Eastern Fleet: Gulf of Aden - Second World War at Sea (Inglés)

In the spring of 1942, the Japanese contemplated invading the British-held island of Ceylon. From there they could strike many strategic targets around the Indian Ocean basin, none of these more vital than the southern outlet of the Red Sea, controlling the sea route to the Suez Canal and on to Europe. Far more important to the Axis cause than Midway Island, Japanese control of the chokepoint at the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb would have broken British communications with India, Australia and New Zealand except for the lengthy and difficult route around the Cape of Good Hope, and made the entire campaign in North Africa superfluous.