I see the war in the Pacific going pretty much as it did go in WW2 but on a faster pace because of the full use industrial might going to defeating the Japanese. Now this is all hypothetical but how do you guys think the Pacific war would have been different?
Would the invasion of the home islands have happened with out the A-bomb and the Soviets invading into Manchuria? How would an invasion have gone down? Would the Emperor be whisked away? And where would he be taken?
And where can I find good early 20th center Japanese civilians to represent the local population and insurgents?
I can see an American Expeditionary force to China to help the Nationalist forces fight the Japanese on the continent. And an invasion of Japan fallowed by a long and brutal occupation. Ok what are your ideas? Also if any one has read any fiction about such a thing happening I would be happy to hear about it and would like to know more. :D
Certainly things would move quicker without the 'Europe First' policy, although whether MacArthur plays well with others is an issue, given that everyone who is anyone is going to want a share in the action. Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley and Ridgway, are all going to want their moment, to name but a few. Ultimately that might slow things down.
ReplyDeleteCertainly the U.S. will reach Japan well before the A-Bomb is ready and I seem to recall that one estimated casualty count for an invasion was something like half a million U.S. servicemen, of which 130,000+ would be KIA or MIA.
The Soviets were planning their own invasion in '45, so that might force a 'rush job', with an attendant increases in casualties.
Japan's topography is such that where the Americans were going to land was hardly a surprise, nor were the routes they would need to advance along. The effectiveness of aerial and naval bombardment would ultimately be a factor in getting guys ashore safely.
It's an interesting scenario...
Kind of what I was thinking. The War would most likely go the way it did. But with more resources, troops and equipment.
DeleteSo maybe operation theaters like Burma would be flooded with US equipment and troops, with maybe even more support or an Expeditionary Crop being sent to China.
I was informed that apparently the army had a plan to move through the Philippines and China before launching the invasion of the home islands from Korea