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#1961
May 18th, 2012, 07:55 AM
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Happy and Glorious
continued June 1st to June 30th 1946 China The Russians still had 20 divisions in Manchuria. Negotiations with Chiang Kai Shek to secure a withdrawal before the end of the summer had broken down over the issue of arming thr Communists. The Soviet commander Malinovsky had ordered that all captured Japanese weapons were to be turned over to Mao's men. By June 1946 the communists had 1.2 million armed troops. These forces included 116 Japanese tanks, 7 old Grants, 29 Soviet T34's and 54 obsolete old Russian tanks. They also had 73 Japanese aircraft of mixed types plus 18 Yak 3's, 14 Yak 9's and 23 transports and trainers. Chiang's army had 4.4 million men and included 129 Stuart tanks, 102 Grants, 336 Shermans plus 163 Japanese tanks. The Chinese air force had grown to 46 P47s, 22 P40s, 17 P51 Mustangs, 54 B25 Mitchell bombers, 29 B26s, 32 Bostons, 18 Baltimores, 49 Japanese aircraft and 78 transports and trainers. The Chinese navy also had 2 old US destroyers and 3 DDEs and 2 Japanese destroyers and 2 submarines taken as reparations. By this time there were also 95,000 US troops on mainland China. They were obviously supporting the Kuomintang and so some communists had fired on US troop trains and ambushed the odd jeep. In June 4 Americans were killed. Chiang informed the Americans that he would be launching an all out offensive against the Communists soon. He asked if he had the support of the United States in taking this action. The Americans figured that Chiang would attack anyway so their answer was yes. Vietnam Informers told the French about the location of one of the few bases the Viet Minh still had. General Leclerc ordered an attack by 6,000 troops. The terrain close to the Chinese border was difficult for the few armoured vehicles (mostly stuarts and Shermans) to operate effectively. The Viet Minh were having a crisis at this time and could only muster 1,200 men to fight in the area. The French captured the base after 4 days of fighting. The French led forces lost 28 killed and 73 wounded. The Viet Minh lost 132 killed and 400 captured. In Hanoi the American consul expressed the US governments disatisfaction with the behaviour of the French authorities in suppressing dissent. The British now withdrew from Cambodia and so all of Indochina was under French rule. Singapore Field Marshall Auchinleck held a meeting with General Simon Spoor the Dutch commander and General Le Clerc of France to decide on common support for each other forces in the face of rising nationalism in the region. As per Churchills' instructions a base was to be established in Malaya from which rapid response units could be deployed anywhere in the region. Japan The New American governor of Japan was Mark Clark. This caused some discontent from many Americans who thought that an American officer who had taken part in the Pacific war should have the job. His arrival coincided with the arrest of Yamamoto for his role in Pearl Harbor. Iran The Shah's letter to the UN led to 2 resolutions calling for a Soviet withdrawal. Russian troops did withdraw from all parts of the country except the Azerbaijan region. Here the Russians actually sent more troops and gave the Tabriz government a loan. In neighbouring Iraq the British built up their air strength. By the end of June there were 1 Spitfire, 1 Tempest, 1 Beaufighter and 2 Mosquito squadrons in place. The British also started to expand their airfield on Bahrain. In addition the light carrier Glory in the Persian Gulf had 21 Barracudas and 23 Fireflies. TBC 
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#1962
May 18th, 2012, 08:01 AM
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Would China be a new Vietnam/Korea or a new Poland? I feel you are setting stage for a large scale proxy war that would scare both sides into Cold War and uneasy peace. But just as easily it could open Pandora's box and everything goes to hell.
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#1963
May 18th, 2012, 08:14 AM
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#1964
May 18th, 2012, 08:20 AM
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Well, yeah but China... I mean it is so large and so out of scale with Yugoslavia, Poland, minor colonial troubles in Indochina. It could suck up both US and Soviet manpower in proxy war and hardly burp.
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#1965
May 18th, 2012, 08:22 AM
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#1966
May 18th, 2012, 12:49 PM
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Glad I could be of help.
