sunk, 4 battleships, 7 light cruisers and 22 destroyers damaged sufficiently to require repair work at a yard and 3,200 dead or missing.
The last carrier battle
On September 22, Admiral Ozawa is informed by Third Air Fleet that the Americans have lost 6 carriers and hundreds of aircraft. Sadly for him this is wishful thinking exaggerating the very real loss of 3 carriers and 300 aircraft that the Americans have actually suffered and just as importantly does not include the arrival of the remainder of the American carriers to link up with Towers. Ozawa is convinced he has a fighting chance and he has orders to draw the 3rd Fleet away to clear the way for Mikawa and his fleet, and he also misses in the communications traffic the very vital point that the 3rd Air Fleet and 4th Air Army have failed to inflict any damage on the US 7th Fleet, he proceeds with his mission.
Relying on the longer range of his aircraft, he begins launching strikes at the American fleet on the morning on September 23, and throughout the day more than 500 Japanese aircraft are thrown at the American fleet. The Japanese are blasted out of the sky by the score by American Hellcats and the proximity shells off 5 inch guns as well as massive numbers of 40 and 20 mm guns, only 47 aircraft survive to return home (most of them fighters), and not a single American ship suffers significant damage.
Ozawa is appalled by the losses, but continues to steam so that he can remain within range of the Americans and draw them off. Towers remains close to Mindanao so that he can support the the 7th Fleet while continuing to strike at Japanese airfields on Luzon and in the Central Philippines to support Eisenhower's landing force and the 7th Fleet, but on the morning of September 24, Eisenhower alerts Nimitz that the Japanese surface threat has been crushed and Nimitz tells Towers to find and destroy the enemy.
Towers gets his message releasing him to hunt hours before Ozawa finally manages to get clear information on what happened to Mikawa and orders to withdraw, and by that point Towers is within range of his own strike aircraft. The Americans send 700 aircraft in all, and Ozawa has barely 90 fighters left to face 300 American ones. His fighter cover is brushed aside and then crushed, while American Dauntless and Helldiver divebombers and Avenger torpedo planes proceed to sink the Akagi, Kaga, Shokaku, Zuikaku, and Chitose and badly damage the Taiho, which ends up being finished off by the American submarine Spearfish. The Hiryu, Amagi and Unryu are damaged and only the Zuiho escapes harms as she manages to find a rain squall to hide in.
Increasingly poor weather forces Towers to break off and he flees south to avoid a typhoon, while the Japanese steam through it, sacrificing two destroyers to the weather but also escaping pursuit.
On September 25 it is clear that the Decisive Battle that Japan has sought has been fought and lost. The Japanese Navy is finished as a battle force.
A week later, Admiral Onishi is appointed commander of the new 4th Air Fleet, which incorporates the surviving aircraft and aircrew from the other three fleets. He sends 50 of the new Shinryu (manned versions of the German Doodlebug) and 100 other aircraft to join the remaining 75 aircraft he has left in Luzon and orders to form special attack units and strike the Americans when they invade Luzon.
http://www.ezilon.com/maps/images/asia/Philippines-physical-map.gif
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authors note: this is the Leyte Gulf and Philippine Sea of this timeline, with all the built in American advantages, a few less mistakes on either side but the result at this point in the war is inevitable.
I have to admit that I love that the US Navy had an Admiral Kirk in World War 2, and this chapter has a Sulu
It really did just work out that way
The American shift to the Pacific is really starting to tell now... but the Kamikaze will be coming soon
I have to admit that I love that the US Navy had an Admiral Kirk in World War 2, and this chapter has a Sulu
It really did just work out that way
The American shift to the Pacific is really starting to tell now... but the Kamikaze will be coming soon
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that is it for this week... probably nothing more until the forum change over
Happy Truman Day (Missouri State holiday, which makes him, since I am a Missouri State employee) one of my favorite Presidents now
Happy Truman Day (Missouri State holiday, which makes him, since I am a Missouri State employee) one of my favorite Presidents now
Penny for The Guy
Banned
Excellent Update!!
And, a Happy Truman Day to you.
About the "2nd Special Service Force"? Who are these guys? And are they as deadly as the 1st Special Service Force?
