Derek Pullem
Donor
It is impressive but our Scandinavian fellow members tend to be even quicker off the mark when WMD are discussed (Surströmming!)
Malaya What If
- Thread starter Fatboy Coxy
- Start date
The 2 battalions of C force were very green
They were rated as CAT B and C and many of the soldiers in both units had never fired a Bren gun before they boarded the ships which gives an indication of their level of training as upon joining his unit a soldiers first job would be to master the Bren gun.
While they did very well considering all the above they should never have been sent abroad in the state that they were in and I under stand that politics drove the decision making of which unit to send and not individual unit capability.
ITTL I am relieved that they have not been sent and instead lots of specialists from Canada instead to Malaya/Singapore
For anyone interested in the Battle of Hong Kong, and especially the Canadian role, I’d encourage you to check out “Savage Christmas: Hong Kong 1941”, directed by Brian McKenna. It’s available free from the National Film Board. Well worth the hour and forty one minutes.
www.nfb.ca
Savage Christmas: Hong Kong 1941
This film is part of the Valour and the Horror series, three controversial films on Canadian involvement in World War II. In the autumn of 1941, nearly 2,000 …
www.nfb.ca
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I was hoping for at least some minor changes at some point though. Most plausible PODs I've seen also usually stem from something happening to the Germans and/or Italians early on, some sort of missed opportunity or something that doesn't necessarily give the British more forces to work with, but that does remove a few German and/or Italian units sooner or in a less costly manner then OTL.
This has been one of the issues I've had with this timeline, especially since a large number of updates, despite creativity by the author in how they are presented, are 100% no change whatsoever from OTL.
muddyleathers
Banned
I have to disagree. A change in leadership is a huge change. Realistically, there could be no major change in forces, with higher priorities in every other theater. I am interested to see the effect of what increased preparedness has.
Exactly. While I don't think victory is possible a more competently managed and longer lasting campaign without that catastrophic mass surrender is, I think quite plausible with the existing forces under a more dynamic leadership with the improved preparedness described in this storyline.
muddyleathers
Banned
Honestly, its a more plausible POD than most. No real changes in force disposition, just a change in leadership. Subbing in some guys who wore out their welcome in some other areas, to bring their experience to bear. I like the subtlety.
Every day the Japanese are slowed is one less day their supplies will last, every additional roadblock they have to fight through is less artillery ammunition to break through heavier defenses further south, every platoon that is able to fall back in an orderly manner is a now experienced platoon to stiffen the next line.
I thought there’s major change by just getting a regiment of tanks and way more planes. The things the Japanese called tanks probably wouldn’t last too well against the Valentines.
I suspect that the Valentines will have some use but not as much as we think due to the terrain and experience of the unit - they have only really just arrived. In my view the biggest changes are
i) leadership
ii) training and preparation for a conflict
iii) planning and service integration including a viable matador
iv)Air defence network
v) Additional Australian brigade
v)hurricanes
vi)R class subs
vii) Valentines
probably in that order
i) leadership
ii) training and preparation for a conflict
iii) planning and service integration including a viable matador
iv)Air defence network
v) Additional Australian brigade
v)hurricanes
vi)R class subs
vii) Valentines
probably in that order
Main use of Valentines is preventing the Japanese isolating units by infiltrating. The infiltrating troops would have no anti tank weapons and the Valentines could overwhelm the barricades/road blocks they used and so relieve the troops ( as shown by what a few Stuarts did in Burma abet during the retreat ). Does help if the defenders are thinking more in terms of boxes than lines.
Driftless
Donor
Agreed on all counts, with the much improved top leadership for the ground and air forces and the governor.
Fatboy Coxy
Monthly Donor
Hi Derek, I know what you mean, while in Iceland I had Hakarl once!
Hákarl - Wikipedia
Fatboy Coxy
Monthly Donor
Hi Kelgar04, These are Canadian built Hurricane airframes fitted with a Merlin XX engine
Hawker Hurricane - Wikipedia
See variants Hurricane Mk.IIA Series 1 and Hurricane Mk.X, although the start of production date given as November 1941 for the Mk X is wrong, production started very slowly as far back as Feb 1940, with 76 airframes being built in 1940, 1941 saw another 511 completed. We'll have to see whether we remain with just this one mark of Hurricane once the war kicks off.
