I think the easiest way to add a little extra for Malaya would be to send a little less to the Russians when Barbarossa kicks off. As your last story post indicates Churchill was no friend of Communism and it wouldn't take to big a nudge to get him to send some of the supplies to the Far East instead.
Malaya What If
- Thread starter Fatboy Coxy
- Start date
Mark1878
Donor
Not until Japan actually invades.
The UK needs the Soviets to at least hold the Germans and they are not doing well in 1941 until mid December so the Soviets are more important,
Churchill might not like the Soviets but he did say
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I'm not suggesting stopping Britain's contribution to Russia in 1941, which OTL proved critical. Instead, just a little less like 100 less tanks and aircraft wouldn't be missed when compared to the huge quantities that where being shipped to the Russians, but would make a big difference in Malaya. ITTL the Far East is already being treated a little more seriously and the new command team have more support on the corridors of power in London. That should equate to a bit more equipment being spared for the Far East and the Russian Lend Lease is the obvious source. It also frees up some shopping for getting it to Malaya.
Even less than that - The Canadians were producing Valentines, most of which went to Russia. Even 20 Valentines in Malaya would be a massive difference. Hell even 10 of them. The problem would be that I think the first Valentine's only rolled off the Canadian production lines in September 41 (more knowledgeable will correct me) so it may be that demands on this are too much. Maybe an initial pre production batch can be made available??
The problem is timing, the huge flows of material came later and pretty much all of the initial shipments were indeed critical. The Soviets only had 200 odd medium and heavy tanks to defend Moscow in November 1941 and around 70 of those were British supplied apparently. By the end of 1941 only 466 tanks total had been delivered, all of which were rushed straight to the front. If it was mid-1942 then yes 100 tanks could be diverted easily, but in 1941 things are just far too close for that many.
Though as @Admiral Jellicoe suggests a much smaller number could maybe be sneaked out, but again the timing is tight I think. This article has 15 Valentine VIs being shipped from to Russia in November 1941 as the first batch, they didn't get to a Soviet port till the end of March 1942, so with hindsight they could be diverted and probably have no noticeable impact on the Eastern Front. At the time though, well if the Canadian government thinks C-Force is actually going to do some fighting then they might divert. The first 20 odd tanks were Canadian 'training' tanks so technically any delivery doesn't even come out of the Soviet lend-lease order, so there is wriggle room if there is the political will to do so.
Indiana Beach Crow
Monthly Donor
He was personally brave, I will give him that, and he has the awards from WWI to prove it.
But other than that he was an unmitigated disaster of a human being, from his "handling" of the Bonus Army all the way to the fact that he was so afraid of surgeons that he had not one but *two* untreated inguinal hernia the size of a baseball for most of his adult life.
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IIRC, the British sent the information to their embassy in Moscow, and it was presented to Soviet officers by the British military attache. Again IIRC, the sheer mass of information required a live presentation. I'm pretty sure it would take way more than 20 minutes to send it by radiotelegraph.
That being said the only reason he survived the fall of the Philippines without being put out to pasture was because he was the Republicans man.
And Roosevelt needed to maintain the coalition and harmony back in Washington.
So instead he was retained and given the CMoH to boot.
I would add that Marshall purged the Army of old codgers as soon as he could - remembering the problems Pershing (he was Pershing ADC) had with hidebound older officers and that Pershing eventually pretty ended up firing every Divisional commander in the AEF and replaced them with younger men who where more ready to absorb the lessons of war.
Some of the fear of surgeons possibly goes back to the loss of his brother Arthur ( Captain USN) in 1924 to appendicitis and the failed surgery.
Now that would be an interesting Alt History, trade brothers dying. Arthur MacArthur was a fast rising star destined for a BB then Flag at his death, served as CO of San Diego NTC, Sat on Board of Promotions, Naval War College, Qualified Submarines, and opposite of Douglas, a quiet, competent leader.
Actually I like the idea of both surviving and then having the contrast between them come out in the 30's with all that entails for Douglas.
In regards to armour, it should be recognized that it is not as straightforward as it seems. It is a bit more then shipping tanks over as soon as they are produced, the entire process is a bit more complicated then that.
Since this TL has been logistics heavy, the better question would be, can Malaya support armoured units?
Is there a RAC depot, with trained personnel, and all the tools, spares and materials needed in sufficient quantaties?
Looking at the supply chain, where exactly do the resources needed for its operation come from, can any of the required materials be sourced locally?
