TL-191: Filling the Gaps
- Thread starter Craigo
- Start date
I just wanted to pop in and say that I thought your article on the Confederate Navy's submarine arm very excellent Mr President; concise but remarkably comprehensive! (also kind enough to avoid stating the obvious - that the Confederate States Navy appears to have become the CS Coast Guards weak sister by the time of the Second Great War).
One can only apologise - once again - for a long hiatus between Articles of worth; in all honesty when it comes to Doctor Turtledove's oeuvre I've been paying more attention to his DISUNITED STATES OF AMERICA (and particularly the Wars casually mentioned as background in that novel), so if I ever do post something here it will probably be something on that subject, even if I have yet to think up a Good title for this particular thread.
One can only apologise - once again - for a long hiatus between Articles of worth; in all honesty when it comes to Doctor Turtledove's oeuvre I've been paying more attention to his DISUNITED STATES OF AMERICA (and particularly the Wars casually mentioned as background in that novel), so if I ever do post something here it will probably be something on that subject, even if I have yet to think up a Good title for this particular thread.
I want to do a page on the US home front in the Second Great War. What should I include in it?
Definitely info on the confederate bombing raids, the different experience citizens on the the west coast had compared to the rest of the US, women participation of the industry, mormon & canadia terrorism, devastation of Ohio and Pennsylvania, Insurgency in southern Missouri and there were probably some internment camps...
I've always wanted to do this page. If you guys have any suggestions for things I can improve on in it or add to it, feel free to let me know.
U.S. Home Front in the Second Great War
Unlike in the First Great War, where there was a sharp divide between those seeking revenge against the Confederate States and British Empire and those seeking peace, the Second Great War saw the American people united in their desire to defeat the CSA and bring an everlasting peace to the North American continent. Everyone suffered hardships, sacrifices were made, and many lives were lost, but in the end it was the resolve of the American people to carry on to victory, end Jake Featherston’s tyranny, and ultimately reunite their country.
Civil Defense
In the wake of Operation Blackbeard, there was a sense of alarmism to citizens in states such as Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri. As such, many civilians took it upon themselves to form civil defense groups to prepare for potential Confederate invasions of their states. The US government took notice of these efforts and responded by forming the Emergency Defense Forces (EDF) [1], which organized civilian volunteers in states most at risk of invasion to train to defend their towns and homes. They also learned emergency tactics in the event of air raids, and it was the EDF that commonly manned anti-aircraft batteries during Confederate bombing raids. The EDF also hunted Confederate spies and saboteurs in their states.
Shipping and Transport
After the fall of Sandusky and the subsequent halving of the US along Lake Erie, the Great Lakes and the roads and rail links in Occupied Canada saw an even greater importance in shipping troops, supplies, war material, etc between both halves of the country. In order to hasten the rigorous task of rerouting rail lines through Canada and shipping in the Great Lakes, the US government formed the Emergency Action Volunteer Service (EAVS) in order to defend the trains and convoys traveling through Canada from potential Canadian sabotage and the boats and barges traveling along Lake Erie from Confederate patrols.
During the war, railroads were expected to perform superhuman deeds in their efforts to speedily transport the materials and men need to win. For the most part, they were highly successful. After the liberation of Ohio and the invasion of Kentucky, US railroads began rerouting lines through occupied Confederate territory in order to speedily reinforce and supply units on the front. Shipping agencies also doubled their efforts to speedily ship men and supplies across the Great Lakes. After a fair number of convoys were sunk on Lake Erie in the early days of the halving, convoys were placed under constant air escort, which substantially reduced shipping losses. The men and women who risked their lives in the early days of the war through shipping and transport were greatly remembered after for their courage.
Children and the War
The war had an enormous impact on children across the country. During the invasions of Ohio and Pennsylvania, children were faced with the burden of fleeing their homes to escape the fighting and return to find them devastated. In order to protect the lives of children in areas most threatened by invasion and/or air raids, the US government created the Youth Safety Commission [2], which evacuated children fourteen and younger in areas as far west as Illinois and areas as far east as Massachusetts from cities to rural areas such as the Great Plains and upstate New York and New England.
Children contributed to the war effort by purchasing war bonds, collecting materials to be converted to war material, planting victory gardens, etc. Later in the war, children would also donate food and toys to surviving Negro children in the CSA. Comic book heroes before the war such as Superman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, etc became popular icons for children, often portrayed fighting Entente (specifically Confederate, British, and Japanese) spies and saboteurs, and encouraging children to do their part in the war effort.
War Production and Recruitment
After Operation Blackbeard, the United States transformed itself into a true war machine. Utilizing their superior manpower and industrial base, the US would eventually come to overwhelm the Confederacy and any other enemy in its way. Although the US would see limited hampering of their capacity due to the devastation of Ohio and western Pennsylvania, the will and resolve of the people to win the war made any setbacks nothing but.
In the wake of the war’s outbreak, the War Powers Act was passed by Congress, giving the President wide authority over the war effort. Due to the needs of the troops, there was tight rationing of various goods, such as food, fuel, clothing, etc. By 1943, US factories were producing a plane a minute, a bomber every five minutes, a barrel every three minutes, and any type of naval vessel every hour. Due to a shortage of men off fighting, millions of women served in factories. Victory Loan Drives were organized to finance the war, and scrap drives were conducted to salvage raw materials such as metal and rubber to be converted into war material. By war’s end, US factories had produced over 11,000 ships, 40,000 landing craft, 100,000 barrels and armored cars, 200,000 aircraft, and 12 million guns with 37 billion rounds of ammunition, along with two superbombs.
