Investing in small ships?
Oh dear, why not huge battleships?
Those small vessels don't fit into the imago of the Royal Navy.
Oh dear, why not huge battleships?
Those small vessels don't fit into the imago of the Royal Navy.
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As someone who once found Lady MacBeth's death to be funny, I chuckled when I read this.
Niven...an interesting cameo appearance.
Of course, on this side of the pond, he is probably best remembered for the Academy Awards Streaker incident in the 1970s.
Well, Niven might want to look into Columbia Pictures. They are known for their small comedies. Of course, for a proper Englishman, working on the same lot as The Three Stooges might be awkward.
Niven: It's tea time, chap.
Curly: Tea time? It's two o'clock! Nyuk nyuk nyuk!
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Hankey as battleship-centric makes all the sense in the world, but in fact the number of light carriers is heartening.
I always think of Niven in "The Dawn Patrol" with Errol Flynn--classic movie.
I always think of Niven in "The Dawn Patrol" with Errol Flynn--classic movie.
I must say I think your being too pessimistic and perhaps a trifle cruel to British industry, after all plans had been made and designs drawn up for the 18" guns for the N3s. In fact I think the order might even have been placed for a few development designs prior to the Washington Treaty.
Frankly I think Hankey should ignore Jones and A-W and instead seek out the steel baron Robert "Mr Managanese" Hadfield, a man who spent years in the 1920s hawking an idea for 22" monsters. He could get you 18" guns, or at least give it a damned good go!
Frankly I think Hankey should ignore Jones and A-W and instead seek out the steel baron Robert "Mr Managanese" Hadfield, a man who spent years in the 1920s hawking an idea for 22" monsters. He could get you 18" guns, or at least give it a damned good go!
It will be interesting to see if the sense of impending doom that seems to be prevelant in the populace of Portsmouth extends beyond the channel ports and finds its way inland... Could it actually reach London in time to matter?
I sense a British Rail joke coming any minute now ...
I'm sorry sir, that joke is delayed.
I'm sorry sir, that joke is delayed.
If it were Ryan Air: "That joke has been cancelled, but there is a replacement limerick going via the North Pole."
But you have to pay a surcharge for the punctuation and the jokes doesn't actually end with the punchline but at a similarly worded sentence quite some distance away.
although you won't understand because your sense of humour will have been "lost in transit"...
Chapter 140, Washington DC, 5 August 1941
Buchan whistled softly as he flicked through the hastily scribbled notes that the Ambassador had made during his visit to the State Department. Grabbing a scalding hot coffee (Buchan hated tea) he jotted down some notes of his own and stared out over the Embassy gardens.
The mission had started so well. After the Prime Minister’s candid and detailed letter to Roosevelt had been received by the Americans Woolton had been instructed by Downing Street (not, Buchan had remarked at the time, the Foreign Office) to follow it up with “robust diplomacy to define and determine the British position in regard to American responses to Japan”. Buchan had winced at Halifax’s horrendous prose (for he presumed that such waffle had to come from the PM) and had tried, desperately, to assist his master: “the Downing Street despatch is simply infantile – how in the blazes can you define something you haven’t yet determined? And shouldn’t we be putting our position to the Americans after we have at least decided what the hell it is?” Woolton had chuckled amiably at Buchan’s ranting memorandum but Buchan sensed, as ever, the steel behind the smile. Woolton’s programme at State had been impressive, with a great sweep of US officials agreeing to hear his ‘pitch’ for a sensible joint approach to the threat of Japan in the Far East. But then it had stalled, for the Americans had received ‘guidance’ from a most unexpected loose cannon.
