Admiral Beez
Banned
Sept 1940, Japan invades FIC. By Jan 1941 Britain asks Canada to join Australia and India in reinforcing Malaya. The focus of the Canadian contribution is to be tanks, artillery, troops and fighter aircraft.
1) Tanks.
27 May 1941, the first of 1,400 Valentine tanks rolls off the production line at CPR's Angus Shops in Montreal. See details here http://www.okthepk.ca/dataCprSiding/articles/200909/foto04.htm
Instead of sending all of them to the USSR, the first 200 are destined for Malaya. As part of the operation Colonel Worthington was instructed in Jan 1941 to begin training the Canadian Armoured Corp (CAC) for deployment to SEA. The first 40 tanks, shown below, ship from Vancouver in early July, arriving 25 days later in early August, with another 60 arriving in early September 1941. By end of October the full 200 allotment has arrived.
The Canadian Valentines use GM diesel engines, so logistical challenges will need to be overcome. Can you run a WW2 diesel engine on naval fuel oil? There'd be tons of that at Singapore's naval base.
I'm not sure of the transport ships available during this stage of the Battle of the Atlantic, but a Liberty Ship from later in the war could carry over 300 light tanks, so let's assume two or three ships available in 1940-41 are making the runs. Escorts shouldn't be needed in the peacetime Pacific.
As an aside, I was amazed how many Valentines survive to this day http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Valentines.pdf
2) Troops
Nearly the entirety of the Canadian Armoured Corps personnel, including mechanics and support teams is transported to Malaya to man the Valentines. Colonel Worthington is promoted to Brigadier-General and sent to lead the CAC. The CAC personnel have been training and preparing for this operation, so land on their feet and get to work in Malaya.
Also sent is the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE), consisting of fifty officers and about 400 men, plus all their equipment, including two thousand land mines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Military_Engineers#Second_World_War
The RC Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers destined for Hong Kong IOTL are instead sent to Malaya with the tanks, but without Brigadier-General Lawson, as we don't want Worthington to be outranked by an interfering fellow Canuck. These troops are green, but will be useful as labour for the RCEs for road blocks and defensive works if nothing else. Best of all, the troops have brought machine guns, mortars and lots of ammunition.
http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/weapons/lightweapons/mortars/mortars.htm
During the Second World War, each Infantry Platoon was equipped with a 2-inch Mortar. Each Infantry Battalion also had a Mortar Platoon equipped with the 3-inch Mortar. Each Machine Gun Battalion had a 4.2-inch Mortar company added to it after the beginning of the war.
3) Guns
In early 1940 Canada's Sorel plant began production of the 25 pounder artillery gun. http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/weapons/ordnance/25pounder.htm
In August 1941, the 1st and 2nd Medium Regiments, Royal Canadian Artillery arrives in Malaya with fifty 25-pounders and 600 men. I'm using this as a size estimate http://nigelef.tripod.com/RAorg.htm
If tractors or trucks are not available, the Valentines can be used in a pinch to move the guns.
4) Planes
Instead of buying the Brewster Buffalo for the RAF in Malaya, in Sept 1940, Britain decides to divert Canadian-produced Hurricanes to Malaya, planning to sent 200 aircraft to Malaya by summer 1941. In Jan. 1940 the first Hawker Hurricanes began rolling off CC&F's plant in Fort William Ontario. http://www.jneaircraft.com/am274/history/
The June 1941 trains carrying the first Valentines pass through Fort William (today's Thunder Bay). They stop to collect 100 Hawker Hurricanes, to send on the same ships to Malaya. The following tank trains collect 200 more Hurricanes, bring the total shipment to 300 fighters arriving crated in Malaya by August 1941.
Some RCAF pilots are sent, but these join the RAF/RAAF personnel now in place in Malaya to operate the Hurricanes and other aircraft.
What hasn't changed
Percival is still in charge, so they'll still be a general lack of preparedness, unless someone (maybe Worthington?) can push him to use the concrete and engineering kit he has on hand to build road blocks, defenses, stockpile food, secure water, etc. With tanks, troops, planes, etc. all arriving so late in the game, none of the leadership or troops can easily work together. The CAC tankers are well trained, but green.
Now what?
Percival's command has now been reinforced by 200 Valentine tanks with trained tankers and one of the CW's top tank officers, 300 Hawker Hurricane fighters, 50 x 25-pdr artillery guns and their trained personnel, an engineering corps, a machine gun regiment (Winnipeg Grenadiers), and an additional infantry regiment (RC Rifles).
