Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
- Thread starter fester
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Driftless
Donor
Yup, plus in some ways the Japanese needing to use that large of a force as convoy escort shows their growing desperation and that armada consumes a large amount of fuel that probably might have been allocated elsewhere. If they have to fight their way through to Bangkok, they'll burn fuel at a higher rate as well.
Conversely, if they lose a few ships in the process, that decreases fuel demands for the future.....
As a reminder, the Japanese cruisers and convoy will be under fairly dense fighter cover.
Story 1659
East bank of the Don, November 15, 1942
The veterans shushed the replacements. They were making too much noise as they were marching to the front. Across them were the Romanians who were the flank guards of the Germans who had been stopped on the Volga and had besieged the city like they had done so to Sevastapol and Leningrad. The Romanians were not as skilled nor as fierce as the fascists but a bullet hitting your skull did not care that it was fired from a lackadaisical private or a motivated man.
The veterans' concerns were irrelevant though. Three tank brigades were moving up behind the infantry of the assault wave. The roughly tuned diesel engines precluded any belief that a jangling piece of metal on a cold private's belt would give away the position. Artillery and marching bands playing near forward positions were attempts to cover the creaking sounds of T-34s and M-3s getting into position.
Across the river, Romanian scouts heard the tanks and as darkness fell, reports were being sent back, first to battalion commanders and then regimental commanders. By breakfast, the army commander was being briefed that tanks were assembling all along his front.
The veterans shushed the replacements. They were making too much noise as they were marching to the front. Across them were the Romanians who were the flank guards of the Germans who had been stopped on the Volga and had besieged the city like they had done so to Sevastapol and Leningrad. The Romanians were not as skilled nor as fierce as the fascists but a bullet hitting your skull did not care that it was fired from a lackadaisical private or a motivated man.
The veterans' concerns were irrelevant though. Three tank brigades were moving up behind the infantry of the assault wave. The roughly tuned diesel engines precluded any belief that a jangling piece of metal on a cold private's belt would give away the position. Artillery and marching bands playing near forward positions were attempts to cover the creaking sounds of T-34s and M-3s getting into position.
Across the river, Romanian scouts heard the tanks and as darkness fell, reports were being sent back, first to battalion commanders and then regimental commanders. By breakfast, the army commander was being briefed that tanks were assembling all along his front.
For the Kra campaign, there is a 2 division mechanised exploitation force plus some REMF garrison forces.
Burma/Sittang campaign has a brigade currently on Ceylon that is allocated (with appropriate shipping) as an amphibious raider force for use in Phase 2 to get behind Japanese defenders.
There are local/operational reserves for both attacks but no real strategic reserves.
The Soviets received four submarines from the RN. When they were returned it was found that all the ratings accomodation had been converted into single cabins for the officers. The EMs had to sleep in corners, and on the deck.
The joys of socialism.
IIRC when Royal Sovereign was returned to the RN they found the main turrets rusted in place because they'd never been rotated?
Donald Reaver
Donor
The question I think at this point, are the Japanese forces a brittle crust that can be broken and driven through, or can they do a fighting retreat. Looking at a brittle crust myself, but we will see.
From what we know I think we can say that those forces currently or about to engage Allied forces should be effectively considered lost. How many casualties they force upon the Allies may be heavy but other than the Philippines the Allies will through sheer industrial superiority win.
thorr97
Banned
It's gotta stink being a militarist in Japan at this point. None of the war plans have gone according to plan. Their ground offensives have all failed to meet their stated objectives and the Allies are already shifting to the offensive against them. This, without the Japanese even having secured those desperately needed oil supplies to keep their war machine running.
Do the RN/FAA, RAF and RAAF have enough fighters available to provide sufficient protection for their strike aircraft?
Why would the FAA attack in daylight? Use ASV and attack at night , no fighters to bother about.
Alan Lothian on the soc.history.what-if usenet group wanted to have that in his "Battle of Addu Atoll" but never lived to do it.
I acknowledged him when I had such an attack in my book No Hint of War. Please buy it and see how that works out.
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