Fewer civil causualities overall could actually be TTL, overall that is why Europe will look not as good after the war, compared to the C-PS core states in East Asia that were not directly bombed and destroyed during the war, leading in part to their later rise TTL.
The Co-Prosperity Sphere
- Thread starter CountofDooku
- Start date
There's also the fact that within the CPS, Japan is the uncontested leader and AT LEAST an order of magnitude more powerful than other members.
In the ACP, Germany is stronger and everyone follows German lead in the war (as they all want to win).
But after the war, Germany won't be strong enough to have other countries be its minions.
For example, Italy is weaker than Germany, but strong enough to not be pushed around. And France (with its African empire and navy and industry and population) will also be too strong to simply order around once rebuilding is done... Not to mention Russia (with its industry, territory and population), the Ottoman Empire, A-H, or even Spain.
So, Germany will be at best the "first among equals" leading a fragile alliance of independent and divided countries (and enjoying her domination of Denmark, Norway, Low Countries, Crimea and Mittelafrika, and a sphere of influence in America), instead of being the absolute leader/colonial master like Japan.
In the ACP, Germany is stronger and everyone follows German lead in the war (as they all want to win).
But after the war, Germany won't be strong enough to have other countries be its minions.
For example, Italy is weaker than Germany, but strong enough to not be pushed around. And France (with its African empire and navy and industry and population) will also be too strong to simply order around once rebuilding is done... Not to mention Russia (with its industry, territory and population), the Ottoman Empire, A-H, or even Spain.
So, Germany will be at best the "first among equals" leading a fragile alliance of independent and divided countries (and enjoying her domination of Denmark, Norway, Low Countries, Crimea and Mittelafrika, and a sphere of influence in America), instead of being the absolute leader/colonial master like Japan.
Yeah OTL Reorganized China and Manchukuo would be so desperate for recruits given their general unpopularity they would free criminals many of whom opium addicts from prison to serve in collaborator armies.
Tomorrow some Solomon Island battles ;D
The beginning of the last major operations in the Pacific from 1943 to 1944 as well as later on news from other frotns as well including Assam-Burma/ India.
The beginning of the last major operations in the Pacific from 1943 to 1944 as well as later on news from other frotns as well including Assam-Burma/ India.
Why is British India not sending a massive punitative expidition into Tibet to secure it once and for all?
Won't leaders in Delhi be crazy about the ability of the Japanese to drop anthrax or other bio- weapons from Tibet on Calcutta or Delhi
Won't leaders in Delhi be crazy about the ability of the Japanese to drop anthrax or other bio- weapons from Tibet on Calcutta or Delhi
The British know that Tibet joined the Co-Prosperity Sphere/ Japanese late and that they lack any major infrastructure and airfields for such operations, also knowledge about these weapons is still sparse in 1943 and they have been not as whidely used in China TTL then OTL but more in SIberia, from where reports not often reach the West or Allies in general. So it even takes some more time before the major Allies fully feel the Japanese B- and C-Weapon arsenal the same way they do the German one.
