Ugaki's way.

Shortly after the Pearl Harbor Raid, the Japanese had to decide what to do first with the Kido Butai. Since the USN battleships were hit and the carriers had escaped, the USN still posed a serious threath to the Japanese Advances in the South West Pacific, especially with their Hit and Run raids. The British Eastern Fleet was more or less intact, dispite the loss of HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse, so still posed a theoretical threath in the West of the grown Japanese sphere of influence.

What would the IJN do first?

Rear Admiral Matome Ugaki, Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet of Yamamoto, thought it was urgent to remove the USN Pacific Fleet from the scene as a fighting force, before further plans could be made to push on in the South West Pacific. Therefor, the Kido Butai of Vice Admiral Nagumo would be needed in the Pacific, rather than in the Dutch East Indies or Indian Ocean., which happeded in the OTL. The Kido Butai was not needed in the West of the Japanese shere of influence, as was later concluded, since there was nearly no opposition. The taskforce waisted lots of fuel and time in the West, which would be serious for a Nation already on short supply of especially fuel.

What would have happened if the Japanese had listened to this gifted Naval Officer?

* reference: Fuchida, M., Okumiya, M.: "Midway the Japanese Story",
ISBN 0-304-36154-2
 
While the KB may have burned a lot of fuel supporting the move to the Strategic Resource Area, I'd say it's a fair guess that they would be wasting more fuel zipping around the East Pacific while the American carriers don't come out and play.

Somerville's fleet becomes a force that can do some damage with a complete lack of Japanese naval-based air in the Indian Ocean. The Japanese drive to Burma and landings in Sumatra are going to take place more slowly.
 

Bearcat

Banned
While the KB may have burned a lot of fuel supporting the move to the Strategic Resource Area, I'd say it's a fair guess that they would be wasting more fuel zipping around the East Pacific while the American carriers don't come out and play.

QFT. Its very difficult to force a general fleet action unless both sides want it. The US in January 1942 knows it isn't ready.

Unless the KB is foolish enough to do it in a way that gives the US big advantages, like going back to Hawaii for round two in February, its not going to happen until Nimitz feels ready. May or so, I'd guess.
 
Actually a suggestion would have been to send the Kido Butai to the Eastern bases of the Defenseperimmiter around Truk, of Kwajalein, in order to intercept any USN carrierforce making a Hit and Run trip to either Marshall's, Solomons, or Mariana's. Possitioning it closer to the most likely USN targets, might give it a better chance to intercept one or two such strikegroups. (In the OTL, these Eastern Japanese bases were not at all very well equipped to deal with any early USN raid, making them very tempting targets to hit.)
 
Actually a suggestion would have been to send the Kido Butai to the Eastern bases of the Defenseperimmiter around Truk, of Kwajalein, in order to intercept any USN carrierforce making a Hit and Run trip to either Marshall's, Solomons, or Mariana's. Possitioning it closer to the most likely USN targets, might give it a better chance to intercept one or two such strikegroups. (In the OTL, these Eastern Japanese bases were not at all very well equipped to deal with any early USN raid, making them very tempting targets to hit.)

Of course, American signals intelligence and submarine scouts would pick up on this, and no such hit-and-run attacks would be made in these areas. Depending on whether or not the KB is in the Solomons or in New Britain, you might see a "more relaxed" Doolittle Raid take place, as the Americans need not fear the KB coming out and sinking their carriers just east of Japan.
 
Of course, American signals intelligence and submarine scouts would pick up on this, and no such hit-and-run attacks would be made in these areas. Depending on whether or not the KB is in the Solomons or in New Britain, you might see a "more relaxed" Doolittle Raid take place, as the Americans need not fear the KB coming out and sinking their carriers just east of Japan.
Would Truk, New Britain, or the Solomans have the (re-) fueling capabilities to support the fleet?:confused:
 

Hyperion

Banned
Would Truk, New Britain, or the Solomans have the (re-) fueling capabilities to support the fleet?:confused:

Truk was seen as the Japanese version of Pearl Harbor. Aside from the odd submarine, the US didn't even try to go near the place until well into 1944 when the Essex class ships and massive numbers of supporting warships where around.

New Britain, particularly the massive base at Rabaul was somewhat small and undefended early on. The first major operation from Rabaul was the Battle of the Coral Sea, in which invasion troops for Port Moresby and a number of cruisers and destroyers where deployed there.

For the Solomons, there where cruisers, destroyers, and submarines stationed there in light numbers, but I've never heard of any Japanese carriers stopping there, unless they where making an overnight stop on the way to another primary destination elsewhere.
 
Would Truk, New Britain, or the Solomans have the (re-) fueling capabilities to support the fleet?:confused:

Yes, not in early 1942, and never, respectively.

I can't think for the life of me what the Kido Butai could have accomplished of meaning in the East Pacific in late 1941 and early 1942 after Pearl Harbor and before troops were available to try to grap Port Moresby.
 
Of course, American signals intelligence and submarine scouts would pick up on this, and no such hit-and-run attacks would be made in these areas. Depending on whether or not the KB is in the Solomons or in New Britain, you might see a "more relaxed" Doolittle Raid take place, as the Americans need not fear the KB coming out and sinking their carriers just east of Japan.


The Kido Butai was completely absent during the Doolittle Raid, as it was still en route to Japan, following its operations in the Indian Ocean. A pressence in the Pacific would propably have had more complications for teh Raid, as these IJN carriers were within striking range of the Raiding Force, rougly between Pearl Harbor and Japan. (Unless the USN was willing to do a Kamikaze raid, the Doolittle Raid would most likely be canceled, as the exact whereabouts of the Kido Butai were never known for sure, untill breaking radiosilence, or visually spotted.) Knowledge of the pressence of the Kido Butai in the Pacific made a lot of difference, when compared to the knowledge it was at the other end of the world.
 
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