[Yeah, Kirk and Sulu... who would have thought? Legend has it, Rodenberry was trying to find a Far East name which wasn't national-specific and happened on the Sulu Sea (which touches so many lands) while looking at a map.]
Somehow, I am reminded of the Man-Kzin Wars, wherein the militarists among the Kzin keep doing banzai charges at the Earthers until biological selection renders the Kzinti somewhat more -- "malleable". [Gee, I wonder from whence Niven got his inspiration?] Might one presume the militarists in Japan will cling on to the bitter end?
And, a Happy Truman Day to you.
About the "2nd Special Service Force"? Who are these guys? And are they as deadly as the 1st Special Service Force?
[Yeah, Kirk and Sulu... who would have thought?
Legend has it, Rodenberry was trying to find a Far East name which wasn't national-specific and happened on the Sulu Sea (which touches so many lands) while looking at a map.]Somehow, I am reminded of the Man-Kzin Wars, wherein the militarists among the Kzin keep doing banzai charges at the Earthers until biological selection renders the Kzinti somewhat more -- "malleable". [Gee, I wonder from whence Niven got his inspiration?] Might one presume the militarists in Japan will cling on to the bitter end?
And, a Happy Truman Day to you.
About the "2nd Special Service Force"? Who are these guys? And are they as deadly as the 1st Special Service Force?
[Yeah, Kirk and Sulu... who would have thought?
Somehow, I am reminded of the Man-Kzin Wars, wherein the militarists among the Kzin keep doing banzai charges at the Earthers until biological selection renders the Kzinti somewhat more -- "malleable". [Gee, I wonder from whence Niven got his inspiration?] Might one presume the militarists in Japan will cling on to the bitter end?
the 2nd Special Service Force is a combination of the Australian Commandos who made life difficult for the Japanese on Timor in OTL and Merrills Marauders. There will not be a Merrills Marauders in this timeline. But the Americans and Australians under Eisenhower are far better at partnership than they were in OTL under MacArthur (who seemed to hold the Australians in contempt) Eisenhower being a hell of a lot better at Coalition warfare decided to follow the example of the highly successful Canadian American force. Note also the frequency that American and ANZAC divisions are are put into the same corps for major campaigns.
And that would be it for Japan.
Navy gone, land based air toasted, and you have Iwo Jima falling 6 months early, so the southern resource area is functionally cut off, and American Navy, especially submarines, and air force will roam the sea of Japan mostly at will. I expect the Soviets to roll what the Japanese have left on the mainland in pretty short order. Recently raised light infantry divisions with limited heavy arms and vehicles and no resupply to speak of are not going to hold for very long.
Interesting I also have thought the Kzin were inspired by Imperial Japan.And, a Happy Truman Day to you.
About the "2nd Special Service Force"? Who are these guys? And are they as deadly as the 1st Special Service Force?
[Yeah, Kirk and Sulu... who would have thought?
Somehow, I am reminded of the Man-Kzin Wars, wherein the militarists among the Kzin keep doing banzai charges at the Earthers until biological selection renders the Kzinti somewhat more -- "malleable". [Gee, I wonder from whence Niven got his inspiration?] Might one presume the militarists in Japan will cling on to the bitter end?
Cool update.
The Presidential Election of 1944
The Parties chose their candidates
The death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in May 1944 has thrown the Democratic Party into some confusion. Many senior party leaders do not like now President Wallace, who is viewed by Catholics from the big cities and unions as too left wing, while the southern Democrats are trying to bring forward Senator Harry Byrd from Virginia as their standard bearer, as they are worried about Wallace and the rumors already circulating that he will take strong measures to end segregation in the military. Unwilling to nominate an avowed supporter of Segregation and a man who had led the Conservatives in efforts to block numerous bills that the Left and Moderates had sought passage on since 1937, they look for a compromise, and in the end Harry Truman is nominated as many respect his work as chairman of the Senate committee that has been leading efforts to reduce graft and waste in government defense spending, as well as his work investigating the causes of the attack on the Panama Canal. The Conservatives and Liberals both talk of leading third party efforts, but in the end the so called “Dixicrats” and “New Dealers” decided that such an effort would damage the war effort. Truman had wanted to select Alben Barkley as his running mate but decides that he needed him more as Senate Majority Leader and so Senator Richard Russell of George gets the nod. To keep the Wallace supporters in line, Wallace will be named as the future governor general for Japan once it is defeated and promises are made to that effect. He also gets promises of support for his proposed Executive Order 12, which will end Segregation in the United States Military and all US territories.
