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Riptide - The CL was actually the most powerful ship in that battle. Night and rain crippled the Carriers and the CL had positioning because of my terrible doctrines.

Deus - The USN is moving up the list of things to do.

Thurak, I Killed Kenny - Energy will be a problem there is no way to avoid it once at war with the Soviets. I am trying to get trade positive for energy but that will only last as long as I am at peace with the Bear. I am trading with just about every South American country for oil and energy as well as Turkey and Sweden. If I have done my sums correctly Japanese industry will run at no less than 2/3 maximum even without the Soviet energy. I can fight a war under those circumstances and I have also avoided open negotiation for a while, which means that the countries I am trading with should have a stockpile I can trade for.

Maj. von Mauser - One of the AI's nice advantages is the auto upgrading of anything in the production line once they research a new variant. The CV VII shouldn't really be at sea yet and they sort of hurt.

The problem I have with the Soviets not dowing me is that I am forced to do something else with my time. I could just sit back and very slowly bomb the USN to death over months while I wait, but that does not make very good reading. If the Soviets don't DoW then I have to do something to keep you all entertained. Besides, the longer I do nothing the stronger my enemies become so I have to force something.

Reado - You were indeed :) I was very nearly going to follow Lord Strange and invade Ethiopia as well. That could have been 'A Bridge too Far' as they say. You win bragging rights for successfully working out a secret operation :)

Sokraates - That tactic actually works fairly well in most cases. The AI gets mightily confused when you mess with its head. It was doctrines, weather and the lack of a heavy cruiser in the fleet.

Col - Thank you and welcome. Now you get to wait for updates :)

Update to follow ...
 
Expanding Empire
4





0000 July 6th 1945.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Mukden, Manchukuo.

Field Marshal Hata had been appointed commander of the Kwantung Army. He was to hold Manchukuo and Korea against any possible Soviet invasion. Not an easy task but he had proved his abilities in Siam and Burma and would do what the Emperor needed him to do here.​

jul6450000gr1.jpg

His defensive line had just been completed with the arrival of six infantry divisions in Chongyin. There were another nine waiting in Fukuoka for his orders when the time came.​





0000 July 7th 1945.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Ahmadabad.

American troops had landed on the island of Ngulu in the Carolines. They had begun their march towards Yap to reclaim the island and its vital airbase.​

jul7450000gr1.jpg

Yamamoto ordered Admiral Triye to move his Submarine fleet to the Yap Trench to prevent the loss of the island.​

jul7450100gr1.jpg

The British fleet in Bombay had decided not to leave and had paid a very high price for that decision. Only four ships remained of what was once a formidable high seas fleet. The bombers would finish off the remnants fairly quickly and the cavalry to the south of Bombay was given orders to advance and take the province.​

jul8451000gr1.jpg

Admiral Cooley had moved his Carrier fleet south of India where it was picked up by the patrolling aircraft. It would be monitored but no aggressive action would be taken for the time being.​

jul9452000gr1.jpg

Triye arrived in the Yap Trench at 2000 hours on July 9th and slammed the door in the face of the advancing American ground troops. Yap would remain under Japanese control unless the Submarines were forced to move.​





0200 July 10th 1945.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

Things were progressing well in India for Higashikuni and his forces. The destruction of the British fleet in Bombay allowed the bombers to begin looking for other targets and his ground forces could continue their advance.​

jul10450200gr1.jpg

General Abe had arrived in Hyderabad and was given new orders to advance on Karachi to islolate any remaining Allied troops in northern India.​





0100 July 13th 1945.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Ahmadabad.

One of the American Battleship fleets had been detected by Siamese aircraft on patrol. Yamamoto knew that this meant they were close to the Japanese mainland.​

jul13450100gr1.jpg

Halsey had taken his older fleet on a patrol of the home islands. His fleet would be completely ignored as it could do little harm unless Japanese ships were at sea in the area. None were.​





