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midget_roxx, '43 Inf aren't that primitive.By that stage, they probably have a good number of semi-automatic rifles and submachineguns. No assault rifles yet, of course.
Yeah, that's what I thought too. 43' Inf research is the first to have a Rocketry area of specialization, probably because that's around the time when the first anti-tank weapons came out. In the same way, 45' inf research (in my version, at least) is the first to have an assault rifle because that's around when the world's first mass-produced assault rifle (Germany's StG 44) came out.
You have to remember though that HOI2 terms aren't exactly historically accurate. For example I think that the Jagdtiger is researched as a 1946 tech even though it was developed late 1944. And besides Japan didn't have stuff like bazookas or panzerfausts so in some ways I am correct
Well, that was just since the germans in '44 researched a '46 technology at great research penalty. Must have locked up one of Hitlers five research slots for years and years, no wonder they didn't get the bomb.
And apart from that, jeebus Remble! You have been carrying out one mean campaign of world domination Remble? planning to cut the CCCP in half somewhere in siberia to simplify the mopping up of the army formerly known as the red menace?
alan_le_cowboy - The USN is a little bit of a problem certainly
Velko - It's possible to try that certainly but its very dangerous as alan_le_cowboy pointed out. Tirana could also be garrisoned which would make it very difficult to invade. I can always hope that partisans can take it as it has 26% partisan activity in it.
Sokraates, cloneof - It should be Obata yes, thank you, I changed it.
harezmi - The NAV's will likely head back to Japan to hunt the Carriers. I could try a month here and there without a monthly meeting but it means I tend to get asked for maps more often as people lose track of the ground situation. We shall see
Thurak - Thank you. I am not sure how many of the Soviet puppets troops have been destroyed so it is possible that a lot of them could start arriving soon.
safferli - Koga certainly got lucky. BC Division 1 would probably have got badly mauled if they had been allowed to fight. That CTF is a little scarey as it was also unexpected.
Maj. von Mauser - I have twenty Submarines left and they are spread out from Australia to Saudi Arabia.
Nathan Madien - It was sunk in the first hour of combat
Kanitatlan - Actually he should arrive in April as the snow is going to melt before he gets there which will speed him up a lot. He won't have much org thats for sure. Three Carriers don't usually scare me much either but in this game they are very powerful.
Black Watch - Thanks.
Aung San - Mj. Gen. skill 3. Commanding a division on Espirtu Santo in the New Hebreides.
Homma - Lt. Gen. skill 3. Commanding an Infantry corps in Kalsary.
Sukarno - Lt. Gen. skill 2. No command.
Chandra Bose - Lt. Gen. skill 3. Commanding an Infantry crops in Qumul.
Ne Win - Mj. Gen. skill 1. Commanding a Garrison in Changsha, China.
Nagumo - Vice Admiral skill 3. Commanding Carrier Group D in Colombo.
Kurita - Vice Admiral skill 2. No command.
E. Jünger - Thanks. Not planning to cut the Soviets in two in Siberia as it means taking more partisan rich territory. I will go for their VP's taking as little other territory as I can.
One of my interlude type updates to follow ..
Velko - It's possible to try that certainly but its very dangerous as alan_le_cowboy pointed out. Tirana could also be garrisoned which would make it very difficult to invade. I can always hope that partisans can take it as it has 26% partisan activity in it.
Sokraates, cloneof - It should be Obata yes, thank you, I changed it.
harezmi - The NAV's will likely head back to Japan to hunt the Carriers. I could try a month here and there without a monthly meeting but it means I tend to get asked for maps more often as people lose track of the ground situation. We shall see
Thurak - Thank you. I am not sure how many of the Soviet puppets troops have been destroyed so it is possible that a lot of them could start arriving soon.
safferli - Koga certainly got lucky. BC Division 1 would probably have got badly mauled if they had been allowed to fight. That CTF is a little scarey as it was also unexpected.
Maj. von Mauser - I have twenty Submarines left and they are spread out from Australia to Saudi Arabia.
Nathan Madien - It was sunk in the first hour of combat
Kanitatlan - Actually he should arrive in April as the snow is going to melt before he gets there which will speed him up a lot. He won't have much org thats for sure. Three Carriers don't usually scare me much either but in this game they are very powerful.
Black Watch - Thanks.
Aung San - Mj. Gen. skill 3. Commanding a division on Espirtu Santo in the New Hebreides.
Homma - Lt. Gen. skill 3. Commanding an Infantry corps in Kalsary.
Sukarno - Lt. Gen. skill 2. No command.
Chandra Bose - Lt. Gen. skill 3. Commanding an Infantry crops in Qumul.
Ne Win - Mj. Gen. skill 1. Commanding a Garrison in Changsha, China.
Nagumo - Vice Admiral skill 3. Commanding Carrier Group D in Colombo.
Kurita - Vice Admiral skill 2. No command.
E. Jünger - Thanks. Not planning to cut the Soviets in two in Siberia as it means taking more partisan rich territory. I will go for their VP's taking as little other territory as I can.
One of my interlude type updates to follow ..
A Meeting of Minds
0000 April 1st 1948.
The Kremlin. Moscow, Soviet Union.
"Thank you all for coming." Stalin began as he welcomed his guests.
"You didn't give us much choice if I recall correctly." replied Marceli Nowotko the Polish leader.
"Quite so, but welcome anyway. I require all of you to send me your armies so that I can halt the minor invasion of the Soviet Union by His Imperial Majesty Hirohito."
"I have a few more I can send I suppose but you have already managed to get the ones I sent killed so there is probably not much point."
"Did you want to be ruled by a Fascist Nation again?"
"Um no, that is quite alright thank you."
"I would love to send you my army but there is a small technical difficulty." stated Walter Ulbricht the East German leader.
"Oh, what might that be?" asked Stalin.
