What if Japan goes South West in WW2? - Story (Complete)

Antiochus V

2pm HMS Renown

HMS Renown was now surrounded by an ad hoc battlegroup consisting of HMAS Australia, Canberra and the light cruiser USS Boise. A pair of British destroyers and two Australian destroyers were screening for submarines. Overhead the RAAF maintained a small CAP, along with several Hudsons shadowing the fleeing Japanese fleet. This represented the remaining ships in good condition out of the fleet of twenty warships that had begun the surface battle.

The group had recently changed course to target the rearguard of the transport fleet. In their wake lay the debris of the Japanese cruiser Maya, a brief surface action had been the end of her and another damaged destroyer. Both ships were moving slowly with most of their guns disabled, it was therefore a remarkably brief action. The admiral felt it was to the credit of the Japanese crews that they continued fighting till the end, he would do his best to ensure this was recorded for posterity. A mostly functional Dutch destroyer had remained behind to pick up survivors.

The updates from Admiral Somerville were very promising, in return for modest air losses two Japanese carriers were sunk along with four transport ships in the first attack. The second wave should be arriving shortly, hopefully sinking enough of the Japanese transports to prevent further invasions for some time.



4pm aboard a damaged HMS Renown

Admiral Phillips stared ruefully at the damage control parties hard at work aboard HMS Renown. Her brief reign of terror had been ended by a torpedo, now restricted to 22 knots and low on ammunition she had been forced to head for home. The last action had seen destruction of a fourth Japanese cruiser, a pair of destroyers and a number of assorted smaller escorts. It looked like half the Japanese transport fleet would now reach safety, sadly leaving more sailors and soldiers in the water then the allied fleet had any hope of rescuing.

The next step was to rejoin the carrier fleet and supervise the escort of the many damaged ships to safety. The allied losses had been steep, the Dutch fleet had lost two light cruisers, the Java and Tromp as well as two of their destroyers. The American squadron had lost the Marblehead and taken significant damage to the Louisville, three destroyers were lost and two more badly damaged. The British and Australians were relatively unscathed with the cruiser Exeter damaged and the smaller Perth under tow with severe damage. Several of the Australian destroyers had significant levels of damage. It was a heavy price to pay, but acceptable when set against the Japanese losses.

Out of the Japanese surface fleet it appeared that only a pair of damaged light cruisers and a couple of destroyers had made it to safety. Their carrier group had lost its two light carriers, the cruiser and several destroyers, whilst the transports and their escorts had taken more than 50% losses. Admiral Phillips finally understood what Wellington had felt when he surveyed the battlefield at Waterloo, each death on either side was now in some way linked to him.
 

Antiochus V

4th March 1942 West of Ambon




10am

Admiral Glassford felt very much like a spectator. He was aboard the USS Boise, the only American cruiser attached to Force H. The carrier force had carried out a quick reorganisation the day before. HMS Illustrious and Indomitable had merged the surviving fighters carried by themselves and HMS Formidable onto the two ships. Meanwhile HMS Formidable had slowly loaded 32 P40E fighters from the former carrier USS Langley.

It was a nerve racking process to watch, each plane was desperately needed and there was an ever present fear of enemy submarines. The Langley was now a seaplane tender that was also well suited to transporting aircraft. As a seaplane tender it had cranes capable of transferring aircraft, and the space to store them from its days as a carrier. Sadly the change of use left it unsuited to launching fixed wing aircraft. Hence the plan for the carrier group to go as close they could to Mindano and launch the planes with enough fuel to reach the airfields at Davao.

The Japanese had spotted the carrier group soon after dawn, in the process losing their patrolling sea plane. To pre-empt an air attack B17s had hit the Japanese airfield at Ambon at dawn, it was hoped that this raid along with the many damaged ships in the Ambon harbor would focus the Japanese airforce on protecting them.

The hopes had been broadly sustained so far, the Japanese had made several high altitude passes with their bombers, and although inaccurate they had kept the task force nervous. It seemed the Japanese had become noticeably more loss averse after their recent high aircraft casualties, it was the consensus view that high altitude attacks against ships carried a low probability of success.

At 11am the US fighter planes were duly launched and the fleet headed for home, with the help drop tanks the fighters headed north on the long flight towards the Philippines.



10pm Tokyo

The long and tense meeting of the various government ministers had left Admiral Yamamoto exhausted. He had been forced to downplay the heavy defeat sustained at the battle of the Banda Sea. He had described it as a Pyrrhic victory for the Allies, costing them many destroyers and cruisers as well as numerous aircraft. This was broadly true, the allies had suffered heavy losses, aerial photos and accounts from the few survivors suggested at least four allied cruisers were lost along with eight of their destroyers. Many of the remaining ships were almost certainly badly damaged leaving the surface fleet out of action, sadly unlike the Imperial Navy their carriers were still intact. In the short term he was able to say with some confidence that the Allies could do little further in that theatre. Sadly he knew that Japan could not win a war of attrition.

Normally he would have expected the Army to seek to embarrass the Navy in such a meeting, that they had not done so was probably a bad sign. An optimist would have noted that the close cooperation and willingness of the Navy to take losses to protect their cargo had undone some of the historic rancour. Sadly it was also true that the Army was facing its growing list of problems and failures. The Malayan campaign was now behind schedule, and it might have to turn into a siege owing to the rapidly worsening situation in Thailand.

In front of him the admiral had a worrying letter from the Naval attaché in Bangkok. The first problem was a worse than reported situation on the ground. In the North the British and their Chinese allies (or mercenaries as the attaché described them) had occupied Chiang Mai and crushingly defeated an ad hoc Japanese brigade sent to stop them. Thankfully the situation was now fairly stable with two fresh Japanese brigades keeping them at bay. In the west of the country the situation was worse, outnumbered, with multiple locations that had to be held and facing being cut off from one of his main supply lines General Mutaguchi had been forced to divide his force.

The splitting of his force had allowed the British to start targeting isolated positions or formations and destroy them. The enterprising attaché had spoken to a number of officers recovering from their wounds. It seemed that the Burmese populace having been initially ambivalent to the Japanese had become embittered by their treatment at the hands of the Japanese army. Vengeful local guides for the British had ensured that few defensive positions were safe from being outflanked. Even worse some of the British tanks had proven largely impervious to Japanese weapons, making positions in the open untenable. The General was being pushed to the south whilst the British had destroyed a significant part of the force defending the Thai border.

This worrying story brought the attaché to his main point. Thailand had been forcefully made into an ally, blood had been spilt by both sides on the first day to achieve this. The Thai government had been able to save face by promising the people that lands stolen over the years by the British would be returned after the ‘all powerful’ Japanese army secured them at minimal cost to Thailand. The attaché put it very politely, but was clear that he suspected many in the Thai political and military spheres felt they might not be on the winning side at present, and the American involvement had not been anticipated. He could find no proof of negotiations with the Allies, but noted that the Thai army had had only committed the most pro-regime of its soldiers to the fighting, most of the more traditionally minded regiments were being held back for various reasons.

