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I am paging through my well worn copy of BH Liddell Hart's book and he points out that the Admiralty wanted to assemble a substantial fleet at Singapore - two to three carriers, the NELRODs, the four Rs, a battlecruiser, plus attendant cruisers and destroyers.

Churchill of course preferred to send a small number of the newest and best ships.

Let's say they have the following at Singapore by late November 1941:

Carriers - Indomitable, Formidable (let's pretend she doesn't run aground off Jamaica), Hermes

Battleships - Nelson (let's pretend she doesn't eat that torpedo in September), Rodney, Ramillies, Revenge, Royal Sovereign, Resolution

Battlecruiser - Repulse

Plus at least as many cruisers and destroyers as deployed to Ceylon in April 1942 (a mix of modern and older ships).

How does the presence of this fleet change Japan's opening moves. It is easy to dismiss this fleet (particularly the Rs) as it is for a variety of reasons stronger on paper than in reality but the US Pacific Fleet at PH has some real deficiencies as well and in some ways was stronger on paper than in reality.

I don't think the Japanese could ignore a force of this size. Do they try dual preemptive strikes against PH and Singapore (this probably means assembling a carrier force at Cam Ranh Bay perhaps)?

Any thoughts?
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