Already before the war, the US Army had a draft, and a peacetime army of around two million men. Upon the outbreak of war, that draft was extended to all branches of the military. By war’s end, over four million men had enlisted, while another seven million were drafted. Of those 11 million who served, over 900,000 would return home in coffins while another 600,000 would be wounded. Notable about the US military during the war was the performance of minority troops. Among those were Mexican-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Asian-Americans, and, later in the war, African-Americans. Prior to 1943, blacks had only been allowed to serve in the Navy, while in the Army they could only serve non-combat roles such as cooks, truck drivers, etc. That ended in December 1943 with the signing of an executive order by President La Follette which allowed blacks to serve in combat. All able-bodied black males in the US who enlisted or were conscripted were trained and organized into the 92nd Infantry Division [3]. It would participate in the last months of the war in Virginia, pursuing the Confederate government into the Carolina’s.
Propaganda
In September 1941, the US government created the War Writer’s Board and the Office of War Information. The purpose of the WWB was to create propaganda (for the most part truthful) written by (in)famous American writers, while the OWI’s sole purpose was to deliver propaganda any way they could. This include film, radio, posters, and print media.
Posters were widely used so much that there over 200,000 designs during the war. Their purpose was to spread the message that the war was not just a mere defense of the United States, but also a moral crusade against an evil murderous regime that oppressed its citizens and slaughtered its own people. One of the most popular rallying cries used on propaganda was “Remember Ohio!” Leaflets were also commonly used, with the USAAF routinely dropping them over occupied territory to inform the people on the war’s progress and offer reassurance that the war would continue until the enemy was defeated. Leaflets were also used in the final months of the war in an effort to convince the Confederate people they had lost and that the Freedom Party was anything but. This strategy largely failed.
Hollywood also played a major part. Most movies produced during the war feature some sort of wartime aspect. They were either based on the war, or they were set in a war atmosphere. This was true even if the movie had nothing to do with warfare. The military commissioned a series of films entitled Why We Fight, which were used to justify the war and increase public support for the war effort. These films were released to both the military and public.
Terrorism and Insurgency
Invasion and air raids were not the only sources of violence during the war. The US had to contend with another Mormon uprising in Utah, a Canadian uprising, but also acts of terrorism. The most infamous of these acts would be people bombing’s. First utilized by the Mormons, an individual would strap explosives to one's body, go to populated areas, and detonate the explosives, killing oneself and killing or injuring as many people in the area as possible. Mormon terrorists would conduct these such bombings in cities across the US, which would soon be followed by Canadian terrorists.
When people think of insurgency in the Second Great War, they typically think of the Mormon and Canadian rebellions. But another insurgency that most people outside the areas in question don’t typically pay mind to is the uprising in southern Missouri. Long a hotbed between pro-US and pro-CS groups, the southern part of the state would see an all-out uprising on the part of pro-Confederates. The US responded in force, sending captured insurgents and those suspected of harboring sympathy for them to internment camps for the duration of the war.
Occupied Territory
During the Confederate occupation of Ohio, southeastern Indiana, and western Pennsylvania, civilians would undergo great hardships. Although the Confederates, for the most part, left locals alone as long as they didn’t interfere in their duties, the safety of civilians was certainly never guaranteed. Confederate soldiers were known to periodically assault or harass civilians. Rape and looting, in particular, were common practices in those cases. As well, the Confederates strictly rationed local goods, shipping them back south, while also shipping factory machinery back to the Confederacy in the event that the region fell back into US hands.
During the occupation, there were various types of resistance. Much of it was passive, such as the broadcasting of propaganda, or spying. There were, however, armed resistance groups. One of the most notable were the Molemen. Given their name due to the fact that they appeared, attacked, and then disappeared, the Molemen were formed from a company of US soldiers that had been cut off from their battalion in Dean State Forest during Operation Blackbeard. Joined by locals wanting to fight, they would engage in guerilla activities throughout the occupation. In the wake of Operation Rosebud and the conclusion of the Battle of Pittsburgh, a general uprising erupted throughout the occupied territory [4]. The last CS troops evacuated US soil on March 7th 1943.
[1] Basically the equivalent of Britain’s Civil Defence Corps.
[2] I figured that US children in threatened areas would be sent to less populated and safer areas of the country to escape the fighting, just like British children in OTL.
[3] Yes the same one as in OTL. Maybe I’ll do an article on them another day. Or someone else can if you want to.
[4] I’m thinking an analog to the OTL Paris Uprising in 1944.
U.S. Home Front in the Second Great War
Unlike in the First Great War, where there was a sharp divide between those seeking revenge against the Confederate States and British Empire and those seeking peace, the Second Great War saw the American people united in their desire to defeat the CSA and bring an everlasting peace to the North American continent. Everyone suffered hardships, sacrifices were made, and many lives were lost, but in the end it was the resolve of the American people to carry on to victory, end Jake Featherston’s tyranny, and ultimately reunite their country.