Meanwhile the Republicans are having their own troubles. Initially it looked like Wendell Wilkie would gain the nomination but a news story leaked by a Democratic newspaper about his history of recent heart attacks forces him to withdraw from the race. Senator Taft finds himself and his conservative wing tainted with the same brush as the America Firsters of 1940, and in spite of efforts to distance himself from them Taft is unable to gain the nomination in spite of having considerable support in the Midwest and parts of the South, where many Republicans are willing to defeat Japan but less interested in either the United Nations or continuing a war with Germany and its European Pact especially if it means a continued alliance with the Soviet Union. In the end Governor Thomas Dewey of New York gains the nomination and he picks as his running mate Governor Bricker of Ohio.
The Campaign
The Democrats are helped considerably by the war news as the campaign progresses. The massive American victories of the Japanese fleet along with German agreement to withdraw from Norway are both played up as signs that the war is going well. The Soviet invasion of northern China and subsequent capture of Peking and Tientsin which cuts off Japanese forces in the southern mainland of Asia from their sources of supply in northeast Asia proves that the massive efforts that the Roosevelt and then Wallace Administrations spent on the Soviet Union were worthwhile after all.
Truman turns out to be a tireless and very effective campaigner, while Dewey does a poor job selling himself to the voters. But it still remains close as the Japanese inflict some serious damage to American forces in the Philippines and manage an attack on Oakland California that results in a massive explosion of an Army ammunition ship and the deaths of nearly 5,000 people and serious injuries to 23,000 more. The Oakland attack, conducted by Japanese submarines that launch several piloted (unlike the German aircraft, which has a targeting system) Doodlebugs from their decks is an ugly surprise, and although the US Navy sinks all 6 of the large Japanese submarines involved, the attack is a major shock. The Wallace Administration does however manage to keep quite the steady stream of Japanese balloon bombs being sent toward North America in the name of military security.
On election day Truman manages to win 51% of the popular vote and takes 341 electoral votes, more than enough to defeat Dewey. Discouraged, the Republicans begin planning for their next chance.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Reichenberg_1945.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U3aQFXsSTN4/TPidPnNvfrI/AAAAAAAAAAM/w2oDnbpTq5A/s1600/dewey-truman.jpg
The Parties chose their candidates
The death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in May 1944 has thrown the Democratic Party into some confusion. Many senior party leaders do not like now President Wallace, who is viewed by Catholics from the big cities and unions as too left wing, while the southern Democrats are trying to bring forward Senator Harry Byrd from Virginia as their standard bearer, as they are worried about Wallace and the rumors already circulating that he will take strong measures to end segregation in the military. Unwilling to nominate an avowed supporter of Segregation and a man who had led the Conservatives in efforts to block numerous bills that the Left and Moderates had sought passage on since 1937, they look for a compromise, and in the end Harry Truman is nominated as many respect his work as chairman of the Senate committee that has been leading efforts to reduce graft and waste in government defense spending, as well as his work investigating the causes of the attack on the Panama Canal. The Conservatives and Liberals both talk of leading third party efforts, but in the end the so called “Dixicrats” and “New Dealers” decided that such an effort would damage the war effort. Truman had wanted to select Alben Barkley as his running mate but decides that he needed him more as Senate Majority Leader and so Senator Richard Russell of George gets the nod. To keep the Wallace supporters in line, Wallace will be named as the future governor general for Japan once it is defeated and promises are made to that effect. He also gets promises of support for his proposed Executive Order 12, which will end Segregation in the United States Military and all US territories.
