It's curious, but I usually don't give a damn about the weather when attacking. In Russia from time to time in the usual months, and sometimes not even then if the enemy is on the loose.
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It's curious, but I usually don't give a damn about the weather when attacking. In Russia from time to time in the usual months, and sometimes not even then if the enemy is on the loose.
Neither do I, mainly because these days I am a good enough player to win anyway (by use of Paras or something), but back then I had the tendency to attack in just the wrong places.
*high fives fellow Commonwealth-wanker*
Sorry trek, I know it's been a while since I posted, but mind you, I read all the updates. Just been too busy to reply sometimes.
Anyhow, looks like some sort of stalemate settled for now. We'll see what happens when 1942 ends.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Prince
not that we did right by him in the end.
interesting they are looking to make a movie about him. it's almost uncanadian to be that prideful.
not that we did right by him in the end.
interesting they are looking to make a movie about him. it's almost uncanadian to be that prideful.
Griffin.Gen Never mind that, it's good that you are still reading.
ON the main battlefront nothing much will happen, as both sides are trying to sort out their respective Armies and re-formulate Strategy, Tactics and logistics in light of what has happened.
Ehran I will have to look into that....
ON the main battlefront nothing much will happen, as both sides are trying to sort out their respective Armies and re-formulate Strategy, Tactics and logistics in light of what has happened.
Ehran I will have to look into that....
After only 10 pages into this AAR I'm subscribing.
Lets hope I don't get let down in the
Hang on
247 pages more?!?!?
Well there goes the next two days sleep.
Lets hope I don't get let down in the
Hang on
247 pages more?!?!?
Well there goes the next two days sleep.
if you figure on getting through this in 2 days i have to admire your stamina.
not that being bleary eyed won't be worth it
not that being bleary eyed won't be worth it
If you read just the story bits you can make it in two days.
Skipping the Anglophilia and badly hidden spoilers saves time.
Yeah.. there's a lot of things I'd do differently if I were to start this again...
Anyhoo, update!
“Sir, you do realize that what we are doing might be seen as acting against orders?” the aide asked.
Major General Jonathan Woolsley of Her Majesty's Royal Canadian Corps of Marines not even nodded to indicate he had heard what the man had said and instead stared through his binoculars at the Japanese positions across the valley. He was standing on a slight rise, half-hidden from observation by a wrecked building that had probably once been part of the nearby plantation where the Regiment that had held this part of the line was headquartered. The Colonel in charge was less than happy to have the General as his responsibility and was happy to have instead a Regiment to lead in combat.
The Ontario Marine Regiment was conducting a 'reconnaissance in force', but Woolsley was intent on pushing things as far as he could get away with. Many of his Officers disagreed as the Japanese were well entrenched and the Allied Offensive wasn't due to start for another few months, but Woolsley had overruled them, stating that lest they attack now breaching the Japanese defences across the valley was going to be difficult at best.
The Division was part of XXI (Commonwealth) Corps, and that would be a problem. Woolsley and Lieutenant General Rowell hated each other's guts and that alone compelled Woolsley to interpret his orders creatively at times. The Dutch High Command kept trying to defuse the situation and Admiral Cunningham had even tried to have the both of them reassigned but axing a Corps Commander because he hated one of his Division Commanders was as impossible as was replacing a Specialist Officer like Woolsley from an Army that had little in the way of a replacement pool for this particular type of Infantry, something that the Royal Marines themselves were only too aware.
Lt. General Rowell, 1942
So instead of defusing the situation completely General Berenschot was increasingly forced to run interference while all the same preparing for Operation Drumbeat.
But Woolsley did not care about this at all. For him defeating the enemy was the only thing that mattered. Attacking with tactical if not strategic surprise was something that should always be traded for trouble with a ridiculous and incompetent upstart Ozzie General.
He was torn from this thinking when the Colonel walked up to him and threw a crisp salute.
“The men are ready, General.”
“Righto then. Let us begin then.”
