The Battle at Dawn: The first battle between the United States and Japan December 7-10, 1941

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The Pacific Fleet moves to Hawaii

[Richardson] was one of the Navy's foremost figures. Since his earliest days, after leaving Annapolis, he had made the study of Japanese warfare his life's work. He was beyond question the Navy's outstanding authority on Pacific naval warfare and Japanese strategy (John Dyer, Pearl Harbor Countdown: The Biography of Admiral James O. Richardson by Skipper Steely, published by Pelican Press, Gretna, Louisiana, 2008.)

Frank Knox saves his commander
On October 8, 1940, in response to Japanese pressure that leads to the stationing of their troops in French Indochina, and the Japanese government signature on the Tripartite Pact, President Roosevelt decides to station the Pacific Fleet permanently at Pearl Harbor in hopes of restraining further Japanese aggression. Admiral James O Richardson, Commander in Chief US Fleet, who commands the Battle Force and Scouting Force in the Pacific, protests the move. He is ordered to Washington by Navy Secretary Frank Knox, who is worried that his outspoken but highly valuable commander is about to get himself into political trouble by challenging the President. In discussions that at times grow heated, the Secretary talks Richardson into agreeing to listen to the President and follow orders and most importantly, keeping his mouth shut.

Over the next few days Roosevelt and Knox meet privately and then with Richardson and Roosevelt promises to do what he can to strengthen Pearl Harbor but insists that the fleet must stay. Admiral Richardson finally accepts the decision, although it becomes clear to Roosevelt that Richardson is not the man he needs for Chief of Naval Operations, which means Admiral Stark will keep his job, but the Admiral accepts the decision to take what is in effect a partial demotion to Commander Pacific Fleet as the growing threat of Germany requires a new position, Commander Atlantic Fleet, which will require taking some ships from the Pacific and sending them to the Atlantic. Husband Kimmel is promoted to his new rank of Commander Atlantic Fleet in November 1940. Kimmel, with extensive experience with destroyers, cruisers and battleships, is viewed as a good choice for facing the possible war with Germany and the submarine threat from them, while Richardson, who is one of the authors of War Plan Orange, is best suited for the Pacific and the possible war with Japan.

Horse trading with Atlantic Fleet and Neutrality Patrol
Richardson does however manage to get a few things from his President. Plans to send the carrier Yorktown to the Atlantic are canceled, as Richardson argues that he needs every scout plane he can get, and instead the planned experimental escort carrier Long Island, as well as the carriers Wasp and Ranger, plus the new Hornet when she is completed, will be assigned to the neutrality patrol. He does lose the battleships Idaho, New Mexico and Mississippi, plus all of the Omaha class cruisers plus several heavy cruisers and numerous destroyers. Richardson is not pleased but considers it a worthwhile trade for keeping 4 carriers in the Pacific. He does manage to talk Stark and Knox into giving him a few more fleet oilers however, arguing that as the Atlantic Fleet is primarily patrolling the western Atlantic, that fleet does not need oilers as badly as his fleet does, and that it will extend the range of the Pacific Scouting Force. He gets 6 oilers that will arrive in mid 1941.

Richardson, who like Halsey is a strong proponent of carrier aviation, also asks Admiral Harry Yarnell, recently retired from his post as Commander Asiatic Fleet, to come to Hawaii for a visit and manages to get permission to conduct Fleet Problem XXII, which was planned for the Spring of 1941 and recently canceled be reinstated. The Admiral points out that as the Army is conducting its own maneuvers it is important that the Navy do so as well. Roosevelt, who still considers the Navy 'his service' agrees and Knox grants permission and the necessary funds for it.

Question, are the Omaha's being sent only from the Pacific fletcher, or are they stripping the Asiatic Fleet of half its cruisers? Also the Pacific Fleet furnished a relief cruiser if either of the Asiatic Fleet cruisers went in for extended maintenence., what will be used? Will the Asiatic Fleet be reinforced.. they were small but prepared to fight,just had poorly defended by US Army bases.
 
The Japanese Plan
Admiral Yamamoto has been planning for months a decisive blow against the American Pacific Fleet at the start of the war. He feels that in a single blow the First Air Fleet can eliminate at least 4 of the American battleships and clear the way for operations aimed at the Southern Resource Area. With proper planning and a bit of luck, all 8 of the battleships can be at least damaged enough to knock them out for some weeks, and with luck one or two or even more of the American carriers will be in port and they can be destroyed as well.

This will require eliminating the American ability to resist the strike by removing their fighters from the equation, as well as eliminating any counterstrike ability. A report from Takeo Yoskikawa regarding the embarrassment of the US Army in recent war games as well as the report that US Navy conducted a simulated strike against the Army airfields and fleet base poses a worry to Yamamoto, who thinks that possibly the Americans may anticipate his plan. Yamamoto decides to revise his plan somewhat, and more importantly, decides that as he is seeking Kantai Kessen (the decisive battle) with the Americans in their home waters,it would best be lead by him in person. The change takes several days to get approved by Admiral of the Fleet Nagano but in the end Nagano accepts the decision. The battleships Nagato and Mutsu replace the two fast battleships assigned to southern operations and to support them Yamamoto adds 4 more destroyers and 4 more fleet oilers to the Striking Force. Yamamoto also decides that to support future attacks against the American fleet base, Midway Island should be seized as well. A proposed landing in the Gilbert Islands is canceled, and those forces assigned to deal with the weakly defended US base at Guam, while the South Seas Detachment and the ships assigned to it are pulled from the Guam operation and instead will follow behind the Striking Force and after the raid on Pearl Harbor the carrier fleet will support the seizure of this base, which is good location to stage seaplanes from the Mandates to spy and harass Hawaii, as well as offering a refueling facility for submarines to patrol east of Hawaii and harass naval traffic from the US West Coast.