Buchan smiled with the irony that his revelations to Ambassador Woolton had, in a very convoluted way, created the problem that they now had to deal with. The unmasking of a German spy in London had led to the downfall of Sir Henry Channon, formerly a Foreign Office minister. Halifax, in the general desire to be rid of Channon seen and felt by many in Whitehall, had dismissed the wayward ‘Chips’ to return to the land of his birth, the US. Channon had duly done that, and for a few months had succeeded in keeping relatively quiet. But now, bitter and vengeful, he had turned on the Prime Minister. Buchan flicked through one of the Embassy reports to find the excerpt that he was looking for. In Channon’s light and elegant handwriting he described in vicious detail the personality of his former leader:
“As I walked away I reflected on Halifax’s extraordinary character; his high principles, his engaging charm and grand manner – his power to frighten people into fits – me sometimes – his snobbishness – his eel-like qualities and, above all, his sublime treachery which is never deliberate, and, always to him, a necessity dictated by a situation. Means are nothing to him, only ends, He is insinuating, but unlovable."
Buchan gulped on his coffee. That was just a part of Channon’s attack upon the Prime Minister, which, though easily laughed away (as many an American had done) still made Washington wonder why they should support a Prime Minister who was so obviously going to be replaced, or made to resign. Woolton, Buchan realised, was no longer making policy, he was reacting to someone else’s. He was fighting a rearguard. Which meant, Buchan realised as he strode up to see the Ambassador, that he needed something new to wave at the Americans.
“Ah, Alexander,” Woolton said genially, peering over his spectacles. I’m just reading His Lordship’s reply to our last despatch.”
“May I venture a question as to how our Prime Minister is thinking?”
“Hesitantly,” Woolton said precisely. “Though he has unearthed a new policy which may just go down very well with our American brethren.”
“Please tell me,” Buchan said, earning himself a look of amusement over the spectacles.
“The Japanese ambassador in London, Sluggy-rum-do...”
“Shigemitsu,” Buchan corrected gently, before adding “and he’s a sneaky little bastard.”
“Quite so,” Woolton said gravely. “For he has asked our beloved Prime Minister to close the Burma Road.”
Buchan whistled. “To be honest, Your Excellency, I’m astonished that we haven’t closed it anyway.”
“As was I, but it appears that neither ourselves nor the Japanese were paying much attention in that area. Anyway, the Prime Minister has decided to refuse the request, essentially he wants to call the Japanese bluff.”
Buchan laughed. As a British diplomat he was used to defending British collapses of courage or ability. Norway, France, Milan, Russia and (or so he had guessed) Japan were battle honours scored into every diplomat’s psyche. But now Halifax was arguing to keep open the road, winding from Burma up into India and beyond, that was (rightly) suspected of giving aid to the Chinese rebels. For Halifax to have forgotten about its existence until now had to be down to oversight.
“Does the Prime Minister give any hint of why Shigemitsu made the request now?”
“He does not, I’m afraid. All he says is, arm, ah yes here. ‘The Japanese will inflict upon us every possible annoyance short of war’. That is perhaps why the Prime Minister feels able to behave as he is. Can we use this?”
“Christ yes! Sorry Your Excellency...”
“No need, Alex. Pray go on.”
“Well, it will be popular with the Americans. It gives them, and us, an option: arm the Chinese to fight so we don’t have to. The Chinese cause is also far more likely to garner support from the American media and public than ours, and it stops these terrible editorials about the good Lord Halifax.”
“So we can push this in our meetings with them?”
Buchan, initially so confident, appeared to pull back from his earlier optimism. “They may say ‘so what’, arguing that Halifax has been so weak that one decisive action doesn’t change their position. We might need more than this.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The American public have had two British Prime Ministers in the last eighteen months. Chamberlain, who gave away Europe but still got us in a war, and Halifax, who gave away whatever was left to get us out of the war, but made such a mess of the aftermath that he comes across as an aloof, indecisive aristocrat. These personalities give a very poor image of Britain. He’s an unknown to a lot of the public.”
Woolton looked outside of the window for a moment. He was enjoying this unexpected move into the world of diplomacy and foreign affairs, and was turning in a decent if unspectacular performance. He thought about Buchan’s point and vowed to do his best. “What about the Foreign Secretary?”