Meanwhile the Republicans are having their own troubles. Initially it looked like Wendell Wilkie would gain the nomination but a news story leaked by a Democratic newspaper about his history of recent heart attacks forces him to withdraw from the race. Senator Taft finds himself and his conservative wing tainted with the same brush as the America Firsters of 1940, and in spite of efforts to distance himself from them Taft is unable to gain the nomination in spite of having considerable support in the Midwest and parts of the South, where many Republicans are willing to defeat Japan but less interested in either the United Nations or continuing a war with Germany and its European Pact especially if it means a continued alliance with the Soviet Union. In the end Governor Thomas Dewey of New York gains the nomination and he picks as his running mate Governor Bricker of Ohio.
The Campaign
The Democrats are helped considerably by the war news as the campaign progresses. The massive American victories of the Japanese fleet along with German agreement to withdraw from Norway are both played up as signs that the war is going well. The Soviet invasion of northern China and subsequent capture of Peking and Tientsin which cuts off Japanese forces in the southern mainland of Asia from their sources of supply in northeast Asia proves that the massive efforts that the Roosevelt and then Wallace Administrations spent on the Soviet Union were worthwhile after all.
Truman turns out to be a tireless and very effective campaigner, while Dewey does a poor job selling himself to the voters. But it still remains close as the Japanese inflict some serious damage to American forces in the Philippines and manage an attack on Oakland California that results in a massive explosion of an Army ammunition ship and the deaths of nearly 5,000 people and serious injuries to 23,000 more. The Oakland attack, conducted by Japanese submarines that launch several piloted (unlike the German aircraft, which has a targeting system) Doodlebugs from their decks is an ugly surprise, and although the US Navy sinks all 6 of the large Japanese submarines involved, the attack is a major shock. The Wallace Administration does however manage to keep quite the steady stream of Japanese balloon bombs being sent toward North America in the name of military security.
On election day Truman manages to win 51% of the popular vote and takes 341 electoral votes, more than enough to defeat Dewey. Discouraged, the Republicans begin planning for their next chance.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Reichenberg_1945.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U3aQFXsSTN4/TPidPnNvfrI/AAAAAAAAAAM/w2oDnbpTq5A/s1600/dewey-truman.jpg
The Philippines Campaign October 1944- November 1944
Mindanao
The American landing at Ilman Bay rapidly secures a beachhead and is barely bothered by the desperate Japanese naval sortie that results in the overwhelming American naval victories in the Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea and Basilan Strait. The Americans and Australians, ably assisted by Filipino Home Army divisions rapidly pin the Japanese 31st Infantry Division in Davao, while the glider regiments of the 11th Airborne are flown into Del Monte Field and that division along with more Filipino guerrillas rapidly slices up the widely separated elements of the Japanese 24th Division. Both Japanese divisions are destroyed by October 11 as massive Allied naval gunfire and artillery support and heavy bombers from the 10th Air Force operating from New Guinea flatten Japanese positions. A daring evacuation by the Filipinos of nearly the entire civilian population of Davao in the early stages of the campaign is rightly considered one of the great achievements by special operations forces in World War 2.
The Central Philippines
By the end of October the Americans and Australians have built several large airfield complexes in Mindanao, as well as converted Davao into a major port, with several secondary ports built as well. General Eisenhower has moved his headquarters from Darwin to Davao, and the next stage of the campaign begins.
The Filipinos have seized several areas ideally suited for airfield construction in the central islands, and have identified others, and in a series of airborne landings General William Lee's XVIII Airborne Corps with the 17th, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions make a series of parachute landings on Panay, Cebu, Leyte, Negros, Samar and finally Mindoro. Paratroopers and the elite 1st Special Service Force seize airfields and link up with guerrillas, while airlanding troops are brought in by C47 and C46 transport aircraft and by glider.
The three Airborne divisions, each with 2 parachute and 2 glider regiments, are further reinforced by amphibious landings by the 9th Australian Division and the Mexican 5th Infantry Division, which is manned by large numbers of Mexicans from the Yucatan and other tropical regions of Mexico, as well as a battalion of troops from Honduras. Engineer and other corps assets are also brought in by sea, and the Japanese 18th Army and its 3 divisions, parceled out in battalion and brigade sized garrisons throughout the central Philippines is wiped out or driven into the mountains where the survivors are easily contained by Filipino troops. The 13th Air Force, with several groups of transports also has the 1st and 2nd Air Commando Wings, which include A36 Dive bombers, P47 Fighter Bombers and a squadron of R4B helicopters as well as numerous light aircraft. A special squadron of airborne forward air controllers also see combat in this campaign, providing valuable help to tactical aircraft from the 5th and 13th Air Force, as well as providing forward observer control of a large B17 strike from the 10th Air Force that smashes a particularly troublesome Japanese strongpoint at Ormoc Bay on Leyte.
