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0400 November 12th 1949.
Diplomatic Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

"Your visitor is here Minister Mamoru." Mamoru's secretary announced.

"Show him in please."

"Yes Sir."

"Good morning Ambassador." Mamoru greeted his guest.

"Minister Mamoru." came the reply.

"Please take a seat. Would you like some Tea?" Mamoru asked politely.

"No thank you Minister. I doubt I will be here very long."

"As you wish Ambassador. His Majesty asked me to invite you to stop by so that I could advise you of a slight shift in Japanese Foreign policy."

"Somehow I expect this 'slight shift' to be a little bit more serious for my Country."

"An astute observation Ambassador."​

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"His Majesty has decided that Albania would benefit from becoming part of the Japanese Empire."

"How nice of Him to consult us about it before making His decision."

"Relax Ambassador, you will only be at War with Japan for two days and there will not be any bloodshed as you seem to have neglected to build an Army."​

Best. Declaration of war. Ever.
 
Agree with the above analysis. Of course, there's a lot of virtual cash riding
on what is found in Tirane - and hopefully Remble will not be sadistic and let
us know the results next update. Even though that would be a
bit out of character for him... :p
 
genbrad - The board rules have altered a little since I first began this AAR. I used to only be able to post 10 screenshots per post but I can now do a lot more. I rarely use more than 20, only for the annual report, and these can fit in one post which has greatly reduced any chance of a ninja post :D

Gibraltar will wait for Spain to fall.

AdmiralNelson - It was indeed a stupid move by Sherman to sail along the Mediterranean Sea with only one exit :)

Raaritsgozilla, EnglandWarrior, Nathan Madien - The Soviets will be around for at least one more update :)

Pier - Thank you. Partisan activity is the usual 20% + in all of occupied Europe. I expect several rebellions in the coming months :)

Eugenioso - Thank you and welcome aboard :) You have been busy :)

Maj. von Mauser - I deliberately chose not to DoW Albania during the mass DoWing that occured. I didn't want the Allies to protect a possible route to Tirana. Regarding the Haitian bombers ... you can take the blame for part of the next update :)

Meadow - Thank you :) Trying to find new ways to DoW and annex is getting a little harder.

serutan - The virtual cash will still be in play for at least one more update. I would not wish to alter my sadistic character and let you know the result so soon :D

mathers - Thank you very much for such high praise :)

Update to follow ...
 
Operation Blossom
16





0000 November 14th 1949.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. In Transit.

Despite the advances by the Central Asia Army the Italian Army was still refusing to be drawn from its totally defensive stance but Hata had high hopes that the latest conquest by his Army would force a response.​

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Mj. General Kokubu had moved south after capturing the Swiss capital and was now occupying Turin in northern Italy. Maybe this would be enough to convince the Italians that they needed to move troops north.​

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Hata's communications with his Army Command in Tokyo continued to be common as his forces captured more enemy Countries. Albania would be the latest to fall.

To: Army Command
From: Central Asia Army Headquarters

At 0200 hours on November 14th 1949 forces from the Central Asia Army, namely 36 Gundan commanded by Mj. General Koiki, captured Viore. This was the only province controlled by Albania and it has no other territory of Strategic importance.

Field Marshall Hata
Commander Central Asia Army


The usual flurry of diplomatic activity followed as Mamoru informed the Albanian Ambassador that his Country's War with Japan was indeed a short one and that he was now out of a job. Not surprisingly Albania yielded nothing in resources.​





2200 November 14th 1949.
Army Headquarters. Tokyo, Japan.

"Good morning Minister Osami." Satoru greeted his counterpart in the Imperial Japanese Navy.

"Good morning." Osami replied.

"Would you like some Tea before we discuss some business?"

"Tea would be good, thank you." Osami replied and took the cup that was offered by Satoru. "So what business do we need to discuss today?"

"I think it would appropriate to transfer the Command of an area from the Navy to the Army as I now have a Commander in the field of sufficient rank and forces numerous enough to assume command of the region in question."

"North America?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a name for this Army of yours?"

"I have thought long and hard on an appropriate name for this particular Army. I came up with something completely original."

"Sounds intriguing, but I hope you didn't hurt yourself with all of that thinking?" Osami asked sarcastically.

"I did have to take a few naps to prevent myself from burning out as it was a particularly difficult task." Satoru replied laughing.