Buchan snorted. “Butler has no affinity with them. Stick him in the Capitol and they’ll be allying themselves to the Japanese. Is Your Excellency minded to suggest a ministerial visit?”
Woolton pursed his lips. “I do not know. But your point about personality is striking. Here we have a rare opportunity of showing our country in a positive light. This news ought to come from someone who is capable of making an impact in this city. With this Tutuila incident the Japanese are pushing the Americans into hostility. We must try and make sure that they do so with us.”
Buchan smiled. Washington had been particularly quiet on the subject of the Tutuila, an American gunboat attacked at anchor by the Japanese. Woolton suspected that the Americans were waiting to see what the Japanese made of their protest; Woolton realised that this was a good opportunity to show solidarity with the Americans, presenting Britain as a natural partner against an increasingly hostile Japan.
[Game Effect] – Surprisingly US/UK relations are at a staggeringly high +195, which with this latest attempt to improve relations sours to a dizzy +200. This is too high, and there is still some work to do to set up any kind of special wartime relationship.
I’ve reintroduced the BritishImperial based Buchan for a couple of reasons. Firstly it’s great to have an uninhibited character who I can use to voice the “modern voice of sanity” that my other characters necessarily lack. I was also fed up of Whitehall-based scheming; I wanted to show the effects of the PM’s decisions, and to show how the Washington Embassy is getting along.
Woolton is continuing his adequate performance as British Ambassador. The word that comes to mind every time I contemplate Woolton is “decent”. He was a decent old sort, a community-minded businessman who, I think, would have jumped on any opportunity to fight for his country’s interests in the murky world of international relations. Aided by the clever (and terribly non-establishment) Buchan the plan, to fly the flag with the visit of someone reasonably popular (and bringing good news for a change) is a shrewd one, with one glaring weakness: implicit in all this is the realisation that Halifax is still an aloof, grey, aristocrat. The request, fired up through Butler (who, Buchan is correct in saying, has no rapport with Americans) and into Cabinet will stand or fall depending upon Halifax’s views. The next question is who to send. Halifax has placed some importance on improving his relationship with FDR but will want to avoid the potential upstaging of Woolton, and so a Halifax or Eden visit would be difficult.
And finally, confession time. I’ve been slightly unfair to Halifax in promoting this “we must be firm against Japan” policy as a desperate act by a failing PM. Halifax, so eighteenth century in so many things, was modern (for 1941) in one crucial area: he distinguished between European and Asian politics quite starkly. So meek in European affairs, he was tougher on the need to stand up to Japan diplomatically, arguing that the Burma Road be kept open in 1940 (not, as I have put here, 1941) when faced with a Japanese request to stop it. It was only the worried opinion of the military that Britain could not match this rhetoric with military might that led to his agreeing. This 1941 request, and the British desire to “sail in concert” with the Americans (again though, this is not based on idealism, but on the fact that Halifax wants the US military and economy on his side) means yet more work for Woolton and his staff.
Enewald: Well, do not forget that I am pressing on with the KGVs (King George V, Prince of Wales, Duke of York, Queen,) and the new SHBBs (Anson, Cochrane, Saumarez, Jellicoe) which is a huge improvement in terms of quality and numbers for the battleship fleet. But I’m not going to ignore the smaller ships as I don’t think that Hankey would.
Nathan Madien: I couldn’t resist including Niven in the AAR somewhere. The whole Cowes thing seemed too good an opportunity to miss.
DonnieBaseball: I think that Hankey would have a sympathy for the battleship navy, but as a man more interested in results than tradition he would be keen on new innovations. Thank God, because the British will need ‘em.
El Pip: The saga of the guns has, sadly, yet to be played out and this will be a sorry tale. Yes, the British did prepare 18” guns, and were probably capable of making them, but I have plumped for what I think would be a fair balance between expense and gain: the guns to be used are probably those agreed for the Lion Class, namely triple mounted 16” guns – though they’ll be required in greater numbers to meet the requirements of the Ansons. You’re right, Britain could make the bigger guns, but I really doubt that the jittery cabinet would risk it.