Being a Marine Division the 1st Royal Canadians had only the normal establishment of Artillery as was practiced by their British brethren but it was still somewhat stronger than a Japanese Line Division and the Gunners from British Columbia and Manitoba were experts. Inexperienced but expertly trained.
The rumble of the Canadian Artillery was audible, but due to it's relative weakness and the proximity of the forward Allied line concentrated on only a few small sections, not those that had been hastily selected for attack but rather those to the left and right in order to seal them off from easy reinforcement and to draw them elsewhere, all with tactics that Woolsleys father, an Artillery-man with the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge and 2nd Passchendaele had used in his own war and that had been impressed upon the younger Woolsley at the remaining knee of his great rolemodel.
He watched as his men began to climb down into into the valley as the heavy Machine Gunners tried in a futile effort to suppress the Japanese defences. In his mind Woolsley recited the exact wording of the orders that had come down from Cunningham even though in reality field command on the ground was in Dutch hands:
'The Allied Ground forces on Java will not engage in offensive operations at the strategic level.'
This formulation was what Woolsley was banking on, as it allowed him to gain better position for when the real attack was to start. He had a good idea that the Dutch and Rowell knew when that was but he had not yet been told. For the moment this particular Regiment would recce the Japanese positions the hard way.
The Canadian Marines scrambled up the opposite slope and here things started to go badly wrong. The Japanese had been preparing themselves for weeks, as Woolsley had correctly deduced that strategic surprise was not be had, and so the Canadian Marines were met with a hail of rifle and machine gun fire that cut into their ranks before they could fire back effectively.
As was usual with troops firing downhill some shot high but the Japanese still managed to exact a massive toll on the unfortunate Canadians.
The attack bogged down about half-way up the opposite slope with the remnants of the two forward companies taking cover behind the boulders scattered about and the rest being cut to shreds.
Realizing what had happened Woolsley was frantically trying to find something that would relieve the situation, but since he was 'aggressive but not imaginative' (as Lieutenant General Rowell told both the Dutch and Australian Governments repeatedly) he grabbed the wireless receiver from the back of the nearest man who had one, set the set to the company frequence and yelled at the Colonel to advance at his peril.
The Colonel totally ignored the General and concentrated on extracting as much of his Regiment from the trap it had bee sent into against his protests. He didn't have many choices. Going back meant climbing up the slope under Japanese fire while being unable to do anything about it, going sideways was not an option because the valley stretched for more than two miles in either direction, bordering on the ocean on one side and a steep cliff on the other. So there was only going forward. He groaned for a second and then switched his Wireless to the Regiment net and gave his orders.
He did not bother with the mortars as there was no room to set them up in the valley and Woolsley had refused to let him set them up.
So he merely ordered 'the Grenades' and the Canadians charged up the side of the valley into a hail of lead.
The Japanese were entrenched a few yards back from the crest of the valley so as soon as the Canadian attack was at the edge they were in the blind spot. By that time all the six Companies of the Regiment had taken frightful losses but the blood they had spent in the space of no more than an hour since going over the edge made them angry. The pineapple shaped grenades came flying at the Japanese log fortifications and as scores of Allied troops would find out later these were usually impervious to mere hand grenades but it made the Japanese gunners keep their heads down and not twenty seconds later the Canadian Marines were between the positions and the Regiment was pouring into the connecting trenches.
Extremely fierce and brutal hand-to-hand combat followed with everything from bayonets to shovels being used as weapons. At first the Japanese fought to the death but when the Major in command of this section of the front was killed by the way of a collapsible shovel to the throat and unit cohesion disintegrated among the Japanese.
They retreated to the secondary line and since there was no one to give the order no counter-attack followed up. The Canadians on the other hand gathered up whatever intelligence they could find and the Colonel led his bloodied Regiment back to the Allied position with the full intention of punching his General in the face.
Woolsley retreated instinctively as the Colonel came walking towards him, but the interval between him ordering the retreat and then the Colonel had cooled down considerably and merely saluted and handed the General the gathered papers without comment. Woolsley did not say anything either and it was clear to everyone present that this would have consequences, if not for the Colonel for being as insolent as he could hope to get away with then for the reputation of Woolsley because even without anything in the official reports supporters of the Colonel in the Regiment and the Brigade would make sure that word reached both higher Command and the rest of the Allied Army on Java.
