Update (August 1st 1946)
0000 August 1st 1946.
Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. We shall begin with the Armed Forces as they seem to have been most active." Hideki began the meeting.
"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning." began Tanigawa. "Following the conclusion of Operation Mystery the Pacific has become extremely quiet. Only one enemy fleet has been detected during July in the entire region. The only other fleet spotted was being used to try and attack Colombo on the island of Ceylon. Minster Osami will give a more detailed briefing on the fleet we did encounter.
Asia is a different matter entirely. We have not been forced to withdraw to our original planned positions as of yet but the number of enemy troops arriving across the entire region is growing daily. The odds of us holding our current defensive lines are remote at best once these forces begin to be used cohesively. Increasing attacks against both Harbin and Bayan Tumen lead me to believe that we will lose one or both during August unless we increase their defences considerably."
"Can we increase the defences?" Hirohito asked.
"No your Majesty, we would merely risk being over run elsewhere."
"Well we expected to be making a Tactical withdrawal already so we are ahead of our plan for the time being."
"That we are your Majesty. The Allied forces in India are under control at this time, however they have been provided with some air protection which could delay our plans in this area. The extra Tactical bombers being used here are needed elsewhere but they cannot leave until the area is secure again. We shall keep monitoring the position and may have to send additional Interceptors to help out. Over to Minister Satoru for a more detailed briefing." Tanigawa concluded.
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. Thank you Minister Tanigawa. I shall begin with a change in our command structure." Satoru began.
"Field Marshal Sugiyama has been relieved of his post defending the Home Islands as there are no longer sufficient troops here that would require a Commander of his rank. He has been replaced by General Kano. Sugiyama will become second in command of North China Army and has taken up his post with 15th Army in Urumqi. He is our only Field Marshal who excels in defence. Field Marshal Terauchi still commands the Kwantung Army with Field Marshal Hata as his second in command."
"The only thing of any note in the Pacific that Minister Osami won't be covering is the defence of the Hawaiian Islands. Our troops are now deployed on their respective islands and merely await the Allies to try and pay them a visit. Four Interceptor squadrons are based here to provide defence against enemy port strikes until such time as they can begin naval patrols. Carrier Groups C and D are also still here."
"Moving on to Asia. No territory has changed hands at all in this region. Minister Tanigawa has already explained that this is almost certain to change. We do have the other eight Close Air Support bombers available after returning from the Pacific. We expect it to take almost another month to fully upgrade these aircraft. Our current Headquarters divisions have been highlighted and are mostly in and around Manchuria. We will be moving one to Sinkiang to aid in that areas defence."
"During July Admiral Triye conducted a preliminary reconnaisance of the Siberian Peninsula. There were no enemy forces visible during his patrol. The planning stages have therefore been concluded and Operation Tedious will now begin. The purpose of this operation is to launch hit and run raids along this coast to attempt to divert Soviet troops towards this area. We have no intention of advancing at all unless no response is detected."
"A second part of this operation is to secure Sakhalin Island. The Soviets have already abandoned Toyohara and look to be totally evacuating the island. We will invade if the do so. There is a causeway between the island and the mainland which will then be blocked by Admiral Triye and his Destroyer Flotillas. He will then remain in the Northern Gulf of Tartary indefinfately to prevent the Red Army returning to the island."
"The Imperial Japanese Navy has been busy during July. Their Transport fleets have moved troops from many places throughout the western Pacific and delivered them to Fukuoka for further deployment. These forces include seven infantry divisions and three headquarters divisions. They will be used as needed to suppliment defences in Asia with a second force being used for Operation Tedious. Indonesia and the Philippines are no longer garrisoned as a result. Further troops may be withdrawn from the Pacific if the Allies continue to do nothing aggressive.
Admiral Mikawa currently has four Manchurian Cavalry divisions which were picked up from the highlighted provinces. They will also head to Fukuoka and after a small period of repairs the Transport fleets will begin the plans for Siberia. These divisions are under Japanese control and we will therefore be supplying them."
"India is under no direct threat. Karachi is currently unoccupied by enemy forces after a moderately successful bombing campaign which has since run in to some problems. We will continue to allow British forces to enter this area and destroy them piecemeal as and when we can."
"Sinkiang is also still pretty much under control with our Dive bombers keeping enemy numbers down. There has been some evidence of an increased number of enemy troops arriving on the border and moving forwards. There is no immediate concern here."
"A similar situation exists in former Mongolia where we are trying to advance a little until we meet opposition. Bayan Tumen in the east has been under heavy attack for some time and Soviet numbers are growing daily. We do not expect to hold this province for much longer as the terrain is not condusive to defence. We will pull back into the mountains at the appropriate time."
"The build up of Red Army forces is also increasing in pace in Manchuria. A large part of these forces is thought to have come from Sakhalin Island. Vladivostok is heavily defended and the pressure on Harbin is growing with frequent attacks, mostly at night. Should the Soviets switch to daylight attacks casualties will increase dramatically and we may lose the vital airbase in Harbin. The loss of Bayan Tumen or Harbin could easily de-stabalise the entire region with added pressure being applied to Ulan Hot as a result. This region has little room for manouver to the south and we could be forced into Korea if things go badly.
One thing of note is that Winter is not too far off which could halt most of the enemy attacks and give us some time to weaken their forces by constant air attacks. The downside is that it also gives the Red Army time to fully deploy for Spring which could be a very bloody time all across Asia. Our counter attack opportunities have lessened as the enemy forces arrive in larger numbers and we are almost totally defensive across the entire front."
"Our current ground forces are shown here. An increasing number of troops are becoming available from our Allies of varying degrees of usefullness. Manchukuo continues to provide the best assistance to our forces and we would wish to keep them as a puppet for as long as we possibly can. We are not producing anything that will increase our ground strength as we are concentrating on Naval builds to try and at least partially modernise our fleet. Over to Minister Osami for a Naval briefing." Satoru concluded.
"Thank you. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. In addition to the operation already mentioned we will be launching another in the Pacific. Operation Retreat will commence almost immediately as the enemy has little chance to stop it. The target will remain classified until its conclusion."
"Not from me it won't Minister Osami. I am not sure I like that name either." stated the Emperor.
"Of course not your Majesty, I will brief you after the meeting. The name is appropriate as you will also see. One enemy fleet was detected in the Pacific during July as has been mentioned. It is a Carrier fleet containing two modern Aircraft Carriers and it has been operating almost at will behind our lines. Admiral Ozawa is pursuing it as we speak.
Only two ships or flotillas were lost during July both involving this enemy fleet. We lost the Heavy Cruiser IJN Tone and they lost a Destroyer Division to our bombers. Our repairing fleet is safely in Tokyo where it will take months of work to make all the ships fully operational. Nothing more from the Armed Forces." Osami concluded.