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Excellent idea for an operation. And a good name too.
 
As usual, Remble, your plan sounds firm. Somehow, I don't think the British would expect to be cut off from the rear.

Remble said:
"Yes your Majesty. We will call this plan 'Operation Dilemma'." replied Satoru.

We can always count on the Japanese to come up with interesting names (and this is sixty years before those kids-with-monsters-genre animes). :D
 
Mangudai said:
Oh, and a little piece of information: You just call it the Imperial Japanese Air Force, but in RL their airforce was divided between the army and the navy, like with the Americans. You can call it the "Imperial Japanese Army Air Force", while the naval aviation consists predominantly of the CAGs. :)

That was before the Emperor took over the nation. :D
 
Mmm, a cunning plan, dear sir... :D :cool:
 
I really enjoyed your previous AAR, but i have to admit that this struggle is even more exciting!

If you win this it will be untopable - Except you beat the 1944 Scenario with Romania...
 
Yay for Operation Dilemma!
 
And I always thought Japan didn't use any code names for operations. This might explain why Satoru didn't think of one before.

Though I would have expected something more poetic, like "Sea that shall rise to the mountains" or "Lotus that tickles the bengal tiger's butt". ... then again "Operation Dilemma" makes more sense. :D
 
AdmiralNelson, Maj. von Mauser, stnylan, safferli - Thank you :)

DvD-IT - Not too gamey nope ;)

Lord Strange - If nothing else it might give the British something to think about.

sbr - They will sail immediately and it takes 5 days to reach their target.

germanpeon - Thank you :) I do intend to destroy every single enemy division in Burma and Siam, it will take quite a long time I think though as the terrain is not good for quick attacks.

Mangudai, Panzer6 - I was actually thinking of Australia as well but the British were becoming a little too troublesome. I read some things about Japan before I started, mostly to get a feel for how meetings might go, formality etc. Some things I read did point out that the Japanese Air force was two seperate entities but it also made it fairly clear that the Army Air Force did not really do much as it was mostly left to the Navy Air Force. I decided to just go with Imperial Japanese Air Force to cut out any confusion. Technically anything not on a Carrier would be Army Air Force though.

Nathan Madien - I hope they don't expect it or it might get messy. Short names are usually best for operations or it can get confusing.

Murmurandus - Cunning it is, I hope. Don't get used to knowing the target ahead of time though, remember I kept everyone waiting for over a year in game time before I invaded Tahiti :D

oddman - Thanks. The subs will probably be used as advanced warning of impending doom until such time as I am confident of naval victory, at which point they will probably hunt easier prey.

Sheepguard - Thank you. I think two campaigns in 1944 are enough for anyone and I am not mad enough to try Romania on any difficulty level in 1944 :D

Deus - I added the blue arrows just for you :p

Sokraates - It appears as though Hirohito likes names for his operations, or at least this one.

I Killed Kenny, Panzer6 - If I get most of them then yes I would have enough. Previous experience, ie as Germany, tells me that I do not need to sink British Convoys to cripple them. Take away the far east and India and they run out of raw materials really quickly in this scenario. Cutting off their supplies I doubt I will bother with, I prefer to just kill them.

Update to follow ...
 
Operation Dilemma
1





0000 December 1st 1944.
North China Army Headquarters. Jinghong, China.

British forces had superior numbers and technology over their Japanese counterparts but the Japanese had mountains and jungles in which to fight.​

dec1440000gr.jpg

The Tactical bombers were beginning to inflict significant damage on Field Marshal Wilson's motorised divisions with one all but destroyed.​





0000 December 1st 1944.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Singapore.

Yamamoto was in command of the amphibious forces until such time as they made landfall. He had most of the Imperial Japanese Navy with him to protect the more fragile Transport fleets.​

dec1440000gr1.jpg

General Ueda, who would command the initial ground forces for the operation, was the first to board the waiting transport ships closely followed by twelve infantry divisions. The troops were carrying extra supplies as they knew that they were heading behind enemy lines and out of direct supply.​

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No sooner had the infantry finished boarding the transports than all four fleets sets sail. Both Transport fleets and Carrier Group C headed for the coast of India while Yamamoto led BB Division 1 towards Rangoon where he would try and halt all troop movements by sea either in or out of Burma.​

dec1440000gr3.jpg

To replace his patrol pattern around Indonesia BB Division 2 left Davao and headed for Singapore.​