Chapter 797: Solomon Islands Cleaning – Makira/ San Christobal and Russel Islands
Chapter 797: Solomon Islands Cleaning – Makira/ San Christobal and Russel Islands
In the Solomon Islands the Japanese Empire, more exactly the Imperial Japanese Navy tried to use the last American carrier losses for more offensives, but their last own losses in transports by land-based Allied fighters and bombers had shown that they needed to secure the Allied airfields on the other islands as well. On the Russel Islands, the Japanese had landed forces to oppose the Allied base under construction by Seabees after the American evacuation of Guadalcanal. From there the Allies hoped to oppose and threaten the Japanese and Co-Prosperity Sphere posiitons on Guadalcanal and New Georgia, hoping to drive them off those islands and back towards Japan again. On January 21, 1943, Seabees landed in the Russell Islands to construct an air and naval base to lend support for these planned Allied operation. The Russell Islands, which lie northwest of Guadalcanal, consist of two principal islands, Banika and Pavuvu, and a number of islets. The topography of Banika Island, where most of the naval development took place, was highly favorable for the projected facilities. Well-drained shore areas, deep water, protected harbors, and lack of malaria made it a good location for a base to support landing craft, PT boats, and small craft. The greatly sloping terrain and well-drained coral subsoil facilitated construction. The major portion of the 33rd Battalion departed from Guadalcanal for the Russell Islands on January 20, 1943, on LCT's and LST's, with whatever equipment could be put aboard during their hasty evaluation, later to be improved by further Allied supplies from larger ships. Immediately upon arrival, they started work on the fighter strip. Progress was slow, due to inadequate equipment and lack of personnel, but by April 13, the emergency landing of a P-38 was possible. On March 20, 1943, the 35th Battalion, which had followed the 33rd, in early March, was given the task of completing a strip 3100 feet long by 150 feet wide, in twenty days. A detachment of 200 men from the 34th Battalion with much of that battalion's heavy equipment was also brought to Banika to help rush the work. The strip was surfaced with coral, which was available in abundance. It was during this construction that the Allies were first encountering the Japanese in the east of the island who had tried to construct their own airfield and build a coastal battery against Allied ships heading for Guadalcanal from the west. By early August, the main runway, one warm-up area, 60 feet by 450 feet, and 14 revetments for Airstrip No. 1 had been completed despite constant Japanese assaults. The Japanese originally had planned for a shore bombardment even with bigger battleships guns and carrier support, as their fleets had learned to give island forces and landings supported after the lessons learned during Midway, the Solomone Islands and Guadalcanal operations. However the Japanese Commander, Otani Haruko hoped that they could capture the Allied build airfield like in Guadalcanal and Malaita to use them for their own purpose and save time as they would not have to construct them themselves, as the Americans had much better equipment for doing so.
During August, despite smaller Japanese probing attacks, the 35th Battalion completed the construction of a second 4500-foot strip, with a taxiway and dispersal areas for 40 planes. Work was then started on the lengthening of the first strip to 6,000 feet to make it suitable for medium bombers, and on a bomber taxiway. The hardstands had to be constructed to allow them to accommodate heavier aircraft, and more had to be provided. The two fields were to be used by the Army Air Force planes in their attacks on enemy positions in Guadalcanal and New Georgia. In conjunction with the construction of the airstrips, the Seabees also erected quonset huts and dallas huts for use as quarters, galley, mess halls, offices, operations building, and dispensaries at each field. By April 1943, the 33rd Battalion had erected an aviation-gasoline tank farm of eight 1,000-barrel tanks, together with piping and fittings, for Airstrip 1. A second tank farm of six 1,000-barrel tanks, completed in June for Airstrip 2, was connected to the landing dock by a 1,200-foot pipeline. Japanese ground attacks and enemy bombing by ship and air on May 25, 1943 caused considerable damage to Tank Farm 1. One tank was set on fire and was completely destroyed; three others were punctured by shrapnel. The piping was also damaged. Repairs were completed in five days. Gasoline service to the airfield was afterwards again maintained without interruption. In June, five more tanks were planned to be added at Tank Farm 1 and four at Tank Farm 2. Development of waterfront facilities at Banika was not begun by the 35th Battalion immediately upon its arrival in May 1943, as by then the Japanese attacks had to freshly landed forces from nearby Guadalcanal and New Georgia increased, driving the Americans from the airfield and their base established around it into a more defensive coastal position that was under threat by Japanese naval bombardment. With the evacuation of Guadalcanal, the Russel Island base was under constant bombardment by Imperial Japanese Navy ships and land based bombers and fighters from New Georgia and Guadalcanal, leaving the Allies little choice but to evacuate the small forward airfield and base as well by June 1943.