Not that the Colonel cared much about that. He was concerned with the well-being of his Regiment first and foremost.
However that evening everyone from Brigade upwards was called upon to visit Corps Headquarters told the Colonel that soon, very soon, much sooner than expected his men would be called upon to fight again and the strength of two of his companies would be seriously reduced.
The correlation of forces favoured the Japanese, at least on paper as the 3rd Guards Division had arrived recently to reinforce the existing six Japanese Divisions on the Island.
Facing them where five Allied Divisions. The Royal Canadian Marine Division and the 9th Australian Division formed XXI (Commonwealth) Corps, while south the Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army), or at least it's principal field formations and the 45th (Peshawar and Kashmir) Division formed XX and XIX Corps.
The 45th was acclimatized and in position but only just. The men had spend only the time needed to re-embark in Australia and were now on the extreme southern flank of XX Corps, with the Dutch III. Division to their north, I. and II. Divisions to the south. The ace in the hole however was a unit whose existence had been the most closely guarded secret of the Allied High Command.
It would be this unit that was the deciding factor in the last and fiercest battles on Java that would break and destroy what remained of the Japanese Army on Java at that time.
+-+-+-+-+-
Comments, questions, rotten Tomatoes?
Anyhoo, update!
Chapter 286
“Sir, you do realize that what we are doing might be seen as acting against orders?” the aide asked.
Major General Jonathan Woolsley of Her Majesty's Royal Canadian Corps of Marines not even nodded to indicate he had heard what the man had said and instead stared through his binoculars at the Japanese positions across the valley. He was standing on a slight rise, half-hidden from observation by a wrecked building that had probably once been part of the nearby plantation where the Regiment that had held this part of the line was headquartered. The Colonel in charge was less than happy to have the General as his responsibility and was happy to have instead a Regiment to lead in combat.
The Ontario Marine Regiment was conducting a 'reconnaissance in force', but Woolsley was intent on pushing things as far as he could get away with. Many of his Officers disagreed as the Japanese were well entrenched and the Allied Offensive wasn't due to start for another few months, but Woolsley had overruled them, stating that lest they attack now breaching the Japanese defences across the valley was going to be difficult at best.
The Division was part of XXI (Commonwealth) Corps, and that would be a problem. Woolsley and Lieutenant General Rowell hated each other's guts and that alone compelled Woolsley to interpret his orders creatively at times. The Dutch High Command kept trying to defuse the situation and Admiral Cunningham had even tried to have the both of them reassigned but axing a Corps Commander because he hated one of his Division Commanders was as impossible as was replacing a Specialist Officer like Woolsley from an Army that had little in the way of a replacement pool for this particular type of Infantry, something that the Royal Marines themselves were only too aware.
Lt. General Rowell, 1942
So instead of defusing the situation completely General Berenschot was increasingly forced to run interference while all the same preparing for Operation Drumbeat.
But Woolsley did not care about this at all. For him defeating the enemy was the only thing that mattered. Attacking with tactical if not strategic surprise was something that should always be traded for trouble with a ridiculous and incompetent upstart Ozzie General.
He was torn from this thinking when the Colonel walked up to him and threw a crisp salute.
“The men are ready, General.”
“Righto then. Let us begin then.”
Being a Marine Division the 1st Royal Canadians had only the normal establishment of Artillery as was practiced by their British brethren but it was still somewhat stronger than a Japanese Line Division and the Gunners from British Columbia and Manitoba were experts. Inexperienced but expertly trained.
The rumble of the Canadian Artillery was audible, but due to it's relative weakness and the proximity of the forward Allied line concentrated on only a few small sections, not those that had been hastily selected for attack but rather those to the left and right in order to seal them off from easy reinforcement and to draw them elsewhere, all with tactics that Woolsleys father, an Artillery-man with the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge and 2nd Passchendaele had used in his own war and that had been impressed upon the younger Woolsley at the remaining knee of his great rolemodel.