2200 July 13th 1945.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

Japanese troops advancing across northern India had been racing a British division that was coming down from the mountains of north western China.​

jul13452200gr1.jpg

They lost the race to Lahore but would force the British division to retreat once the Tactical bombers arrived at dawn.​

jul14451000gr1.jpg

General Abe was taking too long to advance into Karachi and was picked up by the Transport fleet to conduct an invasion instead. Carrier Group C was in good condition and would provide an escort while the Battleship fleets rested and repaired.​





0000 July 14th 1945.
Intelligence Headquarters. Tokyo, Japan.

Yamamoto's rest in Ahmadabad had allowed him to concentrate on some research. He completed his study in to Trade Interdiction Doctrine and would receive another task from Kuniaki.​

jul14450000gr1.jpg

No Japanese research team was familiar with Unrestricted Submarine Warfare as it was a neglected part of Japanese doctrine. Yamamoto was the best choice to conduct this research under the circumstances.​
 
0500 July 15th 1945.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Ahmadabad.

Cooley had travelled a fair distance before he was spotted by patrols again. The latest reports had put the Carrier fleet in the South Kyushu-Palau Trench heading towards the Marianas.​

jul15450500gr1.jpg

BB Division 3 was in Palau and could intercept Cooley in the Palau Trench. Yamamoto did not give those orders. Nomura did have both of the massive Battleships in his fleet but he did not have any type of Aircraft Carrier. Trying to close with an enemy Carrier fleet without such ships was pointless and highly dangerous.​

jul15452200gr1.jpg

A Brazilian fleet had been engaged in the Mouths of the Indus by Carrier Group C. There was a Transport Flotilla present and it could have been trying to reinforce Karachi which could have halted the invasion. Aircraft from IJN Hiyo would sink the Transport Flotilla but the Destroyer Flotilla would escape.

The next report that Yamamoto read made him very happy that BB Division 3 did not posses a Light carrier. Had it done so it definately would have chased Cooley and his Carrier Task Force.​

jul16450400gr1.jpg

Nomura would have almost certainly lost a large part of his fleet if he had been in the Palau Trench. Spruance's Battlefleet crossed Cooley's path as they headed in different directions.​

jul17450000gr1.jpg

At 0000 hours on July 17th Abe landed in Karachi to cut northern India off from Persia. There was no escape for the remaining two Allied divisions caught behind the lines.​

jul18450200gr1.jpg

Cooley had decided to make a nuisance of himself and had sailed north towards Japan. His Carriers carried out a port strike on Fukuoka which contained the large Japanese Transport fleet. No ships were sunk but several Transport Flotillas were badly damaged, some seriously. Some thought would be given on how to prevent this happening again.​

jul19450700gr1.jpg

Spruance had been heading south west when he left the Palau Trench which made it fairly obvious that he was heading towards India. His fleet was picked up in the Bangka Strait and orders were given to two bomber wings that had been recovering in Singapore.

The USS Iowa would not survive its trip through the Malacca Strait as Ozawa and Genda hunted the American fleet once more.​





1700 July 24th 1945.
Diplomatic Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Ginjiro had been doing some mathematics and had asked Mamoru to try and acquire some more energy. One more large trade could place Japan in a positive situation with this resource for the first time in many years.

The Soviet Ambassador was not too surprised to receive another invite to Mamoru's office.​

jul24451700gr1.jpg

A fairly brief exchange over some hot Indian tea saw another large quantity of energy exchanged for more supplies.​





0000 July 26th 1945.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

There was only one enemy division left behind Japanese lines in northern China. It had been without supplies for several days and stood little chance of stopping any type of attack.​

jul26450000gr1.jpg

Having arrived in Srinagar Mj. General Kim headed towards Hotan where he forced the British division to retreat. Japanese bombers would ensure that the retreat would not get very far.​





2100 July 29th 1945.
Navy Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Osami had been monitoring the situation around India and the Pacific for some time and with the repairs completing across the Imperial Japanese Navy he gave some orders to his fleets.​

jul29452100gr21.jpg

All of the former German Submarine Flotillas were now in Calcutta and had been reformed into smaller fleets of similar Submarine classes. Repairs to a large part of these fleets had already been completed but some of the more modern Submarines still required a further time in port.