Civil Defense
In the wake of Operation Blackbeard, there was a sense of alarmism to citizens in states such as Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri. As such, many civilians took it upon themselves to form civil defense groups to prepare for potential Confederate invasions of their states. The US government took notice of these efforts and responded by forming the Emergency Defense Forces (EDF) [1], which organized civilian volunteers in states most at risk of invasion to train to defend their towns and homes. They also learned emergency tactics in the event of air raids, and it was the EDF that commonly manned anti-aircraft batteries during Confederate bombing raids. The EDF also hunted Confederate spies and saboteurs in their states.
Shipping and Transport
After the fall of Sandusky and the subsequent halving of the US along Lake Erie, the Great Lakes and the roads and rail links in Occupied Canada saw an even greater importance in shipping troops, supplies, war material, etc between both halves of the country. In order to hasten the rigorous task of rerouting rail lines through Canada and shipping in the Great Lakes, the US government formed the Emergency Action Volunteer Service (EAVS) in order to defend the trains and convoys traveling through Canada from potential Canadian sabotage and the boats and barges traveling along Lake Erie from Confederate patrols.
During the war, railroads were expected to perform superhuman deeds in their efforts to speedily transport the materials and men need to win. For the most part, they were highly successful. After the liberation of Ohio and the invasion of Kentucky, US railroads began rerouting lines through occupied Confederate territory in order to speedily reinforce and supply units on the front. Shipping agencies also doubled their efforts to speedily ship men and supplies across the Great Lakes. After a fair number of convoys were sunk on Lake Erie in the early days of the halving, convoys were placed under constant air escort, which substantially reduced shipping losses. The men and women who risked their lives in the early days of the war through shipping and transport were greatly remembered after for their courage.
Children and the War
The war had an enormous impact on children across the country. During the invasions of Ohio and Pennsylvania, children were faced with the burden of fleeing their homes to escape the fighting and return to find them devastated. In order to protect the lives of children in areas most threatened by invasion and/or air raids, the US government created the Youth Safety Commission [2], which evacuated children fourteen and younger in areas as far west as Illinois and areas as far east as Massachusetts from cities to rural areas such as the Great Plains and upstate New York and New England.
Children contributed to the war effort by purchasing war bonds, collecting materials to be converted to war material, planting victory gardens, etc. Later in the war, children would also donate food and toys to surviving Negro children in the CSA. Comic book heroes before the war such as Superman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, etc became popular icons for children, often portrayed fighting Entente (specifically Confederate, British, and Japanese) spies and saboteurs, and encouraging children to do their part in the war effort.
War Production and Recruitment
After Operation Blackbeard, the United States transformed itself into a true war machine. Utilizing their superior manpower and industrial base, the US would eventually come to overwhelm the Confederacy and any other enemy in its way. Although the US would see limited hampering of their capacity due to the devastation of Ohio and western Pennsylvania, the will and resolve of the people to win the war made any setbacks nothing but.
In the wake of the war’s outbreak, the War Powers Act was passed by Congress, giving the President wide authority over the war effort. Due to the needs of the troops, there was tight rationing of various goods, such as food, fuel, clothing, etc. By 1943, US factories were producing a plane a minute, a bomber every five minutes, a barrel every three minutes, and any type of naval vessel every hour. Due to a shortage of men off fighting, millions of women served in factories. Victory Loan Drives were organized to finance the war, and scrap drives were conducted to salvage raw materials such as metal and rubber to be converted into war material. By war’s end, US factories had produced over 11,000 ships, 40,000 landing craft, 100,000 barrels and armored cars, 200,000 aircraft, and 12 million guns with 37 billion rounds of ammunition, along with two superbombs.
Already before the war, the US Army had a draft, and a peacetime army of around two million men. Upon the outbreak of war, that draft was extended to all branches of the military. By war’s end, over four million men had enlisted, while another seven million were drafted. Of those 11 million who served, over 900,000 would return home in coffins while another 600,000 would be wounded. Notable about the US military during the war was the performance of minority troops. Among those were Mexican-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Asian-Americans, and, later in the war, African-Americans. Prior to 1943, blacks had only been allowed to serve in the Navy, while in the Army they could only serve non-combat roles such as cooks, truck drivers, etc. That ended in December 1943 with the signing of an executive order by President La Follette which allowed blacks to serve in combat. All able-bodied black males in the US who enlisted or were conscripted were trained and organized into the 92nd Infantry Division [3]. It would participate in the last months of the war in Virginia, pursuing the Confederate government into the Carolina’s.
Propaganda
In September 1941, the US government created the War Writer’s Board and the Office of War Information. The purpose of the WWB was to create propaganda (for the most part truthful) written by (in)famous American writers, while the OWI’s sole purpose was to deliver propaganda any way they could. This include film, radio, posters, and print media.
Posters were widely used so much that there over 200,000 designs during the war. Their purpose was to spread the message that the war was not just a mere defense of the United States, but also a moral crusade against an evil murderous regime that oppressed its citizens and slaughtered its own people. One of the most popular rallying cries used on propaganda was “Remember Ohio!” Leaflets were also commonly used, with the USAAF routinely dropping them over occupied territory to inform the people on the war’s progress and offer reassurance that the war would continue until the enemy was defeated. Leaflets were also used in the final months of the war in an effort to convince the Confederate people they had lost and that the Freedom Party was anything but. This strategy largely failed.
