Operation Enlightenment
6
6
0000 June 12th 1948.
Central Asia Army. In Transit.
The rapid advance against minimal forces in the west of Hata's line had left what was thought to be a safe left flank after the previous Soviet troops in Kerch had been destroyed.
The recent arrival of Field Marshall Timoshenko and two Infantry divisions tested Mj. General Kawamura's defences. Timoshenko was particularly good on the offensive and against hilly terrain, whereas Kawamura was adept at defence. The battle could have been very close if Hata had not decided to force the issue.
The arrival of Sakai and Obata at 0700 hours swung the battle Kawamura's way very swiftly and Kerch would soon be empty of Soviet troops once more.
1600 June 12th 1948.
North China Army Headquarters. Uralsk, Soviet Union.
The large concentration of Red Army troops to Higashikuni's north led to the possibility that he might have to slog his way forwards to achieve his objectives and to obtain an airfield that could allow Dive bombers to assist him.
A tactical blunder by his opposite number led to an opportunity to quickly force a decisive victory. All but two of the divisions that were defending Kuybyshev had moved east and allowed Higashikuni to launch a massive assault towards the province with nineteen divisions. The defences crumbled in two hours leaving Higashikuni to race towards the vital airbase with his Armour.
2000 June 12th 1948.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Fuso, Attu Island.
All of the Japanese fleets had reached the relative safety of Attu when Genda again encountered Hart and his modern Carrier Task Force.
He was sighted to the north east of Attu in the East Aleutian Basin and his current course had him heading south which would put him in strike range of Attu's port. Ozawa would have little choice but to attack Hart if he chose this option. Genda was ordered to halt his attacks when one of his squadrons became severely damaged which would leave Ichimaru to keep an eye on Hart.
0000 June 13th 1948.
Intelligence Headquarters. Tokyo, Japan.
Kuniaki was still having little success with his attempts to infiltrate three new Allied Countries with his agents but his research teams were at least still active.
Mitsubishi Jukogyo informed him of the completion of their project into Frontline Vehicle Repair Shops and Kuniaki decided to allow them to continue along this path to advance towards Semi-Modern Repair.
0400 June 13th 1948.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. In Transit.
The offensive in the southern Soviet Union was progressing very well but there were some signs of problems ahead for Hata and his forces in the Middle East.
Itabana's rest period would be short lived after a modern Militia division began to repeatedly attack Kawashima in el-Arish which was quickly wearing down his organisation. Itabana would put an end to this harassment during two days of bombing before he would be allowed to try and rest again.
Hata was concerned with his small forces chances of capturing the territory they were being asked to and a report from an overflight of the eastern Mediterranean by Watanabe did nothing to lessen his worries. The Americans had deposited a large force in Alexandria which could easily rout his own troops, or they could decide to invade behind his lines on any of the beaches along the coast. No new troops were due to arrive until June 28th when a full Infantry corps would complete it's re-depoyment to Hims. Hata could do little but wait and react to events.
0000 June 13th 1948.
East Asia Army Headquarters. Semipalatinsk, Soviet Union.
Terauchi had not been given much trouble for quite some time as his forces advanced almost at will through the central Soviet Union. There were some enemy troops on his flanks but nothing had shown up to cause a problem until now.
Three Soviet divisions arrived in Novosibirsk directly in the path of General Sakai who was given no option but to halt his advance.
The enemy had no intention of sitting still and attacked south towards Mj. General Katakura's division in Pavlodar. He was ordered to withdraw towards Semipalatinsk as Terauchi gave the necessary orders to halt the enemy force before it caused even more trouble by attacking his tiring troops elsewhere.
Twenty four hours after they had reached Novosibirsk death arrived for the Red Army troops in the shape of Shimoyama and his Close Air Support group. His own wing had already been equipped with the newer Turbojet aircraft and his entire group had been resting during the upgrade process with no targets in range. Entering the range of Dive bombers from Semipalatinsk was not a wise thing to do.