Operation AI
The plan has as its essentials the following tasks
1. Eliminate the threat of American aviation to the air strikes on the American fleet as well as its ability to launch coordinated strikes against the Striking Force
2. Eliminate the capability of the US Pacific Fleet to interfere with Japanese operations in the Southern Resource Area by sinking or severely damaging at least 4 battleships, and inflicting serious damage on the remainder.
3. Bring to battle American carriers and their escorts if they are not in port, or eliminate them as secondary targets if they are in port. This will remove American ability to harass Japanese operations and garrisons in the Central Pacific.


(authors note: With the exception of bringing to battle the American carriers if they are not in port, this was the historical Japanese plan. Note that nowhere is there any mention of attacking the repair facilities or fuel reserves at the base. The whole focus of the operation was to attack the FLEET, not the base except as incidental to hitting warships in drydock and of course the airfields. A change in the operational priorities of the Japanese Navy requires a bigger point of departure than I am willing to make)

Japanese Forces assigned Operation AI
Kido Butai (First Air Fleet) (Striking Force)
Carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku, Zuikaku, battleships Hiei (fleet flag: Yamamoto), Haruna, Kongo, Kirishima, CA Tone, Chikuma, CL Abukuma, 14 destroyers, 12 fleet oilers, 414 combat aircraft (54 Zero fighters for fleet defense, 354 for striking force including 81 fighters, 143 B5N Kate torpedo/level bombers, 135 D3A Val dive bombers) plus 20 float planes for scouting

6th Fleet (submarines)
31 fleet submarines plus 5 special attack (midget) submarines

Midway Island Assault Force
CA Aoba, Furutaka, Kako, Kinugasa, 4 destroyers, 2 gunboats, 6 submarine chasers, 1 seaplane tender, 2 tenders, 9 transports, South Sea Force (4,886 troops

So we're skipping the whole Third Strike controversy?
(Although a greater concentration on Pennsylvania might wreck the dry-dock anyway)

Which in this scenario might actually be an advantage for the IJN, it gives them more time and resources to seek out any USN forces not in Pearl Harbor.
 
authors note: I think I made my opinion of General Short clear enough

General Millard Harmon commanded US Army Air Forces in the South Pacific Area from 1942-44, working closely and extremely well with Halsey and his loss in the late portion of the war (his plane disappeared while flying across the Pacific) was a deep shame, something that General Kenny in his book "General Kenny Reports" notes with considerable sadness

That work by the way is fascinating and is a superb and very readable report of the US Army Air Force operations from 1942 until the end of the war and can be found here
http://www.afhso.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100526-032.pdf

I was lucky enough to find it recently for a $1 at a thrift store in paperback

Harmon had a firm understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of American air power and learned the same about Japanese capabilities during the war. He was a superb commander and does not get the recognition he deserves

Another excellent book on the South-West Pacific Campaigns - is 'Flying Buccaneers by Steve Birdsall.
 
Question, are the Omaha's being sent only from the Pacific fletcher, or are they stripping the Asiatic Fleet of half its cruisers? Also the Pacific Fleet furnished a relief cruiser if either of the Asiatic Fleet cruisers went in for extended maintenence., what will be used? Will the Asiatic Fleet be reinforced.. they were small but prepared to fight,just had poorly defended by US Army bases.

only the Omaha class ships assigned to the Pacific Fleet are sent to the Atlantic, the Marblehead is still in Cavite along with the Houston. The Boise has not gone to Southeast Asia yet.
 
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So we're skipping the whole Third Strike controversy?
(Although a greater concentration on Pennsylvania might wreck the dry-dock anyway)

Which in this scenario might actually be an advantage for the IJN, it gives them more time and resources to seek out any USN forces not in Pearl Harbor.

I will be addressing that at some point as an authors note, but the important thing is what the Japanese planned historically and would likely do based on their doctrine.
 
What are you going to be using for that?

several different table top games.. "Flattop" (which does carrier operations very well), "Midway" (which does searches very well, and "Dreadnought", which does surface battles reasonably well

No World of Warships.

I also have a couple of sets of naval miniatures rules that are good for damage allocation tables and AAA fire

In other words, not so much gaming it out as using games to assist in the writing process plus my own research and knowledge on how things worked in that era.
 
several different table top games.. "Flattop" (which does carrier operations very well), "Midway" (which does searches very well, and "Dreadnought", which does surface battles reasonably well

No World of Warships.

I also have a couple of sets of naval miniatures rules that are good for damage allocation tables and AAA fire

In other words, not so much gaming it out as using games to assist in the writing process plus my own research and knowledge on how things worked in that era.

Sounds good to me. You are using multible sources for research and background purposes, and this will help to moderate your story. Thanks for the details on the gaming part.
 
Sounds good to me. You are using multible sources for research and background purposes, and this will help to moderate your story. Thanks for the details on the gaming part.

you have to be a middle aged or older gamer like me to remember when most of those games were new... chuckle
 

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This is the story of those days of fierce courage and determination.

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Obligatory Undertale jokes aside, you've got me hooked.
 
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