The two marine divisions in Ahmadabad were embarked by the Transport fleet and it sailed, along with Carrier Group C, BB Division 1 and BB Division 2, towards Osaka in Japan. Osami had decided that it was time to reform the Imperial Japanese Navy and seperate the damaged ships which were to be repaired at home. They had largely defeated the Royal Navy and its Commonwealth support and it was time to hunt the larger and more dangerous United States Navy. BB Division 3 would also head for Osaka once most of the fleets from India were closer to home.​

jul30450500gr21.jpg

With July drawing to a close Osami received a report that Admiral Cooley had been spotted heading back towards Japan. There would be a reception commitee waiting for him this time.​
 
Sailing home from India to Japan now? What about Spurance's fleet?!?

I am looking forward to big fleet action in the Pacific with more BB's and more carriers involved. May the weather be with you ;)
 
yay bragging rights. I beat you all. muahahahahaha

brag

brag

brag

what else can i say to fullfill the bragging rights?
 
say, exactly what is to composition of the ex-german fleets that made it to India?
 
I'd be interested to know what happened to those German Cruisers.

Anyways, it looks like the stage is set for another massive carrier battle. It's also good to see the Japanese studying Submarine doctrines.

India looks about finished...
 
USA beware, for there will be a gun behind every wave and a bomb behind every cloud!

Will you now pay a visit to Iran or simply hole up in Karachi? The latter would be more sensible while the first would be more fun. :D
 
been lurking around for a long while now, and will be subscribed from now on... great work, inspired me to play japan, with not so stunning results.
 
Sokraates said:
Will you now pay a visit to Iran or simply hole up in Karachi? The latter would be more sensible while the first would be more fun. :D

Remble should be careful if he decides to go into Persia. Afterall, we do have Afghanistan and they might do something. It is unlikely, but the Japanese cannot afford to be cut off by tribal fighters from the north. They have proven to be a tough nut to crack...just ask the British.

By the way, I wonder how many Japanese soldiers have taken time off from killing the British to sightsee the Taj Mahal. :cool:
 
All in all it seems that the most of the on land campaign is over until a push into Persia or when the Soviets decide to move.

Sink those fleets, then Persia, Iraq and Africa, cutting the allies from resources.

:)
 
Thurak - Spruance hasn't been sighted for over a week and could be almost anywhere. The fleets are moving together so if they do find him they should do ok.

Reado - I think that covers it :)

trekaddict - Good question. 10 x Type V, 5 x Type IV, 18 x Type III, 4 x Type II. 37 total.

Maj. von Mauser - Both German Light Cruisers are in Palau with BB Division 3. India is as finished as it gets.

Sokraates - Karachi is as far as I go for now. It wouldn't be that interesting. Various random Allied divisions bombed to pieces as a few Japanese troops conquer the Middle East. It would over extend me and provide more TC problems as soon as I hit Iraq.

You forgot to remind me of something, but as I had already done the scene setting post I remembered anyway :)

robou - Thank you and welcome. Japan is a country a lot of people don't play, myself included until now. It does have some problems for sure, especially in this scenario.

I Killed Kenny - Defensive forces will be covered in the monthly update that follows.

Nathan Madien - It would also add another front with the Soviets which is not desirable at all. It gives the Allies something to do in the mean time which could prevent them from trying to invade somewhere important.

Monthly update to follow ...
 
Update (August 1st 1945)





0000 August 1st 1945.
Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Hideki began the meeting once the Emperor was seated. "We will start with Industry today please."

