Japanese Biological Attack on Los Angeles, WWII

Here's another interesting alternate timeline, courtesy of AH.com

How Silent Fall The Cherry Blossoms

The gist of it is that the Japanese I-400 submarine aircraft carriers (I kid you not, they were real) are completed in 1944, with a possible point of divergence being an earthquake not happening and/or less interference from Allied bombers. Faced with the American military-industrial freight train heading for the Home Islands, one of the Japanese leaders orders a biological attack on Los Angeles to be launched from these submarines. Aircraft launched from these submarines unleash the evil fruits of the infamous Unit 731, bombs loaded with fleas infested with the plague. The idea is that if the U.S. civilian population is made to suffer enough, people would put pressure on the government to end the war. In real life, the Japanese used biological weapons in China, causing thousands of deaths from the plague. Although the U.S. medical infrastructure is more advanced and the U.S. is not under constant military attack, our own advanced transportation infrastructure will work against us. See below...

As of the most recent update, small-scale outbreaks are occurring in Los Angeles, St. Louis, and now it looks like New York City as well. The ancient "from the plague, oh Lord, deliver us" prayer has been revived in L.A. churches, dark but cool moment. Although the discussion in most of the thread consists of just how screwed Japan is going to be after their inevitable defeat (the U.S. could use poison gas tactically in the Pacific as well as using rice blight as a biological weapon in the Home Islands), one board member points out that the plague could cause the American war effort serious trouble. Think mass absenteeism at war plants due to fear of catching the plague, or outbreaks crippling units slated for deployment. Already medical units intended for the Pacific are being diverted to care for plague victims in Los Angeles. And now it's looking like the Germans are looking into using biological weapons themselves, possibly against the British due to their lack of anything that could reach the U.S. mainland.

It's very interesting so far and has the potential to go into some very dark places. Check it out.