Weapons of Choice

Last updated
Weapons of Choice
Weapons of Choice.tif
First edition
Author John Birmingham
Cover artistBob Warner
LanguageEnglish
Series Axis of Time
Genre Alternate history
Publisher Del Rey Books
Publication date
June 2004
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages544
ISBN 0-7329-1199-0
OCLC 62539678
Followed by Designated Targets  

Weapons of Choice is a science fiction novel by Australian author John Birmingham, the first in his Axis of Time alternative history trilogy. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

A television adaptation was announced in 2021. [4]

Plot

In 2021 off East Timor, a US-led multinational task force commanded by Admiral Phillip Kolhammer prepares to liberate the Indonesian islands from an Islamic government calling itself the Caliphate, which is slaughtering the Chinese nationals living there. In the book's backstory, the Chinese government was planning to send a task force but was warned by the US government not to do so. The flagship of the task force is the aircraft carrier USS Hillary Clinton, named after "the most uncompromising wartime president in the history of the United States". The task force is made up mainly of US and British units alongside French, Australian, Japanese, and Free Indonesians , along with a few other units like Spetsnaz from Russia and Kommando Spezialkräfte from Germany. Alongside the navy task force is JRV Nagoya, a scientific ship that is experimenting with wormholes; the navy ship protecting it is ordered to join the task force. A new ship from the Royal New Zealand Navy is sent as escort, but prior to its arrival, Nagoya's project director, Manning Pope, decides to make a trial run. The task force is constantly watched by a Caliphate spy on the mainland.

In late May-early June 1942, Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and Lt. Commander Daniel Black are on the bridge of USS Enterprise, on their way to face the Japanese sent to invade Midway. A growing commotion outside the bridge prompts them to investigate, only to find a large group of what are, to them, unknown and strangely designed ships. They spot a ship with the Japanese ensign and assume it is the Japanese fleet sent against Midway and they order their own ships to open fire. The multinational task force Combat Intelligence, referred to as CI, takes defensive action; the 21st-century fleet nearly wipes out the US fleet, including USS Hornet and USS Yorktown. During the battle, Kolhammer and the rest of the multinational task force commanders learn that not all ships of the task force came through and those that did, did not all end up in the same place.

The light aircraft carrier Ryūjō encounters the Free Indonesian ship KRI Sutanto and boards it. The Indonesian crew are taken captive, but the Japanese learn that the Americans already broke their codes prior to Midway and upon learning the navy's history after their defeat, prompting Yamamoto to withdraw back home.

Surviving leaders aboard both 1940s American and 21st-century multinational ships manage to stop the battle after the presence of U.S. Navy ships among both fleets is recognized, and an uneasy truce is called as the two groups withdraw to Pearl Harbor. However, murders, rapes, and riots happen as the 21st-century people try to mix with the locals, with the racial segregation laws and pervasive racism of the 1940s United States being a major point of contention. Kolhammer is flown to California to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Albert Einstein. As time goes by with no sight of JRV Nagoya, more and more 21st-century personnel start to realize they are stuck in 1942.

Captain Karen Halabi and HMS Trident, a Trident-class trimaran stealth destroyer, are ordered back to the Home Island for evaluation and possible transfer of Trident. However, prior the ship's and her departure, they take part in a prisoner of war rescue in Singapore and Luzon. The rescue is carried out by both 21st-century and 1942 personnel, but the munitions stores of the 21st-century forces are steadily being depleted without any upcoming prospect of replenishment.

Through the Japanese, Hitler learns about the results of the invasion of the Soviet Union and sends Ribbentrop to negotiate peace with the Soviet Union.

Allies

Axis

Ships of the MNF

This list reflects the knowledge of the MNF as of the end of Weapons of Choice. A number of ships of the MNF did not go through the Transition with the rest of the fleet; as of the end of the book, it is unclear which of these ships remained in the 21st century, which were destroyed by the Transition or immediately after, and which fell into enemy hands. More information about the fate of the missing ships is revealed in the sequel, Designated Targets.

(For the 1942 ships, see Midway order of battle.)

Fictionalizations of real people

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cruiser</span> Type of large warships

A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea denial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrier battle group</span> Type of naval fleet with an aircraft carrier

A carrier battle group (CVBG) is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier capital ship and its large number of escorts, together defining the group. The CV in CVBG is the United States Navy hull classification code for an aircraft carrier.

The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraft carrier used by the Royal Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, the United States Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. They were typically half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers, more-lightly armed and armored, and carried fewer planes. Escort carriers were most often built upon a commercial ship hull, so they were cheaper and could be built quickly. This was their principal advantage as they could be completed in greater numbers as a stop-gap when fleet carriers were scarce. However, the lack of protection made escort carriers particularly vulnerable, and several were sunk with great loss of life. The light carrier was a similar concept to the escort carrier in most respects, but was fast enough to operate alongside fleet carriers.

