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It wont have been much, since Iraq was puppets of brittain before. This means they will have had less than 1k of each.
The most important thing about annexing Iraq, is that the allies have one less place to produce troops, meaning troops and transports will have further to go. Now that it has been annexed, I think Remble could pretty much let the allies take the provinces back and still be better off than before.
 
not to forget Remble allready captured bagdad be4 anexing iraq

not much to gain from there but strategic value

1 more enermy down... hopefully next russia!

/Krogzar
 
Id say that Suez is a good steppingstone towards Moscow.
Removing more production centers and extending the distance between Japan and the remaining allied production centers should reduce the numbers of allied units doing anything remotely useful in India and the middle east.
 
robou - I figured that the Canadians probably don't have as advanced Naval Doctrine as the US so taking on one Carrier should have been ok. I tend not to worry too much about enemy ground troops moving through bad terrain without air support most of the time :)

harezmi - This campaign season will determine the rest of the War with the Soviets unless the Allies intervene in some major way. I have included the upgrade list for my aircraft in the report. I shall build more TAC's once I complete research into the next variant which is currently underway.

Nathan Madien - Even old ships have their uses. Blame it on the Allies for failing to put much of a dent in the IJN.

Connavar - The resources aren't worth mentioning. No more than 100 of anything.

Argus Eritarami, Krogzar - Correct, removing Iraq was more about killing off an enemy than anything else. As tempting as it might be to move towards Suez it gives the Allies a better position to reinforce themselves and extends my lines even further. I doubt I will advance much more than I have.

Index has been updated and is now up to date with links to the annual meetings added as requested.

Thank you all for your continuing support as this AAR passes another milestone. Setting Sun has become only the second HoI AAR to pass 300, 000 views. It also looks like Creek without a Paddle will pass this milestone as it continues to be read :)

Monthly update to follow ...
 
Last edited:
Update (April 1st 1947)





0000 April 1st 1947.
Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. Spring is on the horizon which will bring added pressure to our forces throughout Asia as the Red Army continues to try and force us backwards. We shall begin with an update on our Industry this month." Hideki began the meeting.

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Ginjiro began. "Production is unchanged with no new forces being added to our build queue."​

apr1470000prod.jpg

"Factory output is unchanged with any new conquests being negated by Allied bombing in the Middle East. There has been a small decrease in our Transport Capacity with less troops using additional supplies as well as the combining of stockpiles in Asia and the Middle East. This has also removed the need to convoy supplies to Iraq as these forces now draw supplies from our main depot in Tangshan province.

Our Energy, Metal and Rare Material stockpiles continue to slowly reduce although Energy has shown some positive gains on some days depending on Allied shipping interdicting our convoy routes. Oil and Supplies have dropped by roughly 1000 tonnes during March due to increased operations by the Imperial Japanese Navy and our ground forces. We have a positive growth in our funds which enables Minister Kuniaki to attempt some overseas covert actions from time to time. Manpower remains fairly steady with a small increase over the month of March. This is likely to reverse once hostilities increase in Asia.

The majority of our production is directed towards supplying both our Armed Forces and Trade agreements which varies on a daily basis. Reinforcements are almost entirely for our Naval forces with several capital ships undergoing repairs in various ports throughout the World. Upgrades are all for the Imperial Japanese Airforce and will remain that way for some considerable time as we have a backlog of aircraft needing upgrades. Minister Jun will cover that in more detail in his report. I have no major worries at this time and that concludes my briefing." Ginjiro concluded.

"Armed Forces please."

"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning. The Pacific remains unchanged territorially but there has been some sporadic Naval activity in the region which Minister Osami will cover. The Indian Ocean has also seen some major Naval battles. Asia has seen an increase in aggression by the Soviets as the snows melt across the region. We altered our defensive plans somewhat in the early part of March to cover a growing problem in the center which is still not under control. Manchuria is the stablest part of the line with little to no moves to advance from either side.

The Middle East and Operation Komodo have progressed well with the annexation of Iraq completed towards the end of the month. We are also making headway in Persia where most of the Allied forces have now left the country leaving us to decide if we wish to invite the Red Army across the border." Tanigawa began.

"Do we want to do that?" Hirohito asked.

"To be perfectly honest your Majesty I am not sure. It will take us another month to advance enough in Persia to be in a position to do so and we already know that the Red Army has forces on at least one border. Our forces in the Middle East are not strong enough to hold any sort of advance in check but we can always withdraw back to Karachi if we need to. The largest problem could be with the Allies. Right now they are concentrating their efforts in Iraq and around Ceylon but that could change if the Soviets come between us and them in Persia. We still think that the Allied Transport capacity is not sufficient to launch any type of major landing anywhere but they could provide us with some trouble much like Operation Tedious is doing to the Soviets.

The Red Army recently advanced into Hotan province on the north Indian border which could lead to them finally trying to advance into India proper. Should they do so then it may well be a good idea to also invite them into Persia as it will split their forces somewhat as well as diverting some from reinforcing Asia. We would not add more troops to India in any case and we will rely on our Airforce to contain any advances much as we did with the Allies in India. I would like to wait for another month before deciding one way or the other." replied Tanigawa.

"We shall decide in May then." stated the Emperor.

"Thank you your Majesty. Iraq has also seen a counter attack by Syrian forces which have made some inroads in the north and west of the Country. We do not expect to have many problems containing their advance as they do not have any defensive air cover. Allied Strategic bombers continue to destroy infrastructure and resources in Iraq but we are slowly making some headway in reducing these attacks. The Oil rich province of Abadan has yet to provide us with any resources as a result of the bombing. Over to Minister Satoru for a more detailed briefing on the land war." concluded Tanigawa.