Bafflegab: The mood in Cowes is probably the mood everywhere – it’s just that your lazy narrator (i.e. me) hasn’t mentioned it before.
Nathan Madien/DonnieBaseball/Bafflegab/Trekaddict/El Pip: Oh dear...:rofl:
Buchan whistled softly as he flicked through the hastily scribbled notes that the Ambassador had made during his visit to the State Department. Grabbing a scalding hot coffee (Buchan hated tea) he jotted down some notes of his own and stared out over the Embassy gardens.
The mission had started so well. After the Prime Minister’s candid and detailed letter to Roosevelt had been received by the Americans Woolton had been instructed by Downing Street (not, Buchan had remarked at the time, the Foreign Office) to follow it up with “robust diplomacy to define and determine the British position in regard to American responses to Japan”. Buchan had winced at Halifax’s horrendous prose (for he presumed that such waffle had to come from the PM) and had tried, desperately, to assist his master: “the Downing Street despatch is simply infantile – how in the blazes can you define something you haven’t yet determined? And shouldn’t we be putting our position to the Americans after we have at least decided what the hell it is?” Woolton had chuckled amiably at Buchan’s ranting memorandum but Buchan sensed, as ever, the steel behind the smile. Woolton’s programme at State had been impressive, with a great sweep of US officials agreeing to hear his ‘pitch’ for a sensible joint approach to the threat of Japan in the Far East. But then it had stalled, for the Americans had received ‘guidance’ from a most unexpected loose cannon.
Buchan smiled with the irony that his revelations to Ambassador Woolton had, in a very convoluted way, created the problem that they now had to deal with. The unmasking of a German spy in London had led to the downfall of Sir Henry Channon, formerly a Foreign Office minister. Halifax, in the general desire to be rid of Channon seen and felt by many in Whitehall, had dismissed the wayward ‘Chips’ to return to the land of his birth, the US. Channon had duly done that, and for a few months had succeeded in keeping relatively quiet. But now, bitter and vengeful, he had turned on the Prime Minister. Buchan flicked through one of the Embassy reports to find the excerpt that he was looking for. In Channon’s light and elegant handwriting he described in vicious detail the personality of his former leader:
“As I walked away I reflected on Halifax’s extraordinary character; his high principles, his engaging charm and grand manner – his power to frighten people into fits – me sometimes – his snobbishness – his eel-like qualities and, above all, his sublime treachery which is never deliberate, and, always to him, a necessity dictated by a situation. Means are nothing to him, only ends, He is insinuating, but unlovable."
Buchan gulped on his coffee. That was just a part of Channon’s attack upon the Prime Minister, which, though easily laughed away (as many an American had done) still made Washington wonder why they should support a Prime Minister who was so obviously going to be replaced, or made to resign. Woolton, Buchan realised, was no longer making policy, he was reacting to someone else’s. He was fighting a rearguard. Which meant, Buchan realised as he strode up to see the Ambassador, that he needed something new to wave at the Americans.
“Ah, Alexander,” Woolton said genially, peering over his spectacles. I’m just reading His Lordship’s reply to our last despatch.”
“May I venture a question as to how our Prime Minister is thinking?”
“Hesitantly,” Woolton said precisely. “Though he has unearthed a new policy which may just go down very well with our American brethren.”
“Please tell me,” Buchan said, earning himself a look of amusement over the spectacles.
“The Japanese ambassador in London, Sluggy-rum-do...”
“Shigemitsu,” Buchan corrected gently, before adding “and he’s a sneaky little bastard.”
“Quite so,” Woolton said gravely. “For he has asked our beloved Prime Minister to close the Burma Road.”
Buchan whistled. “To be honest, Your Excellency, I’m astonished that we haven’t closed it anyway.”
“As was I, but it appears that neither ourselves nor the Japanese were paying much attention in that area. Anyway, the Prime Minister has decided to refuse the request, essentially he wants to call the Japanese bluff.”
