The Royal Navy's aim is to strangle Japanese trade before attempting any assault on the home islands. Town-class cruisers and submarines would attack or interrupt trade routes while the main Allied fleet formed farther south. Japan then has to decide whether to disperse forces to hunt surface raiders and protect merchants or concentrate for battle against the Royal Navy. Waiting also allows British reserve and Home Fleet units to join the Mediterranean reinforcements at Singapore. Japanese operational choices, trade dependence, and the timing of fleet concentration become central to the counterfactual, with no assumption that one decisive battle is inevitable.
Chapter · 43:22-44:41
Blockade before invasion
The British objective in the scenario is to isolate Japan with cruisers and submarines, forcing the Japanese navy to choose between trade protection and fleet action.