And there was I hoping for an update. Still good to know you're around, Rensslaer. And a happy new year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and everybody else!
First, I want to apologize for being absent for 6 months. Now, that’s not completely out of the ordinary for me, but I feel like I should apologize each time I disappear. Just been too busy – got 3 jobs, lots of stuff going on. But I can never stay away, and I have this “thing” about finishing my AARs – I hate leaving one hanging, even if it’s years old. So I’m intending to complete this and my others.
Before we start the regular update, I want to bring you back up to speed. Here is an overall world map of how things stood in September, 1942.
Let’s look at the inset, first, which shows the Caribbean Sea. Portugal now controls the entire Bahamanian chain, the islands of Jamaica and Curacao, and a variety of the Antilles chain. The British retain Anguilla, St. Kitts, Trinidad and Tobago. Everything else has fallen. Note, also, that British Guyana, and Dutch Suriname, are in Portuguese hands. Only the Vichy French enclave of Guiana remains, of that set.
In Africa, large portions of formerly British or French West Africa are now Portuguese colonies. British Nigeria, French Cameroun, French Gabon, parts of the Belgian Congo, and all of South Africa are in Portuguese hands (Angola and Mozambique already being Portuguese). Almost all of British East Africa is now Portuguese, all the way up into Anglo-Egypt Sudan, and most of British Somaliland is under Portuguese control, too. The British Trucial States, on the Persian Gulf, and Kuwait, are Portuguese-controlled, and even a small portion of Aden.
Switching over to the East Indies, you’ll notice almost all of British Malaya, including most of British and Dutch Borneo are Portuguese. Much of the rest of the Dutch East Indian Empire, including Java, Sumatra and Celebes, are Portuguese-controlled. And there has been significant fighting in the jungles of New Guinea and New Britain, in the far east of the map, there. Of course, Hong Kong and Macao are both Portuguese, now, and the little enclave of Saigon in French Indochina.
And, of course, we cannot forget that Portugal also now controls a good chunk of southwestern Australia.
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At the last update, we were discussing “rolling the dice.” Australian forces were schooling Portuguese advance forces in the western deserts, and were threatening to reverse the gains made over the last several months. Portugal was fighting a conventional war in Australia, against a country trained and equipped to fight a conventional war. We needed to change the game, somehow.
The 15th Infantry has loaded aboard transports, and is moving east along Australia’s southern coast. Meanwhile, the 2nd Armored Car battalion is hooking north to try to outflank the Australian 23rd Infantry and relieve pressure on our forces in the hills of southwest Australia, where Gen. Machado was forced to retreat from Plumridge on the 16th of October.
Where, you might have been wondering, was this “roll of the dice” to land?
On the 18th, our transports had successfully evaded any Australian naval patrols and 2 brigades of Portuguese infantry began a landing upon the surrounding beaches around Adelaide. This was significantly behind the stagnated lines of combat to the west.
It was anticipated that Australian army units were occupied, either guarding many of Australia’s port cities, in the east, or along the front lines with Portugal. The gamble was that we would be able to establish another perimeter to the rear of the Aussie lines, and could catch them between two armies, forcing their withdrawal to the north, leaving Portugal in control of the southern coast.
Once Adelaide itself was secure, our transports began the process of “walking” the 15th Division up the coast toward the front lines. However, on the 22nd, this operation was interrupted by the Australian 1st Division, which was apparently en route to the front lines when our new threat appeared. This was exactly what we hoped would not happen!
By the end of October, the 15th Infantry was forced to fall back toward Adelaide. Moreover, the Australian tank cavalry, which previously had defeated the Portuguese 3rd Cavalry, had engaged the 29th Infantry, holding down the south coast. Now, strong forces prevented any envisioned connection between the existing Portuguese lines and what was coming to be known as the “Adelaide Pocket.” In the west, the decision was made to pull back and consolidate the frontier.
Fortunately, we had two things to brighten the picture, though neither was a quick fix. The 1st Motorised Infantry Division was deployed in Lisbon, and as they boarded transports to travel to Australia, also being loaded were some new light howitzers that were now rolling off the line (light artillery advance). That would help our units on the offensive, when we attacked with these upgraded weapons. These things arrived in theatre at the end of November, 1942, along with the heavy cruiser Vila Nova de Gaia.
Supply problems continued to hamper efforts to mop up resistance in Somalia and Egypt. British units were trapped there, isolated and without supply, but if the Portuguese commanders could not get reliable supply themselves (partly because these isolated pockets did still have some negative influence on proper transit of Portuguese supplies along the Nile River Valley), they could not maintain continuous or effective pressure against the British. British airpower, mostly in the form of carrier-based planes, complicated things.
The attacks continued, anyway, sometimes setting up battles of attrition neither side benefited from. The only important goal on the Portuguese side was to force the British surrender and free up the supply lines and the troops required to quarantine these spots.
In September, one of the three remaining British divisions in Somaliland had given up, and all attentions were now focused on the two divisions at Burao. Encircled, and out of supply, they could hardly defend themselves. But these were experienced troops, and they weren’t going to give up easily.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, in the Caribbean Sea, the long struggle between Antigua and Anguilla continued. On the 8th of November, the British division was finally forced to retreat from Antigua to St. Kitts.
Then, on the 13th, the British were ultimately forced to surrender. Portugal advanced into St. Kitts also, and this little corner of the Caribbean was secured.
And, even as all this striving was going on around the world, neither side ceased to raid each others’ convoys. Now that Portugal held an entire coastline along the Suez Canal, it was possible to send a submarine flotilla through to base at the Italian-held base in Cyprus.
Soon, they were raiding not just shipping, but even warship task forces in the “British Lake” off the coast of Palestine. No serious scores were achieved against them, but the mere fact that Portuguese submarines were facing off against British Royal Navy carriers and battleships was significant.
Also… Aha! Found those South African cruisers I’d thought I’d never see again! They’ve been preying upon our merchant traffic around the Cape of Good Hope.
Immediately, we re-locate the FW-200 Condor airwing to Durban, where they begin ranging out to find these raiders. The first thing they found were some British transports which were attempting to round the Cape. They scored some hits, there (never did find out what these transports were doing, or carrying). But then, near the end of November, the Condors were finally able to intercept and inflict some damage upon the South African light cruisers.
And before we go, a brief look at how Japan is faring against Nationalist China…