He watched as his men began to climb down into into the valley as the heavy Machine Gunners tried in a futile effort to suppress the Japanese defences. In his mind Woolsley recited the exact wording of the orders that had come down from Cunningham even though in reality field command on the ground was in Dutch hands:
'The Allied Ground forces on Java will not engage in offensive operations at the strategic level.'
This formulation was what Woolsley was banking on, as it allowed him to gain better position for when the real attack was to start. He had a good idea that the Dutch and Rowell knew when that was but he had not yet been told. For the moment this particular Regiment would recce the Japanese positions the hard way.
The Canadian Marines scrambled up the opposite slope and here things started to go badly wrong. The Japanese had been preparing themselves for weeks, as Woolsley had correctly deduced that strategic surprise was not be had, and so the Canadian Marines were met with a hail of rifle and machine gun fire that cut into their ranks before they could fire back effectively.
As was usual with troops firing downhill some shot high but the Japanese still managed to exact a massive toll on the unfortunate Canadians.
The attack bogged down about half-way up the opposite slope with the remnants of the two forward companies taking cover behind the boulders scattered about and the rest being cut to shreds.
Realizing what had happened Woolsley was frantically trying to find something that would relieve the situation, but since he was 'aggressive but not imaginative' (as Lieutenant General Rowell told both the Dutch and Australian Governments repeatedly) he grabbed the wireless receiver from the back of the nearest man who had one, set the set to the company frequence and yelled at the Colonel to advance at his peril.
The Colonel totally ignored the General and concentrated on extracting as much of his Regiment from the trap it had bee sent into against his protests. He didn't have many choices. Going back meant climbing up the slope under Japanese fire while being unable to do anything about it, going sideways was not an option because the valley stretched for more than two miles in either direction, bordering on the ocean on one side and a steep cliff on the other. So there was only going forward. He groaned for a second and then switched his Wireless to the Regiment net and gave his orders.
He did not bother with the mortars as there was no room to set them up in the valley and Woolsley had refused to let him set them up.
So he merely ordered 'the Grenades' and the Canadians charged up the side of the valley into a hail of lead.
The Japanese were entrenched a few yards back from the crest of the valley so as soon as the Canadian attack was at the edge they were in the blind spot. By that time all the six Companies of the Regiment had taken frightful losses but the blood they had spent in the space of no more than an hour since going over the edge made them angry. The pineapple shaped grenades came flying at the Japanese log fortifications and as scores of Allied troops would find out later these were usually impervious to mere hand grenades but it made the Japanese gunners keep their heads down and not twenty seconds later the Canadian Marines were between the positions and the Regiment was pouring into the connecting trenches.
Extremely fierce and brutal hand-to-hand combat followed with everything from bayonets to shovels being used as weapons. At first the Japanese fought to the death but when the Major in command of this section of the front was killed by the way of a collapsible shovel to the throat and unit cohesion disintegrated among the Japanese.
They retreated to the secondary line and since there was no one to give the order no counter-attack followed up. The Canadians on the other hand gathered up whatever intelligence they could find and the Colonel led his bloodied Regiment back to the Allied position with the full intention of punching his General in the face.
Woolsley retreated instinctively as the Colonel came walking towards him, but the interval between him ordering the retreat and then the Colonel had cooled down considerably and merely saluted and handed the General the gathered papers without comment. Woolsley did not say anything either and it was clear to everyone present that this would have consequences, if not for the Colonel for being as insolent as he could hope to get away with then for the reputation of Woolsley because even without anything in the official reports supporters of the Colonel in the Regiment and the Brigade would make sure that word reached both higher Command and the rest of the Allied Army on Java.
Not that the Colonel cared much about that. He was concerned with the well-being of his Regiment first and foremost.
However that evening everyone from Brigade upwards was called upon to visit Corps Headquarters told the Colonel that soon, very soon, much sooner than expected his men would be called upon to fight again and the strength of two of his companies would be seriously reduced.