And then, the question will be raised, why are tanks being sent to Malaya, when North Africa is screaming for tanks, and now you have to support the Commies, who have managed to lose how many thousands of tanks?
But hey, there is quite a few of these around, so are we to see the unthinkable?
Since this TL has been logistics heavy, the better question would be, can Malaya support armoured units?
Is there a RAC depot, with trained personnel, and all the tools, spares and materials needed in sufficient quantaties?
Looking at the supply chain, where exactly do the resources needed for its operation come from, can any of the required materials be sourced locally?
And then, the question will be raised, why are tanks being sent to Malaya, when North Africa is screaming for tanks, and now you have to support the Commies, who have managed to lose how many thousands of tanks?
But hey, there is quite a few of these around, so are we to see the unthinkable?
When reading Triune Kingdom's post I was thinking about the unthinkable tank from the second paragraph 😁.
The Covenator was one of the worst tanks ever made but it was considerably better than the light tanks the Japanese used in OTL.
There are also several advantages to sending Covenator. They are not going to be used in combat in Europe and the Middle East. If they sent them out to the Russians they would think the British where taking the p**s. So there are hundreds available in the summer of 1941. They are a tank with relatively effective armour and the 2 pounder armament is over kill against most Japanese tanks. Further, newly raised base units will become very proficient, very quickly with the amount work they would need to do to keep a reasonable percentage of Covenators in the field.
Finding crews might be an issue, perhaps some of the Straits Settlements Volunteer infantry units (now gutted of useful men ITTL) could be converted to tanks. Sure when the fighting starts they would be woefully under trained and poorly prepared but as mentioned upthread even a handful of tanks could have made the difference in the coming campaign.
Please reread the first paragraph. A tank unit is more then just tank+crews, it requires support and infrastructure, to be actually effective on the battlefield.
As for the crews, you can not just jam in anyone in a tank and call it a day. How long does it take for a single tank crew to be ready for combat? How long for all the individual tanks and crews to be integrated into and be able to fight as part of the large whole, organised into Troops and Squadrons, operating as an entire Battalion? Then add the need to operate alongside and in concert with Everything else on the battlefield, Infantry, Artillery, Air.... Adding to the misery, Malaya is going to require tropicalisation and acclimatisation of both machinery and men, not to mention figuring out how to operate tanks in an enviroment which differs quite considerably from their training grounds in U.K.
It is not that simple.
The early-model Covenanters had severe engine cooling problems, which is why they were never sent to North Africa even when the British forces there were reduced to using captured Italian tanks. Malaya is unlikely to be easier on them. And, as @Triune Kingdom pointed out, to be effective tanks need proper maintenance and support services, as well as properly trained crews. And the infantry they're supporting need to be trained to work with tanks, especially in the close terrain that is typical of Malaya/Burma.
Sending unreliable, unsupported tanks with half-trained crews is likely to be less effective than leaving the tanks home and just sending their guns, which could be used to give the Indian brigades in Malaya some effective AT capability.
Fatboy Coxy
Monthly Donor
Is Canada sending more?
Taken from MWI 40112817 The Singapore Conference
Canada would provide four Article XV RCAF Sqns and additional air and ground crews, an Airfield Construction company and enough earth moving equipment for it and the NZ unit. Additional trained operators and technicians for the Radar Network would be sent. She would also send small arms and associated munitions, assorted railway equipment and parts, steelwork and cement, and a lot of motor transport, all convoyed by the RCN, where required.
Additionally we've seen at least one of the modified Canadian Prince class AMC's in Singapore waters, see MWI 40121610 A New Role For The Princes and MWI 41050307 Interesting Times, so they're doing a lot more than they did do, at the moment
As for C Force, well we haven't reached that point historically yet, and you wouldn't what me to go and spoil it and tell you now, now would you?
In all seriousness MacArthur planned to kill himself rather than let himself be captured. With the level of personal courage, he showed throughout his life I have little doubt he'd find a way to die in action and not surrender. Having that level of secret information would only further convince him of the need to never fall into enemy hands. Interesting that Wainwright, and his staff had the same intelligence information, but the Japanese never learned anything about it. We all know how persuasive they could be, but it seems the Japanese didn't even know the right questions to ask.
Fatboy Coxy
Monthly Donor
Yes, I have gone this way to some extent, along with playing more on Britain's need to defend the Far East herself, and not rely so much on the USA.