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The Vulcan attaché would make that logical argument.Immediately press for a negotiated peace.
Fascinating.The Vulcan attaché would make that logical argument.
Keep going, elaborate please.For starters, I'd de-scope the original plan and focus on one main operational area with a clearly defined objective.
I like your idea of using the BBs to pound Midway, maybe the key weakness of the Yamamoto's strategy was to fight two enemies - Midway and the carriers. If they get rid of the landing (the landing was a bad idea), they don't have to degrade Midway as much as if they were landing. IF they pound Midway during the night, early morning really, they would only expose the battleships to Midway's airpower for a relatively short time, and they could be covered by the carriers' fighters during that time. Having a few empty transports might be enough of a bluff to bring the US carriers out.Avoid dispersal, concentrate one's forces, and beat the living hell out of MI with BBs while the carriers provide fighter cover, recon, and naval air to sink any riposte from Pearl. Don't aim to seize the island at all, it's a logistical nightmare once you own it. Float some empty transports if you want any ruse at all about landings. Otherwise, aim to neutralize MI.
Leave the Ises in home waters, and use the all the smaller carriers -- where possible -- for CAP/ASW for the BB fleet. KdB acts separately, in support.
Pros: KdB isn't chasing two different rabbits. Rear units actually get to apply force. Midway infrastructure can be obliterated (important for sub war).
Cons: USN less likely to show up for the Decisive Battle. Lots of fuel and ammo spent for a small hope of said battle.
Unknowns: does the IJN have the tankers/escorts for adequate resupply? Where to station the KdB?
I think this is one of the few occasions where the prewar doctrine of carriers scouting and covering a surface fleet may have been the better option.
I like your idea of using the BBs to pound Midway, maybe the key weakness of the Yamamoto's strategy was to fight two enemies - Midway and the carriers. If they get rid of the landing (the landing was a bad idea), they don't have to degrade Midway as much as if they were landing. IF they pound Midway during the night, early morning really, they would only expose the battleships to Midway's airpower for a relatively short time, and they could be covered by the carriers' fighters during that time. Having a few empty transports might be enough of a bluff to bring the US carriers out.
They have a fuel budget. One of the weaknesses of the Midway plan as executed is it pretty much wiped out IJN fuel reserves. Any alternative plan should ideally use less fuel overall, and absolutely no more..
Keep going, elaborate please.
Yo' buffnut453; Military Aviation History just put out"In Defense of the Worst Plane of WW 2, The Brewster Buffalo". I haven't seen it yet. Tell The Thumpster.Trying to conduct 2 simultaneous operations against Midway and the Aleutians resulted in divided resources, divided priorities, and a massively over-complex plan. Do Midway or the Aleutians but not both.
Yo' buffnut453; Military Aviation History just put out"In Defense of the Worst Plane of WW 2, The Brewster Buffalo". I haven't seen it yet. Tell The Thumpster.
Wait for Zuikaku and thrown the lot at Midway. Codebreaking can only help the US so far when faced with a single force of seven carriers fielding close to four-hundred aircraft (incl. Zuikaku's renewed CAG), seven battleships, ten heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, fourteen destroyers, thirteen submarines, and thirty-five support/invasion ships.I'm re-reading Shattered Sword, and it just seems so obvious to me that the whole operation was a bad idea, poorly executed. Let's assume you are a high-ranking IJN admiral in a planning meeting where the earliest planning of the Midway mission is being discussed. Reservations are raised. You have to come up with a better use of the resources available, what do you pitch, and why? Be prepared to argue your position, because we have a lot of admirals out there ready to dig into it.
Carl von Clausewitz:
- Discover how we may gain a preponderance of physical forces and material advantages at the decisive point.
- Use our entire force with the utmost energy, with forces concentrated at the main point
Sun Tzu:
- The highest Generalship is...to concentrate superior force
Yo' buffnut453; Military Aviation History just put out"In Defense of the Worst Plane of WW 2, The Brewster Buffalo". I haven't seen it yet. Tell The Thumpster.