The campaign is a masterful display of Allied power and by the end of November the central and southern Philippines have been secured, and 100,000 Japanese troops have been killed or driven into the hills to die more slowly. Some of these Japanese soldiers will however spend many years after the war in hiding, with the last surrendering in the 1970s.
Latin American troops in World War 2
The sustained effort by the United States to get its Latin American partners actively involved in the war begins to pay off in the latter half of 1944. Battalions of infantry for garrison duty are raised from all of the Central American nations, while regimental combat teams are raised from Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba. Pilots from Cuba and Mexico serve in the Philippines in the Aztec Eagles Fighter Group, flying P47 fighter bombers and several pilots from other Latin American nations see service in that fighter group as well.
All of these units see service in the Pacific, helping the Filipinos mop up Japanese pockets in 1944-45, and assisting the Australians in doing the same in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. A Brazilian division is also raised and it will assist in disarming the Japanese in former Portuguese Timor postwar and helping the nation of Timor prepare itself for independence under a UN Mandate held by Brazil. Overall the Latin American troops did well in their second line roles, and many junior officers and some enlisted men would rise to prominence in their countries in the decades after the war. This partnership between North America and the Latin American nations will prove particularly valuable in the years ahead.
Kamikaze Dawn: The first suicide attacks
The Japanese have nearly 100 aircraft plus 20 of the new Doodlebugs (authors note: Japanese built Fieseler F103, a manned version of the V1 Buzz Bomb). Heavy American airstrikes from the the Army Air Force as well as from Australian and New Zealand tactical aircraft and heavy bombers soon threaten to render obsolete the Japanese plan to use them against the landing on Luzon. On November 18, the Japanese throw all they have left against a task force of the 7th Fleet supporting Allied operations on Mindoro.
Several Zeroes manage to penetrate the fighter screen and inflict crash into several American ships and sink a US destroyer, a New Zealand corvette and an LST carrying ammunition that detonates in a massive roar killing nearly all aboard. But as stunning as this deliberate suicide tactic is, the worst comes at first light on November 19, when the Doodlebugs come roaring in at nearly 500 miles an hour. They are far faster than anything before, and indeed outrace several American fighters as they begin their dives. However several are still shot down and only one manages to successfully hit a target. However the 2,000 pound warhead and the high terminal speed penetrates right through the deck armor of the old battleship New York, and her forward magazine detonates killing nearly 1,300 men in an instant. Only a few dozen dazed survivors are rescued from the sea.
By the time the Allies come ashore in Luzon however there are no Japanese aircraft left to contest them. Much to the relief of Allied sailors. The Japanese are very pleased with their success however and begin making plans for a much wider use of this weapon as the Allied close in on the inner Japanese Empire.
Luzon- prelude
The Japanese are in poor shape to defend Luzon on the eve of the Allied assault. They are down to only 3 divisions, plus several separate Army and Navy brigades. Trying to hold any beach defense is clearly hopeless, so General Okada who has taken personal command of his remaining forces decides that as his orders call for him to delay the Americans as long as possible, that the a different strategy is called for. The Navy is defending Corregidor with 5,000 troops (along with its associated fortifications) and has 13,000 dug in at Manila. With only 3 divisions and various attachments and security and garrison forces, a total of 125,000 Army troops, Okada is limited as to what he can defend. He ejects many of the Filipino civilians from Manila and has the 14th Infantry Division fortify the old walled city (the Intramuros) and places it under Navy command. Admiral Sanji imprisons the families of the puppet government after executing most of its members as he feels their usefulness is at an end and many indeed are spying for the Americans as far as he is concerned. He also keeps nearly 25,000 other Filipinos as hostages inside the city and makes this fact known to the Filipino resistance.
