The Empire of Friedrich III and the rise of Germany (my first TL)

[LordIreland]

I have read this TL with interest and I have to say I have enjoyed what you have written and your style.
Apart from your seeming obsession of BB Captains giving each other 'the finger' at every oppurtunity

However, I have to say your entry of America into the war seemed pretty forced. You do not seem keen to deviate from doing a Turtledove style rewrite of WW2. Which is a shame, because you were developing it well.

 

[Onkel Willie]

Hi.
This is my first post

I realy like the story, but what I kinda dont like is that its quite similar to what realy happend, if you know what I mean. Beasicaly some names are swapped around. The only thing that is intressting is that Germany and England are cooperating and it seams they will have the first bomb, which means they will the be "new America"...beasicaly very strong. Unlikely that Europa will fall as it actually did in 1950. So there might even be a conflict between the USA and Germany-England... intresting. A cold war or somthing like that.

But what about South america? They too could join the war, the dont really like the US, and Argentina at that time was quite rich. Russia and especially Japain could give them Weapons, them America would have "real" enemies. Somthing the USA never had.. how will they react? Can they react proberply? might even fall into some sort of Nationalism..

Anyways, fun to read.

I suppose there are some parallels with real history but there are many differences. The opposing parties in the war are very different. Several countries where the monarchy was abolished are still monarchies. Communism will never rear its ugly head. The war its self is very different. Many battles ITTL have not taken place IOTL or are very different from OTL's counterparts.

And please tell me how the Japanese and the Russians are going to get weapons in South America when they are at war with the US. No country in South America had the industrial power to take on the US.

However, I have to say your entry of America into the war seemed pretty forced. You do not seem keen to deviate from doing a Turtledove style rewrite of WW2. Which is a shame, because you were developing it well.

I really wanted the US to get in. I really want to squash the Russians and Japanese like bugs. And I don't see how it is forced. I tried to keep the sequence of events as logical as possible. And this WW2 will still be much different from OTL's WW2. BTW WW1 would be more correct. The 1909-1911 war wasn't really a world war.

 

[Phönix]

hmmm.. agreed, south america is not realy a match... Might have been bether if the Jap, Russ had supported them before the war, o hec, now ist too late, but what about alaska? The russians taking a path like hanibal did agianst Rom, just a bit harder

There are conspiracy theories that Hitler had a headquarter in the Northpole, why not Russia?

BTW, maybe you should make somthing like an assasination, or spionage thing that really changes the sitation... or conspirace, somthing like that Sternberg himself is a Jew or so.. With such a name... I mean, come on...

Oh yea, what about Afganistan.. is russia in control of it? If they are, the Ger-Eng could attack there, if not Russia could, Oil a crutial for a world war, thats why Hitler lost in the first place. The whole muslims might revolt and unite under the Ottoman empire, which then might change sides, so that they can attac the christians and Jews. Actually some Arabs wanted to allie themself with Hitler, but herefused due to his racial thing, you know arabs are semits and stuff. But they might ally themself with russia, they are out killing the Jews and Christians. And angry muslims on a Djihad are a heavy enemy to take on... America and EU together is loosing in Afganistan and Iraq, even today... (shure there are a lot of other reasons, plus in 1900 people were fighting a bit more aggressive, but they still could make a hard enemy, since they controll the oil, and know the places, reguler attacks on transports could give the Germans and England gib problems. Then the US would really be needed to interphere.


But its your story I'll just wait.

 

[bm79]

I have to agree that the US entry into the war does seem forced. A German U-boot sank a US destroyer on convoy escort in Oct 1941, yet this wasn't a good enough reason for the Congress to pass a Declaration of War. Besides, you have the Japanese sub on the surface. No surfaced sub is a match against a destroyer, and a surfaced sub can't launch torpedoes against an opponent with any hope of a hit.

 

[Syphon]

OW,

Nice update but there seems to be a few errors.

Firstly Bangladesh didn't exist until until 1971 it was part of india /pakistan before then.