It was grim reading, and he wished he had seen it before the ministerial meeting. It would have been a useful bargaining chip, and more importantly it needed to be dealt with. The Navy had already managed to ship out most of an additional division plus support, and now it looked as if this could become insufficient.

The effective destruction of the Southern fleet had not been fully admitted, since technically a few ships still remained. The Kongo class ships lost off Malaya were now dearly missed, as was the carrier lost there. These had been earmarked for the failed operation in the Dutch East Indies. It was a heavy price to pay and hence forth a new approach would need to be adopted. There would be fewer future operations and the forces committed would need to be either overwhelming or expendable. Henceforth if an operation was deemed worth risking one carrier over, it was worth risking all of them.

One useful lesson the fleet had learnt was that there was a significant benefit to having the largest and most powerful ship in the battle. Just as the British battlecruiser had dominated the engagement, so too it was hoped would the Yamato and Musashi. Many had worried that building the Yamato class ships was an unwise use of scarce resources, now there was clear evidence that if used properly they were an essential part of fleet and the decisive battle doctrine.

Tomorrow would see a memorial service for Admiral Ozawa, he would be greatly missed. The manner of his death would be an inspiration to future generations of officers. Taking on a battlecruiser with his cruiser in order to gain time for the transports to escape was an honourable way to end his career. Indeed he had impressed the British enough that the BBC had praised the courage of the Chikuma as it took on the powerful fleet bearing down upon on it. It was a gesture he hoped could be repaid in kind.
 

Antiochus V


5th March 1942. South of Moulmein



General Mutaguchi's HQ

Life was not good for General Mutaguchi, he was now well aware that his glorious dreams of independent command had been rewarded with a poisoned chalice. His initial success in stabilising the front lines at Moulmein had slowly been eroded away. After a series of engagements the British made a slow but steady advance south and had now effectively separated his force. Twenty five miles south of Moulmein were positioned two of his brigades of infantry, along with most of the surviving tanks and artillery, a brigade was holding the road from Moulmein to Tak (the main supply route from Thailand) and a further brigade was attempting to bridge the gap in between, helped and hindered by several rivers. Unfortunately the better road between them was now in British hands, making the supply route precarious. Several alternate routes existed, but he was in danger of losing the best of them.

As far as he could tell both sides were now facing problems with their logistics, the Japanese army had thoroughly foraged the area forcing both sides to rely on a combination of trucks and small boats to supply their armies. He was grateful that his predecessor had started to improve this situation, work parties in Thailand were busy widening and improving the road network. Unfortunately they were working against the topography, rough and high terrain as well as dense jungle separated the two nations, with the majority of trade historically carried out by sea. Ironically this was the area the Thai army seemed most willing to cooperate with, although averse to combat they had a clear desire to make it easier for the superior Japanese Army to fight outside of their borders.

The Japanese army had managed to ship an additional division to Thailand, unfortunately only one brigade made it into Burma as the other two were required to shore up the defense of northern Thailand after the British crossed the border. Additional artillery, tanks and trucks had been shipped from Manchuria, sadly the convoy had been hit hard by submarine attack, only a third of the promised equipment had arrived. Now with the invasion of the Philippines in full swing he feared Burma and Thailand would no longer be the priority it had been.

The sad truth he faced was that his tanks were significantly inferior, and just as problematic the British artillery was frequently more effective and better supplied. Several of his counter-attacks had been brutally repulsed and even the powerful banzai attack had failed. As a result his formations were now significantly understrength, with losses only partially made good by converting support personnel into infantrymen.

Along with his crumbling frontline, the intelligence apparatus in Burma was also starting to fail. Burmese nationalists were losing enthusiasm after a combination of defeats and poor behaviour by the Japanese soldiers. They had still managed to provide some useful if depressing information, the British had been flying small but steady numbers of troops into Mandalay. Based on the description of their clothing and insignias it seemed to be the beginning of the arrival of an Australian division, most likely one originally stationed in the Middle East.

In the air his formation was already suffering from no longer being the priority theatre. The Philippines operation had proved far more costly than expected, and aircraft were being diverted there. The Allied Air Force was small and largely defensive, but was sufficient to make air attacks costly. Heavy losses were sustained in February both on the offensive and then as they tried to stop the British advance these been only been partially replenished. Unhelpfully it had been decided to partially pull back from several vulnerable airstrips, leaving him with less support than he would have liked.

His primary goal was keep the Allies out of Thailand until the monsoon season started in May. This it was hoped would bring combat to a standstill and allow the preparation of a major offensive in October to secure Burma and cut off the Burma Road. With operations in Malaya and the Philippines expected to be complete there would be substantial forces available to launch an offensive to secure Rangoon.



6th March Manila Naval HQ

8pm

Since the invasion the HQ had been a hub of activity commanding the Navy's attempts to interrupt the Japanese landings. The initial landings had seen savage air battles and significant losses amongst the Japanese transport fleet. In the following the days there been a series of attacks by submarines and torpedo boats. The attacks were almost all by night making it hard to be certain of the results. Despite the lack of confirmation it appeared very likely that at least six more transport ships had been sunk attempting to land supplies.

In the air the losses had been heavy for both sides. The majority of US air activity was now defensive and intended to allow the Army mobility on the ground. The use of radar was proving decisive; it had allowed the timely interception of a number of attempted Japanese raids on the airfields.

The Admiral had just finished reading the deciphered report on the battle of the Banda Sea. The initial news had been remarkably brief, the radio message announced that the 'Southern Japanese Fleet is no more'. It had seemed too good to be true.

It almost was, the battle had cost the US Asiatic Fleet four destroyers and a light cruiser, almost all the remainder were damaged. However it was a rate of exchange that the US could endure, and even the cantankerous Admiral King would be relieved to see the Japanese fleet trimmed in size across the board. The British had been remarkably diplomatic in their victory announcement, the BBC had announced it on the wireless, Britain’s allies had been given most of the credit for the surface battle. This was echoed in the message from Admiral Somerville suggesting that Admiral Glassford deserved recognition in the form of a suitable medal along with the captain of the USS Boise. Hart strongly agreed, heroes were needed in the early days of a war, especially ones that gave the people and soldiers in the Philippines hope of support.

The follow up mission of launching additional fighter aircraft to the Philippines was likely to prove invaluable. Thirty two extra planes could give the Army another couple of weeks free of air attack to crush the Japanese landings, and perhaps allow air attacks near the landing area.
 

Antiochus V

7th March 1942




11am Alcala, Northern Luzon

General Homma was finally able to enter the remains of the town. Several days of hard fighting had left little but ruins. The Japanese army was attempting to fight its way south down the Cagayan river valley.

The area was rich in farms and plantations, but rapidly became tough and densely forested terrain once away from the river valley. The river had few crossings, and the ones to the north had already been demolished by the retreating Philippine army. The broken sections would eventually be rebuilt, new parts were being assembled in Japan.