"What name did all this thinking come up with?"

"The America Army."

"Ah. I can see why it took so much effort to think of such an obscure name for such an Army given its location. The name would be appropriate though."

"Thank you. I take it you are happy to transfer control of these forces to my Command?"

"Certainly. Grand Admiral Ozawa has enough to worry about without adding ground troops to his list. Who is going to be Commanding this Army?"

"Field Marshall Sugiyama. He transferred from Hawaii with the forces that you were kind enough to transport. He is an expert on defence and it is probably more fitting to have such a commander in this region as we are not thinking of being particularly aggressive for the time being."

"Good choice." replied Osami as he sipped his Tea and the conversation turned to more trivial topics.​

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Field Marshall Sugiyama was soon in action after being granted control of the Japanese land forces in North America. He led the attack against two organisationally weak American divisions in Juneau. The battle would be a victory because of the air support at Sugiyama's disposal, but he made no effort to push forwards as the travel times were excessive in North America during winter. He would be content to allow the bombers to destroy the now retreating enemy and bide his time until the Spring if the Allies did not significantly increase their forces in this area.​





1100 November 15th 1949.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Fuso, In Transit.

Ozawa was happy to let the Army take control of the land War in North America but he was still in command of the fleets supporting the region and he would ask for, and be given, command of the Tactical bombers in Anchorage less than twelve hours after Sugiyama took control of the land forces. The reason for such a need was contact between BC Division 2 and an American Carrier Task Force in the Northeast Aleutian Trench.​

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Needless to say Ozawa was less than thrilled about the prospects of the relatively weak BC Division 2 beating any American Carrier Task Force but he was relieved to find that Admiral Hall only had one Fleet Carrier, the USS Phillipine Sea, at his disposal. The naval battle that ensued was fought at night which gave Admiral Mikawa the advantage but he lacked the firepower to inflict much more than minor damage to the American fleet and the reverse was also true for Hall. Hall would be the one to withdraw after four hours of combat but he had a much bigger problem to deal with when Kondo arrived overhead with half of his Tactical bombers and two Naval bomber squadrons. Hall would escape major damage but he was forced to leave the area.​





1600 November 16th 1949.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. Reims, France.

Hata had been forced to halt his advance across France after an Allied Mountaineer division had moved north into Compiegne to block his path. He had called for air support from Shimoyama which had arrived quickly.​

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Shimoyama did not need very long to destroy both the Infantry division that had blocked the Japanese Armour advance in Vichy and the Mountaineer division in Compiegne. Both Hata and the Armour were soon moving forwards once more with no enemy troops in sight.​

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General Tanaka Shizuichi doubled the Japanese presence in northern Italy at 1800 hours as his Infantry corps occupied Trento. It was too soon to know if the Italians had responded to the original incursion with only one division moving towards Venice from Yugoslavia so far. Hata would not send aircraft to the south as the anti-aircraft fire in this region was far too high and he had the time to wait and find out the Italian response.​





0000 November 17th 1949.
Intelligence Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

November was shaping up to be a busy month for Kuniaki as he stepped up his espionage efforts to encompass every remaining Country in the World. His research teams were also producing results as the month progressed.​

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The Tokyo Arsenal completed its research into Advanced Motorized Divisions and was further tasked with researching Improved Mountain Divisions. Sumimoto completed its project of Advanced Material Science and was switched to research into Basic Semiconductors. Advanced Material Science would have a fairly large effect on Japanese industry and provide a larger output.​





0000 November 17th 1949.
Industry Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Ginjiro was pleased about the increase in Japanese factory output which would allow him to begin the expansion of an old project which had been idle for many years.​

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The old Rocket Test facility in Osaka was to be upgraded for the next couple of years to assist in Japanese research as more modern types of just about any military formation required rocketry to some degree. The gains in research times would be relatively minor but any such gains were of advantage as Japan could only research so much at one time.​





0000 November 17th 1949.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. Reims, France.

Another signal made its way back to Japanese Army Command on November 17th as the Central Asia Army continued to push forwards in southern Europe.

To: Army Command
From: Central Asia Army Headquarters

At 0000 hours on November 17th 1949 forces from the Central Asia Army, namely 34 Gundan commanded by Lt. General Muto, occupied Agrinio, the capital of Greece. Greece no longer has any territory of Strategic value.