On Makira/ San Christobal meanwhile the Japanese, Chosen and Taikoku forces faced much more heavy resistance from the 34,000 Allied forces on the island. However the Allies had to supply these numbers and that was not possible from the island alone, so Japanese naval bombers and submarines had a field day hunting Allied transports and escorts from their nearby island bases as the Allies without a strong air and naval support of their own lacked the means of protecting them. Sure the USS Essex (CV-9) had been speed up and launched on 13 June 1942, accelerating it's construction, so that it was finished on 13 November 1942 under Captain Donald B. Duncan, but with it and the Wasp as the only American carriers in the Pacific facing superior Japanese carrier and land base numbers in the Solomon Islands, the Americans did not dare to risk them at the moment until new carriers were finished and they had reserves to stop a continued Japanese push towards Hawaii, the West Coast and Australia while at the same time also continuing their own planned island hopping. The American forces were superior in numbers and had better defensive positions, but the Japanese had a plan. Weapons from Unit 483 already tested in China to a small extent as well as more massively in Siberia, anthrax, bubonic plague, cholera, smallpox, botulism, paratyphoid fever and other deadly diseases were used with the help of so called bacilli bombs, bacilli shells and bacilli grenades filled with the infection and shot or thrown at the enemy. Soon the diseases had spread all over Makira and the majority of the already often only sparsely trained Allied forces, or the wounded veterans. Because similar reports had come from New Guinea and Guadalcanal, the Allies at first believed they had brought these infections with them. Infected wounds often lead to amputations, meaning further numbers of Allied forces on Makira were unable to fight and unlike New Guinea where the diseases would remain in the jungle on animals and plans, infecting Japanese settlers for decades to come to the island after the war because of the sparse native population, here on Makira the smaller island and larger population by Allied soldiers meant the infections spread fast and all over the place, even to the freshly landed Japanese reinforcements.
Like on Guadalcanal more died by infections then the real fighting, with soon 6,400 Allies dead by infection and plague rather then direct fighting. Nimitz and MacArthur knew that evacuation could mean spread this diseases to Australia, New Zealand or Hawaii as well and therefore hesitated for another evacuation, especially as it would have meant giving the Japanese nearly full control of the Solomon Islands as well. However no further reinforcements and supplies were send to Makira as well in fear of further infections and dead of the already heavy causalities among the Marines and American forces in the Solomon Islands who desperately needed new freshly trained forces to arrive. Japanese air and naval bombardment, as well as the shorter Japanese fresh reinforced troops from Guadalcanal, New Georgia and even Rabaul and New Guinea meant that the Japanese in the end managed to take Makira under heavy losses themselves with 9,200 of Japanese dead, half of them from disease not fighting, including many of the SNLF (Special Naval Landing Forces) that now meant that all of the operations in Papua/ New Guinea/ New Guinea were given over to the Imperial Japanese Army with coastal and naval landing navy support as the Imperial Japanese Navy needed all reserves and even some army support it could get for their planned operation to cut off Australia from Allied supply lines from America after the recent losses.
In the Solomon Islands the Japanese Empire, more exactly the Imperial Japanese Navy tried to use the last American carrier losses for more offensives, but their last own losses in transports by land-based Allied fighters and bombers had shown that they needed to secure the Allied airfields on the other islands as well. On the Russel Islands, the Japanese had landed forces to oppose the Allied base under construction by Seabees after the American evacuation of Guadalcanal. From there the Allies hoped to oppose and threaten the Japanese and Co-Prosperity Sphere posiitons on Guadalcanal and New Georgia, hoping to drive them off those islands and back towards Japan again. On January 21, 1943, Seabees landed in the Russell Islands to construct an air and naval base to lend support for these planned Allied operation. The Russell Islands, which lie northwest of Guadalcanal, consist of two principal islands, Banika and Pavuvu, and a number of islets. The topography of Banika Island, where most of the naval development took place, was highly favorable for the projected facilities. Well-drained shore areas, deep water, protected harbors, and lack of malaria made it a good location for a base to support landing craft, PT boats, and small craft. The greatly sloping terrain and well-drained coral subsoil facilitated construction. The major portion of the 33rd Battalion departed from Guadalcanal for the Russell Islands on January 20, 1943, on LCT's and LST's, with whatever equipment could be put aboard during their hasty evaluation, later to be improved by further Allied supplies from larger ships. Immediately upon arrival, they started work on the fighter strip. Progress was slow, due to inadequate equipment and lack of personnel, but by April 13, the emergency landing of a P-38 was possible. On March 20, 1943, the 35th Battalion, which had followed the 33rd, in early March, was given the task of completing a strip 3100 feet long by 150 feet wide, in twenty days. A detachment of 200 men from the 34th Battalion with much of that battalion's heavy equipment was also brought to Banika to help rush the work. The strip was surfaced with coral, which was available in abundance. It was during this construction that the Allies were first encountering the Japanese in the east of the island who had tried to construct their own airfield and build a coastal battery against Allied ships heading for Guadalcanal from the west. By early August, the main runway, one warm-up area, 60 feet by 450 feet, and 14 revetments for Airstrip No. 1 had been completed despite constant Japanese assaults. The Japanese originally had planned for a shore bombardment even with bigger battleships guns and carrier support, as their fleets had learned to give island forces and landings supported after the lessons learned during Midway, the Solomone Islands and Guadalcanal operations. However the Japanese Commander, Otani Haruko hoped that they could capture the Allied build airfield like in Guadalcanal and Malaita to use them for their own purpose and save time as they would not have to construct them themselves, as the Americans had much better equipment for doing so.