The river posed a serious problem for the Japanese, although they had ample small boats, it was acting as divide for the army, the bulk of the force (a division and an extra brigade was operating on the eastern side, using the roads for its logistics, meanwhile several brigades were slowly moving down along the western side.

The western side had the inferior roads and a growing presence of the Philippine army. After the landings at Aparri the road south had been quiet for the first fifteen miles. Then the ambushes started, reconnaissance parties and vehicles were targeted, and small minefields were encountered. This continued for a further fifteen miles, the small ambushes sapping away at the enthusiasm of the Japanese army and causing numerous small delays.

The serious resistance started once the Philippine troops were out of range of the big guns on the battleships. At least a brigade of troops had formed a defensive line backed by several batteries of 75mm field guns and equipped with small numbers of anti tank weapons. Although inexperienced the soldiers proved brave, but after a day of fighting they withdrew in disarray. It was a frustrating delay, and the next day (4th March) saw the army fighting through a morass of defensive positions, this continued on the 5th until eventually the Japanese army was left in control of the ruined Alcala.

The losses sustained during the landings were significantly above those allowed for in the operational plans. As a result additional troops had been requested. One division was already expected as part of the follow up landings, and a brigade earmarked for a diversionary landing was now being sent to Aparri instead. As General Homma looked at the stream of wounded being sent north he feared it would not be enough.

The losses on the beachhead had been fairly modest for the combat troops, but very heavy amongst the support and artillery formations. They were last to unload and so had suffered most from being still aboard the ships when the air attack happened. The loss of both equipment and crews was a serious blow, experienced artillerymen were hard to replace.

The state of the Philippine army was an unpleasant surprise. What were supposed to be poorly equipped reserve formations were performing quite well. They had enough artillery to pose a problem, and although their individual marksmanship left something to be desired they were enthusiastic in their volume of fire. Prisoners all seemed to share the view that liberation into a Japanese led co-prosperity sphere meant little compared to the prospect of real independence for the first time in centuries. One he had spoken to had helpfully suggested that Japan might have better invading in early December when the mobilization had only just begun.

Air superiority would have been hugely helpful at this point, and indeed according to the operational plans should have been secured by now. Sadly it seemed the American airforce was either much larger than expected or the reports of kills in the air were much inflated. He leaned towards the latter explanation, he knew from experience that the adrenaline of combat often led to exaggerations in the mind. Efforts to establish the air presence in the Philippines had been hampered by both the loss of key personnel during the landings and several early raids by the large American bombers.

Tomorrow would see a contested crossing of a tributary of the Cagayan, concentrated artillery and the use of naval landing craft had made the large river less of an obstacle than one might have expected. The big question was when would the American soldiers make an appearance? The plans stated that although well equipped they would struggle with the climate and lacked any combat experience.


8th March Calcutta


Lord Wavell had spent the day with members of the 7th Australian division. For the next few weeks each day would see parts of the division pass through Calcutta, from there was a choice of transport routes. Trains took men and equipment as far as possible, and then they became cargo on a steady stream of trucks taking men and their equipment south to Rangoon. It was long route with some very poor sections along the way. However it was the only safe route given the increasing numbers of Japanese submarines attempting to blockade Rangoon. For a lucky few the small number of available transport planes flew around a hundred soldiers a day into Mandalay.

The 7th division would not be the last to head into Burma, the 2nd British Infantry division was soon to arrive in Bombay. It was modern and filled with experienced soldiers. The conclusion of Operation Ironclad had freed them up in mid-February. Smaller Indian formations had been dispatched, as individual battalions and replacements filled in gaps caused by the losses sustained in Burma and Malaya.

With all the additional soldiers arriving logistics was starting to become a challenge. Burma had historically relied on Rangoon, the port was therefore modern with good capacity, but there was a significant danger from both submarines and aircraft. Progress on improving the roads and rail into Burma was advancing as well it could given the constraints imposed by the war. American engineers and heavy equipment were slowly arriving to support British and Indian work parties. He wondered how Americans would enjoy working with elephants.

A key part of the logistics struggle was the threat of tropical disease, much effort was underway to prepare for the monsoon season. Malaria and other diseases were endemic to almost all areas likely to see activity in the south east Asian theatre. Insecticides and tablets such as Mepracine were being ordered and stockpiled. One of the serious but rarely discussed dangers faced by the Japanese campaign was the reliance on Java for most of the world’s Quinine production. Seeds were being hurriedly shipped out, but if Java fell it would cause great harm to the medical side of the campaign.

Political challenges were now starting to rear their ugly head. The Soviets were upset to see Lend Lease diverted away from them, and were only partially mollified by the suggestion that the Japanese would be forced to pull troops out of Manchuria to make good their losses elsewhere. The Chinese had mixed views on the reduced level of supplies coming along the Burma road. On the one hand they were delighted that the Japanese air presence appeared to have been reduced as squadrons headed to other theatres, but on the ground they claimed the Japanese were pressing them as hard as ever. Wavell suspected the Chinese government was not being wholly honest, Japanese progress appeared to have slowed significantly with the diversion of around ten divisions to take on the new Japanese campaigns. The Chinese troops in Burma seemed to be happy, well supplied and benefiting from new equipment they were performing well, perhaps most significantly there had been a chance to reshuffle some of the mid-level leadership positions greatly improving their professionalism.

With America in the war came the need for closer cooperation with their China man Joseph Stilwell, it was a challenging process. His priority was supporting China and the campaign there, Burma and Thailand were a necessary evil to him rather than the priority that Wavell felt they should be. Much time and effort was therefore being spent trying to persuade him that securing Thailand would make it possible to ship more into Rangoon and potentially open up further routes into China if Indochina and Malaya were secured.

Success was sometimes its own worst enemy. With a stable Burma situation the 70th British division would not now be leaving the Middle East. Instead of the veteran infantry division they could expect the less experienced 38th Division to be sent from the UK at a less urgent pace. In theory some of the burden was due to be shared with the Americans. Several divisions were on the way to Australia, and from there it was planned that they would help stop the Japanese expansion plans. The hard truth for Britain was that North Africa and Germany had to be the priority for now.

The political situation in India remained tense, an envoy was on the way with considerable negotiating powers. Recent successes had probably strengthened his bargaining position, but it was clear that much would change post war.

The successful defense of Timor had come at a hefty price, much of the allied fleet had been badly damaged or lost. To make matters worse the British carriers were expected to see two of their number returned to other theatres in the near future. A small positive was the imminent return of HMS Repulse from its upgrade and repair work in Bombay, and the expectation that within a month HMS Prince of Wales would also be back in operation. The US Navy was expected to send six destroyers plus a pair of cruisers, they harbored hopes of creating an access route into the Philippines through the Dutch East Indies.
 

Antiochus V

9am 9th March 1942

East of Moulmein

Major Smith had set up his company command post in the shade, it was still too hot and humid in his view, but it was better than being in the sun. The company was operating on left flank of the axis of advance towards Thailand. They were well away from the centre of the axis, the main road, their presence was necessary to help prevent enemy flanking moves and to put pressure on the Japanese lines.

