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- #41
Freebird
Master Sergeant
It is inconcievable that the US would have pursued a Japan first strategy but if they had they would have been impelled to try to relieve the PI. I believe they already had a plan for that, Plan Orange. That plan would have had to be revisited after Pearl Harbor(thank goodness) Actually Yammamoto did us a huge favor by attacking PH. He put paid to the primacy of the BBs, demonstrated the efficacy of the CV and of course aroused the US. Never underestimate the ferocity of the English speaking peoples, especially the US, once they are aroused.
i before e except after c. Inconceivable!
?? Was that HMS Inconceivable? Must have been planned as the 7th Illustrious class...
Why do you think that the US would not persue "Pacific First"? Syscom has speculated that if Germany had not declared war then Adm. King's plans might have been adopted. The "Pacific First" still assumes that the US will supply aid to Britain Russia. I think it would involve a more realistic assesment, that the US would not be able to field a sizable ground army for about another year, but that with naval assets could counter the Japanese right away. Plan Orange actually was for a cross-Pacific attack, through Guam the Marshalls, favoured by King. This is what the Japanese most likely expected. MacArthur disagreed, he wanted to atack up through New Guinea the Philippines. In my scenario, the Japanese sinking of the US carriers the occupation of Samoa Tahiti presents an immediate problem as it cuts off Australia from the US.
I think MacArthurs strategy would be best, if the US could keep the main Japanese force (Nagumo's) in the North Pacific, the British fleet + the US "South Pacific" force would try to surprise the Japanese, converging in the Java Sea. Basically this would be the battle of "Java Sea" except with CV + BB as well. The US would be outnumbered in carriers at Midway/Hawaii, so would have to rely on the help of island based P-40's. The objective would be to prevent Nagumo from assisting Inouye's 4th Fleet. I would include all of the British units that were based in the Indian Ocean in Nov/Dec '41, (CV's Indomitable, Illustrious, Formidable, + BB's Prince of Wales, 4 Revenge class) except that I would send HMS Rodney instead of Repulse. Since the US UK have better intelligence than Japan we would hope to catch them unprepared, since they would be expecting the main thrust from Hawaii. Interesting, since the CV's were sunk at Pearl as well, the US is back to using its BB's.
I think the US UK should try to eliminate the Japanese Navy in New Guinea Java Sea, while Nagumo is held at Midway.
Unless the US has a different plan?