Field Marshall Hata
Commander Central Asia Army

nov17490000gr4.jpg

The Greek Ambassador took one look at the report and headed back to his offices to begin packing his bags. Minor amounts of Energy and Metal were all that was found in the Greek resource stockpile.​





0700 November 17th 1949.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Qiqihar, Manchukuo.

General Kawabe had little to actually do other than administer and control more than one third of the combined ground forces of the Japanese Alliance. He controlled nearly 130 divisions of the 317 that the Alliance currently possessed. Fifty four divisions alone were dedicated to partisan control in the Far East Siberia region of Asia. These divisions were all from Mengkukuo and that Country's Government allowed Japan to control their deployment within this region but they were not authorized to operate outside of it. A further sixty eight divisions were deployed throughout mainland China and it was a report from one of these that drew Kawabe's attention today.​

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Mj. General Miyazaki had managed to complete his move from the Chinese coast inland where he began to crush the partisan uprising in Wuchang province. He would have little difficulty in overcoming the weak defences as his much more modern Infantry division ovecame the outdated Militia that it faced. His Infantry was not as modern as those of the Japanese Army as Mengkukuo, which supplied much of the anti-partisan forces in China, did not possess the technology to modernise to the 1947 standard as of yet. As well as the large number of troops from Mengkukuo there were also a substantial number of Japanese Garrison divisions deployed throughout China to assist in controlling uprisings in the region. Miyazaki would make his way back to his coastal defence position after re-occupying Wuchang province.​





2000 November 17th 1949.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. In Transit.

Hata disliked losing territory but there were occasions where he had absolutely no control over such losses. Only a massive intervention by the Imperial Japanese Navy could have prevented the loss that had occured and even then there was a distinct possibility that such intervention could have caused the Navy substantial losses.​

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The annexation of Denmark had also granted Japan control over both Iceland and Greenland and it had already been determined that both islands were indefensible. Even to try to defend them would place the Imperial Japanese Navy at a severe disadvantage. The nearest port outside of Iceland was in Algeria, which would mean a long journey, and getting ships to Iceland would almost certainly mean a confrontation with the Royal Navy. Whilst the Royal Navy was not as large as it had been it still possessed enough capital ships to cause the Imperial Japanese Navy considerable losses. Better to leave that enemy guarding it's own shores than to invite potential disaster.​

The loss of Reykyavik was therefore unavoidable and the entire island would soon be in Spanish hands. The fact that the Spanish had invaded the small island was a little bit of a surprise given its proximity to the United Kingdom and it did have one positive point for Hata. All he had to do was annex Spain and Iceland would once again be Japanese without the need to risk the Imperial Japanese Navy.​

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In Yugoslavia progress was becoming swifter as the defensive line collapsed from the south and east. Having rested his forces in Zrenjanin General Itagaki was now ready to begin the march towards Belgrade but he was likely to have to fight his way into the city as Yugoslav divisions were also marching in that direction.​

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Mainland France was rapidly becoming Japanese territory as several corps advanced across the mostly undefended Country. Lt. General Okada was forced to engage a newly arrived Mountain division in Clermont as he advanced towards his longer term objective of Perpignan on the Spanish border. He would easily overcome the defences and Shimoyama would remove the enemy force soon afterwards.

Hoshinato had completed his march across northern France and had captured the entire coastline facing the English Channel. He now turned south and would head towards Bordeaux to secure the west coast of France. Yamashita had already marched into Limoges after leaving Paris with his current destination being Pax on the Spanish border. Nishio was marching on Saint Etienne before heading south east towards Marseille to isolate Italy from Spain.

At 0200 hours on November 20th Hata would finally receive a report that indicated a major policy shift in an enemy Nation.​

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Mj. General Kokubu had been forced to withdraw from Turin after he came under attack by eight Italian divisions from Genoa and Milan. He withdrew towards Bern. The attack itself could have been nothing more than a reaction from local Italian forces, but there had been a significant force build up in the area by the Italians that led Hata to believe that the Italian High Command had finally decided to react. The Italians had also taken control of Allied forces in France also pointing towards a more active involvement. Bombing attacks against Genoa and Milan would not follow as both provinces had substantial air defences but Shimoyama could and would respond to any Italian troops found in southern France.​

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Only one such division currently existed but it disappeared after a few hours of aerial assault from the Japanese Dive bombers under Shimoyama's command.​





1100 November 20th 1949.
24 Gundan Headquarters. Casablanca, Morocco.

Mj. General Kim had arrived in Casablanca a few weeks ago and his Infantry division had spent that first week or two digging in to provide defensive fortifications in case of attack. During that period the Haitian Airforce had mercilessly bombed his troops as they tried to enhance their defences. Kim had just left the crude hospital tent that looked after any casualties that 24 Gundan received. The doctor in charge had informed him that the one soldier that had been hurt during the Haitian bombing runs would soon be fit for active duty after recovering from a sprained ankle.