Buchan laughed. As a British diplomat he was used to defending British collapses of courage or ability. Norway, France, Milan, Russia and (or so he had guessed) Japan were battle honours scored into every diplomat’s psyche. But now Halifax was arguing to keep open the road, winding from Burma up into India and beyond, that was (rightly) suspected of giving aid to the Chinese rebels. For Halifax to have forgotten about its existence until now had to be down to oversight.
“Does the Prime Minister give any hint of why Shigemitsu made the request now?”
“He does not, I’m afraid. All he says is, arm, ah yes here. ‘The Japanese will inflict upon us every possible annoyance short of war’. That is perhaps why the Prime Minister feels able to behave as he is. Can we use this?”
“Christ yes! Sorry Your Excellency...”
“No need, Alex. Pray go on.”
“Well, it will be popular with the Americans. It gives them, and us, an option: arm the Chinese to fight so we don’t have to. The Chinese cause is also far more likely to garner support from the American media and public than ours, and it stops these terrible editorials about the good Lord Halifax.”
“So we can push this in our meetings with them?”
Buchan, initially so confident, appeared to pull back from his earlier optimism. “They may say ‘so what’, arguing that Halifax has been so weak that one decisive action doesn’t change their position. We might need more than this.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The American public have had two British Prime Ministers in the last eighteen months. Chamberlain, who gave away Europe but still got us in a war, and Halifax, who gave away whatever was left to get us out of the war, but made such a mess of the aftermath that he comes across as an aloof, indecisive aristocrat. These personalities give a very poor image of Britain. He’s an unknown to a lot of the public.”
Woolton looked outside of the window for a moment. He was enjoying this unexpected move into the world of diplomacy and foreign affairs, and was turning in a decent if unspectacular performance. He thought about Buchan’s point and vowed to do his best. “What about the Foreign Secretary?”
Buchan snorted. “Butler has no affinity with them. Stick him in the Capitol and they’ll be allying themselves to the Japanese. Is Your Excellency minded to suggest a ministerial visit?”
Woolton pursed his lips. “I do not know. But your point about personality is striking. Here we have a rare opportunity of showing our country in a positive light. This news ought to come from someone who is capable of making an impact in this city. With this Tutuila incident the Japanese are pushing the Americans into hostility. We must try and make sure that they do so with us.”
Buchan smiled. Washington had been particularly quiet on the subject of the Tutuila, an American gunboat attacked at anchor by the Japanese. Woolton suspected that the Americans were waiting to see what the Japanese made of their protest; Woolton realised that this was a good opportunity to show solidarity with the Americans, presenting Britain as a natural partner against an increasingly hostile Japan.
[Game Effect] – Surprisingly US/UK relations are at a staggeringly high +195, which with this latest attempt to improve relations sours to a dizzy +200. This is too high, and there is still some work to do to set up any kind of special wartime relationship.
I’ve reintroduced the BritishImperial based Buchan for a couple of reasons. Firstly it’s great to have an uninhibited character who I can use to voice the “modern voice of sanity” that my other characters necessarily lack. I was also fed up of Whitehall-based scheming; I wanted to show the effects of the PM’s decisions, and to show how the Washington Embassy is getting along.
Woolton is continuing his adequate performance as British Ambassador. The word that comes to mind every time I contemplate Woolton is “decent”. He was a decent old sort, a community-minded businessman who, I think, would have jumped on any opportunity to fight for his country’s interests in the murky world of international relations. Aided by the clever (and terribly non-establishment) Buchan the plan, to fly the flag with the visit of someone reasonably popular (and bringing good news for a change) is a shrewd one, with one glaring weakness: implicit in all this is the realisation that Halifax is still an aloof, grey, aristocrat. The request, fired up through Butler (who, Buchan is correct in saying, has no rapport with Americans) and into Cabinet will stand or fall depending upon Halifax’s views. The next question is who to send. Halifax has placed some importance on improving his relationship with FDR but will want to avoid the potential upstaging of Woolton, and so a Halifax or Eden visit would be difficult.