"I don't have an army I am afraid."
"Why on earth not, you have a country so you must have an army."
"You decided to give my country one whole province when you split up Europe with the Allies."
"So, you can still build troops with one province."
"Not if it doesn't have any factories in it I can't."
"Oh, that could be a small problem. Why didn't you say something about this before?"
"It must have slipped my mind I suppose."
"Anyone else think they can get away without sending me their troops?" asked Stalin.
Georgi Dimitrov, the Bulgarian leader raised his hand. "Me."
"What is your excuse?"
"A somewhat similar problem but a little different. I would be only too happy to lend you my troops but unfortunately you also forgot to allow me a land connection with the Soviet Union. I am surrounded by neutral by-standers who won't allow me to send my troops across their borders."
"I hate pacifists." stated Stalin.
"Well you annexed them and then allowed them to go free, not much I can do about it."
"Build some Transport ships." Ulbricht chimed in helpfully.
"Why don't you build some?" replied Dimitrov sarcastically.
"I refer you to my previous answer. I can't."
"I could just wait for the Imperial Japanese Army to conquer Romania I suppose. I could send you all of my troops then."
"If the Japanese conquer Romania there won't be much of the Soviet Union left." Stalin replied.
"A good point but I could always send them to Albania for you if they also attack Yugoslavia or Greece."
"Somehow I get the feeling you don't really want me to have your troops."
"Of course I do. You already have my airforce."
"I do?"
"Yes you do. I sent it to bomb some tanks."
"Oh ok then, thank you."
"Your welcome." said Dimitrov hoping to deflect further questions about his Army, which seemed to have worked.
"What about your Army?" Stalin asked Otto Ville Kuusinen, the Finnish leader.
"You already got most of it killed but I can send you the rest." he replied.
"That will have to do."
"Why isn't Tannu Tuva here by the way? They have troops." asked Ulbricht.
"Not any more they don't."
"Oh, why?"
"They got annexed a little while ago and are no longer interested in War."
"That hurts. Being annexed isn't very nice, I tried it and it really was not fun." replied Nowotko.
"Japan really does need to be stopped you know." Ulbricht said.
"It wasn't Japan that annexed them it was Mengkukuo."
"Who?"
"If I build you a factory would you manage to build a brain cell?" Stalin asked pointedly.
"No need to be rude. News travels very slowly to my little Country. You all tend to ignore me because I have no troops."
"I wonder why." replied Nowotko.
"Are the Allies helping out at all now?" asked Kuusinen.
"The Amercians invaded China." Stalin replied.
"They did? That is really good news."
"Not really. They got slaughtered."
"Oh. Well they must have at least diverted some Japanese forces for a time."
"About a week and the Japanese only sent some aircraft and a fleet to handle the situation."
"I thought the Americans were supposed to have a good military?"
"Apparently not. I don't think we will be getting much help from the Allies."
"You shouldn't need any help. You destroyed Germany, Japan is nowhere near as powerful." said Ulbricht.
"Tell that to the 6,000,000 troops they have killed so far."
"That's a lot of zeros."
"You noticed. I expect your troops as soon as you get home comrades." Stalin ended the meeting.
"You didn't give us much choice if I recall correctly." replied Marceli Nowotko the Polish leader.
"Quite so, but welcome anyway. I require all of you to send me your armies so that I can halt the minor invasion of the Soviet Union by His Imperial Majesty Hirohito."
"I have a few more I can send I suppose but you have already managed to get the ones I sent killed so there is probably not much point."
"Did you want to be ruled by a Fascist Nation again?"
"Um no, that is quite alright thank you."
"I would love to send you my army but there is a small technical difficulty." stated Walter Ulbricht the East German leader.
"Oh, what might that be?" asked Stalin.
"I don't have an army I am afraid."
"Why on earth not, you have a country so you must have an army."
"You decided to give my country one whole province when you split up Europe with the Allies."
"So, you can still build troops with one province."
"Not if it doesn't have any factories in it I can't."
"Oh, that could be a small problem. Why didn't you say something about this before?"
"It must have slipped my mind I suppose."
"Anyone else think they can get away without sending me their troops?" asked Stalin.
Georgi Dimitrov, the Bulgarian leader raised his hand. "Me."
"What is your excuse?"
"A somewhat similar problem but a little different. I would be only too happy to lend you my troops but unfortunately you also forgot to allow me a land connection with the Soviet Union. I am surrounded by neutral by-standers who won't allow me to send my troops across their borders."
"I hate pacifists." stated Stalin.
"Well you annexed them and then allowed them to go free, not much I can do about it."
"Build some Transport ships." Ulbricht chimed in helpfully.
"Why don't you build some?" replied Dimitrov sarcastically.
"I refer you to my previous answer. I can't."
"I could just wait for the Imperial Japanese Army to conquer Romania I suppose. I could send you all of my troops then."
"If the Japanese conquer Romania there won't be much of the Soviet Union left." Stalin replied.
"A good point but I could always send them to Albania for you if they also attack Yugoslavia or Greece."
"Somehow I get the feeling you don't really want me to have your troops."
"Of course I do. You already have my airforce."
"I do?"
"Yes you do. I sent it to bomb some tanks."
"Oh ok then, thank you."
"Your welcome." said Dimitrov hoping to deflect further questions about his Army, which seemed to have worked.
"What about your Army?" Stalin asked Otto Ville Kuusinen, the Finnish leader.
"You already got most of it killed but I can send you the rest." he replied.
"That will have to do."
"Why isn't Tannu Tuva here by the way? They have troops." asked Ulbricht.
"Not any more they don't."
"Oh, why?"
"They got annexed a little while ago and are no longer interested in War."
"That hurts. Being annexed isn't very nice, I tried it and it really was not fun." replied Nowotko.
"Japan really does need to be stopped you know." Ulbricht said.