1) Tanks.
27 May 1941, the first of 1,400 Valentine tanks rolls off the production line at CPR's Angus Shops in Montreal. See details here http://www.okthepk.ca/dataCprSiding/articles/200909/foto04.htm
Instead of sending all of them to the USSR, the first 200 are destined for Malaya. As part of the operation Colonel Worthington was instructed in Jan 1941 to begin training the Canadian Armoured Corp (CAC) for deployment to SEA. The first 40 tanks, shown below, ship from Vancouver in early July, arriving 25 days later in early August, with another 60 arriving in early September 1941. By end of October the full 200 allotment has arrived.
The Canadian Valentines use GM diesel engines, so logistical challenges will need to be overcome. Can you run a WW2 diesel engine on naval fuel oil? There'd be tons of that at Singapore's naval base.
I'm not sure of the transport ships available during this stage of the Battle of the Atlantic, but a Liberty Ship from later in the war could carry over 300 light tanks, so let's assume two or three ships available in 1940-41 are making the runs. Escorts shouldn't be needed in the peacetime Pacific.
As an aside, I was amazed how many Valentines survive to this day http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Valentines.pdf
2) Troops
Nearly the entirety of the Canadian Armoured Corps personnel, including mechanics and support teams is transported to Malaya to man the Valentines. Colonel Worthington is promoted to Brigadier-General and sent to lead the CAC. The CAC personnel have been training and preparing for this operation, so land on their feet and get to work in Malaya.
Also sent is the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE), consisting of fifty officers and about 400 men, plus all their equipment, including two thousand land mines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Military_Engineers#Second_World_War
The RC Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers destined for Hong Kong IOTL are instead sent to Malaya with the tanks, but without Brigadier-General Lawson, as we don't want Worthington to be outranked by an interfering fellow Canuck. These troops are green, but will be useful as labour for the RCEs for road blocks and defensive works if nothing else. Best of all, the troops have brought machine guns, mortars and lots of ammunition.
http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/weapons/lightweapons/mortars/mortars.htm
During the Second World War, each Infantry Platoon was equipped with a 2-inch Mortar. Each Infantry Battalion also had a Mortar Platoon equipped with the 3-inch Mortar. Each Machine Gun Battalion had a 4.2-inch Mortar company added to it after the beginning of the war.
3) Guns
In early 1940 Canada's Sorel plant began production of the 25 pounder artillery gun. http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/weapons/ordnance/25pounder.htm
In August 1941, the 1st and 2nd Medium Regiments, Royal Canadian Artillery arrives in Malaya with fifty 25-pounders and 600 men. I'm using this as a size estimate http://nigelef.tripod.com/RAorg.htm
If tractors or trucks are not available, the Valentines can be used in a pinch to move the guns.
4) Planes
Instead of buying the Brewster Buffalo for the RAF in Malaya, in Sept 1940, Britain decides to divert Canadian-produced Hurricanes to Malaya, planning to sent 200 aircraft to Malaya by summer 1941. In Jan. 1940 the first Hawker Hurricanes began rolling off CC&F's plant in Fort William Ontario. http://www.jneaircraft.com/am274/history/
The June 1941 trains carrying the first Valentines pass through Fort William (today's Thunder Bay). They stop to collect 100 Hawker Hurricanes, to send on the same ships to Malaya. The following tank trains collect 200 more Hurricanes, bring the total shipment to 300 fighters arriving crated in Malaya by August 1941.
Some RCAF pilots are sent, but these join the RAF/RAAF personnel now in place in Malaya to operate the Hurricanes and other aircraft.
What hasn't changed
Percival is still in charge, so they'll still be a general lack of preparedness, unless someone (maybe Worthington?) can push him to use the concrete and engineering kit he has on hand to build road blocks, defenses, stockpile food, secure water, etc. With tanks, troops, planes, etc. all arriving so late in the game, none of the leadership or troops can easily work together. The CAC tankers are well trained, but green.
Now what?
Percival's command has now been reinforced by 200 Valentine tanks with trained tankers and one of the CW's top tank officers, 300 Hawker Hurricane fighters, 50 x 25-pdr artillery guns and their trained personnel, an engineering corps, a machine gun regiment (Winnipeg Grenadiers), and an additional infantry regiment (RC Rifles).
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