Ramp-Rat
Monthly Donor
And so it begins, the much anticipated major battle in the Far East, as the Japanese attempt to for fill there pre-war plans, and the Allies prevent them from taking Java. Looking at the opening moves, the Japanese have got of to a bad start. The attack in Malaya, is not going to go well, as by this time, the British are more than able to absorb, such an attack, and defeat it. this will leave the Japanese open to a devastating counterattack, one that could see them pushed back into Siam. There by losing all that they have gained to date, and with the onset of the monsoon, which will stop the land campaign, this is not the time for the British to fight on through the monsoon; that will come later. Stuck at the end of an increasingly fragile supply line, and vulnerable to a sea born hook, that would bypass their defence line.
The attack on Java is if it fails, going to see a significant part of the Japanese surface fleet sunk, or put out of action. And unlike the British and Americans, Japan does not have the resources to replace such losses to the same extent that the others do. And there are also the falling oil reserves, which without the capture of ether the Burmese or DEI fields, are soon going to run out. The Japanese have to capture a working oil field soon, or for them the war is effectively over.
And not just in the Pacific and Far East, but in China too. As, without their Airforce, the Chinese will just by shear weight of numbers alone be able to push the Japanese back towards the coast. Especially if they are receiving and increase in supplies over and above what they received IOTL.
The big question is what happens once the Japanese are pushed back to the Home Islands. Without the atomic bomb, and no matter what, that isn’t going to be developed that much sooner ITTL than it was is ours. The only option is for an invasion, with all that that would cost in terms of death and destruction. And such an invasion would lead to a very different post war settlement with Japan.
The attack on Java is if it fails, going to see a significant part of the Japanese surface fleet sunk, or put out of action. And unlike the British and Americans, Japan does not have the resources to replace such losses to the same extent that the others do. And there are also the falling oil reserves, which without the capture of ether the Burmese or DEI fields, are soon going to run out. The Japanese have to capture a working oil field soon, or for them the war is effectively over.
And not just in the Pacific and Far East, but in China too. As, without their Airforce, the Chinese will just by shear weight of numbers alone be able to push the Japanese back towards the coast. Especially if they are receiving and increase in supplies over and above what they received IOTL.
The big question is what happens once the Japanese are pushed back to the Home Islands. Without the atomic bomb, and no matter what, that isn’t going to be developed that much sooner ITTL than it was is ours. The only option is for an invasion, with all that that would cost in terms of death and destruction. And such an invasion would lead to a very different post war settlement with Japan.