ASBs swap South America and Australia-Indonesia in June 1940

[Rob]

On June 23rd, 1940, this happens to the world.

https://imgur.com/33ye6U1

Indonesia, Mindanao, Malaya, Singapore, New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand are suddenly placed in the western hemisphere, with Malaya bordering Nicaragua, and all of South America, Panama and Costa Rica vanishing. Instead of the Panama Canal existing in this hemisphere, it has the Malacca and Sunda straits.

Meanwhile, in the eastern hemisphere, South America, Panama and Costa Rica arrive. Costa Rica's northern border is with Thailand, and north of the shores of Venezuela are the Philippines. The Panama Canal of course goes with Panama.

What does this geographic jumble do to WWII?

[Dimensional Traveler]

Post by Rob
On June 23rd, 1940, this happens to the world.
https://imgur.com/33ye6U1
Indonesia, Mindanao, Malaya, Singapore, New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand are suddenly placed in the western hemisphere, with Malaya bordering Nicaragua, and all of South America, Panama and Costa Rica vanishing. Instead of the Panama Canal existing in this hemisphere, it has the Malacca and Sunda straits.
Meanwhile, in the eastern hemisphere, South America, Panama and Costa Rica arrive. Costa Rica's northern border is with Thailand, and north of the shores of Venezuela are the Philippines. The Panama Canal of course goes with Panama.
What does this geographic jumble do to WWII?

Freaks the shit out of everyone thinking some other nation did it.

[The Old Man]

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by Rob
On June 23rd, 1940, this happens to the world.
https://imgur.com/33ye6U1
Indonesia, Mindanao, Malaya, Singapore, New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand are suddenly placed in the western hemisphere, with Malaya bordering Nicaragua, and all of South America, Panama and Costa Rica vanishing. Instead of the Panama Canal existing in this hemisphere, it has the Malacca and Sunda straits.
Meanwhile, in the eastern hemisphere, South America, Panama and Costa Rica arrive. Costa Rica's northern border is with Thailand, and north of the shores of Venezuela are the Philippines. The Panama Canal of course goes with Panama.
What does this geographic jumble do to WWII?

Freaks the shit out of everyone thinking some other nation did it.

In addition, all thoughts of war are put aside - for now - until they can figure out just what the hell happened.
Just thinking of that old line that only a fool fights in a burning building.

Regards,
John Braungart

[Phil McGregor]

Post by Rob
On June 23rd, 1940, this happens to the world.
https://imgur.com/33ye6U1
Indonesia, Mindanao, Malaya, Singapore, New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand are suddenly placed in the western hemisphere, with Malaya bordering Nicaragua, and all of South America, Panama and Costa Rica vanishing. Instead of the Panama Canal existing in this hemisphere, it has the Malacca and Sunda straits.
Meanwhile, in the eastern hemisphere, South America, Panama and Costa Rica arrive. Costa Rica's northern border is with Thailand, and north of the shores of Venezuela are the Philippines. The Panama Canal of course goes with Panama.
What does this geographic jumble do to WWII?

Heck, what does it do to the WORLD.

For a start, it's going to screw the Gulf Stream right up without South America as the 'border' of the Atlantic ... I shudder to think what
the effect on European climate would be!

And presumably there would be a hit on Pacific/Indian Ocean currents as well ... with, presumably, similar gross climatic effects ... and
that's not considering the humanitarian catastrophe as large chunks of south South American are now rendered climatically unsuitable for
cereal grain crops as they are at the same latitudes as the South Island of NZ or lower.

What effects will the sudden interposition of all that land mass have on the Monsoons?

All of the transported Pacific nations seem to be closer to the equator and that wil have climatic knock-ons ... as will the disappearance,
effectively, of Monsoons ... anywhere that depends on them (for Rice growing, for example) will be fucked.

Think a global catastrophe on the scale of the Great Famine of 1315-22 ...

Shipping would be tied up trying to ameliorate the worst effects, and it would be entirely inadequate ... so there would be no WW2 as natons
scranble for survival.

Oh, and Japanese hopes for getting Oil by moving south crash and burn. All of the Borneo and NEI oil is *gone* ... and even though there is
South American Oil to replace it (not sure offhand of the relative production levels), even as crap as they were, the possessors of that Oil
will be much less of a knockover than the geographically and politically isolated colonial areas were IRL ... and much more resistant to the
'Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere'

Think absolute, total, utter world-wide chaos.

Phil

Author, Space Opera (FGU); RBB #1 (FASA); Road to Armageddon;
Farm, Forge and Steam; Orbis Mundi; Displaced (PGD)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Email: ***@tpg.com.au

[The Horny Goat]

Post by Phil McGregor
For a start, it's going to screw the Gulf Stream right up without South America as the 'border' of the Atlantic ... I shudder to think what
the effect on European climate would be!

For sure - it would particularly mess up the Atlantic Coast of France,
western England, Ireland and Scotland.

Certainly if the North Sea land bridge (which in OTL lasted until
about 8000 BC) continued through the present day England would be VERY
different - Caesar would have crossed on dry land as would WIlliam the
Bastard and the Spanish Armada..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggerland

On the other hand removing the Gulf Stream would also remove most of
the arable land in the UK + Ireland.

Bear in mind that modern day Britons are the descendents of the THIRD
population of Britain in the last 250k years. It is unknown whether
the previous two escaped from the growing ice sheets or not.