The Whale Has Wings Vol 3 - Holding the Barrier (14 page)

Major General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General Far East Air Force, arrives at his new headquarters at Darwin, Northern Territory.

The submarine HMS Triumph fails to return from patrol, thought to be the victim of a mine. The RN has been steadily clearing mines laid by the Japanese at the start of the war, but apparently their submarines are re-laying some of them.

Dec 30th

In Borneo, the Imperial formations make an attack on the Japanese. This is a confused affair of infantry actions in the jungle, and the Japanese, more experienced in jungle fighting, finally come out best, pushing the Allies back and inflicting 700 casualties for the loss of 500 men. While the Imperial forces reform, the Dutch expect to be able to make their own attack the following day, keeping up pressure on the Japanese. Both the RAF and the Dutch air force are flying patrol missions along the coast, and so far this seems to be deterring the Japanese from further reinforcing their position.

The US forces on Luzon fall back from positions at Tarlac. These are their last prepared positions before Bataan. They need to hold this line because the forces to the south must pass through Manila to get to Bataan - if they fail to hold here, they will be lost.

The air echelons of two USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress squadrons arrive at Sinosari, Java, Netherlands East Indies, from Batchelor Field near Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Admiral King is appointed CINCUS (Commander in Chief) - US Fleet. To avoid use of what he considers the pejorative acronym CINCUS, he introduces COMINCH

General Alexander and Admiral Somerville hold discussions with the Dutch as to where best to deploy to protect Borneo and the western part of the DEI. Borneo is a large country with poor communications, and realistically a successful defence will require control of the sea. However if it can be held it will force the Japanese into a single line of attack through the DEI, unless they in turn can control the sea area. After considerable discussions the Dutch agree to place their naval forces under British overall command, as the Far Eastern Fleet is obviously the heavy naval force in the area. As a start, aggressive patrols by light forces of cruisers and destroyers will continue, with the capital ships being held ready to contest any attempt by Japan to move into the area with heavy ships.

As a result of these decisions, London is informed of the need for more aircraft as soon as possible to control the eastern part of the sea area. While a considerable number of aircraft are on the convoy heading east, the longer-range planes can make it their on their own through the established air routes. The USAAF is also asked if it can provide planes to help, pointing out that the further forward the Japanese can be held the easier it will be to retake the Philippines. Discussions are ongoing to move Admiral Hart's remaining ships to bases in the DEI and Singapore. As a result of the telegrams to London, that evening HMS Ark Royal, HMS Renown and a destroyer escort enter the Suez Canal.

Dec 31st

Two of the RN's T-class submarines are recalled from patrol to take part in Operation Stiletto. A force of SOE-trained men and Australian volunteers is already training for their part in the operation.

General Yamashita is pushing the Imperial Guard forward as fast as possible; he needs these troops for his planned new offensive in Malaya. There has been considerable discussion in the army about which coast is the best for an advance; in the end the west has been chosen due to the far superior transport network (the Japanese supply officers in Thailand and French Indo China are starting to get nervous tics when pushed on the issues of supply shortages), and the eastern coast is only viable if the Japanese navy controls the sea, which they don't. A number of diversions will be conducted on the east coast, using coastal craft if possible. He hopes to have all the men in place in a few days.

The Japanese attempt another night raid against Singapore. This is again roughly handled by the radar-equipped night fighters, and thirteen bombers are lost out of 50 for the cost of light damage to an airfield and the city. As a result Somerville thinks it will be possible to station heavier forces in Singapore, although he does point out that if the Japanese start to conduct effective air raids he will be obliged to pull them back again.

Jan 1st 1942

The Chinese request lend-lease aid for construction of a road across northern Burma to link with the Burma Road. The projected road would extend from Ledo, India, to Fort Hertz and Myitkyina, Burma, and Lung-ling, China.

The RAF conducts a heavy raid against Italian oil storage facilities near Rome, leaving half the storage tanks aflame, the planes flying on to North Africa to refuel. On their return trip, they make another raid, this time on armament works.

Dutch troops attack the Japanese in Borneo, aided by air strikes from the Dutch air force, including heavy strafing operations by the Dutch Buffalo squadrons. This time the situation is less confused than the initial attacks by the Allies, and although the Dutch do not push the Japanese back, both sides lose about 500 men killed and wounded. The Allied force to the south has reformed after its initial defeat, and will strike north tomorrow to put further pressure on the Japanese.

Jan 2nd

Japanese troops occupy the remains of Cavite naval base as well as the capital of Manila as US forces withdraw to the Bataan peninsula. This is good news to the Japanese army, who immediately start looking at options to redeploy some of the troops, and in particular, the transports they have been using, to other areas which are not progressing as well.