"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning. Our Industry is maintaining full production and has been helped considerably by recent trades conducted by Minister Mamoru with the Soviets." Ginjiro began.​

aug1450000prod.jpg

"The figures here are on a good day with minimal convoys running and it varies quite a lot day by day. You will notice that energy is actually positive. The trade off for this is a higher demand for supplies that we are shipping to the Soviets in exchange. All other resources are under control with slow decline in metal reserves. We do have a large stockpile of this resource and I am not concerned at all with the losses incurred. Our Siamese puppet provides us with several influxes of both metal and rare materials during the month which more than compensates for our daily loss.

Our reinforcement requirements are dropping daily and are now very much under control. The actual manpower required to complete repairs to our front line forces is approximately five manpower. Upgrades have begun and are going to take a very long time to complete. I estimate it could take a year to modernise our forces to our current modern standard and this will certainly change as new research projects are completed.

Minister Osami also ordered some Light Carriers to suppliment the Imperial Japanese Navy's Battlefleets and I started their production at the beginning of July. They are relatively cheap to produce but do take quite some time to build. The added abilities they provide far outweigh the costs according to Minister Osami.

Tranport over capacity has also reduced because of the final completion of deployments to China. We should also complete some research this coming month to aid this situation even more.

Ground combat has dropped off during July and the need for offensive supply to our troops has also fallen which helps the transport system.

I halted the production of some of the Convoy Transports and Escorts as we are ahead of our needs. We are still producing several convoys and one escort on a running basis. I can alter these requirements as needed but the higher numbers were draining our manpower pool needlessly. That concludes my briefing for today." concluded Ginjiro.

"Diplomacy next please. It seems you have been busy Minister Mamoru."

"A little Prime Minister. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." began Mamoru. "Several new trade agreements with the Soviets have brought our energy crisis to a halt for the time being. Relations between us and the Soviets are still not what I would call cordial but they are improving daily because of our numerous trades. It will take several months for relations to improve to such an extent that I can try and re-negotiate our trades to provide a slightly better return.

I also concluded some smaller trades with various other Countries for small amounts of oil and energy. Most of these trades were with South American countries and are basiclaly the same trades we already had but at better rates due to increased diplomatic ties. I will look to improve any such trades on a routine basis as our World relations improve. Needless to say the Allies are not interested in trade at this time.

All trades are subject to losses incurred by interdiction by enemy Naval forces and vary daily. On a good day we can achieve 90% success and on bad days it is closer to 50%."

"We are planning to do something about that Minister Mamoru." stated Tanigawa.

"That would be most helpful. I really do not like feeding the fish so many resources. That will be all for me today." concluded Mamoru.

"Armed Forces next please as you seem to be vocal today Minister Tanigawa."

"Actually I have little to say today." Tanigawa replied. "Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. Offensives are winding down in most areas with our objectives achieved in Indochina and India. There remains only one real Front at this time and that is the Pacific, which has been remarkably quiet for some months now. We plan to change that. I will hand you over to Minister Satoru for a briefing on the various Fronts before Minister Osami provides some insight into our future plans." concluded Tanigawa.

"What about the Soviets?" asked Hirohito.

"They will either attack us or they won't. We have all of our ground forces in position and can do no more to increase them without risking losses elsewhere. Our defensive plan has been optimised and there is little we can do but wait." replied Tanigawa.

"You are not pulling any forces out from this area at all?"

"No ground troops no your Majesty. We will move the Imperial Japanese Air Force to assist with operations though as it can be quickly switched back to Asia."

"Ok. Please carry on."

"Yes your Majesty." replied Tanigawa who nodded to Satoru to begin his briefing.

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. As Minister Tanigawa stated, operations are winding down in some areas and other areas are quiet for the time being." Satoru began.​

aug1450000pac.jpg

"The Pacific is unchanged territorially but the Allies did try to retake Yap island. They were unsuccessful. We still encounter their larger fleets from time to time but they are mostly just followed by naval patrols. One fleet has been visiting Japan and has been striking the port of Fukuoka. We are ready for its return and it has been sighted closing on the Japanese mainland."