This was good news for Kim as he liked to have his entire force at his disposal should they actually have any need to fight. The bombing had turned into something of a game over the last couple of weeks after Kim had ordered his engineers to build a decoy set of trenches and headquarters buildings away from the real ones to keep the Haitians entertained. The bombers were finding it difficult to hit the camouflaged real defences and he wished to keep them around to provide something for his troops to do in case they grew bored. He had ordered the decoy trenches to have no camouflage to give the bombers more chance of scoring a hit.

The whole plan had grown into something of a game for his troops as they strove to enlarge the decoy defences every night in the hope that the Haitians would actually hit something the next day. The bets were beginning to mount up after several days of very badly targetted bombing during rain storms. The headquarters building in the decoy system was now almost ten times larger than any such building would ever be for a division sized unit after the engineers had made a large upgrade overnight, and there were high hopes among the men that the Haitians would be able to successully bomb this building today.

Kim stood just outside of his real headquarters with his second in command as the bombers arrived for their daily ritual. A quick glance through his binoculars indicated that the Haitians were going to spend another day targetting the decoy trench system after several bombs landed a few hundred yards from their target. Much to his surprise a large explosion occured almost directly in the center of the enhanced decoy headquarters.

"Who had the largest bet on them hitting that part of the structure?" he asked.

"That would be Corporal Takagi Sir." came the reply.

"I guess he is going to be a little richer today then."

"Actually Sir he won't be."

"Oh?" Kim asked.

"The rules stipulate that the damage must come from a Haitian bomber."

"Yes I know."

"Well Sir I think the damage actually came from one of those American Destroyers over there." came the reply as his second in command pointed to the ships off the coastline. "They seem to be conducting some Naval Gunfire Support to suppress our defences."

"And why would they be doing that?"

"I expect it has something to do with those two Infantry divisions that are landing along the coast."

"Why do the Americans have to interfere with our harmless fun?"

"You can ask them that shortly. They appear to be attacking us."

Kim sighed. "I guess I better inform Field Marshall Higashikuni of this development."​

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The Americans were not using their own troops of course. They preferred to use Allied troops for such dangerous assaults. Lt. General Galves Serrano would gain some immediate credibility as Kim was ordered to withdraw towards Cueta. The commander of the invading force would achieve a rare victory against the Imperial Japanese Army during his first ever combat mission.​

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Unfortunately for Galves Serrano he had teamed up with Admiral Spruance who had gained some notoriety over the last few years having had just about any fleet he commanded blown out of the water by Japanese bombers. There would be no change in fortunes for Spruance and shortly after 1600 hours on November 21st Galves Serrano would find himself swimming for his life having failed to actually make landfall on the beaches of Casablanca.

Kim would spend a few days marching to Cueta and then back to Casablanca to continue his game with the Haitian Airforce as side bets erupted as to whether anything would be damaged while they were gone.​





1700 November 21st 1949.
America Army Headquarters. Anchorage, Alaska.

Sugiyama had another three Infantry divisions at his disposal, after they had made their way from Umnak Island in the East Aleutians, which brought his total command up to nine divisions. He would have liked to advance towards Juneau but it would take several months to make the journey and his troops would very likely meet resistance during their march sapping all of their organisation. He would choose to utilise his force in a different manner.​

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Lt. General Yanagawa had just captured Seward Peninsula to the north of Anchorage and Sugiyama ordered him to march towards Fairbanks. The march would take over two months to complete given the hostile terrain during the Winter months. Sugiyama would use the eight divisions in Anchorage to support his advance into Fairbanks rather than try to move south during the Winter.​
 
The Haitians just need a little more experience! Once you land on their side of that pretty island, you'll be able to loan them some airforce officers to help them with gaining that experience. Perhaps against the Miami beaches!