Fatboy Coxy
Monthly Donor
Hi all, I’m not offering another apology, I’m sick of giving out those, but…
My output has sadly declined to a crawl due to a couple of reasons. I have been a carer for my dear old mum, who passed away last October at the young age of 95, impressive eh! and she enjoyed a good quality of life right up until near the end, I’m so thankful that she didn’t suffer like so many have. I did think that this would result in me having more time to write, but dealing with her estate, and an increase in childcare days, yes, I have been rich at both ends of the family spectrum, has meant a decrease in writing time.
The other thing was having done a summary, I promised some OOB’s and thought that would be a breeze, until I looked at mine closely. Unfortunately, I haven’t been anywhere as diligent with changes I made during the writing process as I should have, and my OOB was heavily noted, meaning everything has had to be rechecked. Furthermore, I am having to rethink through some of the events to come, to ensure they can stand up to the scrutiny of being plausible, and not just fantasy. That’s not to say that some events will be a stretch for some readers, that’s bound to happen, but overall, hopefully, you’ll accept that my events could have happened.
So, I’ll be proving five OOB’s, Malaya Command, RAF Far East Command, RN Eastern Fleet, Hong Kong Command, and Borneo & Burma Command. The Japanese OOB’s will come a little later, after a few more stories, while I won’t be posting American or Dutch OOB’s as these should, baring a few minor exceptions with the Dutch, remain historical. Having said that I will give OOB details for some battles that the Americans or the Dutch fight historically in the stories I write to cover them.
The first OOB should be ready early next week, and then one maybe every 3-4 days onwards. Should be back with the action first Sunday of March, and after that a steady two posts a week. OK, enough said on that, we’ll move to an intermission. So, boys and girls, this is your chance to pop to the loo, get your ice cream, popcorn, or whatever, and I’ll let the adverts roll
I only ever had one of these, that was enough, bloody awful!
Now you’re talking, a good old fashion British ‘Ruby Murray’ you can’t beat it.
See you soon for the main event!
My output has sadly declined to a crawl due to a couple of reasons. I have been a carer for my dear old mum, who passed away last October at the young age of 95, impressive eh! and she enjoyed a good quality of life right up until near the end, I’m so thankful that she didn’t suffer like so many have. I did think that this would result in me having more time to write, but dealing with her estate, and an increase in childcare days, yes, I have been rich at both ends of the family spectrum, has meant a decrease in writing time.
The other thing was having done a summary, I promised some OOB’s and thought that would be a breeze, until I looked at mine closely. Unfortunately, I haven’t been anywhere as diligent with changes I made during the writing process as I should have, and my OOB was heavily noted, meaning everything has had to be rechecked. Furthermore, I am having to rethink through some of the events to come, to ensure they can stand up to the scrutiny of being plausible, and not just fantasy. That’s not to say that some events will be a stretch for some readers, that’s bound to happen, but overall, hopefully, you’ll accept that my events could have happened.
So, I’ll be proving five OOB’s, Malaya Command, RAF Far East Command, RN Eastern Fleet, Hong Kong Command, and Borneo & Burma Command. The Japanese OOB’s will come a little later, after a few more stories, while I won’t be posting American or Dutch OOB’s as these should, baring a few minor exceptions with the Dutch, remain historical. Having said that I will give OOB details for some battles that the Americans or the Dutch fight historically in the stories I write to cover them.
The first OOB should be ready early next week, and then one maybe every 3-4 days onwards. Should be back with the action first Sunday of March, and after that a steady two posts a week. OK, enough said on that, we’ll move to an intermission. So, boys and girls, this is your chance to pop to the loo, get your ice cream, popcorn, or whatever, and I’ll let the adverts roll
I only ever had one of these, that was enough, bloody awful!
Now you’re talking, a good old fashion British ‘Ruby Murray’ you can’t beat it.
See you soon for the main event!
Me too.Hi Derek, I know what you mean, while in Iceland I had Hakarl once!
Hákarl - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Was going to bring some back for my friends to experience that somewhat unique taste but that smell seems to escape so many layers that my rucksack would have smelt of hakarl for the next yeat if I'd gone with that idea
Probate can be a bugger to work through
And the brilliant thing about the curry ad is the most curry houses look identical to that advert to this day and havent changed the menu one jot either!
And the brilliant thing about the curry ad is the most curry houses look identical to that advert to this day and havent changed the menu one jot either!