"It wasn't Japan that annexed them it was Mengkukuo."
"Who?"
"If I build you a factory would you manage to build a brain cell?" Stalin asked pointedly.
"No need to be rude. News travels very slowly to my little Country. You all tend to ignore me because I have no troops."
"I wonder why." replied Nowotko.
"Are the Allies helping out at all now?" asked Kuusinen.
"The Amercians invaded China." Stalin replied.
"They did? That is really good news."
"Not really. They got slaughtered."
"Oh. Well they must have at least diverted some Japanese forces for a time."
"About a week and the Japanese only sent some aircraft and a fleet to handle the situation."
"I thought the Americans were supposed to have a good military?"
"Apparently not. I don't think we will be getting much help from the Allies."
"You shouldn't need any help. You destroyed Germany, Japan is nowhere near as powerful." said Ulbricht.
"Tell that to the 6,000,000 troops they have killed so far."
"That's a lot of zeros."
"You noticed. I expect your troops as soon as you get home comrades." Stalin ended the meeting.
I was hoping for a the "Tiss just a flesh wound" reference from Monty Python at some point
Needless to say, nice update remble.
Needless to say, nice update remble.
Nice update, Remble! I expected to see Stalin in a more "firing squad" mood though. =)
Can't wait for the monthly update.
Can't wait for the monthly update.
Oh how I will miss Uncle Joe. It's a pity he soon won't have to worry about running a country.
I was hoping for a the "Tiss just a flesh wound" reference from Monty Python at some point
None shall pass!
i love your interludes, Remble. in the next one you can arrange a 2nd Yalta Conference between SU and Allies. The British and its Commonwealths lost substantial forces in Middle East, so It`s not just SU getting killed their troops.I think they can (you can ) emerge an immediate meeting to discuss the situation before Spring and bigger troubles come :rofl:
) emerge an immediate meeting to discuss the situation before Spring and bigger troubles come :rofl:
Nice work!Combing description of AI countries with sharp sense of humor.
Moscow this year,then go for London!
Moscow this year,then go for London!
LOL I think he might get steamrolled by West Germany as they actually have some decent IC (please clarify Remble). Not to mention Poland, France, and any other countries that decide to DoW him
.Tob.Ristlin, Hermann Steiner, Maj. von Mauser - Thank you
Hatuke - I prefer to inject a more 'Black Adder' type of humour most of the time but some 'Monty Python' may crop up from time to time.
RioBrancoBaron - Stalin has mood swings like most leaders. He doesn't have that many capable commanders left so another purge might not be a good idea.
Sokraates - He will still have Albania as I have no plans to make it that far for some time
harezmi - I can probably get the Allies and Stalin back together but Stalin was a little upset with the Allies last time. Maybe the American invasion of China might bring him back to a meeting.
fenrir8507 - These little meetings give me a chance to break up the more normal heavy gameplay and screenshot updates. It is a good break for me, and as you all seem to like them, it appears to be good for you too
Moscow this year but London is last on my list as the U.K. must fall last in my AAR's.
midget_roxx - FRG - 127 IC, France - 117 IC, Poland - 50 IC, Canada - 67 IC. On December 1st 1947 FRG had 82 INF divisions and was 93% complete on research for Elite Infantry. I think it is safe to assume that it now has close to 100 of the best Infantry divisions in the game. Leaving Poland alone is becoming more attractive by the day
The monthly update refers to four operations, all of which are in the planning stage, the names for which were provided from your posts and are as follows:
Enlightenment - RioBrancoBaron
Menace - E. Jünger
Python - Hatuke
Triumph - Maj. von Mauser
Don't ask me why I chose these four words as I just pick words that seem appropriate and have no real method to my madness
Monthly update to follow ...
Hatuke - I prefer to inject a more 'Black Adder' type of humour most of the time but some 'Monty Python' may crop up from time to time.
RioBrancoBaron - Stalin has mood swings like most leaders. He doesn't have that many capable commanders left so another purge might not be a good idea.
Sokraates - He will still have Albania as I have no plans to make it that far for some time
harezmi - I can probably get the Allies and Stalin back together but Stalin was a little upset with the Allies last time. Maybe the American invasion of China might bring him back to a meeting.
fenrir8507 - These little meetings give me a chance to break up the more normal heavy gameplay and screenshot updates. It is a good break for me, and as you all seem to like them, it appears to be good for you too
Moscow this year but London is last on my list as the U.K. must fall last in my AAR's.
midget_roxx - FRG - 127 IC, France - 117 IC, Poland - 50 IC, Canada - 67 IC. On December 1st 1947 FRG had 82 INF divisions and was 93% complete on research for Elite Infantry. I think it is safe to assume that it now has close to 100 of the best Infantry divisions in the game. Leaving Poland alone is becoming more attractive by the day
The monthly update refers to four operations, all of which are in the planning stage, the names for which were provided from your posts and are as follows:
Enlightenment - RioBrancoBaron
Menace - E. Jünger
Python - Hatuke
Triumph - Maj. von Mauser
Don't ask me why I chose these four words as I just pick words that seem appropriate and have no real method to my madness
Monthly update to follow ...
Update (April 1st 1948)
0000 April 1st 1948.
Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. I will go over the current objectives before we go into more detailed individual reports." Hideki began the meeting.
"1948 Objectives:
- Reduce the Soviet Union to less than one hundred factories and less than fifty divisions.
- Capture Moscow, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Baku and Sverdlovsk.
- Capture Soviet Energy reserves in the Ukraine.
- Reduce the Comintern to five Countries by annexing Tannu Tuva.
- Reduce the Allies to less than twenty Countries.
- Maintain the current Naval strength position by keeping the United States Navy below fifteen Aircraft Carriers.
- Capture the West Aleutian Islands.
- Capture Diego Garcia Island.
- Link Asian Armies by land connection.