0100 December 1st 1944.
Industry Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Ginjiro had already stated that he would begin constructing convoy ships to replace losses to enemy Submarines. He received an additonal request as he left the meeting with the Emperor.​

dec1440000gr4.jpg

Three more Destroyer Flotillas were also ordered to allow the repairing fleet in Tokyo to have a full compliment of such vessels.​





1900 December 1st 1944.
25. Armee Headquarters. Thom Buri, Siam.

Lt. General Kozuki was in command of the defensive forces in Thom Buri and he was watching the enemy build up closely. He knew it was likely to only be a matter of time before his defences were tested.​

dec1441900gr1.jpg

Field Marshal Montgomery had decided the time was right to try and force Kozuki to move. The Lt. General tended to agree with the British officer that he should probably withdraw to the safety of Bangkok.

His second in command, one Mj. General Banzai, did not agree that a withdrawal should commence immediately.

"We are in the middle of jungle, its night and, in case you hadn't noticed, its raining a little out there. Why should we move back from a force that is mostly in trucks that can't even move in this?" he argued.

"Because they out number us more than two to one and that is Montogomery out there." Kozuki replied. "We shall wait for a few hours to see how things develop at dawn. Is that suicidal enough for you Mj. General?"

"It is a start certainly."​





000 December 2nd 1944.
Diplomatic Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Mamoru was entertaining the Soviet Ambassador again. This time he would try to negotiate a slightly smaller trade in the hopes that his opposite number might actually honour it for a while.​

dec2440800gr1.jpg

The initial transaction was handled quite smoothly with both sides agreeing to what appeared to be a fair deal. Now it just remained to be seen if the Ambassador came back to see him tomorrow.​




0800 December 2nd 1944.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, South Malacca Strait.

It had not taken long to find hostile shipping as the invasion fleet headed north. Their first encounter was in the South Malacca Strait where the bad weather conditions made Carrier operations difficult which allowed the three British ships to escape alive from a force more than ten times it size.​

dec2440800gr2.jpg

They were not so lucky when they met again in the North Malacca Strait. All three British ships would sink with only two confirmed to any particular ship.

The Light Cruiser HMS Colombo was hit by so many bombs and torpedoes it was impossible to say who had made the fatal blow. The same was not true of the two Destroyer Flotillas.

Aircraft from the Carriers IJN Junyo and IJN Hiyo would be credited with the death blows.​





1300 December 2nd 1944.
25. Armee Headquarters. Thom Buri, Siam.

"Well Mj. General have you had enough bloodshed now?" asked Kozuki.

"I believe that now might be a prudent time to make Bangkok our new home, yes." replied Banzai.​

dec2441300gr1.jpg

All four divisions, two infantry and two marines, marched off in good order towards the Siamese capital where a much larger Japanese force had gathered. They never really stood much chance of stopping Montgomery but they did inflict some damage.​





2200 December 3rd 1944.
The Skies Above the West Celebes Sea.

Mj. General Saboru was currently patrolling the Celebes Sea and he found the returning American Carrier fleet as it entered his area form the west. One ship was crippled with the rest, including the USS Ticonderoga, showing signs of damage. He passed the co-ordinates back to his base in Davao where an Air General just happened to be passing as the report arrived.

"No rest for my squadrons." he thought as he headed off towards his aircraft and summoned the other pilots of both his wing and that of his fellow wing commander.​

dec3442200gr1.jpg

By 0100 hours Ozawa and Genda had reached Saboru and joined in the attack. The 38th Destroyer Division did not last even an hour as the Naval bombers began to inflict their damage. Nightfall would prevent any other major damage occurring. There was still a fairly big distance between Admiral English and safety.​
 
0300 December 4th 1944.
The Skies Above China.

More and more enemy bombers were trying to inflict damage on the dug in forces facing the British in China. Troops were redeploying to this area and these bombing runs had to be stopped before they arrived.​

dec4440300gr1.jpg

Mj. General Fukui managed to make contact with the enemy bombers in Xiaguan where he would be able to inflict some fairly major damage. He had hoped that his fellow wing commander, Lt. General Yasuda, would also join him. This was not the case as he intercepted some American Strategic bombers over Qujing instead.

