The ship is too old to be useful. Her crew is better used elsewhere. The Dutch are in line to get several War Emergency destroyers from the RN production queues as well as one of the last Crown Colony class cruisers under construction.
Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
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The ship is too old to be useful. Her crew is better used elsewhere. The Dutch are in line to get several War Emergency destroyers from the RN production queues as well as one of the last Crown Colony class cruisers under construction.
Sofia is in Bulgaria ^^'
Unless Romania invaded Bulgaria in a turn of events I haven't read
It's also in the direct route of the bombers and the Bulgarian air force can't really do the job on its own. Now it can be destroyed with company
But she’s a prime candidate for use as part of a breakwater for a Mulberry....
Is the old ship going to a West Coast port in the U.K or the U.S? Sailing from South Africa wouldn't an American East Coast port be a more convenient destination? Especially if her ultimate fate is a block ship for an Overlord Mulberry.
I clarified the post --- she is heading to an English port on the Irish Sea --- and yes, her eventual role will be as part of a Mulberry bush.
IOTL Pik As was committed to the Med/Italian theatres late in '42. So, the need to protect oil supplies will prevent this ITTL - by this time the Luftwaffe was really unable to maintain high tempo operations at the periphery of the Reich.
And of course every ball bearing and finished good in the Mosquito won't be bought by Germany.
Story 1968
Southwest England, March 28, 1943
The Pensevie children moved along. Susan carried the money, the list and the shopping bag while Peter held the ration coupons in his pocket. Edmund had found some friends from school to kick a ball with while Lucy had created an incredible land of imagination behind the butcher’s stall where she entertained several other little girls. The four children had been in the country coming on three and a half years. Susan had transitioned from being a young girl into a young woman while Peter was waiting to be inducted into the Army.
The two older children smiled as they walked out of the grocer. Sugar rations had increased. Each child would receive an extra half ounce of sugar and an extra egg per week. Lucy qualified for one more pint of milk. Susan rubbed her hands with excitement when the grocer passed along the rumor that the rationing board would release an extra four ounces of meat per person without regard to age for Easter.
Yes, and earlier we had the train crash (??) that killed them avoided, so they survived.
In The Last Battle, the Pevensie children, minus Susan, end up in Narnia for good, and the last thing they remember is being on a train platform, and they come to realize they in a train crash.
Iirc, earlier in this TL we saw that crash averted due to butterflies.
Iirc, earlier in this TL we saw that crash averted due to butterflies.
formion
Banned
An interesting question regarding the timeline is what will happen to the African divisions? The 11th East African is already formed and participated in the last campaign. However what will happen with the 2 West African ones? I don't see the British sending them in the ETO. So, will they not formed at all and their equipment send elsewhere? Will they, along with the 11th, become garrison troops in Palestine, Iraq, Persia? Will they be sent in South East Asia? The British have now a lot more options on what troops to train and equip and where to deploy them.
That begs also the question on the status of the Indian Army. In OTL with the catastrophes in Malaya/Singapore and Burma, its development was dealt a severe blow. The rapid expansion was problematic as it was and the loss of so many formations in their entirety pushed the scedule back for months if not a couple of years. There are various reports that in 1943 the quality of a lot of Indian formations was low. But in TTL, the Indian Army has known only victories, has a lot more experience, with surviving veterans to spread the experience around. Needless to say that officers and NCOs that became POWs are kicking around. So, with no major disasters, even with hard fought battles, as the ones the 5th Indian division had to endure, it seems that by 1943 the Indian Army can field at least 16 infantry divisions and 1 or 2 armored ones. My rationale is as follows: i) 2 Div were formed in 1939, ii) 5 in 1940, iii) 5 in 1941, iv) 4 new ones from scratch in 1942 after the Q1 disasters. At the same time 2 armored ones were formed that later on were merged into 1. Of course more independent brigades existed at the same time. Last but not least, with no Bengal Famine and less internal strife, less troops are needed for internal security. The 16 infranty divisions is a conservative estimation since its basis is not a larger army but a more experienced one that still has the OTL surrendered formations.
In OTL the Burma Rifles provided 14 battalions throughtout 1941, including 8 first line ones. Also, the local Malay Settlements troops exist in TTL for security/garrison purposes. So, more "light" brigade-size formations for garrison purposes.