President Roosevelt announces the beginning of the Liberty Ship program, the construction of 200 merchant ships of a standardized design. This is welcomed by the British, as while the opening of the Mediterranean and the use of North African supplies has eased their shipping situation, the new requirements in the Far East are threatening to overwhelm existing capacity. This is not helped by the need to move large numbers of troops and the lack of a US sealift capability.

Lieutenant General Hugh A. Drum, Commanding General First Army, tentatively selected for a field command in China, arrives in Washington, D.C. where he confers with various military leaders, finding widely divergent opinions as to role of U.S. in China.

The Imperial Borneo force strikes the Japanese positions while they are still recovering from the Dutch attack - a rather fortuitous timing.  This time the force keeps pressing the Japanese, who finally start to pull back after suffering over 600 casualties to the Imperial losses of some 400.

Jan 3rd

During the night of 3/4 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches ten planes on a mine-laying mission in the Frisian Islands; one aircraft is lost.

In Washington President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill announce the creation of a unified command in the Southwest Pacific, with British General Alexander as supreme commander of American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) forces in that area. General Alexander is directed

(1) To hold the Malay Barrier (the line Malay Peninsula-Sumatra-Java-Northern Australia) and operate as far beyond the barrier as possible in order to check the Japanese advance

(2) Hold Malaya, Burma and Australia

(3) Restore communications with the Philippine Islands through the Netherlands East Indies

(4) Maintain communications within the theatre

Above all, Alexander's forces, mostly Australians and British, are to hold Australia and Burma. In another move, Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek is named Commander in Chief of Allied Forces in China. The Arcadia Conference makes Chiang Kai-shek, a Chinese leader, the leader of Allied troops stationed in and around China. In order to relieve Alexander of direct responsibility for Malaya, General Blamey is appointed head of ground forces in Malaya, a promotion which is popular in Australia.

Military planners come to the realization that it will be impossible to reinforce the Philippine Islands and the troops in those islands are doomed. When told of this, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson notes, "There are times when men must die."

Jan 4th

Japanese Lieutenant General Homma, Commanding General 14th Army, meets with Manila Mayor Jorge Vargas.  Homma imposes a Japanese Military Administration under Major General Hayashi. He imposes a curfew, blackout, martial law, firearms turn-in, a ban on radio transmissions and listening to non-Japanese statements. He also warns that any hostile act against the Japanese will result in ten Filipinos dying for every Japanese that is killed. All industries, factories, banks, schools, churches, and printing presses must come under Japanese control. The flying of the Filipino or U.S. flags or singing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" is forbidden.

The Japanese begin an air offensive against Rabaul on New Britain Island, the strategic base in the Bismarck Archipelago, garrisoned by 5,400 men (principally the Australian 2/22d Battalion, 8th Division; an RAAF detachment; 100 men of the New Guinea Volunteer Reserve; and a few Royal Australian Navy officers). Located at Rabaul are a fighter strip at Lakunai and a bomber strip at Vunakanu.

The Imperial Guards division makes a series of probing attacks on the British defensive line in Malaya. These are beaten off (in some cases with difficulty). The Imperial Guards have a reputation as fearless troops, but they have no recent combat experience. The British have built up defensive positions supported by artillery and small armoured units, which while discommoded by attempts to attack by infiltration have no great difficulty in holding their positions and wiping out the Japanese units in the rear. After the first day Blamey informs Malaya command that the Japanese appear to have no new tactics or equipment, and his experienced Australian troops are confident that unless the circumstances change considerably in favour of the Japanese they can be held here. Unfortunately, it is likely that nothing but local counterattacks can be made until the reinforcement convoy arrives later in the month.

In the Mediterranean British and Greek commandos start what will be a series of raids against the Greek coast. As with the raids in Norway, the main purpose is to keep the Italians off balance and occupied while the Allies build up strength for a major amphibious operation.

Jan 5th

Carried away by recent small successes and against the advice of his chief of general staff, General Zhukov, Stalin orders his army to undertake a general offensive along the entire Eastern Front.

U.S. Forces in Australia (USFIA) is redesignated U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), and Major General Brett assumes command. Headquarters is located in the MacRobertson Girls High School in Melbourne, Victoria.   

The last of the reinforcements planned for Burma before the Japanese attacked, 17th Indian Division, start to arrive in theatre. Also arriving are Hurricanes diverted from the Russian shipments, which have been assembled and then flown in. In fact the current shortage is of pilots, and Middle East command is currently gathering transport planes; the convoy that left Britain last month has dropped off pilots and ground crew in North Africa, from whence they will be flown to Burma. While some spares and other operational equipment were part of the Russian supply, further equipment and stores will have to wait on the convoys.

