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Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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“I’ve got a cunning plan…”
The Japanese went to war in 1941 for a number of reasons.
The prime one was an economic blockade by the United States and Britain,
which was slowly strangling Japan’s economy.
The other reasons included a desperate need to win their empire before
one of the European combatants actually won the war, the need to cut American
supplies off from the Chinese, a correct assumption about the fragility of the
European Empires and a strong belief that, despite all they’d achieved, they
were still looked down upon by the white powers. Having talked themselves into confronting their
‘tormentors’, the Japanese conceived a plan that was strategically brilliant
– provided that you accepted one assumption.
That was the assumption that, if it lost all its immediately available
striking power and needed to spend time and money rebuilding that power, the US
would accept a compromise peace that would leave the Japanese with their
ill-gotten gains. Unluckily for the
Japanese, their ‘cunning plan’ hit a slight snag – they failed to destroy
the US’s carriers and their support ships.
That gave the US the ability to feel that it could still fight in the
darkest days and gave them the strength to build up and crush Japan.
At some other point, we can discuss if America would have given up if the
carriers had been sunk and Japan’s rampage was unopposed for longer. There was, however, another possibility.
Many of the resources that Japan needs, in the short term, are available
in the Dutch East Indies. Of all
the powers in the pacific, the Dutch are arguably in the worst position, taking
them would have been child’s play for Japan and the concept that a Dutch fleet
comprised of destroyers and supports could have stopped Japan’s main strike
force is laughable. There is, however, a slight snag. Both Britain and the US would be likely to be unhappy with
the Indies changing ownership. Britain
can be discounted in 1940, fighting for survival at home; they’re not going to
start a war in the Far East. The
US, on the other hand, is very powerful and is opposed to any colonial transfer.
In order for Japan to use the Indies, they need a shed of legality.
I can think of two ways to do this. One – Let’s have Hitler offered a deal by the
Japanese in January 1940. The
Japanese will provide technical support and assistance for the growing German
fleet, mainly the Graf Zeppelin carrier. In
exchange, Hitler will force the Dutch to surrender the East Indies to him and
then ‘sell’ them to the Japanese. The
British would be unhappy about this little stunt, but, as the Japanese would
have local superiority and no commitment from FDR, they would probably accept
the situation. Two – Let’s have the Japanese approach the Dutch
government in exile. The Dutch have
two choices. They can agree to sell
the Japanese goods at minimal prices, regardless of what the Americans or
British may say, or the Japanese will either seize the islands and gamble on the
Americans doing nothing, or the Japanese will support nationalists who will then
invite the Japanese in. Either way,
the Dutch Empire is doomed. The beauty of this scheme is that if America goes to war
over it, they will not be fighting to avenge a sneak attack, but for the defence
of colonisation. The heart of
America will not be in this war and the Japanese would have a good chance of
surviving the war without massive damage. So, assuming no other major changes in the timeline, at the
end of 1940, we would have a Japan occupying (de facto if not de jure)
both the Dutch East Indies and Indochina. In
both cases, we also have a sullen, but seriously concerned Britain and an
unhappy (and in some quarters paranoid) US. The US would probably dispatch what army and air force units
it could scrape up to the Philippines and begin a massive build-up of that
colony’s defences and native forces. As
the US grows in power, the US stations small fleet units and fighter planes in
the bases there. What has changed, as 1941 rolls on, is no real embargo.
The US is unwilling to start a war, with their supplies the Japanese,
while still pinched; don’t see a war as a necessity.
The Japanese, instead of preparing to hit the US in late 1941, continue
attacks on Cheing’s forces in china and concentrating forces to attack the
USSR if it looks like the USSR will be defeated.
However, the Germans do not manage to force the USSR to surrender and
Japan, still feeling the sting of Nomonhan, does not stab them in the back. 1942 sees a very different world. The US is not in the war, but is actively supplying both the
British and the Russians, as well as the Chinese. The British have finally managed to produce a strategic
victory in the Middle East, defeating Rommel and forcing the Germans and
Italians back into Libya. The extra
British naval forces cut off Rommel’s supply line and force him back into
Tunisia. As the British chase him
into French territory, Hitler sends some reinforcements, but not enough to turn
the tide. The British effectively
occupy the French North African colonies. Meanwhile, in the pacific, the Americans have built a
massive force in the Philippines. They
have trained thousands of native troops, as well as shipping in hundreds of
fighter planes and bombers. Those
forces are in a perfect location to interfere with Japanese transports from the
East Indies to Japan, making the Japanese very paranoid.
The Chinese have been getting better as well, as have the British Indian
forces. The Japanese launch a
massive offensive against the Chinese Nationalists, which, despite tough
resistance, is a limited success. Cheing
is bottled up in Western China. With
the defeat of the nationalists, many Chinese warlords agree to support Japan in
exchange for favours. The Soviets push the British into invading France or Italy.
The British are reluctant to invade Italy and flatly refuse to invade
France. The British are recovering
from the war in North Africa and are rebuilding their forces.
The Americans are supplying as much material as they can, but the British
don’t have the sheer numbers of troops, or the experienced leaders, to take on
the Germans. They do increase the
bombing program, but the only other offensive action they do is an invasion of
Sardinia. The British have to fight
with one eye cast over their back. They
don’t trust Japan – although with Lead Lease the British are stronger in the
Far East – and they have nationalist problems in India. FDR is one frustrated politician. He’s pushed the American congress into approving large
amounts of supplies for Britain, Russia and China.
It is becoming clear, however, that China is incapable of using the
American supplies and that Russia is untrustworthy. The Germans have exposed the Russian massacre of Polish
officers to the world. FDR also has
the problem of paying for lend lease. The
British will not be able to pay the debt they’ve had to take on, so they’ll
have to default and if they do, the American economy will take a nosedive. World War Two stalemates.
The Germans and the Russians have fought bitterly, but the Russians are
scraping the barrel, while the Germans have persistent supply shortages.
The British have captured Africa, but they cannot take the war directly
to the Germans. After demanding a
second front, Stalin decides to make a separate peace, which gives the Germans
western Russia in exchange for peace in early 1944. The Germans and the British are stuck.
The British are far more powerful in 1944 than they were in 1940.
America has provided several new carriers and dozens of advanced
aircraft. The British have been
able to tap Indian, African and Algerian manpower (the British have promised not
to allow the French back if the Algerians help defeat Germany) to make dozens of
new divisions. The British have
also designed a tank which is reasonably comparable with the best German tanks
and America has mass produced it for both their army and the British one. The British are in fact divided. FDR has slowly loosened the purse strings to the point when
the British are receiving goods that can rebuild the British economy.
On the other hand, the soviets have taken over north Iran completely and
are threatening the British from the east.
Meanwhile, Japan sits in the rear and might still be threatening. Under such circumstances, the British will probably seek
peace. They’ll acknowledge German
continental dominance in exchange for their empire being recognised and a
private deal against Stalin if he attacks the British positions in Iran.
World War Tow ends with a weak USSR, a weakened, but victorious Germany,
an extremely powerful US and a strong Japan.
China will probably end up being partitioned between Japan, Britain and
Russia.
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