In front of him stood a proud subaltern, after a two day fighting patrol his platoon had not only managed returned intact (barring two cases of fever), they had even brought back a prisoner and a number of Japanese rifles. A successful ambush had resulted in the destruction of a small Japanese patrol. The prisoner was not the typical Japanese soldier, he had the tubby look that only a career in the stores or catering corps could bring. Indeed he had a relieved look on his face, suggesting that combat was not really his cup of tea.

Few prisoners had been taken so far, and given the lack of translators they were not much use when they were captured. Evidence of non combat personnel on the front line was an excellent sign, and the sight of him being brought through the lines had reminded the company that their enemy had their weaknesses. Soon the prisoner would be introduced to the delights of lukewarm spam spread onto hard brown biscuits, after that he'd wish he had fought on.



6pm

North of Singapore

Lt Col Tanaka walked sadly through the field hospital. Over sixty members of his battalion were wounded with as many again left on the battlefield. He was doing his best to make sure his wounded felt their sacrifices were respected, he felt too many senior figures viewed soldiers as mere numbers in reports. The last attack had been carefully planned, infiltration parties would clear minefields and many of the bunkers during the night, in the morning a mix of carefully planned smoke and explosive shells were to be used to allow an assault. At first it went well.

The first pair of bunkers in his sector were destroyed with satchel charges, a third was cleared using the help of a flamethrower. It was then that the British started calling artillery and mortars on top of their own positions, followed by steadily calling strikes along the one mile front. Tanaka had watched in frustration as British flares lit up the sky and the first wave of attacks ground to a halt as artillery and light machine guns took their toll.

The decision was made to press on, just before dawn tanks were brought up and the artillery barrage began. After several hours of bombardment the combined force of tanks and infantry advanced. Small gaps in the British line were created, these allowed some progress. Unfortunately it soon became apparent that the numerous small concrete and brick bunkers built in mid-1941 had mostly survived. His own battalion was slowly pushing forwards and clearing positions when they saw the unmistakable sight of a platoon of Matilda II tanks. The British tanks slowly and cautiously crept forwards picking off the light tank company supporting the attack. They were eventually driven back by artillery and mortar fire, but the damage was done. The attack lost momentum and most of the gains had to be abandoned as they were too exposed.

He knew General Yamashita would be very disappointed, it was clear he was under a great deal of pressure from Tokyo to finish the campaign, yet at the same time was increasingly constrained by the diversion of soldiers and resources to Thailand and Burma. The gossip was that Tokyo felt there was not time to starve Singapore into submission, and with Britain still occupying a small part of Malaya as well as Singapore there was probably enough food growing and stockpiled to keep the campaign going for many months.
 

Antiochus V

10th March

Luzon - south of Acala

After several days of hard fighting General Homma's advance had finally encountered the Americans. Several days earlier after a hard fought river crossing his force pushed back a Philippine brigade. Sensing weakness he had unleashed a tank battalion along with several infantry battalions with orders to pursue the withdrawing enemy force.

All went well for the first couple of miles, a roadblock was flanked and overrun, whilst two further battalions crossed, and began marching south along the main road. American troops were encountered at this point. Firing anti tank guns from prepared positions they quickly destroyed much of the lead tank company, a hasty assault with the help of the infantry only served to reveal the presence of significant artillery and mortar support.

The quantity and power of the artillery made it clear it was almost certainly an American formation, forcing a change in strategy. Air attacks were ordered, these took losses on the way in and out, it seemed the Americans had detected the raid with their radar or scouts before it arrived and committed their fighter planes accordingly. Whilst this was going on the infantry looked for ways to flank the position and additional artillery and tanks were brought in.

The efforts to outflank the position had saved the Japanese force from disaster. It soon became apparent the American force was attempting to do the same, a confused fight began on the left flank. American inexperience helped the Japanese force at first, but this was soon offset by their more numerous artillery. General Homma quickly switched to a defensive posture, and began sending his artillery back across the river. It was just in time, over that afternoon the American division had launched a broad attack along the line. At least two American brigades were involved along with several tank battalions. By nightfall the Japanese force was holding a small perimeter around the crossing point.

The force was evacuated over the course of the night, they left behind well over a thousand dead, alongside almost forty tanks, and a significant number of other vehicles and artillery pieces. It was a defeat but not nearly as catastrophic as the one sustained in Burma. It had however been a near disaster, and was a clear sign that a significant change in strategy was required.

Over the last day he had reorganised his force, a division would remain around Acala, it would be given additional artillery and anti-tank weapons and would use the river terrain to prevent the Americans from advancing further. Meanwhile he would shift the remainder of the force back to Aparri and then go west to Vigan. Moving along the coast there was another good road, and the prospect of naval support. One brigade was already at Vigan, and with the potential support of two experienced infantry divisions with tank support there would be enough combat power to push through any likely American or Philippine force.
 

Antiochus V

12th March

North of Singapore

The morning started with the surprising news that he and his battalion would be sent to Thailand. Lt Col Tanaka at first felt a sense of shame that his failure in battle was being punished, and politely asked his divisional commander not to attach the blame to his battalion. He was quickly reassured, the general had smiled and assured him that it was a promotion of sorts.

General Yamashita had asked for a politically sensitive and militarily capable officer to take their battalion up to Thailand and help keep the Thai government on side. Sensitivity was required to ensure that relations with the Thai military were improved, and more troops were needed to keep the Thai government from getting ideas about making a separate peace with Britain. An intelligence officer soon appeared to give him a high level briefing.

The story was far from good, the head of state 'Phibun' was viewed as a shameless opportunist. He was even disloyal to his own monarch, a definite warning sign, and was suspected to be considering plotting with the Allies. No evidence of such contact had been found, but equally the Thai army had seen suspiciously little action, despite full mobilisation and promises to assist in the conquest of Burma. Bangkok and the train line south formed a key part of the supply chain to the Malayan campaign, and remained the location for many important airfields.

In the unlikely event of Thailand betraying Japan his battalion would join the brigade of assorted garrison and rear area security troops in protecting key Japanese airfields and naval facilities whilst they waited for support from Malaya and Indo-China. It was assumed there would some warning, and aggressive action might be possible to prevent it. As a frontline battalion, they would be a heart of the any action. They faced a daunting prospect if the worst happened, Thailand had a regular force of twenty five thousand soldiers supplemented by fifty thousand mobilised reservists. Their equipment was generally light, but was probably better than most equivalent Chinese formations.

He had asked what of the risk of Vichy French troops making the same mistake, the officer had said that was a little easier to handle and hinted darkly that the Vichy troops already had rather more to fear. In any case the small French army appeared to have its hands full dealing with a growing insurgency in the north of Vietnam, to the extent that Japanese support was being considered.

It was an unnerving situation, but did come with the benefit that his battalion would be able to take on replacements there, have time to integrate them fully, and sort out their equipment. With his battalion down to seventy percent strength this would be much appreciated, as would the break from the fighting. It was a sign of the level of concern that his request to take take two days of food and ammunition for the battalion was granted without hesitation. The battalion would be moving out within the next few days, and the journey was expected to take at least two days.
 