Standard operating orders were not to engage such aircraft but Yasuda had been given little choice as they were directly in his path. Surprisingly the damage inflicted was the same for both sides. None of these aircraft would be flying again for some time.​





1400 December 4th 1944.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Gulf of Martapan.

Yamamoto had arrived off Rangoon and was greeted by a wonderful sight. He somehow doubted that the view was as good from the opposing fleet.​

dec4441400gr1.jpg

Eight unescorted Transport fleets were sitting in plain sight as BB Division 1 entered its blockade area. Unfortunately all of them would manage to enter the harbour in Rangoon before they could be sunk. They did not escape unscathed.​

dec4442200gr1.jpg

A further report on the final Submarine fleet in the English Channel reached Yamamoto at 2200 hours and it was not a good report. Not only was this fleet being chased by a French Carrier fleet but now an American Battleship fleet had joined the hunt.

Some good news did arrive fairly soon afterwards.​

dec4442200gr2.jpg

Carrier Group C had entered the West Andaman Sea and had encountered a small enemy Transport fleet which was reinforced an hour later. Five ships in all had been sighted. Night would hamper operations for two hours but as soon as dawn arrived the damage became very heavy for the combined British and American fleet.

All five enemy ships were sunk. The Heavy Cruiser IJN Mogami would sink the Light Cruiser HMS Ceres, with the second Light Cruiser HMS Argonaut falling to aircraft from Nagano's Flagship IJN Zuikaku. The 4th Destroyer Division was sunk by aircraft from IJN Unryu with both Transport Flotillas being credited to IJN Zuikaku's aircraft.

Yamamoto was encouraged that his Carriers could manage to sink enemy ships fairly easily in decent weather. He received even more good news at 0900 hours on December 5th.​

dec5440100gr1.jpg

Ozawa had led the renewed attack against the remains of Admiral English and his fleet in the East Celebes Sea. It had taken just over an hour to finish off the badly damaged USS Ticonderoga and then Ozawa went for the Battleship USS Massachusetts. By 0700 hours she was crippled and burning all along here length. She was putout of her misery at 0900 hours as she sank beneath the waves to join the USS Ticonderoga. Two more enemy capital ships would bother Japan no more.​

dec5440900gr3.jpg

Shortly after this report Yamamoto's lookouts spotted an enemy Transport fleet attempting to run his blockade. The guns of IJN Yamashiro made sure that it failed.

The next report was the one Yamamoto had been waiting for with bated breath.​

dec5441500gr1.jpg

At 1500 hours Carrier Group C and both Transport fleets arrives safely off the unguarded coast of Cuttack. Within two hours the infantry had begun its landing, which would not be completed until 0200 hours on December 8th. Nagano had to protect the amphibious assault for more than two days and he knew the enemy was aware of his presence.​

dec6441600gr1.jpg

The first ships to try and halt the landings were American at 1700 hours on December 6th. Both would escape their brush with death as rain and night made it almost impossible for the Carriers to operate.

Most of the 7th remained fairly quiet with just the usual sightings of small fleets around Indonesia. This all changed at 2100 hours as a very large American fleet was detected.​

dec7442100gr1.jpg

Luckily it was far away from India. It had been spotted moving south through the Bonin Trench by Mj. General Tanaka on routine patrol. Admiral Turner was in command of no fewer than eight of the United States Navy's Battleships as well as a full compliment of escort vessels. They were older types of Battleships but this fleet was too large to be engaged by the Imperial Japanese Navy even if there were any ships close by.

Admiral Turner was heading towards the North Mariana Trench and Saipan. Air General Ozawa was ordered to fly to Saipan to hunt some more prey.​
 
Those large enemy armies in Burma do not bode well for the defense of Siam and southern China. Other than that, things are looking pretty darn good. :)
 
It looks like the Americans might have decided to turn things up a notch, hopefully you can stand the heat.

It was an especially intriguing update this time, thankyou. :D
 
Remble said:
...

Murmurandus - Cunning it is, I hope. Don't get used to knowing the target ahead of time though, remember I kept everyone waiting for over a year in game time before I invaded Tahiti :D

...

That was just plain evil... ;) :D
 
*Gulp* Now that's quite a bunch of divisions coming at you from Burma.Though on foot they won't reach the front lines until new year ... Chinese new year.

The battleship fleet on the other hand will be more trouble.

If it wasn't the AI wasn't controlling them, I would be worried.

Great update and great playing! Keep it up and keep the updates coming!
 
So the invasion has started. I hope that the cutoff from the west succeeds and you are able to run the enemy in burma out of supplies. Also the blocade becomes more important. Those German subs better reach you in time. Battle hardened troops to start intercept the enemy's merchant marine is a good thing.
 
Nice start Remble.I hope you will continue like this when Soviets decide to bring Communism on you.Also like you style change in the last updates (dialogs between commanders) keep it up. :)