To continue

Quote:
We are writing a story here and have to make "editorial" choices (I don't know if it's the right word), which will affect the whole story.

We have ONE main POD (France fights on around 15 June 40) and several smaller PODs (you listed some of them, there are plenty others).

So I agree that the Japanese will benefit from Allied documents found in the PoW, perhaps more that in Singapore OTL, but we can't turn the whole story upside down. This has to be a minor POD. The problem is to keep it under control.


Yes we are writing a story but we have to take the good with the bad. PoW is not going to give the Axis the ability to win the war. Its just going to make it more interesting.

With regards to your idea of POD's and mine. I see one POD in a whatif story, after that it becomes a story. Any changes after that POD from OTL is because of the POD. Not a smaller POD. Some call it the Butterfly effect.

How are we going to turn the whole story upside down if the full impact of the PoW's loss in FFO is felt? Its a story? What will happen next should be our only issue. The Allies are going to find out. Is it through there own intelligence or Russia's? With ULTRA and MAGIC compromised, what do they do? France most likely has some very intrepid Poles in there territory. How are they used, what can they do? Do the allies pool there resources? Combine MAGIC and ULTRA? More recon planes? More Humit activities ( France will be perfect for recruiting )? You also have a very upset Canaris who will now most likely be working in the SS. Does he defect? Does he become a double agent? If Germany broadcasts why Dowding really got fired, how does that effect Britain? The RAF? Germany and Japan now have the same radar as us, what do we do? Our Bombers are getting shot up, more escorts? Higher flying bombers? That is what makes the story so much fun and why, as Mark said once, the further we get from the POD will make our jobs harder. We will have to factor in more variables the farther from the POD we get. PoW is just one more Big variable. Not as big as say Germany not declaring war on the US in 1941 but its still going to hurt. As I also said it will also have some effects on the AXIS as well. Can Japan afford the loss of its brain trust that will be working on these documents. At what point do you have to cut back on the research? Will the Japanese and Germans find themselves fixating on just a few reports or technical books? How many resources are they going to waste on projects that they just can't develop themselves? There will be some give and some take. There has to be. We just have to logically figure out what it is. imho. Example How many resources will now be wasted by the IJN and IJA to recover and examine as much stuff as they can hoping for another PoW find? That is highly skilled and technical people not available for other projects. There has to be an impact from that? We just have to figure out what they all are, or at least enough to allow the story to progress to a logical conclusion.

Russ / Roller007