Hollywood also played a major part. Most movies produced during the war feature some sort of wartime aspect. They were either based on the war, or they were set in a war atmosphere. This was true even if the movie had nothing to do with warfare. The military commissioned a series of films entitled Why We Fight, which were used to justify the war and increase public support for the war effort. These films were released to both the military and public.
Terrorism and Insurgency
Invasion and air raids were not the only sources of violence during the war. The US had to contend with another Mormon uprising in Utah, a Canadian uprising, but also acts of terrorism. The most infamous of these acts would be people bombing’s. First utilized by the Mormons, an individual would strap explosives to one's body, go to populated areas, and detonate the explosives, killing oneself and killing or injuring as many people in the area as possible. Mormon terrorists would conduct these such bombings in cities across the US, which would soon be followed by Canadian terrorists.
When people think of insurgency in the Second Great War, they typically think of the Mormon and Canadian rebellions. But another insurgency that most people outside the areas in question don’t typically pay mind to is the uprising in southern Missouri. Long a hotbed between pro-US and pro-CS groups, the southern part of the state would see an all-out uprising on the part of pro-Confederates. The US responded in force, sending captured insurgents and those suspected of harboring sympathy for them to internment camps for the duration of the war.
Occupied Territory
During the Confederate occupation of Ohio, southeastern Indiana, and western Pennsylvania, civilians would undergo great hardships. Although the Confederates, for the most part, left locals alone as long as they didn’t interfere in their duties, the safety of civilians was certainly never guaranteed. Confederate soldiers were known to periodically assault or harass civilians. Rape and looting, in particular, were common practices in those cases. As well, the Confederates strictly rationed local goods, shipping them back south, while also shipping factory machinery back to the Confederacy in the event that the region fell back into US hands.
During the occupation, there were various types of resistance. Much of it was passive, such as the broadcasting of propaganda, or spying. There were, however, armed resistance groups. One of the most notable were the Molemen. Given their name due to the fact that they appeared, attacked, and then disappeared, the Molemen were formed from a company of US soldiers that had been cut off from their battalion in Dean State Forest during Operation Blackbeard. Joined by locals wanting to fight, they would engage in guerilla activities throughout the occupation. In the wake of Operation Rosebud and the conclusion of the Battle of Pittsburgh, a general uprising erupted throughout the occupied territory [4]. The last CS troops evacuated US soil on March 7th 1943.
[1] Basically the equivalent of Britain’s Civil Defence Corps.
[2] I figured that US children in threatened areas would be sent to less populated and safer areas of the country to escape the fighting, just like British children in OTL.
[3] Yes the same one as in OTL. Maybe I’ll do an article on them another day. Or someone else can if you want to.
[4] I’m thinking an analog to the OTL Paris Uprising in 1944.
I haven't really thought of that. If anyone else wants to do a page for it they're more than welcome.
I'd I did so it'd be hand drawn because I'm not good at digital design. But you' or anyone else are more than welcome to do it digitally if you want to.
that was really great, we now need a molemen article. An interesting article would be something analogous to the Battle of Itter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_Castle_Itter
Maybe U.S. Army and Regular C.S. Army soldiers have to defend an old plantantion turned internment camp in the swamsp of Louisiana full of Radical Liberal and Whigs politicians against an attack from Freedom Party Guards Battalions. Politicians which the US wants to use as proxies in the south, like Cordell Hull.
Maybe U.S. Army and Regular C.S. Army soldiers have to defend an old plantantion turned internment camp in the swamsp of Louisiana full of Radical Liberal and Whigs politicians against an attack from Freedom Party Guards Battalions. Politicians which the US wants to use as proxies in the south, like Cordell Hull.
I always envisioned the Molemen as being like the Bielski Partisans.
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Those two were suppose to be separate proposals. We need an independent molemen article and battle
Of Itter analogy.
Of Itter analogy.
There have been a couple of articles, such as the British Army in Canada and politicians like Churchill. If you're saying we could use more though I agree with you.
we have a list of PM's, an article on Eric Blair, a Churchill article from 1874 to 1917; and a Churchill article from 1917 to 1934 coming within the month.
If anyone wants to do a molenen article they're more than welcome to. If not, what should I include in it? I was thinking they resemble the bielski partisans.
First let me say what a joy and privilege it has been to read and re-read this timeline. You all have done a great honoring both Craigo and Turtledove with your in-depth and thoughtful essays filling in the gaps.
President Mahan: your work on Henry Cabot Lodge could be put to print and represent a seminal work for this timeline. I am waiting eagerly for the rest of your Churchill articles. A while back you mentioned having a historian friend who was going to write some articles on the significant naval engagements of the Great War. I hope that is still in the works. While I am no writer myself, I am a great fan of military history and have given some thought to the Battle of Pearl Harbor, which you described so well in your Lodge article. Having read about the ships and personalities involved in OTL for this theater I’ve come up with the below. I do not mean for this to be canon merely perhaps a starting point for you or your historian friend’s consideration.
Your Lodge article mentions the destruction of 4/5 British Battlecruisers and 4/4 of the Royal Navy’s most advanced pre-dreadnaught battleships along with nearly 2 dozen smaller ships so I will use that as my baseline.