The correlation of forces favoured the Japanese, at least on paper as the 3rd Guards Division had arrived recently to reinforce the existing six Japanese Divisions on the Island.
Facing them where five Allied Divisions. The Royal Canadian Marine Division and the 9th Australian Division formed XXI (Commonwealth) Corps, while south the Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army), or at least it's principal field formations and the 45th (Peshawar and Kashmir) Division formed XX and XIX Corps.
The 45th was acclimatized and in position but only just. The men had spend only the time needed to re-embark in Australia and were now on the extreme southern flank of XX Corps, with the Dutch III. Division to their north, I. and II. Divisions to the south. The ace in the hole however was a unit whose existence had been the most closely guarded secret of the Allied High Command.
It would be this unit that was the deciding factor in the last and fiercest battles on Java that would break and destroy what remained of the Japanese Army on Java at that time.
+-+-+-+-+-
Comments, questions, rotten Tomatoes?
Trekaddict
Great an update.
Then I read it. Woolsley is a cretin. Hopefully this leads to him being removed. Especially since he is breaching the spirit if not the actual wording of his orders.
It will mean the Canadian marines will have gained some useful experience but at heavy cost and they were lucky to generate such disorder in the Japanese. Counter attacks would have made a withdrawal from that exposed position very difficult.
Is this in Malaya? Presuming so from the presence of Dutch forces and the mention of Drumbeat but not clear. Could be Burma. Or part of Sumatra still in allied hands but I think that's all lost. However would say Malaya. Do we hold part of Johore or have the Japanese made it onto Singapore Island.o Duh Just re-read and realised this is on Java.
Interested to find out what the special unit that will be decisive in the breakthrough is. Surprised if it's armour as I would have thought the terrain unsuitable. Similarly with paras. Haven't had earlier development of helicopters have you? That could give a big advantage if used correctly. Or some form of flame-thrower to clear out stubborn outposts. [Come to think of it we have napalm - think it's called jelly TTL].
Anyway, I'm going to be aware for a fortnight from Saturday 7th but will hurry to catch up when I get back.
Steve
Great an update.
Then I read it. Woolsley is a cretin. Hopefully this leads to him being removed. Especially since he is breaching the spirit if not the actual wording of his orders.It will mean the Canadian marines will have gained some useful experience but at heavy cost and they were lucky to generate such disorder in the Japanese. Counter attacks would have made a withdrawal from that exposed position very difficult.
Is this in Malaya? Presuming so from the presence of Dutch forces and the mention of Drumbeat but not clear. Could be Burma. Or part of Sumatra still in allied hands but I think that's all lost. However would say Malaya. Do we hold part of Johore or have the Japanese made it onto Singapore Island.
o Duh Just re-read and realised this is on Java.Interested to find out what the special unit that will be decisive in the breakthrough is. Surprised if it's armour as I would have thought the terrain unsuitable. Similarly with paras. Haven't had earlier development of helicopters have you? That could give a big advantage if used correctly. Or some form of flame-thrower to clear out stubborn outposts. [Come to think of it we have napalm - think it's called jelly TTL].
Anyway, I'm going to be aware for a fortnight from Saturday 7th but will hurry to catch up when I get back.
Steve
Rowell. I knew I was forgetting to get track of some Gallipoli's veteran... Well, Java instead of Kokoda, it seems. This is going to be messy.
It pains me to see Canadians acting like idiots, but things balance out I suppose. I really want to know what the Allies' ace up their sleeve is.
not exactly the first time canadians charged into a meatgrinder because someone didn't extract head from butt before issuing orders.
So 147 pages and 53 hours off my life I will never get back I have now caught up.
Trekaddict this is bloody marvellous.
Also chapters, 218 - 221, 224, 243 and 256 made me really happy.
Why? Because (as long as my Grandfather survived that is) my country is actually doing something in TTL.
Trekaddict this is bloody marvellous.
Also chapters, 218 - 221, 224, 243 and 256 made me really happy.