The steady, if low-level, attacks against Italy in the Mediterranean are causing political problems in Italy. There is considerable pressure on the Italian Government to bring back some of the large Italian forces in Russia to defend Italy and allow them to respond to the Allied attacks. Mussolini refuses to withdraw Italian troops, pointing out it is necessary to support Germany as they had been supporting Italy; a compromise is reached, where Italy will suggest reducing the army in Russia. This actually has a certain amount of support from some German generals, who would rather have their limited logistics supporting German soldiers than what they see as poor-quality Italian ones.

The attack by the Imperial Guards division continues to press the Australian defence. Undeterred by what seem to the defenders to be heavy losses, they are managing to push back the line in a number of places. Blamey responds by bringing forward some of the Indian division held in reserve to help seal off the infiltration attacks the Japanese are using. While this works better in theory than practice - the idea being for the defenders to hold firm when attacked from the rear, while the fresh troops attack the Japanese in their own rear, in practice it tends to result in a number of confused actions with each side surprising each other - it succeeds in blunting the attack. By nightfall, the Japanese have been pushed back to their start lines with considerable losses, the inexperience of the Japanese formations showing.

The British forces in Borneo pause to regroup and bring up supplies (always a difficult task here), allowing the Japanese to reform their perimeter, although they have been pushed back a considerable distance. The Allies are maintaining as strong a reconnaissance as possible, as they think it likely the Japanese will try to reinforce by sea again.

Jan 6th

The Second Marine Brigade (Brigadier General Larsen, USMC) embarked in troop transports SS Lurline, SS Monterey and SS Matsonia, and cargo ship USS Jupiter and ammunition ship USS Lassen   sails from San Diego, California, for Pago Pago, American Samoa. The initial escort is provided by Task Force 17 (Rear Admiral Fletcher), formed around aircraft carrier USS Yorktown.

During the night the Japanese land an amphibious force at Brunei Bay, having managed to evade detection in poor weather (at present, the Allies have no radar-equipped search planes able to cover the area off northern Borneo). They land an additional 800 men and supplies for the original detachment, which has been running very short of ammunition after the encounters with the Allied forces.

The Japanese Imperial Guard Division makes a final effort to break through the Australian defence line. This is the first time Imperial troops have encountered what will come to be known as Banzai Charges, as the Imperial Guard manage to force a break in the defence line. Although the local troops are overwhelmed, the experienced Australians refuse to panic, and close up, allowing the Japanese to push through the gap. However there is a full division in reserve behind the line, and while some of it has been used to close off infiltration attacks, the Japanese find themselves facing a full brigade of infantry, with armour attached. The tanks and artillery support from the Australians still in place to either side of the breakthrough allow Blamey to pinch it off, and by the following morning, it is the Japanese who are surrounded, the defence line having reformed, albeit with considerable difficulty. The situation is often confused by the fact that the 'defence line' is in fact nothing of the sort, rather a line of mutually supporting positions.

In order to try and pinch off more landings by the Japanese in Borneo, the light carrier HMAS Brisbane with an escort of the cruisers HMAS Australia and HMAS Hobart, plus escort destroyers, arrives at Singapore. The force is commanded by Admiral Crace, who hopes to conduct sweeps up the Borneo coast to allow his planes to find and sink Japanese supply convoys in the north. The force will be supported by fighters operating from land bases in the south of the country. This is a calculated risk by Somerville, as the air threat in the area would indicate a force of two fleet carriers would be more suitable, but he is reluctant to commit such a high proportion of his air strength when the intentions of the main Japanese fleet are still unknown. It is also looking like more troops will need to be sent to Borneo, and ships are being readied in Singapore to travel under the protection of the RAN force. Four of the RN U-class boats as well as the Dutch submarines are ordered north and northeast of Borneo to target Japanese ships.

Somerville is also wondering what to do with the fairly large number of old US submarines soon to arrive in Singapore from the US Asiatic Fleet. While the base can do much of the maintenance, major equipment failures will be a problem, and a bigger issue is the lack of torpedoes. An urgent request has been made to the USN to deliver at least the torpedoes and ammunition for the deck guns. In the meantime, he is waiting on his suggestion to Admiral Hart to use some of the boats for the Stiletto operations, allowing them to unload most of their torpedoes to allow other boats to go on patrol with larger loadouts. Hart agrees this would be sensible, but has to wait on permission from Washington.

Jan 7th

The siege of Bataan begins as U .S. and Filipino forces complete their withdrawal from the Layac Line.

In Malaya the 8th Indian Division makes an attack on the pocket of the Japanese Imperial Guard trapped behind the Allies defensive lines. Even though the Japanese have little in the way of heavy weapons, it takes the Indians two days to finally snuff out the pocket. Of the 2,000 Japanese troops trapped, only around 100 are captured, all of them injured. The Indians take nearly a 1,000 casualties themselves, despite their advantages in artillery and armour.