During August, despite smaller Japanese probing attacks, the 35th Battalion completed the construction of a second 4500-foot strip, with a taxiway and dispersal areas for 40 planes. Work was then started on the lengthening of the first strip to 6,000 feet to make it suitable for medium bombers, and on a bomber taxiway. The hardstands had to be constructed to allow them to accommodate heavier aircraft, and more had to be provided. The two fields were to be used by the Army Air Force planes in their attacks on enemy positions in Guadalcanal and New Georgia. In conjunction with the construction of the airstrips, the Seabees also erected quonset huts and dallas huts for use as quarters, galley, mess halls, offices, operations building, and dispensaries at each field. By April 1943, the 33rd Battalion had erected an aviation-gasoline tank farm of eight 1,000-barrel tanks, together with piping and fittings, for Airstrip 1. A second tank farm of six 1,000-barrel tanks, completed in June for Airstrip 2, was connected to the landing dock by a 1,200-foot pipeline. Japanese ground attacks and enemy bombing by ship and air on May 25, 1943 caused considerable damage to Tank Farm 1. One tank was set on fire and was completely destroyed; three others were punctured by shrapnel. The piping was also damaged. Repairs were completed in five days. Gasoline service to the airfield was afterwards again maintained without interruption. In June, five more tanks were planned to be added at Tank Farm 1 and four at Tank Farm 2. Development of waterfront facilities at Banika was not begun by the 35th Battalion immediately upon its arrival in May 1943, as by then the Japanese attacks had to freshly landed forces from nearby Guadalcanal and New Georgia increased, driving the Americans from the airfield and their base established around it into a more defensive coastal position that was under threat by Japanese naval bombardment. With the evacuation of Guadalcanal, the Russel Island base was under constant bombardment by Imperial Japanese Navy ships and land based bombers and fighters from New Georgia and Guadalcanal, leaving the Allies little choice but to evacuate the small forward airfield and base as well by June 1943.
On Makira/ San Christobal meanwhile the Japanese, Chosen and Taikoku forces faced much more heavy resistance from the 34,000 Allied forces on the island. However the Allies had to supply these numbers and that was not possible from the island alone, so Japanese naval bombers and submarines had a field day hunting Allied transports and escorts from their nearby island bases as the Allies without a strong air and naval support of their own lacked the means of protecting them. Sure the USS Essex (CV-9) had been speed up and launched on 13 June 1942, accelerating it's construction, so that it was finished on 13 November 1942 under Captain Donald B. Duncan, but with it and the Wasp as the only American carriers in the Pacific facing superior Japanese carrier and land base numbers in the Solomon Islands, the Americans did not dare to risk them at the moment until new carriers were finished and they had reserves to stop a continued Japanese push towards Hawaii, the West Coast and Australia while at the same time also continuing their own planned island hopping. The American forces were superior in numbers and had better defensive positions, but the Japanese had a plan. Weapons from Unit 483 already tested in China to a small extent as well as more massively in Siberia, anthrax, bubonic plague, cholera, smallpox, botulism, paratyphoid fever and other deadly diseases were used with the help of so called bacilli bombs, bacilli shells and bacilli grenades filled with the infection and shot or thrown at the enemy. Soon the diseases had spread all over Makira and the majority of the already often only sparsely trained Allied forces, or the wounded veterans. Because similar reports had come from New Guinea and Guadalcanal, the Allies at first believed they had brought these infections with them. Infected wounds often lead to amputations, meaning further numbers of Allied forces on Makira were unable to fight and unlike New Guinea where the diseases would remain in the jungle on animals and plans, infecting Japanese settlers for decades to come to the island after the war because of the sparse native population, here on Makira the smaller island and larger population by Allied soldiers meant the infections spread fast and all over the place, even to the freshly landed Japanese reinforcements.