Antiochus V

4pm Calcutta military HQ

Preparations for the invasion of Thailand were progressing well. From the relative peace and quiet of Calcutta a large scale logistics operations was being managed. It was a rapidly growing campaign, convoys of small ships were carrying the rations, whilst trucks transported the ammunition and men. Lord Wavell left the operational matters to General Slim, and focused the efforts of the Calcutta HQ on keeping his corps supplied and growing. With the ongoing arrival of an extra pair of divisions it had been decided to turn Burma Corps into an Army. General Slim was not yet aware that he was the favourite to take command of the soon to be formed 14th Army.

The bulk of the 7th Australian division had now arrived in Burma, with much still on route and inexperienced in jungle warfare it was starting by providing rear area security and carrying out what training it could. This in turn allowed more of the existing force to head to the front lines. Several more divisions would be available over the next month, and regular deliveries of trucks from the United States were making it possible to support them.

A key element to the invasion of Thailand was the effort to persuade the Thai army and government to switch sides. It seemed that most now accepted that they had made a poor decision in aligning with Japan, even the Prime Minister had made contact. The entry of the US into the war had changed much, reports of the vast American naval building program had reached him via the Thai ambassador to Washington. He had also reported on the huge material superiority of the allies, and unusually for a diplomat had actually declined to deliver the declaration of war. The Japanese defeat in Burma had shattered a some widely held illusions that Britain was on the verge of collapse, instead it was the Thai economy collapsing. Faced with economic collapse and the prospect of a bloody campaign being fought in Thailand there was no longer domestic support for an opportunistic war.

The prime minister 'Phibun' had been offered blunt terms by Wavell. It had been made clear that this was different to those that went before it, this time the leadership of Germany and her allies would pay a very personal price. If Phibun wished to avoid joining Tojo in the gallows he needed to consider his options very carefully. Other Thai figures had been treated with greater respect and courtesy, Phibun however was seen as a very slippery customer and was being treated as such. It remained to seen whether the man would take the sensible option, Wavell did not care that much. Phibun's days as prime minister were likely numbered regardless of the outcome and provided the fighting could be kept on the Thai side of the border Churchill would be satisfied.



14th March

Japanese HQ Vigan (Luzon)

General Homma's army reorientation had proceeded according to his plan, approximately two divisions were now proceeding south along the west coast. A mixture of trucks and bicycles had allowed an orderly shift of troops to the new axis of advance, whilst leaving one enlarged division to hold the line around Acala.

It meant a substantial delay, but had also allowed the steady arrival of the elements of an additional division. It was sorely needed, a combination of heavy losses taken during the landings and the losses around Acala had left him with three understrength division with the effective power of only two. Now back up to three once more he felt comfortable taking the offensive again.

The Navy had allocated a pair of elderly destroyers to provide gunfire support if needed, along with half a dozen motor boats to carry out whatever tasks were required. It was not quite what he needed or requested, but given the American air threat he understood their reluctance to commit anything larger. Efforts to build an effective air presence in the Philippines continued to run into problems. Air raids had delayed the work on the two fields captured in Northern Luzon, and a commando raid on Batan Island had destroyed half dozen planes and caused significant damage to the meagre facilities. Eventually it would be resolved, in the mean time the most that could be promised was partial protection from enemy air attacks.

He had been warned by the Navy that he needed to capture an additional port, he was at the limits of what could be supplied via beach landings and at Aparri, whilst Vigan could only handle small boats so its capture added little. It was far from ideal, and meant it would be a challenge to receive bulky items such as replacement vehicles and tanks. In any case vehicle and tank stockpiles were now very limited, much of the replacements would be coming from other units in quieter locations. Aircraft replacements were now likewise constrained by the limited reserves and production capacity. It would put much of the strain on the army, infantry replacements were available, but would be fresh from training.


16th March

11am North of the Malay/Thai border

The train was moving at half speed, Lt Col Tanaka was sat in one of the few carriages along with several of senior officers. They were engrossed in the briefing notes on Thailand, and the changing political situation. A Thai revolt looked very plausible, it should have been avoidable, but like so much else in this war much had been mishandled.

Defeat in Burma was the catalyst, but the problems were many and deep. The Thai economy was weakening by the day. Their main trading partners were the allied powers, and their close business links on the ground. The war had meant exports had reduced as had imports, this had already caused significant issues. When Japan arrived to bring Thailand into the co-prosperity sphere, the Japanese military had seized British owned businesses, and then there were demands that exports were redirected to Tokyo. This might have been fine, except export duties were no longer allowed and Japan lacked the shipping capacity to replicate the British trade. With government finances weakening there came the fear of pay cuts and a widespread loss of employment, unfortunately there was an obvious culprit.

Heavy handed demands and requisitions had caused local disquiet, as had incidents involving drunk soldiers or traffic accidents. In few cases had adequate redress been made, in the absence of which the natural progression was to small local protests and then riots. The Thai police had been generally sympathetic to the protestors, especially when it related to serious crimes committed by soldiers.

At a military level it seemed the Thai army had been promised modern equipment and aircraft, yet had received little. Bits and pieces of captured British equipment was a start, but what was really wanted was a standardised upgrade to their disparate collection of weapons, as well as tanks and proper artillery. In the absence of such upgrades the Thai army was unwilling to take the field against the British. Tanaka was sympathetic, the campaigns in China and other parts of the war had shown that a significant gap in capabilities led to very lopsided outcomes.

On a more cheerful note the recent crossing of the border had taken them into a more peaceful place. No longer did they see the war ravaged Malaya, instead they went past calm villages and rice paddies. Indeed with the pleasant climate he and some of officers could see themselves spending time here once the war was over. An army pension would go a long way here.

His peaceful thoughts were soon interrupted, the train slowly came to a halt. Five minutes later a young apologetic Thai officer appeared with the bad news that the line ahead had been badly damaged by a British air attack. Although inaccurate, the British bombers periodically managed to damage the tracks with lone bomber raids. It would take the rest of the day to repair the line, in a rare feat the plane had managed to both cause a small landslide and destroy pieces of track.

The officers climbed out to examine the damage, a team of Thai military engineers was working alongside a group of Japanese railroad engineers. In an unusual sight for the officers an elephant was helping with the heavy lifting. Realising they were not going anywhere soon he ordered his battalion to disembark, worried both about the heat in the carriages and the risk of air attack.

It was a good opportunity to give the junior officers a chance to lead, soon the party of officers watched as sentries were posted, a work party formed and the few anti-aircraft weapons they had were set up. Much of the battalion was soon able to rest in the shade whilst the working party did what it could to help the engineers. After an hour a pair of old trucks arrived carrying fresh water, both appeared to have been British made and based on the decoration on one had belonged to an Anglo-Indian company. The Thai officer explained this was not the first time this had happened, and that rations and fruit were on the way. It was quite a change from violence of the front lines in Malaya, and he hoped a sign of a happier period for the battalion.
 