Taking all the above into account, it seems that the Raj can have an even bigger contribution to the war effort.
That begs also the question on the status of the Indian Army. In OTL with the catastrophes in Malaya/Singapore and Burma, its development was dealt a severe blow. The rapid expansion was problematic as it was and the loss of so many formations in their entirety pushed the scedule back for months if not a couple of years. There are various reports that in 1943 the quality of a lot of Indian formations was low. But in TTL, the Indian Army has known only victories, has a lot more experience, with surviving veterans to spread the experience around. Needless to say that officers and NCOs that became POWs are kicking around. So, with no major disasters, even with hard fought battles, as the ones the 5th Indian division had to endure, it seems that by 1943 the Indian Army can field at least 16 infantry divisions and 1 or 2 armored ones. My rationale is as follows: i) 2 Div were formed in 1939, ii) 5 in 1940, iii) 5 in 1941, iv) 4 new ones from scratch in 1942 after the Q1 disasters. At the same time 2 armored ones were formed that later on were merged into 1. Of course more independent brigades existed at the same time. Last but not least, with no Bengal Famine and less internal strife, less troops are needed for internal security. The 16 infranty divisions is a conservative estimation since its basis is not a larger army but a more experienced one that still has the OTL surrendered formations.
In OTL the Burma Rifles provided 14 battalions throughtout 1941, including 8 first line ones. Also, the local Malay Settlements troops exist in TTL for security/garrison purposes. So, more "light" brigade-size formations for garrison purposes.
Taking all the above into account, it seems that the Raj can have an even bigger contribution to the war effort.
One of the reasons for the 2 west African Divisions was their ability to operate in a Burma type environment and a resistance to things like Malaria. And the 2nd was built in time to relieve the first. So I cannot imagine them not being created ITTL
formion
Banned
In such case the OTL campaign has many opportunities to use the African divisions: British Borneo, south FIC etc. There is no lack of tropical targets.
Story 1969
Tunisia, March 28, 1943
“Come and get it” The chow line was opened for the regimental mess hall for the 112th Infantry Regiment. Private Jaroshek advanced steadily. The rest of the squad was ready to break legs if anyone else tried to slide in front of them. They had been training together for over two years and had been in Tunisia for the past three months.
Each day was a variation on a theme. A run and calisthenics pre-dawn. A long training schedule consisting of some combination of range time, movement time, field fortifications, first aid and communications through the morning hours. Classroom time in the afternoon and then more running and training through the evening and the night. Occassionally the days would flip as night became day and day became night.
So far since the division had landed in Tunisia and after the Germans and Italians surrendered right before Christmas, the company had gone into the field for multi-day and once a week long training exercise against other American, British and French units. Those were the long days, those were the best days.
But now, chow was hot, chow was plentiful and since it was coming from Sergeant Gabrianzo’s crew, it would at least taste like something identifiable. The war would come back to the private soon enough, but now was a time to eat and then sleep.
Story 1970
Suez Canal, March 28, 1943
SG-3 exited the canal. Forty one merchant chips had arrived at the southern entrance from Bombay. Seven would stay as they had local cargoes to deliver from the factories of the Raj to the strategic rear of the primary Western Allied fighting theatre. They would unload and reload a new cargo before heading back to Bombay with one of the regular and long-standing convoys. Eleven other merchant ships were waiting for the convoy to re-assemble. They had come from Syria, Lebanon and Palestine with raw materials and barely finished goods for shipment to the British Isles.
Three hours later, two light cruisers and half a dozen destroyers left the harbor, fully fueled and ready. A Greek destroyer would play catch up with the close escort. Her radar needed another few hours of repairs that would be far faster at the dock instead of at sea. Overhead an old Anson flew an anti-submarine patrol. Since the surrender in Tunis, the Italian Navy seldom ventured this far. There were too many patrol lines of Allied aircraft and hunter-killer groups of Royal Navy ships between the Canal Zone and the Italian bases for submarines to safely operate.
The convoy headed west at eleven knots hugging the coast until just north of Benghazi where they would dash across the Gulf of Sirte to Misrate where they would again hug the shallow water near shore.
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