The next point is where the Uranium is?

You mentioned India and South Africa which are small timers compared to the biggies in Canada and Australia.
In fact both India and SA don't appear in the top ten producers.
FYI Australia has something like 40% of the entire world's reserves.

On current production Canada comes first with 27% with Australia second at 22%.
This will change as Australia recently signed a major deal with India.

 

[LordIreland]

An American destroyer in international waters came awfully close to the Marshall Islands which were occupied by the Japanese. The destroyer didn’t dare to venture into Japanese waters but kept hanging around very closely.

Ok, what and why was this destroyer here for?

A Japanese submarine commander fired a shot across the bow with his 105 mm deck gun. The American commander thought he was under attack and sounded the alarm. He returned fire. His Japanese adversary responded quickly and launched two torpedoes to save his ship from what seemed to be American aggression. The destroyer was sunk and the Japanese submarine was slightly damaged.

Highly unlikely, a surfaced submarine is no match for even a vintage (Not) WW1 destroyer

Roosevelt twisted the facts even more by claiming that the Japanese submarine was under orders to attack American ships. American public opinion quickly turned against this latest act of aggression by the Japanese.

Why is he doing this? Are the German loosing the (Not) WW2 with the russians, did I misread all their gains in european russia?

This time America was the target. America would strike back however. The United States declared war on Japan on January 9th 1942. Russia declared war on the US on January 10th in the false hope that Japan would support them in Siberia against the Chinese. The Japanese saw that differently. Italy and France had no choice but to declare war as conflict with the Americans seemed inevitable now. The Americans would have declared war on them anyway since they were both allies of Russia. Both declared war on January 11th. Roosevelt had finally gotten what he wanted

Again, why does FDR want war, Germany and England are not against the ropes, in fact Germany is holding back the French and Italians with almost Draka like ease whilst slapping the Russians around quite happily in the east. All this over a destroyer? Didnt happen IOTL, wouldn't happen here, perhaps if you had a battleship go and hang around, or better still a few Carriers, then the sub commander can sink them and that might very well provoke the US..in fact it might well be several years before anybody even thought to question what the hell they were doing there in the first place.

I really wanted the US to get in. I really want to squash the Russians and Japanese like bugs. And I don't see how it is forced.

Uhhhmmmm...this kinda underlines my point

 

[Jotun]

Onkel Willie, love your timeline. Great stuff!

I do feel, however, that the U.S. of A.'s entry into the war could have been handled more...elegantly.

Consider this: Up until OTL's WW I, German-Americans played a significant role in the US's daily life, many still spoke German at home and vigorously practiced German culture far exceeding wearing Lederhosen and gulping beer from big steins *g*. Many OTL German Americans anglicized their names during WW I as much to protect themselves from significant anti-German sentiment as turning their back on the old Fatherland for its misdeeds.
OTL WW II killed off whatever German-American influence had remained in the inter-war years.


As far as I could discern, no such event took place in your timeline. So, there could still be a lot of German-Americans who still aren't completely American and have strong ties to the old country. Throw in a couple of U.S.-Kaiserreich friendship organizations (nothing as sinister as the German-American Bund of pre-WW II vintage of course ) that, in concert with British-Americans (and maybe covertly funded by he Central Powers), start to lobby for entering the war on the Central Powers' side. They could form a volunteer unit funded and equipped by wealthy individuals that is sent to Europe and whatnot, start press campaigns against Russia and her allies etc.
Throw in a couple of VERY aggressively patrolling escorts in the Atlantic, trying to pick fights with the Russians and French ships and you might be well set on your way to the US allying with the CPs

And what of the US Jewish citizens' reaction upon learning of the genocide in Russia? A lot of potential there...

Just my two Euro-cents' worth off the top of my head though

 

[Onkel Willie]

Ok. I'll change the bit about the American entry into something more covert. Happy now? But I'm still going to need them to kick the Japanese out of Asia at some point. Germany and Britain are busy in Europe. I don't think their population will want more war after the war in Europe is over which will take quite some time. Maybe you could help me with finding a good reason for an American DoW.