Winter Army Objectives:
Kwantung Army:-
- Secure the defence of Manchuria.
East Asia Army:-
- Capture Irkutsk.
- Annex Tannu Tuva.
North China Army:-
- Capture Urumqi.
- Annex Tannu Tuva.
Central Asia Army:-
- Capture Batum.
- Capture resource provinces in Central Asia and southern Kazakstan.
- Protect Japanese interests in the Middle East.
As you can see all of our Winter Army objectives have been completed successfully. Spring objectives are not going to be very ambitious because of the current state of Japanese ground forces and the need to re-organise. The Spring Army objectives are as follows:
Spring Army Objectives:
Kwantung Army:-
- Advance north towards Strategic objectives in Siberia.
East Asia Army:-
- Link with the Central Asia and North China Armies.
- Form a defensive line from Lake Baikal to Lake Balkhash.
North China Army:-
- Redeploy with the Central Asia Army to prepare for Summer offensive.
Central Asia Army:-
- Secure high ground north of the Kaukasus mountains.
- Dig in and await redeployments from the North China Army.
- Maintain status quo in the Middle East.
- Prepare for Summer offensive.
All of these should be easily obtainable before June 1st. The original plan to redeploy the North China Army to relieve the Central Asia Army defensive positions and then redeploy the Central Asia Army has been altered."
"Why is that?" asked Hirohito.
"Time your Majesty." Tanigawa replied. "By only redeploying the North China Army we save roughly three weeks which should see all of our redeployments completed by mid May at the latest. The North China Army is already able to begin that process as its objectives are secure and most of its power base is not advancing. In essence we will almagamate the North China Army into the Central Asia Army and then split it back into two forces."
"Logical process. I trust you already know where your forces are going to be moving to?"
"Yes your Majesty. We will cover it during the Armed Forces briefing." replied Tanigawa.
"Why don't you continue with that while you are up Minister Tanigawa." Hideki stated.
"As you wish Prime Minister. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Tanigawa continued. "You might have noticed the additional person that has joined us today."
"I was a little curious." replied Hirohito.
"You will be needing to see him and most of the other Armed Forces Ministers after this meeting I expect."
"I will?"
"Yes your Majesty. You usually prefer to briefed on secret plans ahead of schedule and this is why our guest is here."
"Ok. Welcome to the meeting Grand Admiral Ozawa." Hirohito greeted the Commander of the Pacific Fleet.
"A pleasure to be here your Majesty." Ozawa replied.
"Do you have any operational names yet?" asked the Emperor.
"Of course your Majesty. We have four operations planned. Operations Enlightenment, Menace, Python and Triumph." replied Tanigawa.
"Four? You Gentlemen have been busy."
"A little your Majesty."
"I don't suppose you would care to share any of the details of these ahead of time?" asked Hideki.
Tanigawa shrugged. "Yes I can."
"Really?" said Hideki in surprise.
"Operation Enlightenment will be covered during this briefing. The remaining three remain classified."
"One is better than none I suppose. Please continue." said Hideki.
"Thank you Prime Minister. The Pacific has remained pretty quiet although there has just been a sighting of another American Carrier Task Force close to Japan. This one is much more powerful than its predecessor."
"I thought we had agreed to stop this sort of thing happening." stated Hirohito none too pleased.
"We are still moving assets into position to prevent further incursions your Majesty. It takes time."
"I think it is time for a more aggressive type of persuasion."
"We are already planning to recall both Naval bomber wings to search for and destroy this fleet your Majesty. We already have two Tactical bomber wings operating in the Pacific as well as numerous Interceptor squadrons." Jun interceded.
"What about your other Tactical bombers?" asked Hirohito.
"We wish to keep them where they are your Majesty as they are vital to our control of the Middle East and the Kaukasus mountains." replied Jun as forcefully as he dared.
"Do not let them escape." stated Hirohito after some thought. "We control the Pacific not the Americans. Make sure they understand that."
"Yes your Majesty." Tanigawa replied. "Moving on with my briefing. We have spotted some small American Transport fleets heading towards the Yellow Sea which are likely to be late arrivals to support the failed invasion in China. We are keeping an eye on them and have sunk some already. Siberia continues as a stand-off as we wait for Spring weather. Our troops are almost all in provinces no longer covered in snow but the Soviet forces are mostly all in snow covered terrain.
Advances in the center have moved along well, as you are no doubt aware, as we have achieved all of our Winter objectives. Some consolidation is required and we still have to advance to capture territory that is either side of our advance. The already mentioned redeployment of the North China Army will begin immediately and any advances into southern Russia will be very minor until those forces arrive.
The Middle East remains fluid with our bombers proving to be the deciding factor. The Allies currently have fairly small numbers in this theater and we might be able to advance far enough to capture Lebanon but that is far from certain. Over to Minister Satoru for a more detailed briefing." concluded Tanigawa.
"Thank you Minister Tanigawa. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Satoru began. "I shall begin with Asia and work my way west."
"1948 Objectives:
- Reduce the Soviet Union to less than one hundred factories and less than fifty divisions.
- Capture Moscow, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Baku and Sverdlovsk.
- Capture Soviet Energy reserves in the Ukraine.
- Reduce the Comintern to five Countries by annexing Tannu Tuva.
- Reduce the Allies to less than twenty Countries.
- Maintain the current Naval strength position by keeping the United States Navy below fifteen Aircraft Carriers.
- Capture the West Aleutian Islands.
- Capture Diego Garcia Island.
- Link Asian Armies by land connection.
Winter Army Objectives:
Kwantung Army:-
- Secure the defence of Manchuria.
East Asia Army:-
- Capture Irkutsk.
- Annex Tannu Tuva.
North China Army:-
- Capture Urumqi.
- Annex Tannu Tuva.
Central Asia Army:-
- Capture Batum.