On another note, Remble, check out this post. Its an invasion of the west coast by japanese troops in HoI3 during 1958. The results were spectacular. Thought I'd send it your way. ;)
 
Well, how was I to know the Haitians were only operating as a decoy!?:p

I'm interested to hear more about Italy, I'm surprised they actually were given the troops in France.
 
:rofl: the merciless Haitian airforce...

By the way, I recently realised that out of my entire non-OT postcount, about 13.7 % are in this thread :D
 
LuXun - That response by the U.S. is something positive to be said for HoI3 :)

Maj. von Mauser, EnglandWarrior - the Haitians may have had enough for now but I actually do think they will bomb Kim again once he moves back. Italy has more IC than any other mainland Ally now which may explain why it gained control of the Armies outside of Italy. I have not looked into how the AI determines such things but it seems logical.

Velko - I am certainly glad that you have such a high percentage or replies in this thread as many others do as well. The continued comments and visits make me realise that even at this late stage this AAR is still followed. it keeps me honest :D

genbrad - The funny thing is that that sort of reaction during warfare is not uncommon as people in the armed forces tend to have a rather unique sense of humour :)

Update to follow ...
 
Operation Blossom
17





1700 November 21st 1949.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Nagato, In Transit.

The detection of Admiral Hall's Carrier Task Force on November 15th indicated a possible shift in American fleet strategy. The loss of three Fleet Carriers under the command of Admiral Sherman in the Mediterranean Sea combined with the Japanese landings in the East Aleutians and Alaska seemed to have forced the United States Navy to concentrate on defence for the time being. This theory was reinforced on November 21st as a second Carrier Task Force was spotted in the North Aleutian Tranch.​

nov21491700gr2.jpg

This fleet was picked up by Mj. General Genda during a routine Naval patrol and contained the nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier USS George Washington commanded by Admiral Wright. He appeared to be sailing west.​





0800 November 22nd 1949.
The Skies Above Nice.

Shimoyama was tasked with keeping the Italian Army out of southern France as much as he possibly could as well as covering the advance towards the Spanish border by the Central Asia Army.​

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Two Italian Infantry divisions had moved across the border into Nice on November 22nd which drew his attention. The attacks would cause damage quickly even in the hilly terrain.​





1300 November 22nd 1949.
Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.

"My apologies for waking you at such an hour your Majesty." stated Tanigawa as the Emperor arrived in his private audience chamber within the Imperial Palace.

"You are not the type of person to needlessly require my attention Minister Tanigawa." replied Hirohito.

"Indeed your Majesty. You asked to be kept appraised of the situation in Europe and to be notified of any major events immediately."

"Yes I did. What news do you have for me?"

"I bring news that he who was the aggressor has been crushed beneath the might of your Imperial Forces your Majesty."

"That is good news indeed Minister Tanigawa. The aggressor?"

"We have been unable to locate him your Majesty. Minister Kuniaki believes that he may have fled to Italy before our forces arrived but we will continue to search."

"That is too bad. Still it will give him time to reflect on the folly of his actions. Has Minister Mamoru been informed?"

"Yes your Majesty."​





1300 November 22nd 1949.
Diplomatic Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

One of the problems with being a high ranking Government official was the need to keep some very late hours on occasion when your staff had all gone home for the day. Mamoru didn't have too many late nights any more as Diplomacy was an art that was quickly becoming almost useless. Formalities needed to be observed though.

"Good evening Ambassador Malik."

"Minister Mamoru." replied Malik. "I take it that the late hour means that this is not a social call?"

"You are correct Ambassador."​

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"His Majesty would like to offer His thanks."

"For what exactly?' asked Malik.

"For maintaining such a large stockpile of resources. Japan is most grateful for the contribution to its War effort."

"I would say that I will pass His thanks on to the leader of the Soviet Union but it appears that no such person exists now."

"Quite so." stated Mamoru.​





1400 November 22nd 1949.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Nagato, East Congo Cone.

Several weeks had been required for Ozawa to lead both BB Division 1 and Carrier Group D to their destination but they had finally arrived in the East Congo Cone. Forces from the Africa Army had been eagerly awaiting their arrival.

"There are a few hours of daylight remaining Captain, are we ready?"

"Yes Admiral." replied the Captain of IJN Nagato. "Both fleets are already at Action Stations as you ordered."