Okada meanwhile, has 2 divisions and 4 brigades worth of combat troops or troops converted into combat troops. He plants a brigade at the Clark Field / Fort Stotsenburg / Camp O'Donnell complex, and a second brigade along with half of his heavy 150 mm and 240 mm guns at Mount Arayat (the remaining half at at Manila). The rest of his force, 80,000 men in all, he takes into northern Luzon to defend the Cagayen Valley and Aparii. The crops there will keep his army fed, he retains control of a couple of small airfields, and Aparii gives him a small port with access to Japan.
http://www.ezilon.com/maps/images/asia/Philippines-physical-map.gif
(authors note: Clark Field and Mount Arayat are near Angeles / San Fernando)
Mindanao
The American landing at Ilman Bay rapidly secures a beachhead and is barely bothered by the desperate Japanese naval sortie that results in the overwhelming American naval victories in the Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea and Basilan Strait. The Americans and Australians, ably assisted by Filipino Home Army divisions rapidly pin the Japanese 31st Infantry Division in Davao, while the glider regiments of the 11th Airborne are flown into Del Monte Field and that division along with more Filipino guerrillas rapidly slices up the widely separated elements of the Japanese 24th Division. Both Japanese divisions are destroyed by October 11 as massive Allied naval gunfire and artillery support and heavy bombers from the 10th Air Force operating from New Guinea flatten Japanese positions. A daring evacuation by the Filipinos of nearly the entire civilian population of Davao in the early stages of the campaign is rightly considered one of the great achievements by special operations forces in World War 2.
The Central Philippines
By the end of October the Americans and Australians have built several large airfield complexes in Mindanao, as well as converted Davao into a major port, with several secondary ports built as well. General Eisenhower has moved his headquarters from Darwin to Davao, and the next stage of the campaign begins.
The Filipinos have seized several areas ideally suited for airfield construction in the central islands, and have identified others, and in a series of airborne landings General William Lee's XVIII Airborne Corps with the 17th, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions make a series of parachute landings on Panay, Cebu, Leyte, Negros, Samar and finally Mindoro. Paratroopers and the elite 1st Special Service Force seize airfields and link up with guerrillas, while airlanding troops are brought in by C47 and C46 transport aircraft and by glider.
The three Airborne divisions, each with 2 parachute and 2 glider regiments, are further reinforced by amphibious landings by the 9th Australian Division and the Mexican 5th Infantry Division, which is manned by large numbers of Mexicans from the Yucatan and other tropical regions of Mexico, as well as a battalion of troops from Honduras. Engineer and other corps assets are also brought in by sea, and the Japanese 18th Army and its 3 divisions, parceled out in battalion and brigade sized garrisons throughout the central Philippines is wiped out or driven into the mountains where the survivors are easily contained by Filipino troops. The 13th Air Force, with several groups of transports also has the 1st and 2nd Air Commando Wings, which include A36 Dive bombers, P47 Fighter Bombers and a squadron of R4B helicopters as well as numerous light aircraft. A special squadron of airborne forward air controllers also see combat in this campaign, providing valuable help to tactical aircraft from the 5th and 13th Air Force, as well as providing forward observer control of a large B17 strike from the 10th Air Force that smashes a particularly troublesome Japanese strongpoint at Ormoc Bay on Leyte.
The campaign is a masterful display of Allied power and by the end of November the central and southern Philippines have been secured, and 100,000 Japanese troops have been killed or driven into the hills to die more slowly. Some of these Japanese soldiers will however spend many years after the war in hiding, with the last surrendering in the 1970s.
Latin American troops in World War 2
The sustained effort by the United States to get its Latin American partners actively involved in the war begins to pay off in the latter half of 1944. Battalions of infantry for garrison duty are raised from all of the Central American nations, while regimental combat teams are raised from Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba. Pilots from Cuba and Mexico serve in the Philippines in the Aztec Eagles Fighter Group, flying P47 fighter bombers and several pilots from other Latin American nations see service in that fighter group as well.
All of these units see service in the Pacific, helping the Filipinos mop up Japanese pockets in 1944-45, and assisting the Australians in doing the same in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. A Brazilian division is also raised and it will assist in disarming the Japanese in former Portuguese Timor postwar and helping the nation of Timor prepare itself for independence under a UN Mandate held by Brazil. Overall the Latin American troops did well in their second line roles, and many junior officers and some enlisted men would rise to prominence in their countries in the decades after the war. This partnership between North America and the Latin American nations will prove particularly valuable in the years ahead.