- Capture resource provinces in Central Asia and southern Kazakstan.
- Protect Japanese interests in the Middle East.
As you can see all of our Winter Army objectives have been completed successfully. Spring objectives are not going to be very ambitious because of the current state of Japanese ground forces and the need to re-organise. The Spring Army objectives are as follows:
Spring Army Objectives:
Kwantung Army:-
- Advance north towards Strategic objectives in Siberia.
East Asia Army:-
- Link with the Central Asia and North China Armies.
- Form a defensive line from Lake Baikal to Lake Balkhash.
North China Army:-
- Redeploy with the Central Asia Army to prepare for Summer offensive.
Central Asia Army:-
- Secure high ground north of the Kaukasus mountains.
- Dig in and await redeployments from the North China Army.
- Maintain status quo in the Middle East.
- Prepare for Summer offensive.
All of these should be easily obtainable before June 1st. The original plan to redeploy the North China Army to relieve the Central Asia Army defensive positions and then redeploy the Central Asia Army has been altered."
"Why is that?" asked Hirohito.
"Time your Majesty." Tanigawa replied. "By only redeploying the North China Army we save roughly three weeks which should see all of our redeployments completed by mid May at the latest. The North China Army is already able to begin that process as its objectives are secure and most of its power base is not advancing. In essence we will almagamate the North China Army into the Central Asia Army and then split it back into two forces."
"Logical process. I trust you already know where your forces are going to be moving to?"
"Yes your Majesty. We will cover it during the Armed Forces briefing." replied Tanigawa.
"Why don't you continue with that while you are up Minister Tanigawa." Hideki stated.
"As you wish Prime Minister. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Tanigawa continued. "You might have noticed the additional person that has joined us today."
"I was a little curious." replied Hirohito.
"You will be needing to see him and most of the other Armed Forces Ministers after this meeting I expect."
"I will?"
"Yes your Majesty. You usually prefer to briefed on secret plans ahead of schedule and this is why our guest is here."
"Ok. Welcome to the meeting Grand Admiral Ozawa." Hirohito greeted the Commander of the Pacific Fleet.
"A pleasure to be here your Majesty." Ozawa replied.
"Do you have any operational names yet?" asked the Emperor.
"Of course your Majesty. We have four operations planned. Operations Enlightenment, Menace, Python and Triumph." replied Tanigawa.
"Four? You Gentlemen have been busy."
"A little your Majesty."
"I don't suppose you would care to share any of the details of these ahead of time?" asked Hideki.
Tanigawa shrugged. "Yes I can."
"Really?" said Hideki in surprise.
"Operation Enlightenment will be covered during this briefing. The remaining three remain classified."
"One is better than none I suppose. Please continue." said Hideki.
"Thank you Prime Minister. The Pacific has remained pretty quiet although there has just been a sighting of another American Carrier Task Force close to Japan. This one is much more powerful than its predecessor."
"I thought we had agreed to stop this sort of thing happening." stated Hirohito none too pleased.
"We are still moving assets into position to prevent further incursions your Majesty. It takes time."
"I think it is time for a more aggressive type of persuasion."
"We are already planning to recall both Naval bomber wings to search for and destroy this fleet your Majesty. We already have two Tactical bomber wings operating in the Pacific as well as numerous Interceptor squadrons." Jun interceded.
"What about your other Tactical bombers?" asked Hirohito.
"We wish to keep them where they are your Majesty as they are vital to our control of the Middle East and the Kaukasus mountains." replied Jun as forcefully as he dared.
"Do not let them escape." stated Hirohito after some thought. "We control the Pacific not the Americans. Make sure they understand that."
"Yes your Majesty." Tanigawa replied. "Moving on with my briefing. We have spotted some small American Transport fleets heading towards the Yellow Sea which are likely to be late arrivals to support the failed invasion in China. We are keeping an eye on them and have sunk some already. Siberia continues as a stand-off as we wait for Spring weather. Our troops are almost all in provinces no longer covered in snow but the Soviet forces are mostly all in snow covered terrain.
Advances in the center have moved along well, as you are no doubt aware, as we have achieved all of our Winter objectives. Some consolidation is required and we still have to advance to capture territory that is either side of our advance. The already mentioned redeployment of the North China Army will begin immediately and any advances into southern Russia will be very minor until those forces arrive.
The Middle East remains fluid with our bombers proving to be the deciding factor. The Allies currently have fairly small numbers in this theater and we might be able to advance far enough to capture Lebanon but that is far from certain. Over to Minister Satoru for a more detailed briefing." concluded Tanigawa.
"Thank you Minister Tanigawa. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Satoru began. "I shall begin with Asia and work my way west."
"Gains have been small but significant. The capture of Kyzyl allowed for the annexation of Tannu Tuva and we also reclaimed the airbase in Urumqi. Mengkukuo gained control of Tannu Tuva which should help its industry somewhat. The East Asia Army captured another Energy rich province and will begin to advance on another shortly. The entire eastern part of this front is static until the Spring thaw occurs."
"In China we are advancing towards Qingdao to secure the beaches in the area that was invaded by the Americans. All of the territory is back under our control."
"A little more detail in Manchuria shows a well established defensive line by both sides. The stockpile in Borzya continues to grow and has increased by roughly three hundred Metal and four hundred Energy during March."
"Further west we have the area south of Semipalatinsk, which is the final airbase in this part of the World. Field Marshall Hata is advancing towards this province with the duel aims of capturing it and linking with the East Asia Army. Field Marshall Terauchi will head towards Semipalatinsk shortly as he is almost recovered enough to advance. Other advances are to secure territory to prevent Soviet redeployments behind our lines."
"India and the Middle East has seen more gains. A few in the east with more in the Kaukasus mountains and former Syria. We also captured an airbase along the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. The entire center of this line will remain static until redeployments arrive from the North China Army."