"Then let us begin." said Ozawa. Within two minutes the massive guns of IJN Nagato began to open fire causing the Battleship to roll heavily in response. The remaining ships in BB Division 1 also began to open fire as aircraft took off from the four Aircraft Carriers of Carrier Group D and headed towards their land based targets.​

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Sumltaneously five divisions led by Lt. General Homma and spearheaded by Mj. General banzai's Marine division began their assault on the coastal province of Loanda in western Africa. The attack would have almost certainly failed without the support of the Imperial Japanese Navy as there was no airbase in range for air support, but even with this support the battle would not be an easy one. Homma had the advantage of his superior leadership skills and experience but the jungle terrain, bad weather and river crossing gave the defenders significant advantages as well. Nearly forty eight hours would be required to overcome the stubborn defence commanded by Mj. General Six but Homma would win.

The two fleets offshore reduced Japanese casualties to a minimum but organisational losses would take time to recover once Loanda was captured. The province stood adjacent to the Belgian capital of Banana which would need to be occupied to force the Belgian surrender. This would be weeks away as the march into Loanda would take time. A few days later Ozawa would be given new orders and both fleets would turn north west and head for the port city of Cueta on the coast of Africa. The journey could see them meet Allied shipping but it was necessary.​

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Lt. General Kozuki had just arrived in Port-Etienne to the north of Dakar and it was clear that some support would be required to overcome its defences. Air support was out of range which made Dakar's airbase vital to the African campaign. The march around Dakar would take far too long so a direct assault with shore bombardment was selected as the means of attack. This would give Kozuki and other troops marching into Port-Etienne time to recover before such an assault took place.​





0900 November 23rd 1949.
The Skies Above Southern France.

Shimoyama had not finished his attacks against the Italian divisions in Nice when he received a higher priority order from Hata.​

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A Spanish Mountaineer division had been spotted in Toulouse as Japanese troops rapidly advanced into southern France. Shimoyama would need to remove it before he could return to Nice.​





1700 November 23rd 1949.
America Army Headquaters. Anchorage, Alaska.

Sugiyama knew that his position depended on Kondo and his Tactical bomber group and their ability to neutralise any American build up in Juneau to his south. He also knew that the Americans were likely to be aware of the same thing and it would only be a matter of time before they intervened.​

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Two American Interceptor squadrons attacked Kondo and his bombers as they tried to attack retreating troops in Juneau on November 23rd. The Interceptors possessed the best technology available and it would cost Kondo some of his aircraft before he abandoned his attack. Neither the bombers or Interceptors would be flying again any time soon. Sugiyama requested Interceptor support which led to Mj. General Umazu flying from North Africa to Umnak Island where he would recover his organisation before moving on to Anchorage to support the bombers.​





0000 November 24th 1949.
Africa Army Headquarters. Abadan, Persia.

Higashikuni was pleased with the victory in Loanda and was just as happy that the Imperial Japanese Navy would continue to support his operations which were on the coast and out of air range, but there were some places that neither ships or aircraft could assist his forces.​

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One such province was Nigaoundere in central Africa. Lt. General Sumida was marching towards the province when he encountered a French division blocking his path. He could not overcome the defences without support but help was at hand. General Anami was to his south and positioned to be able to support advances to his north and south as required. The added support would allow Sumida to continue with his advance after forcing Lt. General d'Arras to retreat.​





0600 November 24th 1949.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. In Transit.

The situation in Yugoslavia was improving as Hata's troops slowly advanced through the hilly snow covered terrain. Nakajima was having a few difficulties with targetting as he was unable to select preferred targets on most days. Hata would give him some assistance to allow his bombers more freedom.​

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The Italian and Yugoslav defenders of Novi Sad were heavily entrenched which prevented Nakajima from causing them much damage so Hata ordered General Okamura to attack them with Nakajima's support. The battle would not last long as the defenders organisation was shredded by the bombers making the assault a relatively easy affair.​

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In southern France Shimoyama had returned to Nice to finish off the two Italian divisions in the province.​

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By 1200 hours on November 24th the Strategic situation in France had become clearer as Japanese forces moved south. Hata and his Headquarters would capture the remaining French provinces in the north as they headed towards Bordeaux to secure the airbase and port as Yamashita split off his Headquarters and marched towards Pau on the Spanish border. The two Infantry divisions that split from Yamashita's corps moved towards Dax, now commanded by General Ando, as Nishio's Infantry corps marched on Marseille. The two Armoured corps of the Central Asia Army would skirt the Pyrenees by moving through Perpignan into Barcelona.​

