WesWorld

Quoted

Originally posted by Brockpaine
If memory serves, I believe the Japanese donated a significant amount of heavy artillery, though I'd need to actually research to find out what. Just off the top of my memory, it's a significantly greater number of guns and of larger caliber than the British have there.

If that is true, then I forgot about it. I can't find anything in the reports with search though, but did manage to find a few other things which I PMed to Rocky. In one of the news articles, there was a map, but it is no longer available.

Part IV: British North America

Canada
The Dominion of Canada has independent control of its defence but also as part of the wider planning of the IGS. It is a full co-member of NATO and SAER.


Part V: British South America

British Guyana
In 1814 British Guyana was ceded to Britain in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. The economy of is dominated by sugarcane production, rice farming, mining and forestry. Bauxite deposits form an important part of the economy and in 1938 Guyana supplied 9.1% of the world’s bauxite. There are no strategic threats to Guyana and the only armed units are a few armed police.


Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands Dependencies is the constitutional arrangement for administering the British territories in Sub-Antarctica and Antarctica including the Falklands Islands. The South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands were sold to Nordmark in 1922. Lessons have been learned from the Argo-Nordish War in respect to landings. The islands are heavily indented, hilly, windswept and are of peat-covered moorland. This suits defence and good landing spots are rare. The only threat to the Falklands from Argentina who have a claim on the islands. While Argentine performance in 1922 and 1935-36 in war has not been good, their powerful fleet with modern carriers and battlecruisers supported by older refitted battleships and a sizable cruiser and destroyer force is a dangerous force. Blockade could be enforced and the South Atlantic Station lacks the resources to deal with the threat alone. Two cruisers have now been moved here to bolster our position and to make a diplomatic statement. Reinforcements could take a least a month to arrive from Britain, perhaps two weeks if African forces are used.

Royal Navy: the Falkland Islands fall under the jurisdiction of South Atlantic Station, HQ Lagos, under the command of Rear Admiral H. Harwood.
Units at Port Stanley comprise;
3rd Light Cruiser Squadron (2 E Class)
7th Destroyer Flotilla (4 Welsh Class)
3rd Sloop Flotilla (4 Mountain Class)
Port Stanley Harbour Defence Detachment (1 500 ton Colonial Gunboat Class)
RFA support ships include a destroyer tender and a tanker.
Fortifications at Port Stanley are comprised of basic open positions for eight 18pdr guns and two open MG positions. A line of seven basic hexagonal concrete bunkers surround the town and port with slots for rifles and LMGs. Four buried MG bunkers protect the port armed with three MGs in a cloche and there are four 12pdr guns in casemates. The Royal Marines garrison the islands with effective strength of two companies.
The Royal Air Force stations 246 Sqn at Port Stanley with Supermarine Stranraer flying boats for local naval reconnaissance. This unit is commanded by AHQ Caribbean, HQ Kingston, Jamaica, commanded by Commander-in-Chief (Air) Americas, Air Vice Marshall Bowhill.


Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around 1,000 miles from the coast of Africa and 1,400 miles from the coast of South America, roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa. It plays an important role as a maritime safe haven and coaling station. Ascension Island has been garrisoned by the Royal Navy since 1815. In 1899, the Eastern Telegraph Company installed the first underwater cable from the island, connecting the Great Britain with Southern Africa and South America. The island is managed by the head of the Eastern Telegraph Company on the island.
Royal Navy: Ascension Island falls under the jurisdiction of South Atlantic Station, HQ Lagos, under the command of Rear Admiral H. Harwood. Fortifications comprise two 6in BL guns mounted on Cross Hill, above Georgetown. Two 3in guns and three basic hexagonal concrete bunkers with slots for rifles and LMGs are located at the harbour. There are no permanent naval forces stationed here but a company of Royal Marines are garrisoned here.