Antiochus V

4pm

Burmese/Thai border

Major Smith followed the first platoon as they filed into the newly captured Japanese position. A sister company had taken the position fairly easily after the twenty five pounders had obliterated most of the position. They were moving forwards as part of wider operation to crush the northern part of the Japanese flank. A battalion of Gurkhas had made a wide flanking move through very tough terrain, the attack therefore started in the rear of the Japanese position and was followed up by several British battalions moving in with the support of artillery.

The artillery had shredded the jungle canopy concealing the position, the company of Japanese troops in the area had been midway through building a series of bunkers. Most of the uncompleted works had proved insufficient, and as a grim consequence body parts and equipment littered the area. One bunker had been completed, and he was directed towards it by the CO's runner.

Inside the battalion command post had been established. The situation update was very positive, after encircling several infantry companies the Gurkhas had managed to overrun an artillery position followed by a small supply dump. They were continuing to look for targets and slowly destroying the Japanese positions they had cut off. Meanwhile his own battalion was busy working on destroying two more significant positions. A further battalion was in reserve waiting for the Japanese to attempt their usual counterattack.

Pressure would be maintained for the next week, they were briefed that these attacks were aimed at forcing the Japanese to either withdraw or commit further to the defence of an increasing comprised position. General Slim had made it clear that it was his long term intention to destroy the remaining Japanese force in Burma and liberate Malaya.
 

Antiochus V

16th March 1942

6pm Tokyo Naval Headquarters


Activity was starting to slow in the building, Admiral Yamamoto had just finished a major planning session with his subordinate Admiral Nagumo. They had been working on the increasingly pressing need to solve the Wake and Tarawa problem. With Guam secure, these two needed to captured to form the eastern barrier against the US fleet.
Pre-War planning had assumed these islands would be secure by now, the current thinking was that when the American fleet came to relieve the Philippines the naval action would start there. Using the islands as a shield and taking advantage of the air bases the Japanese fleet would ambush the American battlefleet in a decisive battle. The survivors of the massed air attacks would then be destroyed by the surface forces.

That day the US fleet had demonstrated the need for such a barrier. A large raid from at least two, likely three carriers, had inflicted heavy damage on several airfields in the Marshall Islands. A final damage report was still to come, initial reports suggested the loss of most of the stored fuel, serious runway damage and the loss of most facilities and vehicles. So far over thirty aircraft were reported lost, four assorted tenders were lost along with a patrol boat and several small torpedo boats.
A pursuit was considered by Yamato and Nagumo, but as only three carriers were available for immediate action it was felt too risky. They felt there was a fair chance it was a trap, and if not likely a poor use of the limited fuel reserve. The aircaft losses were primarily suffered by the older 'Claude' fighters, although very manoeuvrable they were deficient in firepower. The seaplane base had yet to report in.

There had been a steady attritional campaign since the start of the conflict with the United States. Based out of Tarawa US bombers had launched regular raids, meanwhile the US had begun building an airfield on Makin and had steadily fortified Wake. Japanese raids had focused on keeping the Wake Island runway closed and the island under blockade. The US Navy had responded to the blockade effort by using submarines to ferry in supplies, and today had used a pair of destroyers and a number of large seaplanes to bring in additional supplies.
The motive for the attack appeared to be cover for a resupply run to Wake. One of the blockading submarines had picked up a poorly encrypted radio message from the island implying a water shortage. Based on the day's events it now looked as though this must have a been a broken water purifier, clearly spare parts had been needed urgently. It was ironic, the Admiral thought, how much was risked in war over seemingly trivial requirements.

His planning team was working on a plan to seize both Wake and Tarawa in a single operation. Wake would be attacked first, potentially drawing the US carriers into an action. Once secured Tarawa would be next. Today's American raid posed a problem, there was now a good chance that Wake would once more have a functioning air wing. The solution would normally be to increase the number of fighters carried by the carriers. Unfortunately they were running out of pilots and aircraft, there was already a high probability that one carrier would be left behind owing to aircraft shortages.

Once the American fleet was either kept further away or reduced in size it would be possible to safely restart the operations in the Dutch East Indies, for now only small and very localised operations could be carried out, and even then only if there was land based air cover.


18th March 1942


Lt Col Tanaka watched as he saw the third repair crew of the journey, British saboteurs had succeeded in destroying a series of bridges along the rail link to Bangkok from Malaya. Over the past few days a series of bombing raids and now sabotage had struck the rail line. He had seen first hand that it was more than repair crews could handle, at best they could manage two projects at a time, and bridges took a while to fix.

Damage to the lines looked simple if a little time and labour consuming to fix. Bridge replacement on the other hand could take days, and during this time no trains were going in either direction. It was a worrying sign, his old commander General Yamashita and his army would be delayed as their logistics failed to deliver the necessary artillery ammunition and supplies to continue the offensive. Tanaka was seeing first hand the dangers of a long supply line, it was he felt a bit like something out of one of the many text books they had study as a cadet. He was puzzled though, the severity of the interruption seemed to have increased significantly this week, perhaps it was a reaction to the offensive they had launched before he left the front lines.

There were two bridges down at present, he was a little surprised that both had been hit with no sign of the raiding parties. As he understood it there were periodic coastal patrols from a destroyer and small MTBs as well as a number of land based patrols. Apparently the raiders had been clever, they had targeted smaller bridges that were guarded by the Thai army rather the small Japanese railway force with its periodic outposts along the line. The poor performance of the Thai army in this matter confirmed his suspicions that their heart was probably not in this war. He was beginning to wonder if they had even bothered to post sentries to anywhere but the local bars and brothel.

He sighed as he watched engineers, it looked like yet another night spent would be spend sleeping by the train. Beautiful though the scenery was, he was unable to perform his duty from here, and was not being kept up to date on the political situation he was supposed to influence.
 

Antiochus V

19th March 1942

South of Vigan (Luzon)

General Homma looked in frustration at his photographer and sighed. Once more the eccentric little man was looking at the sky rather than taking historic pictures of the soon to be victorious advancing Japanese soldiers. Around them the various parts of a battalion were marching towards the enemy. For the benefit of the camera many had their bayonets fixed making an odd combination when they had also covered themselves in foliage to blend in with the local scenery.

After a few moments the General realised why his photographer was looking up, coming over the hills to the east were a dozen twin engined bombers. Soon the general and his entourage were in what cover they could find, he watched as sticks of bombs landed amongst the nearby supply depot the and the related group of trucks to their rear. There were a series of impressive explosions as fuel and ammunition ignited, the tall mushrooms of burning fuel and the erratic flight of pieces of exploding cartridges made a striking contrast to the lush green foliage around them. The photographer quickly snapped a picture and was rewarded with slap to the back of his head by one of the staff officers. The officer had astutely realised their lunch was coming from that depot.

