Now, once again you managed to make me dislike Halifax just that tiny bit more. As a result of that I had no choice but to nominate you for Character Writer of the week..... So head over there and claim!
I think that Churchill is doing something that he did quite a bit, despite his two fisted head-down-and-charge reputation. As he did with the campaign against the Mahdi, the Boer War and during his IRL 1930's "alone in the wilderness" period, I think Churchill may be laying back in the tall grass, doing just enough to remind people that he's out there, and then waiting for the situation to develop to a point that allows him to insert himselfUnfortunately, with no real chance at independently removing Halifax, Winnie is fighting an uphill battle. With the aforementioned economic reforms holding the conciousness of the British populace in both a good an bad way depending on an individual's particular circumstance, I think that Churchill's call to arms against the boogie man from the east will fall on deaf ears within England proper... Now, the same campaign made throughout the rest of the Empire would prove far more fruitful. If Churchill can get the seeds of dissent from the dominions going with respect to the direction that Halifax is taking the Empire, that pressure may be far more tangible at # 10...
As Churchill plodded past him he wordlessly handed him a small sheet of paper. Churchill glowered at the younger man.
“It’s from Harry Hopkins. He heard your speech and wants you to come to dinner. Tonight.”
Hopkins nodded. “I think, Winston, that Japan threatens you far more than it threatens me. But I will speak to the President.”
This Chapter is a bit of a preface to what comes next, as we look at the reactions in both Washington and Whitehall.
Anyway I think Hopkins is being a bit optimistic if he thinks Japan will go straight for Malaysia and leave the Philippines as a knife at their supply lines. While I'm sure people in the military would put him straight would he listen?
Would FDR listen more pertinently?
While on the US questions, did the Two Ocean Navy Act pass? Thinking on dates I think it's possible it may not have, without France actually falling would it spook Congress into a 70% funding increase and massive amounts of tonnage? I suspect not.
Hopkins does have a point. Whereas the United States has bases in the East to use if the Philippines or Guam falls, if the British lose Hong Kong or Singapore or even India, they will be pushed back towards Africa and the Middle East as far as bases are concerned. It isn't just the British Empire that is at stake; it's their ability to fight effectively.
I am continually amazed at my country's denial of its own empire building...
If FDR hated colonialism so much, why hasn't he abandoned the Phillipines, Guam, and Hawaii? What does he think they are...native soil?
Typical American blinders...sigh.
Barring a disaster befalling the US Pacific Fleet I'm sure at worst the RN could hold Ceylon and Perth/Darwin in Australia as alternative eastern bases, as Japan will have to keep some forces in the W.Pacific to guard against a US advance, regardless of whether the US declares off the bat or not.
One of the few (only?) good parts of the present European situation is that it frees practically the entire RN to move east if needed.
The US might not see the Phillipines as threatening a southern advance by Japan, but that hardly matters--what matters is what Japan thinks.
That's a bit unfair. Typical human blinders is more accurate.Typical American blinders...sigh.
If FDR hated colonialism so much, why hasn't he abandoned the Phillipines, Guam, and Hawaii? What does he think they are...native soil?
American exceptionalism. It's never really bad when it's Uncle Sam doing it, America having the natives' best interests in mind, unlike those petty Old-World Imperialists.
There's the bad Imperialist and the good Imperialist. The bad Imperialist, he sees natives sitting upon natural riches, he enslaves the natives and takes the riches away from them. The good one, well, the good one, see, he does the same...but he really is a good Imperialist.
Boy, boys. Let's not fight. We're all murderous oppressors. Even you, Belgium, down there at the end of the table trying to hide!American exceptionalism. It's never really bad when it's Uncle Sam doing it, America having the natives' best interests in mind, unlike those petty Old-World Imperialists.
There's the bad Imperialist and the good Imperialist. The bad Imperialist, he sees natives sitting upon natural riches, he enslaves the natives and takes the riches away from them. The good one, well, the good one, see, he does the same...but he really is a good Imperialist.
Boy, boys. Let's not fight. We're all murderous oppressors. Even you, Belgium, down there at the end of the table trying to hide!
So. On whose side will Congress be if things light up in the China-Burma-India theatre?