Let's say that the Battle for The Hague leads to the Dutch government (and royal family) being captured by the Germans before they could flee for Britain. What happens next with a "Vichy" Netherlands? Could the Nazis tell the Dutch government to hand over the Dutch East Indies to Japan (or at least tell the colonial authorities there to cooperate with the Japanese)?
WI: Dutch government captured by Germans
- Thread starter Whiteshore
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- dei germans netherlands ww2
HJ Tulp
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The 'Vichy' scenario is quite unlikely. The DEI government of Governor-General Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer was pretty independent-minded. It was hesistant to recognize the dominance of the governement-in-exile in the first place, let alone one controlled by the Germans. The DEI will probably follow it's own route. This might be good for the Japanese though as the colonial government was pretty willing to deal with the Japanese. The economy was suffering from the war as trade routes were changed to save shipping. The reason that no deal was made in the end was that the Japanese wanted to go further than just a trade deal and the opposition of the London Government who joined the embargo to get on the good side of the U.S. being concerned with the liberation of the Netherlands in the first place.
I had hoped that this POD might ensure that Helfrich never becomes commander of the navy in the DEI. Unfortunantly he was appointed in '39. It could remove Furstner though, depending on the Dutch defenses collapsing when the government get's captured. Given the fact that de Geer was PM that's very much a possibility.
I had hoped that this POD might ensure that Helfrich never becomes commander of the navy in the DEI. Unfortunantly he was appointed in '39. It could remove Furstner though, depending on the Dutch defenses collapsing when the government get's captured. Given the fact that de Geer was PM that's very much a possibility.
So, how does the fact the Germans rule the Netherlands through a collaborationist government as opposed to direct rule affect the occupation of the Netherlands?
I doubt it is that easy for it be occupied by the British Commonwealth.
If Britain, which had alot of other things to think about in the summer of 1940, tries to pull an occupation of the DEI, the Japanese probably contest it from the get-go.
Ultimate problem here is the DEI was dependant on the London & New York banks, as were the Japanese. Neither DEI nor the Japanese had much cash. Any deal Japan strikes is dependant on the loans from the US banks. If the Japanese occupy French Indo China as in OTL the US and Britain impose the embargos, which included freezing all Japanese accounts in US & British banks. So no cash to pay the Dutch for their oil. Neither is there much to haul the oil in. The embargos shut Japan out of the worlds cargo fleets that the US and Britan controled acess to. Japan possesed about 45 blue water tanker ships & another 20 or so fleet oilers, coasters, and harbor hulks. Even if the DEI has at hand every Dutch oil tanker they still are not going to see much in payment from Japan. More rice from Indo China? Coal from Manchuria?
Why? In the summer of 1940 Japan was buying all the oil it needed from the US & was up to its neck in China & was not yet confident the USSR would stick with the defacto truce on the Manchurian borders.
There are some minor technical details as well, such as the Japanese had no naval bases in effective range of the DEI.
What about the effects of a "Vichy" regime back home in the Netherlands? Who would the Dutch "Petain" be?
This makes it sound like the Japanese were completely oblivious to the strategic significance of the DEI and the resources in them up until the minute the UW froze their assets and embargoed oil. However the DEI was a planning factor and a (long-term) objective of many Japanese navalists before 1940.
It was up to its neck in terms of occupied territory, but wasn't using all its arms and legs for China oriented offensives. For 1940, the Japanese had scaled back their offensives in China and didn't do any campaigns on the scale of 37, 38 or 39 that year. Meanwhile, the Nationalists and Communists both did their own general offensives but those didn't do that well.
True- the biggest limiting factor. Yet at the same time, the USSR had already initiated negotiations for a neutrality or nonaggression pact. Also, with the Fall of France it might have occurred to Tokyo that the USSR would have to hedge more against a possible failure of the Nazi-Soviet Pact and likely would become more cautious.
Their naval and air bases in Micronesia ranged the eastern part of the DEI archipelago. Hainan ranged Borneo. Throw in some carriers and you can project more power, and use captured bases to extend your naval and air range.