 

[LordIreland]

Well, Jotun made a couple of good points in his post about the perception of german americans. Perhaps a rewrite of part 20 that goes something like this:

Roosevelt finding himself under increasing pressure to bring America into the war from both U.S - Kaiserreich and Anglo - American friendship organizations as well as the Pro China lobby and the Jewish American populace (becoming more vociferous as the Germans make public their finds on the Eastern Front) begins to search for a way to bring America into the war. The USN is already engaged in a covert war protecting convoys from roving French wolfpacks in the North Atlantic, but the loss of several destroyers is not deemed sufficient pretext for war by the policy makers in Washington.

Maybe have the French launch an offensive that threatens to break through the Anglo German lines, perhaps a French sub sinks a USN heavy fleet unit mistaking it for a RN ship. IOTL, the USS Texas was in the vicinity of the Bismarck's route and I have seen a few threads postulating the outcome of that encounter and americas earlier entry into OTL's war.

OW, please feel free to use any of the above or not at your pleasure

 

[Onkel Willie]

Thanks. I think I'll use that in chapter 21 or 22. I've postponed American entry into the war as you can see.

 

[LordIreland]

Nice rewrite

 

[bm79]

The next point is where the Uranium is?

You mentioned India and South Africa which are small timers compared to the biggies in Canada and Australia.
In fact both India and SA don't appear in the top ten producers.
FYI Australia has something like 40% of the entire world's reserves.

On current production Canada comes first with 27% with Australia second at 22%.
This will change as Australia recently signed a major deal with India.

The question isn't where we mine uranium now, it's where we knew it existed in 1941. It wasn't something people were looking for back then, as before nuclear fission was discovered, its main purposes were as a pigment in glassware in Edwardian times (my grandmother had a set of carnival glass that was a deep orangy-red which she kept in a lead box) and as a hardening agent in metal alloys. Though today we still use depleted uranium in armour-piercing shells, back then tungsten was much more common and readily available. In the early 40s, uranium was a novelty metal, and little prospecting had been done for it.

 

[bm79]

Excellent update to chapter 20, Onkel

Given the way TTL has developped, Japan and the US would come to blows over the Phillipines. I'd imagine that the Americans would have been reinforcing their forces there as heavily as they could given the Japanese conquest of the NEI and SE Asia in the proceeding 2 years. The US presence in the South China Sea would be significantly beefed up ("Forewarned is forearmed"). Guam would also prove a weak point to Japanese strategic defence. With WWI-style static trench warfare in North China and a developping stalemate in East Bengal, the Japanese IGS might look to conquering these territories to secure their lines of communication (and before the Americans can reinforce them even more) as well as provide fresh victories to keep up morale on the homefront. With the raising of the AVL against the European Fascists, the Japanese might realise that the US is gearing up for an eventual entry anyway, and decide to strike preemptively to prevent a sucker-punch from their rear.

I agree with where you're trying to go, that it's only the Japanese that can really bring the US fully into the current conflict. These are just my humble thoughts on how they might be pulled in ITTL...

 

[Onkel Willie]

Nice. But there is one problem. The Germans bought the Phillipines in 1896 from Spain so the Phillipines are already in Japanese hands. An attack on Guam and Pearl Harbor could still happen. I suppose that Pearl Harbor happening ITTL would be implausible due to butterflies and because it would simply be corny. It would also be stupid as the Japanese have already tried to do the same to the German Far East Squadron in Manila Bay so the Americans will be better prepared.

I was thinking of a French submarine sinking an American battleship or carrier on neutrality patrol. What do you think is better?

 

[bm79]

Nice. But there is one problem. The Germans bought the Phillipines in 1896 from Spain so the Phillipines are already in Japanese hands. An attack on Guam and Pearl Harbor could still happen. I suppose that Pearl Harbor happening ITTL would be implausible due to butterflies and because it would simply be corny. It would also be stupid as the Japanese have already tried to do the same to the German Far East Squadron in Manila Bay so the Americans will be better prepared.

