I think it is easier to replace rails rather than have to find another ship to replace the ones that have been sunk. Also, it would be rare for an entire rail shipment to be destroyed as opposed to an entire sea shipment being sunk. The first can offload onto trucks or if mobile can then proceed under own power. bit hard when you are 100 fathoms under.Isn't it easier for an aircraft to hit a railway which does not move and is over a long distance rather than a moving ship which if in convoy is covered by anti-aircraft fire and where the defending aircraft knows where the attack will be.
In the event that Malaya holds ITTL, and ABDACOM remains intact, it will likely remain a British controlled command. Though it’s possible that the assets deployed by the US to this theatre would not be considered major. It’s also possible that MacArthur’s influence is enough for FDR to seek command autonomy for American forces deployed on or in the liberation of the Philippines. In which case the A in ABDACOM is a little dubious I suppose.There is to my mind, only one major theatre of war ITTL, where the Americans might if the British are significantly stubborn, accept a British Supreme Commander, even though they have major assets in theatre
Well you can do more damage hitting bridges and/or tunnels, but the former are hard to hit with any accuracy, and the latter with sufficient force to do anything much.I think it is easier to replace rails rather than have to find another ship to replace the ones that have been sunk. Also, it would be rare for an entire rail shipment to be destroyed as opposed to an entire sea shipment being sunk. The first can offload onto trucks or if mobile can then proceed under own power. bit hard when you are 100 fathoms under.
And with AMES/Radar who said the defending fighters don't know where to be?
Given how big his ego is and the fact he is the textbook definition of a social general with more acumen in boardrooms and congress than he has in command of any form of armed force he will probably try and push for it.In the event that Malaya holds ITTL, and ABDACOM remains intact, it will likely remain a British controlled command. Though it’s possible that the assets deployed by the US to this theatre would not be considered major. It’s also possible that MacArthur’s influence is enough for FDR to seek command autonomy for American forces deployed on or in the liberation of the Philippines. In which case the A in ABDACOM is a little dubious I suppose.
What would it take for the Americans ever to accept a non-American supreme commander in a major theater where they depoly major assets even if not a majority???
Divine intervention?
In the event that Malaya holds ITTL, and ABDACOM remains intact, it will likely remain a British controlled command. Though it’s possible that the assets deployed by the US to this theatre would not be considered major. It’s also possible that MacArthur’s influence is enough for FDR to seek command autonomy for American forces deployed on or in the liberation of the Philippines. In which case the A in ABDACOM is a little dubious I suppose.
Trains are entirely susceptible to submarines if the railway line is coastal and the submarine has a deck gun. Or if the submarine is carrying commandos specialised in making railway lines go 'boom'.Fair comment. Mind you, a convoy is an obvious target, a train perhaps less so (is any particular train war materials, or is it purely civilian?). Trains are also not particularly susceptible to submarines IIRC.
That's more than likely going to be the sub skippers on the scene who ask that rather than BueOrd they remained obstinate about the whole torpedo issues for a stupidly longtime until they had their face ground into the issues.If Malaya hold while the Philippines falls, that will reflect badly on the Americans, as will the British sinking more ships, due to having reliable torpedoes. Hells, there's the possibility that the British might actually get asked, surreptitiously, to try to figure out why the things are so unreliable.
That's why I said surreptitiously.That's more than likely going to be the sub skippers on the scene who ask that rather than BueOrd they remained obstinate about the whole torpedo issues for a stupidly longtime until they had their face ground into the issues.
Not too many tunnels or bridges in North Africa! So yes, as you implied, rather difficult to put out of action,Well you can do more damage hitting bridges and/or tunnels, but the former are hard to hit with any accuracy, and the latter with sufficient force to do anything much.
Sub skippers who then get Courts Martials for insubordination and giving away the secrets of America's super 100% reliable and vastly superior to any other torpedoes to the British.That's more than likely going to be the sub skippers on the scene who ask that rather than BueOrd they remained obstinate about the whole torpedo issues for a stupidly longtime until they had their face ground into the issues.
I recall a senior Belgian officer, present at a conference, listening to Americans saying that it was unacceptable for US troops to be under a foreign command and fascinated by their complete inability to comprehend that they were demanding that foreign troops be under American command and that this was just the same situation.What would it take for the Americans ever to accept a non-American supreme commander in a major theater where they depoly major assets even if not a majority???
I blame that incompetent fool Black Jack Pershing for that. Sadly it's his men that paid the price for his refusal to listen not him, but the Americans lionise him.I recall a senior Belgian officer, present at a conference, listening to Americans saying that it was unacceptable for US troops to be under a foreign command and fascinated by their complete inability to comprehend that they were demanding that foreign troops be under American command and that this was just the same situation.
Yeah MacArthur's 'I shall return' rings a bit hollow when others are holding the line against the Japanese.If Malaya hold while the Philippines falls, that will reflect badly on the Americans, as will the British sinking more ships, due to having reliable torpedoes. Hells, there's the possibility that the British might actually get asked, surreptitiously, to try to figure out why the things are so unreliable.
Except it isn't, because like it or not the Americans are very much Top Dog of the Western Allies, with the British as junior partners and the minor allies as hangers on. All of them, even the British, are utterly dependent on US equipment, US logistics and US supplies and no major operation can be contemplated without US involvement, so what Uncle Sam says, goes.I recall a senior Belgian officer, present at a conference, listening to Americans saying that it was unacceptable for US troops to be under a foreign command and fascinated by their complete inability to comprehend that they were demanding that foreign troops be under American command and that this was just the same situation.
If Malaya hold while the Philippines falls, that will reflect badly on the Americans, as will the British sinking more ships, due to having reliable torpedoes.
Except it isn't, because like it or not the Americans are very much Top Dog of the Western Allies, with the British as junior partners and the minor allies as hangers on. All of them, even the British, are utterly dependent on US equipment, US logistics and US supplies and no major operation can be contemplated without US involvement, so what Uncle Sam says, goes.
The only possible exception to this would be if the British effectively signed over the Second Front to the US and concentrated everything in what the US regarded as a secondary theatre, such as SE Asia or the Med. And that would be a major political decision in and of itself.
The French in NA have just watched the British repeatedly smash Italian and German positions, held up more by their own logistical constraints than any enemy military strength.If Weygand opts to join the Allies it does not necessarily follow that it happens. Vichy can immediately disown, dismiss and arrest him. Bear in mind that he Vichy forces were acting as Axis biased neutrals (as those taken as internees such as sailors and airmen have attested) and had fought land campaigns in Syria, Senegal, Gabon and Madagascar against Commonwealth invasions and a blockade of French Somalia and Djibouti , it’s fleet attacked by them in harbour and at sea and had bombed Gibraltar in retaliation twice. IOTL there was significant fighting against the Operation Torch landings, especially in Algeria. The French navy is still a significant presence if oil is released to them by the Germans. Just possibly a hot pursuit into Tunisia. Ould prompt Vichy to get German support to defend French North Africa and make Vichy an Axis ally allowing them to reinforce North Africa if they can maintain a sea line across the Western Mediterranean. Not to mention raising local troops and threaten British West Africa from French West Africa. The whole tangle could make a later invasion of France one of invading a hostile territory instead of liberating it. With an Axis France could Spain be persuaded to join with an Hispano Franco attack to take Gibraltar to ease access between Metropolitan France and North Africa?
Pushing the limits of AH, but far from ASB. Apologies for inserting this into the OP’s storyline.
The French in NA have just watched the British repeatedly smash Italian and German positions, held up more by their own logistical constraints than any enemy military strength.