"You realise your allowing the enemy to regroup." stated Hirohito.
"That is why we wish to keep our Tactical bombers in the area your Majesty. They should be able to prevent any major enemy build up."
"You realise your allowing the enemy to regroup." stated Hirohito.
"That is why we wish to keep our Tactical bombers in the area your Majesty. They should be able to prevent any major enemy build up."
"To the west of Lake Balkhash our defences are established and there are Soviet troops slowly entering the area. Their numbers are too small to provide any cause for concern for the time being."
"The capture of Guriev by our Armoured forces gives us a good launch point for our Summer offensive. The remainder of this line is also well set and I would not expect any counter attack by the Red Army."
"The Middle East is still very fluid with advances by both sides. Our air power keeps us in the game as we would have been forced to withdraw many months ago without it. Some extra divisions may be spared for this area to allow for a more solid defensive line and a possible advance in the future."
"The Kaukasus mountains are almost totally secure but we are still advancing to try and capture the remaining high ground. This area will take the longest to reinforce as it is further from northern China than any other front. There are signs of an increasing number of enemy troops in this region a lot of which are not native Soviet troops."
"Our advance along the Saudi Arabian peninsula had been halted by the arrival of an American Armoured division in Aden. We may be forced to withdraw if it decides to attack as we only have one Infantry division in this region. I will now cover Operation Enlightenment."
"This operation is aimed at two specific regions of the Soviet Union and requires the use of two armies. The North China Army, commanded by Field Marshall Higashikuni, will be responsilbe for advancing into the major Soviet industrial region to the north of Guriev. The specific provinces are highlighted on the map. The North China Army will muster in Guriev.
The Central Asia Army, commanded by Field Marshall Hata, will advance towards the Energy and Metal rich provinces in the Ukraine. It will muster in Grozny. Further advances may occur once these objectives are in hand and these will be dependant on enemy resistance, which is likely to strengthen as we advance with less territory for the enemy to cover. The enemy is also likely to receive additional troops from its puppets as we near their borders which will bolster its numbers.
Air superiority will be critical as always and it may be harder to achieve over this area as there are more airfields that the enemy can use. We have crippled large parts of the Red Airforce but sufficient remains to be a threat to ongoing operations. The need to maintain air superiority over the Middle East will hamper additional Interceptors being available for this area.
The launch date for Operation Enlightenment is tentatively set for June 1st but may begin earlier if the forces are mustered and re-organised ahead of schedule. Should this operation prove successful then the Soviet Union will be severely crippled and we should be able to maintain our advance to capture the remaining strategic objectives in the Soviet Union and threaten its puppets.
The presence of enemy forces will hamper our offensive and we are also acutely aware of the increasing strain such advances will place upon our already strained Transport Capacity. We hope to offset this somewhat by capturing factory complexes which should increase our capacity to transfer supplies and resources. Needless to say the capture of the Ukranian resources would probably cure our Energy problems for good."
"Oil will probably become a bigger headache as we already occupy most of the Soviet oilfields." stated Ginjiro.
"That would be a good conclusion to draw yes. The capture of Energy reserves would free up our current trades for that commodity which could then be swapped for Oil trades with Venezuela." said Mamoru.
"That concludes my part of the briefing so I shall hand you over to Minister Osami for a Naval briefing." Satoru finished.
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. The American Carrier Task Force, which has already been mentioned, contains three very modern Aircraft Carriers. BC Division 1 nearly ran into this fleet but we managed to avoid such an encounter by sighting it early enough to prevent such an occurance. BC Division 1 would almost certainly have come off much the worse if battle had been joined. We shall revert to our more normal practice of destroying such enemy fleets using primarily land based aircraft.
One Tactical bomber wing is operating from Tokyo and another from Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. These two formations will conduct the immediate search for the enemy which was last spotted off Attu Island in the north. The two Naval bomber wings will make their way back to Japan from Ceylon and join in once they arrive. Further searches will be conducted by our established air patrols. We should spot the enemy early and once we have it in our sights we shall continue to attack it until all of its ships are sunk or it moves out of range." Osami began.
The Central Asia Army, commanded by Field Marshall Hata, will advance towards the Energy and Metal rich provinces in the Ukraine. It will muster in Grozny. Further advances may occur once these objectives are in hand and these will be dependant on enemy resistance, which is likely to strengthen as we advance with less territory for the enemy to cover. The enemy is also likely to receive additional troops from its puppets as we near their borders which will bolster its numbers.
Air superiority will be critical as always and it may be harder to achieve over this area as there are more airfields that the enemy can use. We have crippled large parts of the Red Airforce but sufficient remains to be a threat to ongoing operations. The need to maintain air superiority over the Middle East will hamper additional Interceptors being available for this area.
The launch date for Operation Enlightenment is tentatively set for June 1st but may begin earlier if the forces are mustered and re-organised ahead of schedule. Should this operation prove successful then the Soviet Union will be severely crippled and we should be able to maintain our advance to capture the remaining strategic objectives in the Soviet Union and threaten its puppets.
The presence of enemy forces will hamper our offensive and we are also acutely aware of the increasing strain such advances will place upon our already strained Transport Capacity. We hope to offset this somewhat by capturing factory complexes which should increase our capacity to transfer supplies and resources. Needless to say the capture of the Ukranian resources would probably cure our Energy problems for good."
"Oil will probably become a bigger headache as we already occupy most of the Soviet oilfields." stated Ginjiro.
"That would be a good conclusion to draw yes. The capture of Energy reserves would free up our current trades for that commodity which could then be swapped for Oil trades with Venezuela." said Mamoru.
"That concludes my part of the briefing so I shall hand you over to Minister Osami for a Naval briefing." Satoru finished.