Why? Because (as long as my Grandfather survived that is) my country is actually doing something in TTL.
stevep Well, Woolsley can't be removed because there is no one else, and unfortunately he knows it. If he had the spectre of replacement hanging over him he'd have acted differently.
The Ontario Marines were incredibly lucky that the Japanese CO copped it and the next in rank didn't act.
The Special Unit is mostly something that Cunningham as Allied CinC Pacific has not talked about and has stamped down on any press reports, nothing more. It isn't anything like another SAS or anything just a trick that was common in the OTL Pacific War too but that hasn't been tried here yet.
Kurt_Steiner His OTL history was part of what made me select him. I figured that it was more than likely he would get a similar command here in spite of a large-ish Australian Force in Europe.
ViperhawkZ The RCCM won't like you say it and it will be the cause of many a pub fight in later decades but the Division is a place where Officers that are..unwanted in Europe are sent.
Ehran As said, the Canucks are sending their best men to Europe.
ViperhawkZ And when the big day comes, Canadian Naval Air power will be available. Operation Drumbeat will be the first big combat experience for HMCS Vimy Ridge.
Agent Larkin Glad to have you aboard.
The Irish participation is only a logical evolution of the scenario. Every facet of Irish society, be it supporters of Home Rule or Rebublicans or whatever can find something to hate about the Axis. Those hating the British hate the Communists more and are offended in their sensibilities after the evil Reds and their Nazi friends bombed and mined Ireland, a lot of the rest see it as a sort of holy war for Democracy.
The Irish contribution is small, but in the long run all of Ireland (including NI) will benefit from this.
The Ontario Marines were incredibly lucky that the Japanese CO copped it and the next in rank didn't act.
The Special Unit is mostly something that Cunningham as Allied CinC Pacific has not talked about and has stamped down on any press reports, nothing more. It isn't anything like another SAS or anything just a trick that was common in the OTL Pacific War too but that hasn't been tried here yet.
Kurt_Steiner His OTL history was part of what made me select him. I figured that it was more than likely he would get a similar command here in spite of a large-ish Australian Force in Europe.
ViperhawkZ The RCCM won't like you say it and it will be the cause of many a pub fight in later decades but the Division is a place where Officers that are..unwanted in Europe are sent.
Ehran As said, the Canucks are sending their best men to Europe.
ViperhawkZ And when the big day comes, Canadian Naval Air power will be available. Operation Drumbeat will be the first big combat experience for HMCS Vimy Ridge.
Agent Larkin Glad to have you aboard.
The Irish participation is only a logical evolution of the scenario. Every facet of Irish society, be it supporters of Home Rule or Rebublicans or whatever can find something to hate about the Axis. Those hating the British hate the Communists more and are offended in their sensibilities after the evil Reds and their Nazi friends bombed and mined Ireland, a lot of the rest see it as a sort of holy war for Democracy.
The Irish contribution is small, but in the long run all of Ireland (including NI) will benefit from this.
@Trekaddict
I appreciate that the contribution is small and it's the way you handled how the Irish would be involved in this war more then anything else that has impressed me.
I appreciate that such an action would benefit the whole country and if anything I imagine there would be a more relaxed attitude amongst the Unionists now that they don't have to worry about the Free State coming to eat their babies
And anyway the one great benefit of this war. Ireland won't be the haven for nazi war criminals in was in OTL thank god.
I appreciate that the contribution is small and it's the way you handled how the Irish would be involved in this war more then anything else that has impressed me.
I appreciate that such an action would benefit the whole country and if anything I imagine there would be a more relaxed attitude amongst the Unionists now that they don't have to worry about the Free State coming to eat their babies
And anyway the one great benefit of this war. Ireland won't be the haven for nazi war criminals in was in OTL thank god.
If you excuse me another badly hidden spoiler ( ) the Troubles will happen, but will be very different from ours.
) the Troubles will happen, but will be very different from ours.If you excuse me another badly hidden spoiler (
As long as you include the IRA robbing a whole British armorury at Gough barrakcs and taking everything not nailed down I don't mind the spoiler