I was thinking of a French submarine sinking an American battleship or carrier on neutrality patrol. What do you think is better?

Oops, sorry, my bad. That's what I get for reading too many TLs at the same time

An attack on Guam and Wake Island from the Japanese side to secure their eastern perimeter? The sinking of the USS Wasp on convoy patrol off Newfoundland by a French sub? Maybe both? I think you could get the latter without an outright declaraion of war, but the former would assure US entry into the conflict. Either way, the Japanese will have plans ready to neutralise the threat posed by US outposts on their eastern perimeter, so an attack on Guam, Wake, and maybe even Midway are on the table. Before WW2, US strategic interests were far more heavily weighed to the Pacific, as the Atlantic was still seen as a British lake back then...

 

[Onkel Willie]

Here's the long awaited chapter 21. Good news. America is coming in. This time I tried to made sure its not forced or unrealistic. Enjoy.

Chapter 21​

The French and the Italians weren’t doing very well anymore. They had taken Malta, Libya and Egypt. They had been to enthusiastic in their conquest spree. De Gaulle had become arrogant because of his early victories in North Africa. He had dreams of advancing to the Middle East, conquering the Persian oilfields, linking up with Russian forces in Afghanistan and surpassing Alexander the Great. His overconfidence, complacency and his bad judgement about the logistical situation almost led to his downfall. He had reached the Suez canal. Just staying there would have been difficult enough as Ottoman, Austrian and British ships operating from Ottoman ports were disrupting Franco-Italian supply lines. It would have been the smart thing to do as the British and Germans could now only reach their Asian possessions by going around the Cape of Good Hope. That was very difficult as wolf packs of French submarines were prowling there. In his overconfidence he had launched an offensive into the Sinai desert and even into Israel. French and Italian forces had come close to Jerusalem but their supply lines were too outstretched which caused the offensive to grind to halt. Ottoman and British troops even pushed back the Franco-Italian forces. Many vehicles and supplies had to be abandoned due to lack of fuel or because their engines were clogged up with sand. Many of them ended up in the hands of the Ottomans and the British. This was a direct result of the supply problems the French were experiencing which had only gotten worse as De Gaulle went on his crusade.

During most of 1941 the French had difficulty keeping away the Ottomans and British from the Suez Canal. New reinforcements from France couldn’t halt the advance. These offensives were possible because the Russians had to diminish their efforts in the Caucasus to solely defensive actions to defend the motherland on other fronts. Russia was being beleaguered from all sides by Germans, Chinese, Austrians, British, Romanians and Ottomans. Together many small country’s could bring down even the mighty Russian titan. The Ottomans and British could set out to retake the Suez Canal from the weakened French because of apparent Russian weakness. In mid-1941 the Anglo-Ottoman forces broke through French defences in the Sinai desert and made a dash for the Suez Canal. After heavy fighting they reached the Suez Canal by July and crossed it in spite of French resistance. The Anglo-Ottoman forces at the time outnumbered Franco-Italian forces which enabled them to outflank the French. Fighting went on all along the Suez Canal as the French attempted to push back their assailants. De Gaulle launched several counteroffensives and outwitted the British and Ottomans on several occasions and inflicted severe casualties. His limited means meant that he couldn’t exploit any of his victories. Anglo-Ottoman forces reached Fuka by the end of the year. There the advance slowed down and the front stabilized again.

By now the AVL was growing. Eight battalions had been attached to a British army group. They had arrived in Basra in late December 1941. They had performed well which wasn’t unremarkable since many of the American volunteers were former soldiers of the United States Army. They lacked experience but were well trained, motivated and just as well equipped as the British and Ottomans. The Americans got along well with their British counterparts. This indicated how well future Anglo-American cooperation would be. Other units of the AVL served on both the western front in northwest Germany and the eastern front. They fought well and German-American cooperation was good. In early 1942 the AVL was fairly limited in size and divided in three forces the largest of which fought in Russia. The other two served in Africa and the western front. Their numbers would grow though and would be quite significant within a matter of months. Many Jews joined the AVL to fight in Russia and save their people from extermination. Many people of other races who were deemed inferior by the Russian state ideology also joined. Among them were many negroes and some Indians.