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. The American Carrier Task Force, which has already been mentioned, contains three very modern Aircraft Carriers. BC Division 1 nearly ran into this fleet but we managed to avoid such an encounter by sighting it early enough to prevent such an occurance. BC Division 1 would almost certainly have come off much the worse if battle had been joined. We shall revert to our more normal practice of destroying such enemy fleets using primarily land based aircraft.
One Tactical bomber wing is operating from Tokyo and another from Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. These two formations will conduct the immediate search for the enemy which was last spotted off Attu Island in the north. The two Naval bomber wings will make their way back to Japan from Ceylon and join in once they arrive. Further searches will be conducted by our established air patrols. We should spot the enemy early and once we have it in our sights we shall continue to attack it until all of its ships are sunk or it moves out of range." Osami began.
"Losses for March were again higher than has been normal. We lost one Submarine Flotilla to the American Carrier Task Force but all other losses were to the Allies. Most losses were to the American merchant fleet which lost ships both enroute to China and during another failed invasion of Ceylon. No capital ships were sunk. Recent Intelligence reports indicate that the three Carriers in the known fleet are the current United States Navy surplus above thirteen Carriers and we do not expect to sight any more.
Grand Admiral Ozawa and myself will make ourselves available after the meeting to discuss some other operations which will require significant planning and a little bit of deception on our part."
"Deception Minister Osami. I thought you were more restrained in your approach to warfare?" asked Hirohito.
"Grand Admiral Ozawa is the deceptive one your Majesty, I merely try and restrain his sometimes impulsive nature." replied Osami with a smile.
"I see. Deception can be fun sometimes so I look forward to hearing of your plans."
"The Armed Forces briefing is concluded." stated Osami.
"You have anything Minister Mamoru?" asked Hideki.
"I have an update on our puppets which might be useful given the recent gains by Mengkukuo in particular." Mamoru replied.
"Lets here it then."
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. As you are aware all of Mongolia was ceded to Mengkuko for their support in our ongoing War efforts. We also ceded them control of Tannu Tuva. This has strengthened them considerably and the industrial output of Tannu Tuva is still recovering and not at full capacity."
Grand Admiral Ozawa and myself will make ourselves available after the meeting to discuss some other operations which will require significant planning and a little bit of deception on our part."
"Deception Minister Osami. I thought you were more restrained in your approach to warfare?" asked Hirohito.
"Grand Admiral Ozawa is the deceptive one your Majesty, I merely try and restrain his sometimes impulsive nature." replied Osami with a smile.
"I see. Deception can be fun sometimes so I look forward to hearing of your plans."
"The Armed Forces briefing is concluded." stated Osami.
"You have anything Minister Mamoru?" asked Hideki.
"I have an update on our puppets which might be useful given the recent gains by Mengkukuo in particular." Mamoru replied.
"Lets here it then."
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. As you are aware all of Mongolia was ceded to Mengkuko for their support in our ongoing War efforts. We also ceded them control of Tannu Tuva. This has strengthened them considerably and the industrial output of Tannu Tuva is still recovering and not at full capacity."
"Manchukuo remains our strongest puppet and is providing us with increasing numbers of modern ground troops at regular intervals. Its defence of our eastern border with the Soviets has allowed for our own troops to be used elswhere. It will be able to step up its recruitment of divisions once its research completes.
Siam has greatly benefitted from our supply of Energy and it too has stepped up Infantry production as a result. It is researching a more advanced type of Infantry which will bring it pretty much up to date with our own.
Mengkukuo grows continually and is still not at maximum industrial output. That said it also provides us with valuable troops to garrison China and it too is trying to improve the quality of those troops but has some way to go.
I will continue to supply our puppets with the resources they need unless we have a shortage ourselves. Blueprints for more advanced technologies will also be sent as required. Nothing further." concluded Mamoru.
"Intelligence please."
"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning. I have managed to further infiltrate the British and now have nine operatives in that Country. Reports are now the most accurate that I have been able to provide to date and are considered reliable." Kuniaki began.
Siam has greatly benefitted from our supply of Energy and it too has stepped up Infantry production as a result. It is researching a more advanced type of Infantry which will bring it pretty much up to date with our own.
Mengkukuo grows continually and is still not at maximum industrial output. That said it also provides us with valuable troops to garrison China and it too is trying to improve the quality of those troops but has some way to go.
I will continue to supply our puppets with the resources they need unless we have a shortage ourselves. Blueprints for more advanced technologies will also be sent as required. Nothing further." concluded Mamoru.
"Intelligence please."
"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning. I have managed to further infiltrate the British and now have nine operatives in that Country. Reports are now the most accurate that I have been able to provide to date and are considered reliable." Kuniaki began.
"Soviet Industry continues to decline as we advance with another seven factory complexes captured during March. They completed Home Defence Doctrine and Flying Rocket research.
Militarily they have lost another twelve Infantry and one Armoured division. This represents more than one tenth of their total remaining forces. The increased losses are due to our capture of forward airbases and could continue to grow.
No real changes to either their Airforce or Navy."
Militarily they have lost another twelve Infantry and one Armoured division. This represents more than one tenth of their total remaining forces. The increased losses are due to our capture of forward airbases and could continue to grow.
No real changes to either their Airforce or Navy."
"British Industry is unchanged. They completed research into Improved versions of both Tactical and Naval Turbojet bombers.
Ground forces increased by nine Infantry and one Armoured division. These are likely to be lent forces as usual and is a little concerning given the losses they sustained in March. We do not seem to be adequately controlling their numbers much of late and this could cause us problems if the strength continues to grow."
"Do you have any solutions?" asked Hirohito.
"The only permanent solution would be to remove Britain's Allies by annexation your Majesty." Kuniaki replied.
"That will be a slow process but not beyond our reach."
"I would tend to agree your Majesty. Not much change to either the Royal Air Force or Royal Navy during the last month."