The burning ammunition made it too dangerous to get close, but even from a few hundred yards away it became clear the American raid had managed to do significant damage. It posed a problem to his plans, they were fighting around the small hills to the south of the village of Santa Maria. He desperately needed to push further south along the coastal road. Unfortunately after defeating the light defences on the flat land they were now stuck attempting to seize a series of positions on the high ground.

The first effort at a solution had been investigating a flanking move by sea. A scouting mission by a pair of MTBs had drawn heavy fire at three suitable locations, and having lost one of the boats and the other taking damage the Navy had reluctantly suggested he find an alternative strategy. The alternative was a flanking move in the hills to the east. It seemed he was not alone with this plan, Philippine infiltration parties were soon encountered and now the area was the scene of of regular small scale fire fights. It might yet be possible to force a path, but there would be no element of surprise.

This left a frontal attack, he had an edge in artillery over the Philippine formations, but at best parity with the Americans. He was confident of overcoming the Philippine soldiers, though brave they lacked experience and he suspected their morale was likely to be fragile if they were put in a bad situation. With no American force yet encountered his plan was to use a mix of infiltration attacks and concentrate the artillery where necessary on the stronger targets in the line. Once a gap was created there would be the chance to exploit it with a mix of tanks and infantry. At this point the lack of experience amongst his enemies should allow the destruction of the retreating force.

The plan called for the attack to start in the early morning, the damage from the air attack was was not serious enough to prevent the attack, but it would reduce the available ammunition for the artillery. Air support might be able to make up for this, it had certainly been assumed in the planning stage that it would. Sadly the consequence of three months of intensive warfare was a slowly increasing shortage of most aircraft types. As with his previous operation at Acala he faced the need to destroy the Philippine holding force before the Americans arrived with their tanks and artillery.

20th March 1942

1am Thailand - South West of Bangkok

From the distance he could see the growign number of fires in Bangkok. The train had derailed four hours earlier, with a horrible noise and without warning the train had suddenly slid off the tracks. It was a small mercy that the train had been travelling slowly, as it was nearly a tenth of his battalion had sustained some form of injury. A significant portion of their equipment had been damaged in the crash. Lt Col Tanaka himself had most likely cracked or badly bruised a rib, given the number of broken limbs around him he had kept the injury to himself.

When they attempted to radio in the news of their disaster they quickly discovered that theirs was the least of the problems facing the Japanese army in Thailand. Across the country the Thai army was carrying out attacks on any Japanese formations they could find. Even the police and elements of the civilian populace had turned hostile. As his battalion was close to Bangkok they were ordered to make haste and help secure the mouth of the estuary by Bangkok.

Tanaka's battalion were now on foot and looking for revenge. The first Thai village they had entered was strangely deserted, it was a well for the inhabitants, he doubted he could have restrained his men. A number of fires had been started and they could still see a few flames in the distance behind them.

As they approached the city they could make out the flashes and sounds of a pair of warships shelling a target in the vicinity of the city. He suspected the target was most likely the coastal defences, there were a small number of large caliber but elderly artillery pieces covering the river mouth. One seemed to be still action, but had a very low rate of fire, and hopefully not much accuracy at night.

Looking back at the city he could see many fires and smoke, now he was a bit closer he could make out periodic flashes, and it looked to him as though some sort of large fuel tank had been set on fire. The radio traffic was a mix of small units in trouble and efforts to secure a land and water route in and out of the city. The worst of the fighting seemed to be around the embassy, it didn't sound as though they would be able to hold out much longer.

8am

Thai/Burma border east of Moulmein

The news of the Thai 'realignment' was something of a surprise to all the British forces in Burma. Major Smith felt a fair comparison was probably the situation in Yugoslavia last year, he hoped this would have a happier outcome. The suddeness and surprise made the operations planned for today much more urgent.

The Japanese force was divided, a weak division operating to south of Moulmein and an assorted formation of brigade size to their east. It turned out the Thai army had entrenched on the borders to provide a fall back position to the Japanese. Now these positions cut off the Japanese supplies, and in the eastern position left the brigade surrounded.

As he listened to the orders group the details of the attack emerged, tanks were being rushed to help where they could and artillery was being brought up. The Thai forces were already under attack as the Japanese force sought a way out, which hopefully meant a weaker frontline. He listened with amazement as the RAF liaison officer announced that the Japanese had lost control of several airfields, and weather permitting would experience a air raids on the remainder. It might be the case that the Japanese airforce was out of action for a few days.

The intent of the division comander was to open up the road into Thailand and make haste to provide immeadiate assistance to the Thai army. With the help of the Thai army it was hoped to sever the Japanese supply line to Malaya, seize all the Japanese airfields and relieve Bangkok. The risks would be highest in the first two weeks, after that the impact of additional troops on route from India would be felt.

It was going tor be long and bitter fight, but he hoped that the morale of his company would be raised when they realised that unlike the actions during the past week, once they destroyed this Japanese force the fighting in this part of Burma would likely be over. Indeed as he walked back towards his company he could see that formerly tired soldiers were moving about with a restored sense of energy and purpose.
 

Antiochus V

20th March 1942

Noon - South of Bangkok

The battalion was now fully engaged in combat. Lt Col Tanaka had set up his field HQ south of Bangkok. He had commandeered a series of farm buildings amongst the rice paddies, as well as his HQ he had been quick to establish a first aid post to handle the large number of injuries from the train crash and now the expected trickle of casualties from the battlefield.

He felt that order was slowly being restored to the area. With a firm position to work from he had managed to acquire a company of soldiers as well as assorted rear echelon personnel. The soldiers had been attempting to secure the coastal gun positions, and had been thrilled to find they were not alone in their mission. The others were mainly unarmed and had been found fleeing the city after being caught out by the coup, for now most were being used as a labour company owing to a lack of spare weapons.

Listening to the radio traffic had been a depressing way to spend the morning. A series of lightly held locations had been overrun, their call signs falling silent one by one. First to fall was the embassy, followed by the nearby Kempeitai office. A small barracks near the docks was captured around dawn and several anti aircraft batteries were overrun. The remaining strong positions were the docks and the barracks by the main airfield, sadly the runway was no longer secure.

His immediate vicinity was filled with waterways, restricting the utility of armoured vehicles for either side. Their goal for the day was the old coastal fort, although it was an old location it had been modernised with six large caliber guns in the 1890s. In theory its six inch guns had been deactivated in the 1930s, but there was the very real risk they had been reactivated and there were certainly a small number of light artillery and several large caliber anti aircraft pieces installed there by the Japanese army. Even without the large pieces the smaller ones were still enough of a threat to prevent safe use of the river mouth.

He could hear periodic fire from a destroyer, smoke and dust were visible, an initial report from the air suggested the old ramparts were apparently damaged in enough places to allow entry points. His HQ was several kilometres west of the fort, three companies of infantry and their mortar platoon would be making the assault. In the meantime his remaining force was providing security and scouring the nearby area for waifs and strays from the chaos in the city.