Back in Russia Ungern von Sternberg stubbornly refused to declare war on the US in spite of the American presence in Europe. He didn’t want the United States to bring in their industrial power. He knew in the back of his mind that the best he could hope for was a stalemate and a negotiated peace after exhausting his enemies. He just didn’t want to face that reality yet. This would be reality however unless his atomic bomb was finished in time. If the Americans came in Russia would lose. He was crazy but he was not yet crazy enough to not understand this reality. Some in the higher party echelons who foolishly believed in their own propaganda were stupid enough to boast they could take the Americans as well after all Russia had gone through. Things were not so well as Russian propaganda portrayed it. According Russian propaganda the German advance was caused by traitors from within. Russian forces fought valiantly and the Motherland would achieve final victory soon. Then Russia would get back its former territories in the west and Germany, Austria and everybody else who opposed the Russian Empire would be crushed. Many army commanders knew this was far from reality. In the current military situation the Russians could only rely on their old scorched earth tactics and their large manpower pool. They desperately tried to achieve the victories promised to the people in propaganda. Russia’s large manpower pool was rendered mute by all the armies poised against them. Especially the Siberian front was becoming a major drain as the Chinese had more numbers than even the Russian bear. The only good thing about this situation was that enemy supply lines would eventually become too long.

After a period of rest the Germans and their Austrian allies planned a new offensive to push the front line to the Sukhinichi-Orel-Kursk line. Unfortunately the Russians were planning a major counteroffensive along a broad front to push the frontline to a line running from Smolensk to Kharkov in Ukraine. Even now after losing so much territory, industrial capacity and men the Russians still had more then enough men to launch such an offensive. They would employ over 2.2 million men, 4500 aircraft, 25000 pieces of artillery and over 3500 tanks. This was one of the largest forces ever assembled for an offensive. The German offensive led by general Rommel started on February 1st 1942 in the early morning. The offensive went well initially and didn’t encounter any heavy resistance. The Russians had used all means to deceive the Germans including diversionary offensives in the Baltic region and the Caucasus. Some noticed Russian troop movements where the offensive would took place but their warnings weren’t heeded by their superiors. The news didn’t even reach Rommel. As a result he was oblivious about the impending Russian offensive. The Russian counteroffensive was launched on February 2nd. The Russian army now had a local numerical advantage and used it. The offensive was led by Zhukov who had planned everything in detail. German forces crashed into Russian forces head-on. The numerically superior Russian force quickly encircled German units before word reached Rommel. Rommel realized quite quickly what going on and that the odds were against him. Several German units were crushed in huge pincer movements. Others were surrounded and could only wait until reinforcements arrived to relieve them.

Rommel responded correctly by launching a counteroffensive aimed at the right wing of the Russian offensive which was the weakest part of the attacking force. He broke through Russian lines but sheer numbers enabled the Russians to seal the gap quickly with reinforcements and so the attack continued. Reinforcements were brought in from the Volga front and Belarus to counter this huge Russian movement of men and materiel. The Russians recaptured both Bryansk and Belgorod and continued in spite of German counterattacks which caused the casualty rate to soar. The left wing which was tasked to capture Kharkov didn’t make it. The left wing was stopped about 50 kilometres northwest of Kharkov. On the right troops led by general Zakharov reached the outskirts of Smolensk and dug themselves in to keep their gains. It was victory for the Russians but it was a costly one. Rommel had countered many Russian moves and had tried to prevent any units from being encircled and lost. Rommel’s superior tactics had caused a lot of trouble. Nevertheless the Russians managed to push back the frontline quite significantly and German losses were high as well. The Germans had lost at least 449.000 men whereas the Russians had lost over 788.000 men in the offensive which lasted from early February until mid-March. Even for an army as large as the Russian army this was a severe blow. The German army was heavily mauled as well. Such losses meant that this victory was a Pyrrhic one at best.