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The Italians captured Turin at 0800 hours on November 25th and the eight divisions in the province split up and marched towards Bern, Nice and Milan.​

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Itabana had spent the last couple of weeks recovering from damage and the total loss of organisation following his move to North Africa after supporting the advances in the south for months. His bomber group was in much better condition as a result and was well placed to begin ground attacks in Spain in support of the Central Asia Army. Spanish Mountaineers in Tarragona would be his first target.​





0900 November 25th 1949.
Air Command. Tokyo, Japan.

Minister Jun had more or less a monitoring job as almost all of his squadrons were lent to Armies or the Imperial Japanese Navy. He did have final say where they went but the operational orders were normally supplied from other commanders after being authorized by him. He kept a close eye on his forces.​

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He never liked to lose his planes but on occasion it was unavoidable as this was War after all. Obata's two bomber wings had been attacking Allied shipping off Gibraltar for a while now and it had clearly annoyed the Allies enough to send two of the modern American Interceptor squadrons to put a halt to the attacks.

They attacked Sakai's wing first over the Gulf of Morocco but Obata quickly joined in to try and mitigate some of the losses. Unfortunately a passing British Strategic bomber wing also joined the dogfight and it's more modern Escort Fighters turned the battle very much against Obata. Obata's entire group would be grounded for some time after this encounter as would the American Interceptors.​

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In the Mediterranean the Spanish fleet had sailed from Crete so Tsukahara checked on the defences of the Brazilian Armoured division on the island. Apparently Brazil's Allies had been failing in their task as the Armour was completely out of supply and incredibly vunerable as a result.​

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Lt. General Vechayanrangsarit had been flying air patrols around Japan for over five years now and he knew the entire area like the back of his hand. It did not take him long to notice the tell tale wake of a large vessel along his patrol route. He knew there were no Japanese ships of this size close by and he was a little surprised to find any such vessel this close to Japan. Admiral Wright had clearly sailed due west from the Aleutian Islands and had managed to reach the Japan Trench before being spotted. Having been sighted he headed back to the east before Vechayanrangsarit had a chance to cause much more damage to the USS George Washington.​

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Tsukahara continued to monitor Crete until a small Japanese invasion force could be mustered to capture the island. Mj. General Ide had been picked up from Port Said and easily overcame the Brazilian defences. He had air and naval support but did not require either to defeat the starved Brazilian Armoured division. Crete would be captured two days later and Ide would move back to Port Said rather than risk being attacked on Crete with no retreat path.​





0000 November 29th 1949.
Industry Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Ginjiro had an ever increasing amount of Industrial Capacity to utilise and some of the work begun a year ago began to bare fruit.​

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A large part of mainland Japan received an infrastructure upgrade that had been long overdue but which had been sidelined due to other needs during the earlier War years.​





1300 November 29th 1949.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. In Transit.

The withdraw towards Bern by Mj. General Kokubu had turned into a race with the Italian Army but he had a very large head start.​

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He would arrive ahead of two Italian Infantry divisions which may have been able to overcome his hastily erected defences. Those defences were not tested though as the Italians halted their advance as soon as enemy opposition was spotted.​

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In Yugoslavia Itagaki had been forced to abandon his march on Belgrade as two Allied divisions arrived to defend the city. He would have to wait for Nakajima to remove them before trying again.​
 
Why must you update whenI have no time to read it?!
 
A decent amount of action. It has been awhile since we have heard from the American Air Force.

I'm wondering where that American Fleet is going, maybe they are going to attempt to pick up Stalin at some secret rendevous?
 
62k oil is pretty nice from the Soviets, but didn't beat Germany, right?
 
Those level 10 American interceptors are F-102 Delta Daggers. I've a) never heard of them and b) have never seen them in a game, until now. Good luck fighting them. :eek:
 
@ Remble -I have been thinking.

Japan called its far eastern empire "The Greater East Asis Co-Prosperity Sphere". Given that Japan has a substantial empire bordering the Atlantic in Europe :)D), Africa and a not inconsiderable holding in North America - what does his Highness the Emperor intend to call the rest of his empire?