BATTLE OF PEARL HARBOR - 1914
Suggested RN capital ships present at Pearl Harbor on 6 Aug 1914.
Battlecruisers:
-HMS Lion, HMS Princess Royal, HMS New Zealand, HMS Invincible, and HMS Inflexible.
Pre-Dreadnaught Battleship:
-HMS Africa, HMS Britannia, HMS Dominion, HMS Hindustan.
Capital Ship selection justification: in OTL the Invincible Class Battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible were the ships sent to hunt down German Admiral Maximilian von Spee which were successful in doing so at the Battle of the Falklands Island. HMS Invincible was later destroyed at the Battle of Jutland. Additionally the newer Indefatigable class of Battlecruisers (Indefatigable , New Zealand, and Australia) were produced with the specific intent of being use to defend the empire’s far flung possession. HMS New Zealand was paid for by the New Zealand government as a gift to the British Empire and then served with the Royal Navy. Australia was paid for and bought by the Australian government and served as the flagship, and only capital ship, in the Royal Australian Navy. In OTL HMAS Australia was kept in the south pacific along with rest of the small Australian navy to act as a deterrent to German commerce raiders so it is unlikely that this ship would have joined its sister at Pearl Harbor. To compliment these ships it seems reasonable that the Admiralty would have augmented the Pacific Squadron with two of their newest Lion Class Battlecruisers. Called the “splendid cats” of the Royal Navy this included the famous HMS Lion and her sister ship HMS Princess Royal. The last (newest) British battlecruiser completed prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 was the HMS Queen Mary which I imagine would have been kept in the North Sea along with the rest of the Invincible and Indefatigable class battlecruisers.
As for the pre-dreadnaught battleships lost at Pearl Harbor if these were among the “newest Pre-Dreadnaught battleships” as described by President Mahan then they likely would have consisted of ships from the King Edward VII Class Battleships, the last battleships constructed before the HMS Dreadnaught. 8 ships of this class were completed with most named for parts of the British Empire which makes their overseas service that much more apropos. It makes sense that 4 of these ships would have been stationed in the pacific with the remainder kept closer to the British Isles to fulfill their stated purpose of convoy escort duty.
Commander of 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron, Pearl Harbor, Sandwich Islands:
-Vice Admiral Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet
Subordinate to VADM Sturdee was RADM Christopher Cradock, Commander of 3rd Cruiser Squadron, and Commodore Sir Horace Lambert Alexander Hood, Commander of 6th Destroyer Flotilla. RADM Cradock’s light cruiser force consisted of the HMS Minotaur, HMS Shannon, HMS Defence, HMS Warrior, HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth. Commodore Hood’s force comprised a motley collection of a dozen British destroyers and destroyer escorts. All three senior British officers would go down with their ships.
Sturdee's flagship was the HMS Lion but the Admiral was absent from his flagship when Dewey’s American squadron is first sighted off the coast of the Sandwich Islands that morning. The Lion’s Flag-Captain, Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, does not wait for the missing-in-action Sturdee, and acting on his own authority, immediately readies his ship for battle (actions that resulted in HMS Lion being the only capital ship to escape the surprise American attack). Sturdee quickly returns to battleship row and assumed command aboard the HMS Princess Royal (HMS Lion, Inflexible, and New Zealand having already pulled away into the channel) and coordinates a valiant, albeit doomed, fight to the death against the superior positioned American fleet. In OTL at the Battle of Jutland several British battlecruisers exploded early in the fight due to a combination of poor armor design (they were vulnerable to long range plunging fire) and human error of stacking cases of cordite in passage ways to facilitate quicker re-load. Most of the Royal Navy capital ships were disabled and sunk in the narrow channel as they attempted to leave Pearl Harbor, although HMS Princess Royal is able to fight her way into the open seas only to have her forward magazine penetrated by a 15 inch shell from the USS Rhode Island, the resulting explosion destroying the ship with less than 50 of her ships company surviving the sinking. The only officer from the Princess Royal to survive the calamity, Sub lieutenant A. P. Herbert, would later write an account of the battle from the British perspective during his years in captivity. ‘Into the Fire’ would become a best seller after it was published in 1919 and be seen as one of the early sparks of the revanchist movement in post FGW Britain. A. P. Herbert, who had quit Oxford to accept a position as midshipman in 1913, would himself capitalize on the fame from his book to win a seat in Parliament, from which he would be a forceful and early advocate for rebuilding the British Empire.
In addition to the HMS Lion, two of Cradock's light cruisers were also able to escape the fusillade of shells and steam south west hugging the coastline. HMS Minotaur and HMS Monmouth evaded the perusing USN ships for several days before finally being intercepted and sunk 120 miles north of Kaua'i.