Part V: British Caribbean
Bermuda and The Bahamas are separated from the southern British territories by the islands of the Iberian Empire. Jamaica is isolated with Iberian possessions on three sides and the smaller Leeward Islands form a chain towards South America and well away from any major threat. Iberia is the main potential enemy in this region and has large garrisons within its Empire. Its Caribbean islands are garrisoned with 8 divisions (1 Marine, 3 Infantry, 1 Cavalry, 1 Airborne and 2 Carbineros (light motorised infantry). The airborne division poses a particular threat and would be able to seize small islands or certainly make a diverting feint. The lack of RAF fighter defences could prove a problem in wartime while USAAF and Mexican air units are redeployed. Cuba, Hispanola and San Juan are three large islands which are vital for Iberian communications from its Central American territories and the Atlantic. While NATO has assigned the bulk of the any operations in the area to the USA and Mexico, sufficient forces are held within British Caribbean to enable self-defence of the islands until relief can arrive. Given greater threats elsewhere, and the defending NATO assets in the USA and Mexico, forces here have been withdrawn over time and most units left are now locally-raised and the RAF and RN have patrol forces stationed here but little offensive power. The spread-out nature of the small islands chains and lack of large concentrated targets has precluded large fighter formations or AA units. Jamaica, being the largest and most important Colony, while being vulnerable to Iberian attack, is the most heavily defended. The many smaller islands provide some good anchorages and harbours in the region.


Jamaica
There has been a British presence on Jamaica since 1659 and this Colony is the largest within the British Caribbean.

British Army: Jamaica falls under the jurisdiction of West Indies HQ, Kingston, under the command of Lt. General J. Harding.
Units in Jamaica comprise; 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, the Jamaica Infantry Volunteers, a local unit of brigade strength; the Jamaica Militia Artillery, a local territorial unit of regimental strength with 18pdr guns; and the Jamaica Engineer Corps. The Royal Marines have a small garrison at Kingston.
Fortifications comprise mainly obsolete 9.2in and 6in guns in old forts and open mounts. Limited modernisation has been concentrated around Kingstown with two concrete fire-control director towers with 15 foot rangefinders. Six 6in guns in shielded mounts been added. Two heavy 3.7in AA and three light 20mm AA batteries are based near the port and airbases. Montego Bay and Port Antonio each have ten basic hexagonal concrete bunkers the town and port with slots for rifles and LMGs and two 4in guns in open mounts.

Royal Air Force: Jamaica falls under the jurisdiction of AHQ Caribbean, HQ Kingston, commanded by Commander-in-Chief (Air) Americas, Air Vice Marshall Bowhill.
Units in Jamaica comprise;
6 ACF (Army Co-Operation Flight), Kingston, Westland Lysander II
1673 Flt (Meteorology), Kingston, Vickers Wellesley
893 Sqn FAA Kingston & HMS Pegasus, Griffin, Gallant, Gibraltar, Gladiator, Glory and Goliath, Supermarine-Vickers Sea Otter and Fairey Seafox
795 Sqn FAA, Kingston, (forming with Blackburn Firebrand FRN.Mk.I)
The main use of the seaplane base at Kingston is for the FAA. Here units support the Americas and West Indies Station. 795 Sqn will provide the sole fighter defence of the island. 6 ACF has 6 Lysanders and enables Army co-operation with the local territorial units.

Royal Navy: Jamaica falls under the jurisdiction of the Americas and West Indies Station under the command of Vice Admiral R. Harvey.
Units in Jamaica comprise;
Caribbean Squadron (seaplane carrier-cruiser HMS Pegasus, 1 G Class light cruiser and 1 County Class heavy cruiser)
17th Light Cruiser Squadron (5 G Class)
1st Destroyer Flotilla (8 U Class
1st Torpedo Escort Flotilla (8 Defiant Class)
RFA support for the Americas and West Indies Station includes a destroyer tender, two tankers and a survey ship.


Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles, 21 miles long and as much as 14 miles wide with an area of 166 square miles. It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic 62 miles east of the Windward Islands. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt.

British Army: Barbados falls under the jurisdiction of West Indies HQ, Kingston, Jamaica under the command of Lt. General J. Harding. The sole unit is the Barbados Volunteer Force, a volunteer territorial unit raised to provide for the local defence of the island following the withdrawal of the British garrison.

Royal Navy: Barbados falls under the jurisdiction of the Americas and West Indies Station under the command of Vice Admiral R. Harvey. At Bridgetown is the Barbados Force which uses elements from the 2nd Sloop Flotilla on rotation for local patrol.