And finally, confession time. I’ve been slightly unfair to Halifax in promoting this “we must be firm against Japan” policy as a desperate act by a failing PM. Halifax, so eighteenth century in so many things, was modern (for 1941) in one crucial area: he distinguished between European and Asian politics quite starkly. So meek in European affairs, he was tougher on the need to stand up to Japan diplomatically, arguing that the Burma Road be kept open in 1940 (not, as I have put here, 1941) when faced with a Japanese request to stop it. It was only the worried opinion of the military that Britain could not match this rhetoric with military might that led to his agreeing. This 1941 request, and the British desire to “sail in concert” with the Americans (again though, this is not based on idealism, but on the fact that Halifax wants the US military and economy on his side) means yet more work for Woolton and his staff.
Enewald: Well, do not forget that I am pressing on with the KGVs (King George V, Prince of Wales, Duke of York, Queen,) and the new SHBBs (Anson, Cochrane, Saumarez, Jellicoe) which is a huge improvement in terms of quality and numbers for the battleship fleet. But I’m not going to ignore the smaller ships as I don’t think that Hankey would.
Nathan Madien: I couldn’t resist including Niven in the AAR somewhere. The whole Cowes thing seemed too good an opportunity to miss.
DonnieBaseball: I think that Hankey would have a sympathy for the battleship navy, but as a man more interested in results than tradition he would be keen on new innovations. Thank God, because the British will need ‘em.
El Pip: The saga of the guns has, sadly, yet to be played out and this will be a sorry tale. Yes, the British did prepare 18” guns, and were probably capable of making them, but I have plumped for what I think would be a fair balance between expense and gain: the guns to be used are probably those agreed for the Lion Class, namely triple mounted 16” guns – though they’ll be required in greater numbers to meet the requirements of the Ansons. You’re right, Britain could make the bigger guns, but I really doubt that the jittery cabinet would risk it.
Bafflegab: The mood in Cowes is probably the mood everywhere – it’s just that your lazy narrator (i.e. me) hasn’t mentioned it before.
Nathan Madien/DonnieBaseball/Bafflegab/Trekaddict/El Pip: Oh dear...:rofl:
Lulz, british imperialists planning more evil stuff.
Chinese rebels?
Since when has the KMT been a rebel faction?
Chinese rebels?
Since when has the KMT been a rebel faction?
Admiral Saumarez must be quite happy. In OTL he only got an S class destroyer named after him. :rofl:
Seeing how deep is going to be Halifax's fall, I wonder how history will remember him...
Seeing how deep is going to be Halifax's fall, I wonder how history will remember him...
It seems that the wayward colonists are about to wake up. If Halifax somehow inexplicable manages to find the spine to keep the Burma Road open ( now there's an idea for a future AAO update, thanks! ) then FDR can always point at it and say that even the British are doing something.
True, I'd forgotten Halifax's cabinet has been thoroughly "Milaned" into cowardice.
Interesting over the Burma Road, I can definitely see the plan going down well with the US; getting someone else to fight Japan (through someone else's territory to boot) is the perfect minimal involvement plan.
But who can make an impact in the US, Churchill obviously leaps to mind but I can't see Halifax agreeing to that. Equally probably couldn't be any member of the cabinet and certainly not the foreign minister. Baron Franks being sent out early perhaps? Unlikely perhaps but he was endearingly odd in a classically British way, which went down very well in the US as I understand it and I'd quite like to see him running around Washington a bit early.
Ceding to the Gewman Weich is one thing, they're a civilized nation after all, but suwwendewing to Impewial Japan? Never! That would spell the end of the Bwitish Empiwe!
Any way to get Dill to Washington? He hit it off famously with just about everyone there in OTL; though I recognize that was after he'd been relieved as CIGS ... he's a bit busy TTL.