USS <i>Phoenix</i> (CL-46) 1938 Brooklyn-class light cruiser of the US Navy

USS Phoenix (CL-46), was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn-class cruiser family. She was the third Phoenix of the United States Navy. After World War II the ship was transferred to Argentina in 1951 and was named General Belgrano in 1956. General Belgrano was sunk during the Falklands War in 1982 by the British submarine HMS Conqueror

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Leyte Gulf</span> Largest naval battle of World War II

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved.

<i>Casablanca</i>-class escort carrier Aircraft carrier class of the US Navy

The Casablanca-class escort carrier was a series of escort carriers constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. They are the most numerous class of aircraft carriers ever built. Fifty were laid down, launched and commissioned within the space of less than two years – 3 November 1942 through to 8 July 1944. Despite their numbers, and the preservation of more famous and larger carriers as museums, none of these modest ships survive today. Five were lost to enemy action during World War II and the remainder were scrapped.

HMAS <i>Queenborough</i>

HMAS Queenborough (G70/D270/F02/57) was a Q-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Standing Royal Navy deployments</span>

Standing Royal Navy deployments is a list of operations and commitments undertaken by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy on a worldwide basis. The following list details these commitments and deployments sorted by region and in alphabetical order. Routine deployments made by the Navy's nuclear-powered submarines and their location of operations is classified.

HMAS <i>Australia</i> (D84) County-class Royal Australian Navy cruiser

HMAS Australia (I84/D84/C01) was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of two Kent-subclass ships ordered for the RAN in 1924, Australia was laid down in Scotland in 1925, and entered service in 1928. Apart from an exchange deployment to the Mediterranean from 1934 to 1936, during which she became involved in the planned British response to the Abyssinia Crisis, Australia operated in local and South-West Pacific waters until World War II began.

HMAS <i>Warramunga</i> (I44) Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Warramunga (I44/D123) was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built during World War II, the destroyer entered service in late 1942. She was initially assigned to convoy escort duties, but was assigned to the joint Australian-American Task Force 74 in 1943, and was involved in supporting numerous amphibious landings through the South-east Asian region until the end of the war. From 1950 and 1952, Warramunga fought in the Korean War, then was converted into an anti-submarine destroyer. Returning to service in 1954, the destroyer was one of the first RAN ships to operate with the Far East Strategic Reserve, and undertook two tours with the organisation before she was decommissioned in 1959 and sold for ship breaking in 1963.

<i>Takao</i>-class cruiser Class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy

The Takao-class cruiser (高雄型) was a class of four heavy cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) launched between May 1930 and April 1931. All served during World War II.

USS <i>Patterson</i> (DD-392) Bagley-class destroyer of the United States Navy

USS Patterson (DD-392), a Bagley-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Daniel Todd Patterson, an officer of the US Navy who served in the Quasi-War with France, First Barbary War, and the War of 1812.

The Axis of Time trilogy is an alternative history series of novels written by Australian journalist and author John Birmingham, from Macmillan Publishing.

USS <i>Longshaw</i> Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Longshaw (DD-559), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Dr. William Longshaw, Jr. (1836–1865), who served in the Navy and was killed during the Civil War.

Japanese destroyer <i>Uranami</i> (1928) Fubuki-class destroyer

Uranami was the tenth of twenty-four Fubuki-class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into service, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world. They served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, and remained formidable weapons systems well into the Pacific War.

Japanese cruiser <i>Jintsū</i>

Jintsū (神通) was the second vessel completed in the three-ship Sendai-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), named after the Jinzū River in the Gifu and Toyama prefectures of central Japan. She was active in World War II in various campaigns including the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, the Battle of the Java Sea, and Battle of Midway. On 13 July 1943 in the Battle of Kolombangara, she was discovered during a night attack by American ships and sunk in combat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Royal Australian Navy</span>

The history of the Royal Australian Navy traces the development of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Until 1859, vessels of the Royal Navy made frequent trips to the new colonies. In 1859, the Australia Squadron was formed as a separate squadron and remained in Australia until 1913. Until Federation, five of the six Australian colonies operated their own colonial naval force, which formed on 1 March 1901 the Australian Navy's (AN) Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy (RAN). On 4 October 1913 the new replacement fleet for the foundation fleet of 1901 steamed through Sydney Heads for the first time.

HNLMS <i>Tjerk Hiddes</i> (G16)

The destroyer HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes was a British built, Dutch warship of World War II. She was laid down on 22 May 1940 as a British N-class destroyer and launched on 25 June 1941 as HMS Nonpareil, but on 27 May 1942, she was transferred to the Royal Dutch Navy. The ship was commissioned in 1942 as HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes, named after the 17th century Dutch admiral, Tjerk Hiddes de Vries. Much of her war service was with the Royal Navy and United States Navy in the Indian Ocean and Australia, under the command of W. J. Kruys. Following the war, the destroyer was sold to Indonesia and renamed RI Gadjah Mada. She was scrapped in 1961.

References

  1. "Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham". Fantastic Fiction.com.
  2. "Axis of Time Series". Uchronia.
  3. Nick Galvin (2010-07-05). "Art of staying hungry". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  4. Slatter, Sean (2021-09-13). "Luke Sparke prepares for 'huge' 'Axis of Time' TV adaptation". IF Magazine. Retrieved 2023-09-29.