Kamikaze Dawn: The first suicide attacks
The Japanese have nearly 100 aircraft plus 20 of the new Doodlebugs (authors note: Japanese built Fieseler F103, a manned version of the V1 Buzz Bomb). Heavy American airstrikes from the the Army Air Force as well as from Australian and New Zealand tactical aircraft and heavy bombers soon threaten to render obsolete the Japanese plan to use them against the landing on Luzon. On November 18, the Japanese throw all they have left against a task force of the 7th Fleet supporting Allied operations on Mindoro.
Several Zeroes manage to penetrate the fighter screen and inflict crash into several American ships and sink a US destroyer, a New Zealand corvette and an LST carrying ammunition that detonates in a massive roar killing nearly all aboard. But as stunning as this deliberate suicide tactic is, the worst comes at first light on November 19, when the Doodlebugs come roaring in at nearly 500 miles an hour. They are far faster than anything before, and indeed outrace several American fighters as they begin their dives. However several are still shot down and only one manages to successfully hit a target. However the 2,000 pound warhead and the high terminal speed penetrates right through the deck armor of the old battleship New York, and her forward magazine detonates killing nearly 1,300 men in an instant. Only a few dozen dazed survivors are rescued from the sea.
By the time the Allies come ashore in Luzon however there are no Japanese aircraft left to contest them. Much to the relief of Allied sailors. The Japanese are very pleased with their success however and begin making plans for a much wider use of this weapon as the Allied close in on the inner Japanese Empire.
Luzon- prelude
The Japanese are in poor shape to defend Luzon on the eve of the Allied assault. They are down to only 3 divisions, plus several separate Army and Navy brigades. Trying to hold any beach defense is clearly hopeless, so General Okada who has taken personal command of his remaining forces decides that as his orders call for him to delay the Americans as long as possible, that the a different strategy is called for. The Navy is defending Corregidor with 5,000 troops (along with its associated fortifications) and has 13,000 dug in at Manila. With only 3 divisions and various attachments and security and garrison forces, a total of 125,000 Army troops, Okada is limited as to what he can defend. He ejects many of the Filipino civilians from Manila and has the 14th Infantry Division fortify the old walled city (the Intramuros) and places it under Navy command. Admiral Sanji imprisons the families of the puppet government after executing most of its members as he feels their usefulness is at an end and many indeed are spying for the Americans as far as he is concerned. He also keeps nearly 25,000 other Filipinos as hostages inside the city and makes this fact known to the Filipino resistance.
Okada meanwhile, has 2 divisions and 4 brigades worth of combat troops or troops converted into combat troops. He plants a brigade at the Clark Field / Fort Stotsenburg / Camp O'Donnell complex, and a second brigade along with half of his heavy 150 mm and 240 mm guns at Mount Arayat (the remaining half at at Manila). The rest of his force, 80,000 men in all, he takes into northern Luzon to defend the Cagayen Valley and Aparii. The crops there will keep his army fed, he retains control of a couple of small airfields, and Aparii gives him a small port with access to Japan.
http://www.ezilon.com/maps/images/asia/Philippines-physical-map.gif
(authors note: Clark Field and Mount Arayat are near Angeles / San Fernando)
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carriers got jets a little later than you might expect because there were serious concerns that early jet engines did not produce enough thrust to allow them to take off successfully from a carrier deck without an unacceptably high risk of stalling. Hence weird designs like the Ryan Fireball and some really outstanding piston engine fighters like the Tigercat, Sea Fury and Bearcat (which will be showing up a little sooner now). The FH1 Phantom and Vampire are still not ready yet, while the Meteor has not had carrier trials yet (although that will be accelerated). While the Bearcat and Sea Fury and Corsair (which gets a bigger engine about now) can operate from CVL and CVE ships, the jets can only operate from the Essex Class.
So there are some limitations. Likely given a higher priority is this however
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3"/70_Mark_26_gun
coming later this week... India 1943-45 and The Soviet and Chinese Communist Campaigns against the Japanese in China and Manchuria as well as Japan prepares for its last stand