The Burma Road--one (only?) case where Halifax was stiff-spined and Churchill the "appeaser" in OTL. Seems as good an "in" as there will be to get a US/UK united front, at least in appearance if not substance ...
The Burma Road--one (only?) case where Halifax was stiff-spined and Churchill the "appeaser" in OTL. Seems as good an "in" as there will be to get a US/UK united front, at least in appearance if not substance ...
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The British are perplexed on sending someone to DC. I think this would be a great opporunity for FDR to break the ice and send a special envoy to London. Historically, Roosevelt used special envoys to give him eyes on the ground in certain countries and open up opporunities for him.
For instance, he sent Wendell Willkie to London in early 1941 for a first-hand look at how the British were holding up. The information Willkie brought back gave Roosevelt ammo to use in order to push Lend-Lease through Congress.
In another instance, FDR sent Harry Hopkins to Moscow after Barbarossa to meet with Stalin. When Hopkins reported back that American support would go a long way to helping the Red Army, Roosevelt expanded Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union.
With this in mind, I think FDR would send a special envoy to London to show that "yeah, I am willing to deal with you on a personal level." I think someone like Alf Landon might be a good choice. He's a Republican, so his visit would be a "partisanship stops at the waters' edge". He's sensible and moderate - not someone who could scare the hell out of Halifax. He isn't an isolationist, so he wouldn't have a closed mindset. Roosevelt also likes him, so I think he would be comfortable sending his 1936 opponent across the Atlantic to open up the diplomatic channel. As I see it, Landon could go to London, see for himself what is going on over there, and report back to Roosevelt in a honest and frank way.
Yeah, there's Hopkins as Ambassador and he may or may not like the idea of having to deal with Landon for a bit. Then again, FDR preferred to deal with foreign policy himself, often sweeping aside the State Department and Ambassadors in the process.
Ambassador Sluggy-rum-do...brillant, Le Jones! :rofl:
For instance, he sent Wendell Willkie to London in early 1941 for a first-hand look at how the British were holding up. The information Willkie brought back gave Roosevelt ammo to use in order to push Lend-Lease through Congress.
In another instance, FDR sent Harry Hopkins to Moscow after Barbarossa to meet with Stalin. When Hopkins reported back that American support would go a long way to helping the Red Army, Roosevelt expanded Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union.
With this in mind, I think FDR would send a special envoy to London to show that "yeah, I am willing to deal with you on a personal level." I think someone like Alf Landon might be a good choice. He's a Republican, so his visit would be a "partisanship stops at the waters' edge". He's sensible and moderate - not someone who could scare the hell out of Halifax. He isn't an isolationist, so he wouldn't have a closed mindset. Roosevelt also likes him, so I think he would be comfortable sending his 1936 opponent across the Atlantic to open up the diplomatic channel. As I see it, Landon could go to London, see for himself what is going on over there, and report back to Roosevelt in a honest and frank way.
Yeah, there's Hopkins as Ambassador and he may or may not like the idea of having to deal with Landon for a bit. Then again, FDR preferred to deal with foreign policy himself, often sweeping aside the State Department and Ambassadors in the process.
Ambassador Sluggy-rum-do...brillant, Le Jones! :rofl:
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I will be ineterested to see the Japanese response to the Burma Road issue. How agressive will the Japanese be with respect to the British, considering they aren't involved in a European conflict and could presumably allocate all of their resources to pursuing this engagement... Although, with Halifax at the helm, it would be very easy to assume that the British would cede India to preclude a nasty diplomatic mission, let alone actually fight a war...
That said, wouldn't it be easier for the Japanese to pursue the Dutch East Indies with little to no prospect of retaliation from any major power?
It would also place the British far east holdings into a far worse strategic position, should the Japanese actually want to pick a fight...
That said, wouldn't it be easier for the Japanese to pursue the Dutch East Indies with little to no prospect of retaliation from any major power?
It would also place the British far east holdings into a far worse strategic position, should the Japanese actually want to pick a fight...