This was one of the largest battles in the war and left both the Russians and the Germans licking their wounds which would be all they would do for quite some time. During the battle the American Volunteer Legion had distinguished itself. Its performance was well and its commander, the former general Eisenhower, was satisfied. The formation of the AVL to fight European fascists had worried many Japanese in the higher echelons of both the military and the navy. In the meantime the pro-China lobby, the Jewish community and the German community kept pressing Roosevelt to declare war on Russia and its allies. Congress wasn’t really interested in going to war however. The German and British government also made attempts to get America to join. Both could use some support in Asia. The Germans had already lost all of their colonial possessions in Asia. Britain had already lost Burma and Malaysia and now fighting was going on in Bengal. The front was turning into a stalemate and the Japanese weren’t about to leave. All of these developments were aggressive moves in the eyes of the Japanese and so they started to prepare for war which now seemed inevitable. The Japanese realised that Roosevelt was leading his country to an eventual entry into the war. This was of course not true as Roosevelt could do nothing without the approval of Congress. Japanese military leaders unfortunately didn’t understand the inner workings of the United States. They started planning a pre-emptive strike to secure their eastern perimeter and went on a path that would lead to ultimate disaster for the Empire of Japan and the Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere they dreamed of. Later China would revive the dream of an Asia free of western powers. Like the Japanese they wanted to unify Asia under their banner but they would take a different approach. It wasn’t time for that yet though.

Admiral Yamamoto planned the strike against the Americans. In this operation the Imperial Japanese Navy would strike at three key points which would secure the Japanese eastern flank. If the Japanese won, the threat would be eliminated or so they thought. The three designated targets were Guam, Wake Island and Midway. These three were chosen because they were close to Japanese occupied territory and because the American military presence had been beefed up significantly over the past few months. Midway was also an important refuelling station for the American navy and for long range flights. The attack was planned carefully and Yamamoto took care of every detail. The necessary preparations were taken and the attack was scheduled to commence on April 7th 1942. The Americans didn’t know it yet but they would be dragged into this war violently. The Americans could no longer pretend the world was not at war and many young American soldiers on these three island groups would be the first to figure that out.

The invasion of Guam was inspired by the Franco-Italian operation to capture Malta two years earlier. The Japanese had introduced several new planes the past year which would come in handy during this operation. The attack was launched from Saipan which was one of the most heavily fortified islands in all of the pacific by 1942. The operation started on 5 AM. At least sixty planes were used to bomb the island’s defences into submission. Nakajima B5N ‘Kate’ bombers loaded with 800 kilos of armor piercing bombs and Aichi D3A with 250 kilos of general purpose bombs bombed any targets of any significance such as the barracks and the Government House in Agana. Japanese Zeros conducted strafing runs on several villages on the island. The Japanese destroyed most of the islands defences in a matter of hours. The invasion force consisting of six heavy cruisers, three destroyers, two gunboats, two minesweepers and two tenders. The attack commenced as planned on the early morning of the same day. Over 12000 men were landed. Some of them were landed near Tumon Bay and marched for Agana quickly. The second force landed in Pago Bay. The third force landed near Merizo and quickly took control of several coastal towns. The only three ships present, a mine sweeper, a destroyer and a freighter, were destroyed by the attacking ships. The island’s garrison consisting of 2000 men was outnumbered. They resisted as well as they could but Japanese numbers and the element of surprise ensured victory. There was also a local Guam Militia but it took no part in the defence of the island. Most key points were in Japanese hands by the end of the day. A lack of weaponry made things even more difficult. A strafing run from a Zero destroyed the armoury before many weapons could be taken from it. Some weapons could be salvaged. A few hundred Springfield rifles and M1 Garands were available along with a few dozen Thompson submachine guns and a few dozen more .30 caliber Mk 6 machine guns. One 40 mm anti-aircraft gun could also be salvaged. That was not enough to arm the entire garrison which made them a less effective fighting force. They were already outnumbered and the Japanese enjoyed complete air supremacy. The island was in Japanese hands by the end of the day.