"I am not too pleased that you allowed the Allies to bomb our homeland." stated the Emperor.

"My apologies your Majesty but there was little that we could do to prevent it and we will try and stop further incursions of this type." replied Satoru.​

aug1450000asia.jpg

"Asia has changed a little. Our forces are now all deployed and we have advanced to capture most of India. This process should be totally complete sometime in August as the mountains in the north are slow going. Defences have been formed throughout Indochina and we are confident that we can prevent an invasion in most areas."​

aug1450000nech.jpg

"The Kwantung Army is totally deployed across Manchukuo and Field Marshal Hata has taken command of the forces in this area. Our puppet is also providing additional troops as time progresses and this line should become stronger as a result. We still have nine divisions in Fukuoka as a support force for Korea."​

aug1450000nwch.jpg

"North western China will take the longest to secure with troops advancing towards the Soviet border from India as we speak. The last British division in the area will be destroyed shortly as our bombers finish it off. Three divisions will end up in Kashgar to suppliment the defensive line. There is still no Soviet build up along this front and it looks like our diplomatic actions seem to have averted an imminent War."

"Would you agree with that assessment Minister Kuniaki?" Hirohito asked the Minister of Intelligence.

"Not entirely your Majesty. We did obtain some information that a Soviet attack was likely in August but that was before our recent diplomatic efforts. The lack of troop build up does point to a lessening of the probability though." replied Kuniaki.

"Maybe we can avoid a very costly War with the Soviets after all." stated Hirohito. "Please continue Minister Satoru."

"Yes your Majesty."​

aug1450000mideast.jpg

"As with our brifings earlier in the month Operation Trust concluded with the capture of both Oman and Yemen. So far the Allies have taken few steps to re-capture this territory and re-install the former regimes. We are not certain if operations here made our lives easier in India but it certainly did not make them worse.

All defensive forces are already in India and no further troop deployments are planned."

"What forces are you leaving in India and Indochina?" asked Hideki.

"Twelve divisions in each area roughly. Five divisions will remain in Karachi to ensure that the Allies require a large build up forces before any attack with the remainder garrisoning various beaches throughout India. The twelve divisions in Indochina are all guarding beaches and we would need another six divisions to guard every beach. The chances of an enemy invasion are deemed to be remote in Indochina due to heavy losses to their Transport fleets." replied Satoru. "I will now hand you over to Minister Osami for a Naval briefing."​
 
"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning. Naval encounters have hit a low this past month with very few actual engagements. This situation is unsatisfactory as our enemies grow stronger if we do not continue to sink their ships. The Americans in particular will become a huge problem if we do not keep them on the run." Osami began.​

aug1450000sunk.jpg

"Losses for July were nearly all British and no Japanese ships were sunk. Actual losses are as follows:

Brazilian Losses

1 x Transport Flotilla.

French Losses.

1 x Transport Flotilla.

British Losses

3 x Aircraft Carriers.
2 x Battleships.
1 x Battlecruiser.
3 x Heavy Cruisers.
3 x Light Cruisers.
1 x Submarine Flotilla.
3 x Destroyer Flotillas.

American Losses

1 x Battleship.

Nineteen ships in all, a fairly quiet month. Almost all of the British casualties were from ships sunk in Bombay where the remains of two fleets were completely destroyed. We estimate that these losses have almost halved the Royal Navy's strength.

In conjunction with reports from Intelligence we do not think that the Royal Navy can be rebuilt to its former glory, and as a result, I have ordered all Battlefleets to return to Japan to finish repairs and we then launch operations in the Pacific aimed at bringing the United States Navy out of hiding."

"A secret operation is being planned I take it Minister Osami?" asked Hirohito.

"Maybe your Majesty. This operation will be the largest that we have mounted in some considerable time. Our enemies will know we are up to something but hopefully not exactly what that is. We will try and keep things low key for as long as possible but the arrival of large amounts of aircraft and ships are not going to go un-noticed. That is part of the plan of course. We want the Americans to know we are coming so that they can respond." replied Osami.