Over the next hour a series progress reports were received, his three companies made steady progress towards the fort, periodically harassed by rifle fire. In the meantime his patrols brought in a number of assorted Japanese personnel, a section of troops arrived in good order, a truckload of rice was recovered along with several nervous drivers and most usefully of all a car arrived carrying several fleeing medical officers who had begun the coup in a place of ill repute.

More significant were the developments with regards to the re-emergence of a chain of command. The theatre HQ in Indo-China had got itself sorted out. Relaying orders through the nearby destroyer they had designated his HQ as the intended naval evacuation point for civilians and non military personnel. To that he end he could expect an imminent small parachute drop of naval personnel and a naval infantry company to handle their side of things. In the meantime it was imperative to seize the fort, and an air attack was inbound to help.

The medical officers reported a column of several hundred civilians headed their way, they seemed to be a fair portion of the Japanese business community in Thailand. Like the doctors they had hoped that the Japanese warships they had seen would be organising an intervention. Tanaka also managed to get a more information on the coup from the new arrivals. Clearly there had been some concern as the security level was raised and extra guards posted, but it had still been a surprise. The initial attacks had come from the Thai army, with the police not involved till later.

At 1:30pm the an air strike from eight twin engined naval bombers marked the start of the attack on the fort. It was followed up by the mortars using a mix of smoke and HE. With the help of the mortars and machine gun fire the fort was methodically cleared and captured. The defenders had taken heavy losses from the naval fire and air attack, even so strong points held out for several hours. Forty eight men were lost in the attack, with another eighty wounded. The significant casualties reflected challenging nature of the position and with the the fort secured the nearby beach, and several jetties were available for evacuation purposes.

Whilst the battle had been going on Japanese stragglers continued to arrive, several platoons worth of soldiers arrived as did several more trucks. The civilians also started to appear, and with them the need to find a source of drinking water. On a worrying note Tanaka saw several RAF planes fly overhead, he suspected the British also trying to find out what was happening, and probably looking for ships to target.

At 5pm a dozen transport planes flew overhead, parachutes blossomed in their wake and the SNLF infantry company landed amongst the nearby rice paddies. With them came a shore party to organise the evacuations and additional pods carrying ammunition and weapons. Sadly the radio net also brought unwelcome news that most of the position by the airfield was now overrun and the dockyards were hard pressed. It seemed the Thai army had several pre-war British made tanks in operation, these were causing much trouble.

It was at 8pm that he was received a quick summary on events elsewhere in Thailand. In the west it was looking very grim, one brigade was completely surrounded and unlikely to last long. Meanwhile General Mutaguchi with two further brigades was withdrawing to the south looking to find an alternative route back to Thailand, looking at map he guessed that probably near Merugi. In the north of Thailand one brigade was encircled, whilst another was probably safe, but was under attack whilst withdrawing to the east. Several airfields in the north had been overrun, but several to south near Malaya were still held, as was a small nearby port. Most of the aircraft stationed in Thailand had been lost on the ground, the RAF had managed to destroy a few, but the main damage had come from the Thai army. In the east of the country there was an understrength Japanese Brigade near the French Indochinese border, it was already engaged in fighting with local Thai forces. In the south there were several battalions plus assorted detachments guarding the railroad, they were being reinforced from Malaya and were a good demonstration of the wisdom of General Yamashita in protecting his supply lines. All forces were withdrawing either east or south where appropriate.
 
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Antiochus V

Alex1guy said:
So glad to see this continuing. This is really great stuff.
Click to expand...

Glad to see it is still followed!

The pace of writing sadly varies depending on the available time. My current thinking is to wrap the story up at a suitable point at which the outcome is very clear and the regions covered have something close to a conclusion.
 

Shanghai61

Antiochus V said:
Glad to see it is still followed!

The pace of writing sadly varies depending on the available time. My current thinking is to wrap the story up at a suitable point at which the outcome is very clear and the regions covered have something close to a conclusion.
Click to expand...

I for one will gladly read for as long as you care to write. Very good stuff, very granular and very plausible. Excellent work.
 

Antiochus V

21st March 1942

4am South of Bangkok - aboard HMS Trusty

The captain was drenched with sweat, the poor air circulation was only part of the problem. For the past twelve hours they had been following a navigation course dreamt up by the naval intelligence team in Singapore. In theory the route should avoid the known minefields, the Thai Navy had presumably passed on all it knew. Unfortunately rather than send all the information over the radio, his superiors had provided their best estimate of a safe corridor.

Lt Cdr King was not thrilled by this arrangement, but at least the rest of his orders were somewhat flexible. He and has officers had extrapolated the situation based on the brief orders. They were under instruction to target one or more warships capable of shore bombardment, merchant ships were deemed low priority as were escorts. They speculated that that the Thai Navy must have provided what little information they had, probably spurred on by large warships bombarding either Bangkok or their forces. The prospect of sinking a cruiser or larger ship was too tempting to resist for the Royal Navy, and was deemed a prize worth risking a submarine. There was also the human aspect, if they could prevent the Japanese shelling Bangkok it would save many civilian lives and show Thailand that the allies were now supporting them.

Unfortunately it meant working their way through a minefield along a route used by other ships. Minefields had he suspected been the greatest source of submarine losses to Britain in other theatres. Thus he was quietly impressed that his crew were remaining so professional despite the dangerous situation. Indeed this had been the most nervous night he could remember. Maintaining the course had been a worrying enough challenge, but at midnight they had been overtaken by a destroyer travelling at full speed, and again had seen another coming the other direction at full speed. The moment of terror at seeing a second destroyer had also reassured him that the route was safe from mines at least.

He tentatively identified one destroyer as an older model converted for amphibious landings, the Japanese were known to have a few of these. Their suspicion was that the Japanese were rushing in support, but there was some grounds to hope that the Japanese might be undertaking an evacuation. From what little he knew from his time in port there were grounds to suspect that the Japanese were spread very thin, certainly their lack of progress in several key locations suggested this might now be an issue.

At 5:05 am he raised the periscope again, this time he was rewarded with the sight of distant flashes. A warship of some description was firing regularly in the direction of the land. He smiled, they finally had a target, there were probably at least a couple of escorts, but if they managed to make the attack in the next half hour he would have another forty minutes of darkness to escape in.

The submarine remained submerged and steadily approached on an intercept course, the target vessel slowly moved west between groups of shots. He could not make out what the ship was firing at, but with many potential Thai targets the Japanese had plenty to chose from. He hoped they were not being so beastly as to fire on the city, but sadly given their widely reported behaviour in China he would not put it past them.

A salvo of six torpedoes was launched at 5:25am, they created a trail of phosphorescence as they sped towards the target. His aim was good, there were two large splashes against the side of the hull. The target tentatively identified as a 'Nagara' class light cruiser came to a halt, and the firing ceased. The captain grimaced as he brought down the periscope, he had likely consigned several hundred sailors to a watery death. The small consolation was that the ship was most likely at action stations, and as such there was a good chance that many would survive. As the submarine exited the scene the captain evaluated the best options for escape, daylight would bring additional ships and likely aircraft, but for now he had seen only one escorting destroyer and that was following him yet.
 
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