On the same day and around the same time as the invasion of Guam, the invasion of Wake Island took place as well. Like Guam, Wake Island was a threat to Japan’s eastern perimeter. The operation was set up in a similar way as the operation to capture Guam. Planes stationed on the aircraft carrier Hiryu bombed the island and destroyed most of the American P-36 Hawks. Some managed to get of the ground and downed a few Japanese Zeros even though the Zeros were vastly superior. The island’s defences were left mostly untouched by attacking planes. The assignment of the Japanese pilots was simply to gain air supremacy over the island. The invasion force consisted of three battleships, two heavy cruisers, one carrier and two destroyers. The island’s coastal defences consisting of 5 inch (127 mm) guns fought well. They sank both destroyers and managed to fire at least twelve shells at the super structure of both heavy cruisers. The Yamashiro, the Kongo and the Kirishima were untouched by the 5 inch shells. There thick armor protected them. They returned fire quickly and silenced the island’s coastal defences. Like Guam, Wake Island’s defences were beefed up. The original garrison consisted of 449 men of the United States Marine Corps. An additional 700 men had strengthened the garrison over the past few months. The invaders brought with them 4500 men. The Japanese outnumbered the defenders over four to one. They advanced quickly and seized the airfield within two hours after their landing which enabled Japanese transport planes to bring in more troops. The island was secured by noon.

These two operations were merely a sideshow and would distract the confused Americans from the main event. The main event was an attack on the American atoll of Midway which the American military leadership considered second only to Pearl Harbor in the defence of the United States. To them it was truly paramount. The Japanese invasion force consisted of three battleships, four carriers, one heavy cruiser, three light cruisers, four mine sweepers and eight destroyers. The participating battleships were: Hiei, Haruna and Yamato. The participating aircraft carriers were: Soryu, Shokaku, Zuikaku and Akagi. Like both Guam and Wake Island, Midway’s defences had been enhanced just in case the war in Asia would reach America. The atoll’s defences consisted of 5 inch (127 mm) guns encased in casemates near possible landing sites. The island also had four 8 inch (203 mm) guns. Two of them were placed on Sand Island. A third was placed on Spit Island. The fourth was placed on Eastern Island. There were over 125 land based aircraft which had to face 265 Japanese planes. Machinegun emplacements were placed on key positions. The island was well fortified and had a garrison of around 10.000 men. Needless to say Midway was much better prepared than Guam and Wake Island to face the invaders. Bad weather had caused the attack fleet to arrive almost one hour late. This delay was enough for the local commander to receive the frantic warnings broadcasted by beleaguered troops on Guam and Wake Island. The warning enabled him to alert his men and ready at least some planes before the Japanese arrived. The Japanese arrived an hour behind on schedule and found an enemy that was at least partially prepared. Yamamoto who personally led the task force remained calm and ordered his forces to engage the Americans. Nakajima B5N bombers armed with 800 kilos of armor piercing bombs and Aichi D3A dive bombers armed with general purpose bombs attacked the atoll and were accompanied by Zeros. At least forty American P-36 Hawks and the newer P-40 Warhawks were ready to go and took off. The others were destroyed on the ground or weren’t ready to fight. Unfortunately the Americans were outnumbered three to one by the Japanese planes. The Japanese downed the outnumbered Americans and their inferior aircraft but not without losing sixty planes themselves.