Like on Guadalcanal more died by infections then the real fighting, with soon 6,400 Allies dead by infection and plague rather then direct fighting. Nimitz and MacArthur knew that evacuation could mean spread this diseases to Australia, New Zealand or Hawaii as well and therefore hesitated for another evacuation, especially as it would have meant giving the Japanese nearly full control of the Solomon Islands as well. However no further reinforcements and supplies were send to Makira as well in fear of further infections and dead of the already heavy causalities among the Marines and American forces in the Solomon Islands who desperately needed new freshly trained forces to arrive. Japanese air and naval bombardment, as well as the shorter Japanese fresh reinforced troops from Guadalcanal, New Georgia and even Rabaul and New Guinea meant that the Japanese in the end managed to take Makira under heavy losses themselves with 9,200 of Japanese dead, half of them from disease not fighting, including many of the SNLF (Special Naval Landing Forces) that now meant that all of the operations in Papua/ New Guinea/ New Guinea were given over to the Imperial Japanese Army with coastal and naval landing navy support as the Imperial Japanese Navy needed all reserves and even some army support it could get for their planned operation to cut off Australia from Allied supply lines from America after the recent losses.
Chapter 798: The British Gambia Colony and Protectorate
Chapter 798: The British Gambia Colony and Protectorate
The Gambia Colony and Protectorate was ruled by Britain. In 1939 its military, the Gambia Company, was expanded into the Gambia Regiment, with a strength of two battalions from 1941. It fought in the Burma Campaign. The colony also formed an Auxiliary Police, who, among other things, helped to enforce blackouts in Bathurst. The Gambia itself was home to RAF Bathurst, a flying boat base, and RAF Yundum, an air force station, which became the country's first airport. HMS Melampus, a shore base, was based at Bathurst for some of the war, and in 1942, a light cruiser named HMS Gambia was launched, which maintained ties to the colony until it was decommissioned in 1960. The Gambia was home to a succession of wartime British General Hospitals. During World War II, the Gambia Company became the Gambia Regiment, with a strength of two battalions from 1941. It fought in the Burma campaign and served for some time under the command of Antony Read, later the Quartermaster-General to the Forces. the Gambia itself was also important to the war effort. It was home to RAF Bathurst, a flying boat base, and RAF Yundum, an RAF station. HMS Melampus, a shore base, was also based at Bathurst for some of the war, and in 1942, a light cruiser named HMS Gambia was launched, which maintained ties to the colony until it was decommissioned in 1960. Bathurst was also the nearest English-speaking port to Dakar, where, before the Battle of Dakar, the Vichy French battleship Richelieu had been told to travel to. The Gambia was also home to 55 British General Hospital from 1941 to 1942, 40 British General Hospital from 1942 to 1944. During the Second Great War, many air raid shelters were built across the Gambia too.
In 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped overnight in Bathurst en route to and from the one of the Allied-Chinese United Front-Soviet Conference. This marked the first visit to the African continent by a sitting US President. Appalled, as he was, by the poverty and disease that was present there, he wrote to Churchill describing the territory as a "hell-hole". After the war, attention turned to economic and political reform in the colony, such as decreasing its reliance on the groundnut, which made up almost 100% of its exports. Gambia became majorly important to the Allies during their campaigns along the Ivory Coast and West Africa (Operation Torch) Bathurst and Gabun became majorly important for the Allied war support and war supplies for these theatre. Over time between 1942 to 1943 the Allied therefore established and expanded harbors and supply bases all over west and southwest Africa to ensure their massive armies landed from Morocco to the British Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria to face the Axis Central Power Forces in Western Africa. They mainly opposed German, Fascist French, Spanish and Italian forces in the area, while the Americans and British were the main forces on the Allies side, accompanied by Commonwealth and Free French forces. However despite this build naval and air bases at the coast, the Axis Central Power grip on West Africa, especially the north with eastern, mountainous Morocco, Algeria, Tunis and Libya remained strong in 1942 all the way to early 1943. Some battles were fought and overall the Allies managed to take some land in the south, mostly desert with only a few towns and oasis, nothing to change the overall frontlines or outcome at this front at the moment and with the situation in the Soviet Union looking worse each day with a victorious Russian Empire pushing the Red Army east, the Allied knew that the planned landings in Spain or France had to be speed up from 1944 to already happen earlier in 1943, or otherwise the Soviets would not need a second front to save them anymore because they were already finished and then the Axis Central Powers could redirect their massive eastern armies west to secure the Fortress of Europe from the Allies for good. Because of this the Allies had to act soon before it would be to late to liberate France, Spain and Europe at all. After the Second Great War Gambia would become a part of French West Africa as territorial compensation for French colonial and mainland territories going to Germany, Spain and Italy.