Ground forces increased by nine Infantry and one Armoured division. These are likely to be lent forces as usual and is a little concerning given the losses they sustained in March. We do not seem to be adequately controlling their numbers much of late and this could cause us problems if the strength continues to grow."
"Do you have any solutions?" asked Hirohito.
"The only permanent solution would be to remove Britain's Allies by annexation your Majesty." Kuniaki replied.
"That will be a slow process but not beyond our reach."
"I would tend to agree your Majesty. Not much change to either the Royal Air Force or Royal Navy during the last month."
"No change as normal to American Industrial output. They completed research into a Modern Battleship and Nuclear Carrier Propulsion. This does not bode well for the Imperial Japanese Navy as both advances will improve the United States Navy's capabilities."
"How long until we start seeing Nuclear powered Carriers?" asked Osami.
"If they upgrade any under construction then we will be seeing them all too soon." replied Kuniaki.
"Wonderful."
"No major changes to the American Armed Forces except for the addition of two Aircraft Carriers which brings the number up to sixteen. The three we know about would reduce the number back to thirteen at which point we should not see more activity from them. They are more than likely building more at a rate of roughly one a month."
"How long until we start seeing Nuclear powered Carriers?" asked Osami.
"If they upgrade any under construction then we will be seeing them all too soon." replied Kuniaki.
"Wonderful."
"No major changes to the American Armed Forces except for the addition of two Aircraft Carriers which brings the number up to sixteen. The three we know about would reduce the number back to thirteen at which point we should not see more activity from them. They are more than likely building more at a rate of roughly one a month."
"We finished no research projects in March but could complete two in April if things go well. Oil conversion could become more valuable soon and a long overdue improvement to our small number of tanks could finish. Nothing further." concluded Kuniaki.
"Industry please."
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Ginjiro began. "Our Industrial and Resource situation remains pretty stable with the recent annexation of Tannu Tuva boosting our Energy reserves in particular."
"Industry please."
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Ginjiro began. "Our Industrial and Resource situation remains pretty stable with the recent annexation of Tannu Tuva boosting our Energy reserves in particular."
"Our production increased by four factory complexes in March and should continue to increase. This benefits our Transport Capacity which has stabalised a little but is going to become much worse once the North China Army starts to redeploy.
Reserves are not ideal but are sufficient. Oil dropped by more than I would like but we still maintain a large stockpile in China which can support our forces for some time. This stockpile gains from our captured Soviet oilfields as none is transported back to the mainland which saves our Convoys some extra work. Manpower dropped by another two thousand but is about as stable as it can get given our low recruitment.
No changes to production with our first Garrison division already in Australia which accounts for the slight decrease in Manpower. Another Garrison is due this month and there is a considerable amount of production scheduled to complete in May. Four new Tactical bomber squadrons and their Escorts and both Carrier Air Groups are due in early May. This will free up some capacity once the Carrier Air Groups complete. There will be one more set of bombers and escorts to finish that will complete those runs. The bombers will be available on August 1st which will allow for a massive amount of production to be diverted to upgrades.
Supply production is above our daily needs and repairs are at a very low level and are all to ships. Upgrades are slowly being completed but until the major switch in August these will remain few and far between."
"I might want some more ships come August. I am running a little low on Escorts and will be needing more Light Carriers if we continue to lose them." stated Osami.
"I didn't think you lost any Escorts."
"I haven't but we have more capital ships now which require more Escorts."
"Fair enough. I can build some more Destroyers beginning in August."
"The Light Carriers can wait a little but I want more modern ones if possible as our more outdated ones are too vunerable to American Carriers."
"I will look into researching a newer model for you but it will take a few months." replied Kuniaki.
"That will have to do then." said Osami.
"Nothing more from me unless there are any more requests." there were not.
"Good progress as usual Gentlemen. Use the rest period wisely as I hate to see my troops idle when there are Wars to be won. Don't forget to sink those Carriers." Hirohito stated as he stood and left the meeting followed by all four military Chiefs and Grand Admiral Ozawa.
Reserves are not ideal but are sufficient. Oil dropped by more than I would like but we still maintain a large stockpile in China which can support our forces for some time. This stockpile gains from our captured Soviet oilfields as none is transported back to the mainland which saves our Convoys some extra work. Manpower dropped by another two thousand but is about as stable as it can get given our low recruitment.
No changes to production with our first Garrison division already in Australia which accounts for the slight decrease in Manpower. Another Garrison is due this month and there is a considerable amount of production scheduled to complete in May. Four new Tactical bomber squadrons and their Escorts and both Carrier Air Groups are due in early May. This will free up some capacity once the Carrier Air Groups complete. There will be one more set of bombers and escorts to finish that will complete those runs. The bombers will be available on August 1st which will allow for a massive amount of production to be diverted to upgrades.
Supply production is above our daily needs and repairs are at a very low level and are all to ships. Upgrades are slowly being completed but until the major switch in August these will remain few and far between."
"I might want some more ships come August. I am running a little low on Escorts and will be needing more Light Carriers if we continue to lose them." stated Osami.
"I didn't think you lost any Escorts."
"I haven't but we have more capital ships now which require more Escorts."
"Fair enough. I can build some more Destroyers beginning in August."
"The Light Carriers can wait a little but I want more modern ones if possible as our more outdated ones are too vunerable to American Carriers."
"I will look into researching a newer model for you but it will take a few months." replied Kuniaki.
"That will have to do then." said Osami.
"Nothing more from me unless there are any more requests." there were not.
"Good progress as usual Gentlemen. Use the rest period wisely as I hate to see my troops idle when there are Wars to be won. Don't forget to sink those Carriers." Hirohito stated as he stood and left the meeting followed by all four military Chiefs and Grand Admiral Ozawa.
I'm curious now - while I know Remble won't take it, DOES BP activate for Japan alone in vanilla?