In the meantime 14 inch (356 mm) and 18.1 inch (460 mm) shells rained down on the atoll’s coastal defences. During the bombardment a force of over 40.000 men was landed on Midway. The bombardment had battered the coastal defences. They were still formidable though and several thousands of Japanese perished. 30.000 men landed on Sand Island. Another 9000 landed on Eastern Island. The remaining 1000 men landed on Spit Island. Their first task was to disable the 8 inch guns. Three destroyers and a mine sweeper had already been lost and a light cruiser was damaged. By now air supremacy had been established but at a heavy cost. This somewhat eased the task of the Japanese ground forces. Even now it took them almost a full day to secure the island. They reached the 8 inch gun emplacements only after several hours of fighting. The determined American defenders resisted in spite of superior Japanese numbers, better weaponry and their complete control of the skies. On the early morning of April 8th the island was finally secured. Anyone who was taken prisoner was treated harshly by a bunch of very angry Japanese who had lost thousands of men trying to capture Midway.

In Washington DC confused transmissions were reaching the White House. Rumours spread within a matter of hours about an attack on Guam, Wake Island and Midway. Crazy radio broadcasts even claimed hostile forces had run over Pearl Harbor and were invading California. These rumours were nonsense of course but they caused quite a stir in a very confused White House and an even more confused Pentagon. After a few hours the truth was finally revealed. The Japanese had attacked the United States and had dragged the Americans into the dark mire of the war. President Roosevelt made a statement. His speech would become famous. On the other side of the pacific ocean the Japanese were already planning their next move. Little did they realise they had invoked the anger of hundreds of millions of Americans. They had awoken a sleeping giant which would bring to bare its huge industrial power and manpower pool. The Japanese would find that they would be unable to stem the tide. The United States declared war on the Empire of Japan on April 8th 1942. Russia declared war on April 9th hoping that the Japanese would support them in Siberia against the Chinese. The Japanese saw that differently. Knowing that America would go to war with them eventually, France and Italy declared war the same day. America was at war.

 

[Herr Frage]

Ah bugger, here they come again.

Well written though.

 

[LordIreland]

Good update.

What are the japanes planning to do about the American fleet? IOTL, before the attck on pearl harbour, which was ofc inspired by the British attack on taranto, the japanese were totally fascinated by the concept of a battle of annihilation between the opposing battle lines. PH ofc eliminated the Pacific Fleet as a potential fighting force, thus rendering this a moot point.

This hasnt happened here, so are the japs planning to pounce on and eliminate the american fleet when it inevitably sorties? Pyschologically such a defeat, which would be an and out and out fair contest, might have a more devasating effect on public moral and lead to an early american capitulation...or so the japaese military leadership might think.

 

[Onkel Willie]

I was thinking about the 'battle of annihilation thing' the Japanese liked. This could be very interesting since the German Far East Squadron and the Royal Navy are still around somewhere. I suppose the German Far East Squadron can use American ports and assist the Americans in the pacific.

 

[LordIreland]

I would have thought, given the co-belligerent status between Germany & Britain, that the German ships would probably be based out of Ceylon. I'm not sure that the australian northern naval bases could host such large ships as have been built in TTL (if someone with a better knowledge than me knows otherwise pls say) and ofc Singapore has fallen to the Japanese.

The problem with basing out of US ports is one of logistics, they would be too far away to be of any real use in the theatre of battle and at this stage of the war they won't have anything approaching the kind of fleet support vessels required to operate for extended periods in the deep pacific. Having said that, if the US fleet were to sortie out to the philipines and meet up with a joint Anglo-German taskforce...could the japanese resist such a tempting target? Then things could get very interesting.

A lot depends on relative fleet strengths. Using OTL as a model, I would suspect that an early battle would probably go in favour of the Japanese, a lot will depend on how bought into carriers as a strike weapon the various admiralties are. In OTL, the US was left with no choice but to use its carriers because the battle line had ceased to exist. But the loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse is a good example of what happens when an Admiral doesnt believe that carriers are all that important or effective. Whilst the Japanese indisputably had the best carrier force of the time and used it to great effectiveness.

But, whatever happens, there will be plenty of oppurtunity for that battleship finger givng you so love OW