Q&A ยท 1:11:07-1:11:23

Could Japan split its carriers among three provocations?

Dividing six carriers among San Francisco, Anchorage, and the Philippines would multiply political effects but strain the whole operation.

Question

Could Japan split its six carriers between San Francisco, Anchorage, and the Philippines?

Short answer

It could divide them two-two-two, but sustaining and coordinating three distant attacks would impose a major logistics burden.

Notes

A viewer proposes sending two carriers to each of San Francisco, Anchorage, and the Philippines. Such a division is operationally imaginable and could provoke the United States on several fronts at once. The limiting factor is the much larger logistics burden created by three distant strike groups. The exchange shows why target selection cannot be separated from replenishment, coordination, and concentration of force.