For the Royal Navy, Pearl Harbor was a date which would live in infamy. Devoid of glory given the shattering defeat, the day was nonetheless filled with individual acts of heroism. In addition to Capt Chatfield’s impressive handling of the HMS Lion, CDRE Hood would go down in the annuals of Royal Navy lore for his intrepid gallantry commanding the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. Commodore Hood was a youthful, vigorous and active officer whose service in Africa won him the Distinguished Service Order. He was once described as "the beau ideal of a naval officer, spirited in manner, lively of mind, enterprising, courageous, handsome, and youthful in appearance … His lineage was pure Royal Navy, at its most gallant." Leading his flotilla, CDRE Hood rushed out to join battle with the American fleet ahead of Sturdee's Battlecruisers. Ordering a torpedo attack against the lead division of USN ships, Hood and his entire command were destroyed by the combined American fire. While incredibly courageous, the act was ultimately futile as not a single torpedo struck home. However, the audacious aggression of the outnumbered British destroyers and the volley of torpedoes they launched forced the leading ships of the USN to break off the attack just long enough for the HMS Lion to fight her way past the American line of battle. Hood’s loss was met with mourning and accolades across the British Empire. In 1916 a new Battlecruiser was named in Hood’s honor, however, it was scrapped as the war ended before it was completed. However, in 1938, Hood’s aged widow was asked to launch a new King Edward VIII Class Battleship, named in her husband’s honor.
Side note 1: It is also worth pointing out that per previous discussion the Royal Navy was likely larger in this ATL given the combined Teuto-American arms race, and as such it is possible that other ships not previously named would have been present at the Battle of Pearl harbor.
Side note 2: Considering that the Royal Navy sought to even the financial burden by having their allies and dominion partners buy their own battlecruisers I would imagine that the Confederate State Navy’s battlecruisers would have been nearly identical to the Indefatigable Class Battlecruisers New Zealand and Australia. Referencing President Mahan’s article on this subject along with bguy it is stated that the CSA developed 4 such battlecruisers which they used to raid the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware before their defeat at the Battle of the New Jersey Bight. While the USN named their capital ships after states I do not see their southern counterparts following suite (on principle). These CSN battlecruisers were all named for famous confederate battlefields. CSS Manassas, CSS Corinth, CSS Louisville, and CSS Camp Hill.
Side note 3: In Mahan’s article on Senator Lodge a squadron of Royal Navy pre-dreadnaught battleships are described as being destroyed in November of 1914, at the Battle of the St Lawrence, while in a failed attempt to escort reinforcements to the Canadian Front. Likely those ships of the King Edward VII class not destroyed at Pearl Harbor would have been those engaged in the North Atlantic escort duty.
Side Note 4: Craigo’s article on the Sandwich Island places the USN’s capital ship order of battle as consisting of the battleships New York, Rhode Island, Delaware, and the Dakota. Turtledove’s American Front suggests that accompanying the battlewagons were at least two dozen cruisers and destroyers.
Side note 5: (nomenclature) In OTL 1914 the battlecruisers of the Royal Navy were assigned to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron (1 BCS) and sailed out of Scapa Flow. Eventually as more Battlecruisers were commissioned throughout the war additional squadrons were created (2 BCS, 3 BCS, etc). In this ATL with a correspondingly enlarged Royal Navy I imagine the Battlecruisers would have been split into 2 squadrons as early as 1914. 1 BCS would remain centered in the North Sea/ Atlantic supporting the Grand Fleet and hunting commerce raiders, while the 2 BCS would be headquartered at Pearl Harbor (or Singapore in peacetime) as a counterweight to the USN Pacific Fleet.
Side Note 6: For his daring action during the Battle of Pearl Harbor, Captain Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, of the HMS Lion was widely hailed a hero in the British Press. His daring escape and flight across the Pacific to Guam became legendary in the Royal Navy. In letters to his wife Lillian, sent while the Lion underwent repairs at Guam, Chatfield spoke of pride for the peerless efforts of his sailors during the battle of Pearl Harbor, but he admitted to being haunted by his association with the calamity that the Royal Navy had suffered. Awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Bath and promoted to Rear Admiral, Chatfield would ultimately meet his own death two years later during the Battle of the Three Navies.
Side Note 7: “For in the graves of over 4,000 British sailors, buried under the waves and sands of those Sandwich Isles, were planted the seeds of hatred and resentment in men’s hearts. And one day, on other shores and other seas, those seeds will blossom into the fruits of retribution.” -excerpt from Into the Fire, A. P. Herbert, 1919.
Side Note 8: "There appears to be something wrong with our bloody ships today" - Admiral David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, abroad HMS Lion at Battle of Jutland, June 1st 1916 OTL
Fun historical fact on Admiral David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty. David Beatty was a very complex individual (Max Hastings does a brilliant job of describing Beatty in his book “Catastrophe 1914, Europe Goes to War”). Aggressive, brilliant, vain, insecure, womanizing, David Beatty would command the 1st BCS in OTL and eventually the entire Grand Fleet. Known to encourage independent action on the part of his subordinate commanders, his greatest weaknesses were his thirst for social promotion and married women. He was known for seeking out relations that could further his advance and repeatedly seducing the wives of his junior officers. Prior to hostilities in OTL Beatty mentored his subordinates to think for themselves and to act independently if opportunity in battle should arise. One of these officers was Captain Ernle Chatfield.
President Mahan: your work on Henry Cabot Lodge could be put to print and represent a seminal work for this timeline. I am waiting eagerly for the rest of your Churchill articles. A while back you mentioned having a historian friend who was going to write some articles on the significant naval engagements of the Great War. I hope that is still in the works. While I am no writer myself, I am a great fan of military history and have given some thought to the Battle of Pearl Harbor, which you described so well in your Lodge article. Having read about the ships and personalities involved in OTL for this theater I’ve come up with the below. I do not mean for this to be canon merely perhaps a starting point for you or your historian friend’s consideration.