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#1967
May 18th, 2012, 03:26 PM
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Happy and Glorious
continued July 1st to July 31st 1946 UK HMS Irresistible continued her sea trials. In view of the international situation Churchill announced that demobilisation will be slowed down while a new Defence Act would give the UK peacetime conscription. The RAF now had 9 of the Maelstrom squadrons as well as 13 Meteor and 9 Vampire jet, The RAF also had 2 Hornet squadrons in the fighter role. Bomber Command now had 5 Windsor and 6 Lincoln squadrons in addition to the large numbers of Lancasters. Australia and Canada were also producing the Lincoln under licence for their own air forces. The Royal navy now had 5 Seafang squadrons but the aircraft was proving a disappointment in service and looked anachronistic. Luckily there were now 2 Sea Hornet and 3 Hawker Sea Fury squadrons in RN service. These planes were comparable to American types. One problem faced by the government was the mining industry. The unions wanted Nationalisation and they had been led to believe by the Wartime coalition that this time they would get it. Churchill was opposed and instead offered a consolidation of the industry under fewer owners that would be able to offer better conditions and wages. He also accepted that a national wage should apply and be imposed on the owners. Poland The Russians closed three of Polands borders, it's northern, western and eastern. Only the border through Czechoslovakia remained open. Poland responded by closing it's airspace to Russian over flights to East Germany. The Russians ignored this and the planes flew. Yugoslavia The Tito Yugoslavs occupied more Dalmatian Islands. On July 17th an Italian fishing boat was seized and another fired on. Two days later a Western Yugoslav C47 cargo plane delivering mail to Zagreb from Rome was intercepted and shot down by a Russian Yak 9. The Russians claimed it was a spy plane. More border incidents resulted in 8 deaths. Germany There were now 11 US divisions in Germany and 7 British. The Nuremburg trials finally got under way. All the leading Nazis were there with the exception of Himmler who was still missing. Turkey As part of his apparent aim of reversing the territorial losses after the Revolution Stalin talked about the return of the lands lost to Turkey. The Turks were worried and began talks with the British. TBC
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#1969
May 18th, 2012, 05:31 PM
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#1970
May 18th, 2012, 05:39 PM
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#1971
May 18th, 2012, 05:48 PM
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#1972
May 19th, 2012, 06:56 AM
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Happy and Glorious
continued July 1st to July 31st 1946 China The Kuomintang attacked Communist held areas south and west of Peking with 18 divisions supported by their airforce. The Communists had been warned by spies that an attack was coming but they didn't expect it to be so large and so well co ordinated. The initial assaults were successful and within two weeks the Communists had lost 2,400 Killed, 5,000 wounded and 6,000 captured. The KMT had lost 1,100 killed and 2,700 wounded. Meanwhile Chiang wanted an 'Arnhem style' coup de gace in Manchuria but had few troops trained as airborne. Instead his generals advocated airlifting whole divisions to improvised strips while troops landed near Dalian and linked up with them. For this they needed the Americans and after a brief dicsussion with his advisers Truman authorized the use of American transport aircraft while the USN would support amphibious landings. The US government also authorized aid of 1 billion dollars for Chiang's government. Vietnam The French pursued the Viet Minh to the Chinese border where they then made their escape. The French air force then bombed them on Chinese territory. This drew protests from Chiang and from the United States. Indonesia British troops in Sumatra were still withdrawing but were then called on to help the Dutch deal with an insurrection in Aceh. The British lost 4 killed and 13 wounded in the fighting. On Java the Dutch continued their search and destroy for Sukarno. Their troops were now subject to ambushes and hit and run attacks instead of fighting pitched battles. The Dutch led forces lost 23 killed and 71 wounded in July. By this stage the Dutch had 48,000 Dutch and 60,000 East Indian troops. Burma The Burmese economy had done well during the war after recovering well from the initial damage of 1942. The post war run down had affected things a little but the Chinese market was booming with reconstructiona and American aid while Thailand and Malaya also needed Burmese imports of rice and oil. The British decided that Burma should have self government as a reward for its loyalty in the war and the fact that the country's Anglo Asian elite had now been joined by a growing middle class. There was talk among some of Dominion status by 1955 if all went well. Iran A demonstration in favour of a united Iran was crushed in Tabriz. Some reports said that 24 people had been killed. This was brought to the attention of the UN that deplored the act as savage repression. The Soviet representative said that the demonstration had been organized by the British and was designed to provoke a reaction. The RAF were now flying regular patrols over southern and central Iran although they were careful to avoid the north. Syria Demonstrations were held in Damascus and Aleppo against the continued French occupation. Dozens were killed. Egypt There was a demonstration in Cairo to support the Syrians. The crowd turned violent and attacked known French businesses. Egyptian police failed to restore order and so British troops arrived and opened fire. After two days of disturbances there were 4 Europeans and 52 Egyptians dead. The Egyptian Parliament called for the 1936 treaty to be amended and demanded to know when the British would finaly withdraw. Turkey Stalin demanded the right to have a base in the Dardenelles in order to protect Russians ships passing through the straits. The Turkish leader Ismet Ionu appealed to the US and UK for help. Truman was cautious. So many problems were landing on his desk telling him of crisis in countries of which he knew little and where the US had no historic interests. He decided to let Churchill go first and then see which way the wind was blowing. Churchill had a long association with the Dardanelles and the very word sent a cold shudder through him that would then be replaced with rage at the incompetents who failed to see how he could have ended the Great War 2 years early if only people understood. He didn't have to think long before ordering units of the Mediterranean Fleet to 'Constantinople' as he called it in his memo. Soon the battlecruiser Repulse and the carrier Illustrious and light carrier Theseus arrived in Istanbul for a goodwill visit. TBC
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#1973
May 19th, 2012, 08:32 AM
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Is Truman really that incompetent or does he just need to adjust to being an US president? He's giving presents to the Soviets now.
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#1974
May 20th, 2012, 07:29 PM
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#1975
May 24th, 2012, 08:23 AM
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Bump (filler)
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#1976
May 24th, 2012, 08:59 AM
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So what's happening in India?
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#1978
May 24th, 2012, 05:10 PM
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I'm back in the UK which in the globalized 21st century means I'm not actually 'at home'. I will write more next week. Someone asked about India. At the moment India is much quieter than OTL because Burma was never lost. That means the quit India movement in 1942 never got off the ground and there was hardly any trouble with the Indian National Army under Chandra Bose. Churchill has promised nothing more than the implementation of the 1935 India Act. Obviously India cannot remain quiet forever.
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#1979
May 27th, 2012, 01:56 PM
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Bump. And to go with the bump a little present.
Since I finished my law exams the other day I've been able to get back to map-making, starting with a quick and dirty map for one of my favourite timelines. I must emphasise the "Quick and dirty" element of that, since there are quite a few problems with it (for instance I forgot to change the Polish-German border, and several borders - especially in China and Yugoslavia - are based disproportionately based on guesswork). It's not my best piece of work, but hopefully the good readers of this fine timeline (and the author himself of course) can point out the mistakes so I can fix them
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#1980
May 28th, 2012, 01:25 AM
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