The Gambia Colony and Protectorate was ruled by Britain. In 1939 its military, the Gambia Company, was expanded into the Gambia Regiment, with a strength of two battalions from 1941. It fought in the Burma Campaign. The colony also formed an Auxiliary Police, who, among other things, helped to enforce blackouts in Bathurst. The Gambia itself was home to RAF Bathurst, a flying boat base, and RAF Yundum, an air force station, which became the country's first airport. HMS Melampus, a shore base, was based at Bathurst for some of the war, and in 1942, a light cruiser named HMS Gambia was launched, which maintained ties to the colony until it was decommissioned in 1960. The Gambia was home to a succession of wartime British General Hospitals. During World War II, the Gambia Company became the Gambia Regiment, with a strength of two battalions from 1941. It fought in the Burma campaign and served for some time under the command of Antony Read, later the Quartermaster-General to the Forces. the Gambia itself was also important to the war effort. It was home to RAF Bathurst, a flying boat base, and RAF Yundum, an RAF station. HMS Melampus, a shore base, was also based at Bathurst for some of the war, and in 1942, a light cruiser named HMS Gambia was launched, which maintained ties to the colony until it was decommissioned in 1960. Bathurst was also the nearest English-speaking port to Dakar, where, before the Battle of Dakar, the Vichy French battleship Richelieu had been told to travel to. The Gambia was also home to 55 British General Hospital from 1941 to 1942, 40 British General Hospital from 1942 to 1944. During the Second Great War, many air raid shelters were built across the Gambia too.
In 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped overnight in Bathurst en route to and from the one of the Allied-Chinese United Front-Soviet Conference. This marked the first visit to the African continent by a sitting US President. Appalled, as he was, by the poverty and disease that was present there, he wrote to Churchill describing the territory as a "hell-hole". After the war, attention turned to economic and political reform in the colony, such as decreasing its reliance on the groundnut, which made up almost 100% of its exports. Gambia became majorly important to the Allies during their campaigns along the Ivory Coast and West Africa (Operation Torch) Bathurst and Gabun became majorly important for the Allied war support and war supplies for these theatre. Over time between 1942 to 1943 the Allied therefore established and expanded harbors and supply bases all over west and southwest Africa to ensure their massive armies landed from Morocco to the British Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria to face the Axis Central Power Forces in Western Africa. They mainly opposed German, Fascist French, Spanish and Italian forces in the area, while the Americans and British were the main forces on the Allies side, accompanied by Commonwealth and Free French forces. However despite this build naval and air bases at the coast, the Axis Central Power grip on West Africa, especially the north with eastern, mountainous Morocco, Algeria, Tunis and Libya remained strong in 1942 all the way to early 1943. Some battles were fought and overall the Allies managed to take some land in the south, mostly desert with only a few towns and oasis, nothing to change the overall frontlines or outcome at this front at the moment and with the situation in the Soviet Union looking worse each day with a victorious Russian Empire pushing the Red Army east, the Allied knew that the planned landings in Spain or France had to be speed up from 1944 to already happen earlier in 1943, or otherwise the Soviets would not need a second front to save them anymore because they were already finished and then the Axis Central Powers could redirect their massive eastern armies west to secure the Fortress of Europe from the Allies for good. Because of this the Allies had to act soon before it would be to late to liberate France, Spain and Europe at all. After the Second Great War Gambia would become a part of French West Africa as territorial compensation for French colonial and mainland territories going to Germany, Spain and Italy.
Planning furhter operations in Africa, some behind enemy lines again as we will see in a future chapter.
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Massive updates coming as I want to rush this baby a bit because of other major TL's I also have (not rush in that there will be leass or fewer chapters but get WW2 done so we can get to the much more longer part of the post-war world until today). ;D