Your Lodge article mentions the destruction of 4/5 British Battlecruisers and 4/4 of the Royal Navy’s most advanced pre-dreadnaught battleships along with nearly 2 dozen smaller ships so I will use that as my baseline.
BATTLE OF PEARL HARBOR - 1914
Suggested RN capital ships present at Pearl Harbor on 6 Aug 1914.
Battlecruisers:
-HMS Lion, HMS Princess Royal, HMS New Zealand, HMS Invincible, and HMS Inflexible.
Pre-Dreadnaught Battleship:
-HMS Africa, HMS Britannia, HMS Dominion, HMS Hindustan.
Capital Ship selection justification: in OTL the Invincible Class Battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible were the ships sent to hunt down German Admiral Maximilian von Spee which were successful in doing so at the Battle of the Falklands Island. HMS Invincible was later destroyed at the Battle of Jutland. Additionally the newer Indefatigable class of Battlecruisers (Indefatigable , New Zealand, and Australia) were produced with the specific intent of being use to defend the empire’s far flung possession. HMS New Zealand was paid for by the New Zealand government as a gift to the British Empire and then served with the Royal Navy. Australia was paid for and bought by the Australian government and served as the flagship, and only capital ship, in the Royal Australian Navy. In OTL HMAS Australia was kept in the south pacific along with rest of the small Australian navy to act as a deterrent to German commerce raiders so it is unlikely that this ship would have joined its sister at Pearl Harbor. To compliment these ships it seems reasonable that the Admiralty would have augmented the Pacific Squadron with two of their newest Lion Class Battlecruisers. Called the “splendid cats” of the Royal Navy this included the famous HMS Lion and her sister ship HMS Princess Royal. The last (newest) British battlecruiser completed prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 was the HMS Queen Mary which I imagine would have been kept in the North Sea along with the rest of the Invincible and Indefatigable class battlecruisers.
As for the pre-dreadnaught battleships lost at Pearl Harbor if these were among the “newest Pre-Dreadnaught battleships” as described by President Mahan then they likely would have consisted of ships from the King Edward VII Class Battleships, the last battleships constructed before the HMS Dreadnaught. 8 ships of this class were completed with most named for parts of the British Empire which makes their overseas service that much more apropos. It makes sense that 4 of these ships would have been stationed in the pacific with the remainder kept closer to the British Isles to fulfill their stated purpose of convoy escort duty.
Commander of 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron, Pearl Harbor, Sandwich Islands:
-Vice Admiral Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet
Subordinate to VADM Sturdee was RADM Christopher Cradock, Commander of 3rd Cruiser Squadron, and Commodore Sir Horace Lambert Alexander Hood, Commander of 6th Destroyer Flotilla. RADM Cradock’s light cruiser force consisted of the HMS Minotaur, HMS Shannon, HMS Defence, HMS Warrior, HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth. Commodore Hood’s force comprised a motley collection of a dozen British destroyers and destroyer escorts. All three senior British officers would go down with their ships.
Sturdee's flagship was the HMS Lion but the Admiral was absent from his flagship when Dewey’s American squadron is first sighted off the coast of the Sandwich Islands that morning. The Lion’s Flag-Captain, Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, does not wait for the missing-in-action Sturdee, and acting on his own authority, immediately readies his ship for battle (actions that resulted in HMS Lion being the only capital ship to escape the surprise American attack). Sturdee quickly returns to battleship row and assumed command aboard the HMS Princess Royal (HMS Lion, Inflexible, and New Zealand having already pulled away into the channel) and coordinates a valiant, albeit doomed, fight to the death against the superior positioned American fleet. In OTL at the Battle of Jutland several British battlecruisers exploded early in the fight due to a combination of poor armor design (they were vulnerable to long range plunging fire) and human error of stacking cases of cordite in passage ways to facilitate quicker re-load. Most of the Royal Navy capital ships were disabled and sunk in the narrow channel as they attempted to leave Pearl Harbor, although HMS Princess Royal is able to fight her way into the open seas only to have her forward magazine penetrated by a 15 inch shell from the USS Rhode Island, the resulting explosion destroying the ship with less than 50 of her ships company surviving the sinking. The only officer from the Princess Royal to survive the calamity, Sub lieutenant A. P. Herbert, would later write an account of the battle from the British perspective during his years in captivity. ‘Into the Fire’ would become a best seller after it was published in 1919 and be seen as one of the early sparks of the revanchist movement in post FGW Britain. A. P. Herbert, who had quit Oxford to accept a position as midshipman in 1913, would himself capitalize on the fame from his book to win a seat in Parliament, from which he would be a forceful and early advocate for rebuilding the British Empire.
In addition to the HMS Lion, two of Cradock's light cruisers were also able to escape the fusillade of shells and steam south west hugging the coastline. HMS Minotaur and HMS Monmouth evaded the perusing USN ships for several days before finally being intercepted and sunk 120 miles north of Kaua'i.
