Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:19:07-1:19:49

Would royal officers be needed to integrate the two navies?

The monarchies could legitimize the alliance politically without placing members of the royal family inside Japanese commands as operational intermediaries.

Allied CommandAnglo-Japanese AllianceCoalition WarfareJapanese NavyRoyal Navy
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Question

Would Britain send royal officers to Japanese postings to help integrate Imperial Japanese Navy commanders with the Royal Navy?

Short answer

No. The First World War alliance worked without special royal postings, and royal connections would remain a matter of strategy and political justification.

Notes

The royal connection would help justify the alliance at the strategic and political level. Britain and Japan had cooperated during the First World War without sending royal officers into Japanese postings for that purpose. The same arrangement would not require special royal appointments in 1940. If a local commander wanted someone with royal connections nearby, Prince Philip and other connected officers were already serving.