"Are your plans finalised yet?"

"Not yet your Majesty but I will brief you when they are. Next months meeting should be a good time."

"Good enough. Please continue."

"I made mention of large amounts of aircraft and both Ministers Satoru and Jun are happy to let me borrow the entire Imperial Japanese Air Force for this operation. There is little need for any aircraft for ground support for the time being and I promised to return every last aircraft if the Soviets decide they wish to fight. Needless to say this operation will be called off should that occur and a more modest plan will be made instead.

There is one more thing I wish to report, and having discussed the information contained with Minister Kuniaki, it may or may not be correct and could just be an elaborate ruse. The Americans have been Allied to the British long enough for them to have picked up how to do this type of operation by now. The British are remarkably adept at this sort of thing apparently."​

aug1450000alliedships.jpg

"On June 20th 1945 our forces sank an American Battleship which had been the Flagship of one of their more prominent Admirals. Amongst the wreckage of the USS New York we discovered some documents that were sent back to Naval Intelligence to decode and translate. The results of that process are displayed here.

These numbers are for the beginning of march, according to the documents, and are practically useless now as these fleets sizes could have changed a great deal since then. If they are authentic then our campaign against the Allied Merchant Marine fleets was not quite as successful as we believed. We did sink huge numbers of Transport Flotillas but the Allies still have more than enough to mount several moderate invasions.

These numbers are not up to date though and we have had more success since. We do think that the British Transport fleet is all but sunk as it had already been reduced to below the size of both the Australian and Mexican fleets. The only Country on this list that can keep up with the losses being sustained is the United States and even they are struggling badly. The numbers look fairly representative but we are not using them as hard evidence on our predictions of enemy fleet strengths. Nothing further from the Armed Forces today." Osami concluded.

"Lastly Intelligence please."

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Kuniaki began. "No more financing has been available to expand my network so, as always, take these numbers as mere guesses."​

aug1450000intsov.jpg

"Soviet industry in unchanged but our relations with them have improved markedly. This process should continue as long as our trades remain in tact.

They have completed no further research.

Their Armed Forces remain heavily focused on ground troops and these numbers are huge."​

aug1450000intuk.jpg

"The total loss of India has had a large impact on the United Kingom's industrial output. They have lost a further thirty two factory complexes and the corresponding loss of their rare materials base has further eroded their actual industrial output. They currently have roughly one third of our production capacity whereas they were our equal a year ago. They completed research into Turbojet Strategic Bombers.

Their ground forces have also reduced by another 20% due to losses in India.

The numbers show that they have lost six Battleships durng the last month. We sank four so this number is inaccurate as is the Carrier number. We know we sank three and we estimate they still have three. Small ship numbers are almost unchanged."​

aug1450000intus.jpg

"United States production is unchanged and no research projects were completed.

Their ground forces remain roughly the same but their aircraft show a marked decrease in fighters. This could just be bad intelligence or the loss of some aircraft on the ground during our operations.

They show a loss of one Battleship, which we can confirm, and no change to Carriers. Five small ships were apprently lost although we did not sink any."​

aug1450000intjap.jpg

"We completed research into Trade Interdiction Submarines and will likely complete two more research projects during August. Nothing further from me." concluded Kuniaki.

"It looks like we are in for a fairly quiet month as we move our forces around. Things could change though if the Soviets decide that they wish a War with us. The successful conclusion of our operations was satisfactory and I hope our future plans are as profitable." stated the Emperor as he stood and left the room.​
 
Very nice update as usual.

I'm looking forward the so expected fights in the Pacific and hope we will be able to call them: "The Empire strikes back" ! :rolleyes:

Do you intend to make an overview of your puppets? IC, research, army?
 
For once you're in the driver's seat with no land front to close down and the Royal Navy and USN significantly diminished, and it'll stay that way until the Soviets DoW you. I look forward to seeing your next moves!