For the Royal Navy, Pearl Harbor was a date which would live in infamy. Devoid of glory given the shattering defeat, the day was nonetheless filled with individual acts of heroism. In addition to Capt Chatfield’s impressive handling of the HMS Lion, CDRE Hood would go down in the annuals of Royal Navy lore for his intrepid gallantry commanding the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. Commodore Hood was a youthful, vigorous and active officer whose service in Africa won him the Distinguished Service Order. He was once described as "the beau ideal of a naval officer, spirited in manner, lively of mind, enterprising, courageous, handsome, and youthful in appearance … His lineage was pure Royal Navy, at its most gallant." Leading his flotilla, CDRE Hood rushed out to join battle with the American fleet ahead of Sturdee's Battlecruisers. Ordering a torpedo attack against the lead division of USN ships, Hood and his entire command were destroyed by the combined American fire. While incredibly courageous, the act was ultimately futile as not a single torpedo struck home. However, the audacious aggression of the outnumbered British destroyers and the volley of torpedoes they launched forced the leading ships of the USN to break off the attack just long enough for the HMS Lion to fight her way past the American line of battle. Hood’s loss was met with mourning and accolades across the British Empire. In 1916 a new Battlecruiser was named in Hood’s honor, however, it was scrapped as the war ended before it was completed. However, in 1938, Hood’s aged widow was asked to launch a new King Edward VIII Class Battleship, named in her husband’s honor.
Side note 1: It is also worth pointing out that per previous discussion the Royal Navy was likely larger in this ATL given the combined Teuto-American arms race, and as such it is possible that other ships not previously named would have been present at the Battle of Pearl harbor.
Side note 2: Considering that the Royal Navy sought to even the financial burden by having their allies and dominion partners buy their own battlecruisers I would imagine that the Confederate State Navy’s battlecruisers would have been nearly identical to the Indefatigable Class Battlecruisers New Zealand and Australia. Referencing President Mahan’s article on this subject along with bguy it is stated that the CSA developed 4 such battlecruisers which they used to raid the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware before their defeat at the Battle of the New Jersey Bight. While the USN named their capital ships after states I do not see their southern counterparts following suite (on principle). These CSN battlecruisers were all named for famous confederate battlefields. CSS Manassas, CSS Corinth, CSS Louisville, and CSS Camp Hill.
Side note 3: In Mahan’s article on Senator Lodge a squadron of Royal Navy pre-dreadnaught battleships are described as being destroyed in November of 1914, at the Battle of the St Lawrence, while in a failed attempt to escort reinforcements to the Canadian Front. Likely those ships of the King Edward VII class not destroyed at Pearl Harbor would have been those engaged in the North Atlantic escort duty.
Side Note 4: Craigo’s article on the Sandwich Island places the USN’s capital ship order of battle as consisting of the battleships New York, Rhode Island, Delaware, and the Dakota. Turtledove’s American Front suggests that accompanying the battlewagons were at least two dozen cruisers and destroyers.
Side note 5: (nomenclature) In OTL 1914 the battlecruisers of the Royal Navy were assigned to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron (1 BCS) and sailed out of Scapa Flow. Eventually as more Battlecruisers were commissioned throughout the war additional squadrons were created (2 BCS, 3 BCS, etc). In this ATL with a correspondingly enlarged Royal Navy I imagine the Battlecruisers would have been split into 2 squadrons as early as 1914. 1 BCS would remain centered in the North Sea/ Atlantic supporting the Grand Fleet and hunting commerce raiders, while the 2 BCS would be headquartered at Pearl Harbor (or Singapore in peacetime) as a counterweight to the USN Pacific Fleet.
Side Note 6: For his daring action during the Battle of Pearl Harbor, Captain Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, of the HMS Lion was widely hailed a hero in the British Press. His daring escape and flight across the Pacific to Guam became legendary in the Royal Navy. In letters to his wife Lillian, sent while the Lion underwent repairs at Guam, Chatfield spoke of pride for the peerless efforts of his sailors during the battle of Pearl Harbor, but he admitted to being haunted by his association with the calamity that the Royal Navy had suffered. Awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Bath and promoted to Rear Admiral, Chatfield would ultimately meet his own death two years later during the Battle of the Three Navies.
Side Note 7: “For in the graves of over 4,000 British sailors, buried under the waves and sands of those Sandwich Isles, were planted the seeds of hatred and resentment in men’s hearts. And one day, on other shores and other seas, those seeds will blossom into the fruits of retribution.” -excerpt from Into the Fire, A. P. Herbert, 1919.
Side Note 8: "There appears to be something wrong with our bloody ships today" - Admiral David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, abroad HMS Lion at Battle of Jutland, June 1st 1916 OTL
Fun historical fact on Admiral David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty. David Beatty was a very complex individual (Max Hastings does a brilliant job of describing Beatty in his book “Catastrophe 1914, Europe Goes to War”). Aggressive, brilliant, vain, insecure, womanizing, David Beatty would command the 1st BCS in OTL and eventually the entire Grand Fleet. Known to encourage independent action on the part of his subordinate commanders, his greatest weaknesses were his thirst for social promotion and married women. He was known for seeking out relations that could further his advance and repeatedly seducing the wives of his junior officers. Prior to hostilities in OTL Beatty mentored his subordinates to think for themselves and to act independently if opportunity in battle should arise. One of these officers was Captain Ernle Chatfield.
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