Bermuda
Bermuda (officially, the Bermudas or Somers Isles) is located off the east coast of the United States; its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,640 miles to the west-northwest. Bermuda has a thriving agricultural export trade (primarily to the United States). After several failed attempts, in 1930 the first aeroplane reached Bermuda. Navigation and weather forecasting improved in 1933 when the Royal Air Force established a station and Imperial Airways and Pan American World Airways began operating scheduled flying-boat airline services from New York and Baltimore to Darrell's Island, Bermuda. In 1941 work began on a new naval base and military airfield which will also be used as a new civil airport with sizable Canadian investment. The Royal Naval Dockyard continues to be an important component of Bermuda's economy.

British Army: Bermuda falls under the jurisdiction of West Indies HQ, Kingston, Jamaica, under the command of Lt. General J. Harding.
Units in Bermuda comprise; the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps, a local territorial infantry unit as a reserve unit in the British Army; the Bermuda Militia Artillery, a local territorial unit equipped with 18pdr guns; and the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers another local volunteer unit to replace the regular Royal Engineers detachment, which was withdrawn from the Bermuda Garrison in 1928.

Royal Air Force: Bermuda falls under the jurisdiction of AHQ Caribbean, HQ Kingston, Jamaica, commanded by Commander-in-Chief (Air) Americas, Air Vice Marshall Bowhill.
The sole unit is; 761 Sqn FAA Air Observers School, Darrell’s Island, Supermarine Stranraer and Supermarine Sea Otter.
The RCNAS have airship facilities in Bermuda and some patrol flying boats for local training flights in co-operation with RCN submarines.

Royal Navy: Bermuda falls under the jurisdiction of the Americas and West Indies Station under the command of Vice Admiral R. Harvey.
The sole unit is; 2nd Sloop Flotilla (4 Mountain Class) and one RFA tanker.
The RCN has the 1st Submarine Squadron (Training) stationed at Ordnance Island with 6 L Class.


Bahamas
The Bahamas consist of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeast of Florida in the United States. Its land area is 5,382 sq miles, with a population of 353,658. Its capital is Nassau. Geographically, the Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

British Army: The Bahamas fall under the jurisdiction of West Indies HQ, Kingston, Jamaica, under the command of Lt. General J. Harding. The sole unit comprises the Bahamas Defence Force, a local volunteer unit of battalion strength.

Royal Air Force: The Bahamas fall under the jurisdiction of AHQ Caribbean, HQ Kingston, Jamaica, commanded by Commander-in-Chief (Air) Americas, Air Vice Marshall Bowhill.
Units in The Bahamas comprise;
1432 Flt, Nassau, Short Sunderland MR.Mk.III
758 Sqn FAA Air Observers School, Nassau (Bahamas), Fairey Swordfish and Percival Proctor II and Avro Anson
749 Sqn (Observer School), Nassau, Vickers-Supermarine Sea Otter
1674 Flt (Meteorology), Nassau, Vickers Wellesley
All the aerial units are mostly FAA and the islands are used as an extensive training base with good clear weather for most of the year. 1432 Flt offers long-range naval reconnaissance in the region.


Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands lie southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas island chain and north of the island of Hispaniola. Cockburn Town, the capital since 1766, is situated on Grand Turk Island. The islands have a total land area of 170 square miles. The islands are geographically contiguous to the Bahamas. Since 1873 the islands have been a dependency of Jamaica.
British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, along with over fifty other smaller islands and cays. Approximately 15 of the islands are inhabited. The capital, Road Town, is situated on Tortola, the largest island, which is approximately 12 miles long and 3 miles wide. The British Virgin Islands are administered as part of the British Leeward Islands.
Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
Saint Kitts and Nevis are part of the Leeward Islands and both were among the first islands in the Caribbean to be settled by Europeans. Anguilla is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands.
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great Bird, Green, Guinea, Long, Maiden, York and Redonda). The capital and largest port is St. John's, on Antigua.
Montserrat
Montserrat is located in the Leeward Islands. The island measures approximately 9.9 miles long and 6.8 miles wide. Montserrat is nicknamed the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean due its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of its inhabitants.

British Army: The above islands of the Leewards fall under the jurisdiction of West Indies HQ, Kingston, Jamaica, under the command of Lt. General J. Harding.
Units comprise; the West India Regiment; the Caribbean Regiment; the Leewards Islands Battalion; the Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force and the Montserrat Defence Force. All are locally-recruited and all are regular units with some British officers. The West India and Caribbean Regiments are modelled on British lines and are fully armed as regular regiments.

Relevant entries changed and added for the events of 30 January 1944.