"Thank you. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Satoru began. "Asia has not seen much in the way of territorial change but there has been some which I will cover."​

apr1470000asia.jpg

"The large map has changed little but we have made a landing across the strait from Sakhalin Island in the north east. The Red Army has made some small advances in the center and towards northern India."​

apr1470000iraq.jpg

"The current situation in the Middle East shows our advances into Iraq with the north of the Country now disputed by Syrian troops. They have numerical superiority but their numbers are slowly dropping as our Tactical bomber wing operating in the region targets them. We have secured the coast of Persia and are currently moving inland in some areas with bomber support. As Minister Tanigawa stated the Allies have withdrawn all of their non native troops from Persia making it merely a marching war for us. We have no plans to move towards Syria or Suez for the time being and we may well reverse course next month depending on our decision with regards to the Soviets."​

apr1470000nwchina.jpg

"A slightly larger map than normal for north western China shows the movement of large numbers of enemy troops behind the lines nearly all of which are heading east towards our center. The capture of Hotan in the west also gives the Red Army the option of attacking India if they have sufficient forces."​

apr1470000nwchina1.jpg

"Concentrating a little closer to North China Army Headquarters we can see that we are withdrawing in the west in the face of much larger numbers. We still have plenty of manouvering room in this part of China but we would obviously like to keep Lanzhou as it has an airbase. There are more than enough Soviet troops to the west of Lanzhou to force the issue in the Soviets favour if they really want to advance though. Our airforce is tied up trying to maintain our defensive line in Mengkokuo for the time being and cannot assist this area very much at all. Nearly all of our defensive line is mountainous which would slow any Soviet advance to a crawl giving us ample time to react if necessary."​

apr1470000meng.jpg

"North China Army's center in Mengkokuo is providing us with most problems but the position is not getting much worse as Kalgan has now been reinforced by a substantial force from the Kwantung Army. This gives us a pivotal position which can cut off any Soviet advance if they leave Datong weakly defended. The enemy are advancing towards Baoding and we have moved our armour south from Changde to Beiping to cover that advance. Enemy troops in Baoding will, unfortunately for them, enter air range of Dalian to the east which will then cover that advance while our other Dive bombers concentrate on the breakthrough point in Datong.

Our current thinking points to the Red Army sending too few troops into the breakthrough to make it sustainable for any length of time. This can change of course and there are other enemy forces moving into the area. I see no reason to further strengthen our forces here as we should have more than enough to reverse the Soviet advance.

There has been some territory swapping to the east of Lanzhou with our troops currently having the upper hand. This is a fluid situation and will probably remain so."​

apr1470000manch.jpg

"Manchuria remains totally stable largely due to Operation Tedious and its constant drain on enemy forces. The Soviets have taken Vladivostok back again which will allow them to try and muster forces for a Spring offensive towards Korea or what remains of Manchukuo. As of today there is no snow anywhere in this area with only the north still being snow covered. The Red Army remains off balance and we shall endeavour to keep it that way.

The requirement for Operation Tedious to remain ongoing could change later in the month as we are now certain that enemy forces are reducing across this area and we may no longer need to invade useless territory to distract them. There is little of any worth anywhere in Siberia but we will have to take it all eventually once we start to force the Red Army backwards."

"Do you have any sort of time frame on that beginning?" asked Hirohito.

"Nothing concrete your Majesty. My best guess would be sometime towards late Summer or early Autumn." Satoru replied.​

apr1470000sak.jpg

"The last area to cover is Siberia where we now have six divisions ashore on the coast with no real major enemy forces present. This is a feint as always and we have no intention of remaining here. We shall merely wait for the inevitable counter attack and withdraw. Nothing more for me so over to Minister Jun." concluded Satoru.​
 
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. The Imperial Japanese Air Force is in good condition overall but is still in the process of upgrading." Jun began.​

apr1470000air.jpg

"There are eight more Interceptor wings that need to complete their upgrading process with some close to finishing. I have shown one Close Air Support squadron with all of the remainder also having seen no progress towards modernising themselves. Once the Interceptors are finished then we shall begin on the Dive bombers. This is likely to take several months to complete as our bombers will be operational the entire time. Over to Minister Osami." concluded Jun.

"Thank you. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Osami began. "March was a little busier than expected with several engagements between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied Navies."​

apr1470000sunk.jpg

"We lost two Heavy Cruisers, IJN Chokai and IJN Atago, and also sustained some damage to other vessels. The Allies came off worse during the encounters and lost significantly more ships. Losses are as follows:

Japanese Losses

2 x Heavy Cruisers - IJN Chokai and IJN Atago.

Canadian Losses

1 x Aircraft Carrier.
1 x Destroyer Flotilla.

British Losses

1 x Light Cruiser.

American Losses

3 x Aircraft Carriers.
1 x Light Carrier.
4 x Destroyer Divisions.
5 x Transport Divisions.

Eighteen ships or flotillas in all with the United States Navy losing the majority including three modern Carriers. Most of the losses occured around Ceylon as the Allies attempted to invade. CA Division 1 did sink the USS Forrestal in the central Pacific but lost the two Heavy Cruisers in the process. There has still been no sign of the major American Carrier fleet. The Canadian ships were sunk close to Japan which means the Allies do have ships capable of reaching our shorelines."​

apr1470000navdam.jpg

"The more damaged ships include the Battlecruiser IJN Kongo which was badly hit during its battle with HMCS Warrior. One Light Carrier was damaged by the Canadian Carrier as well with IJN Zuiho being damaged by friendly fire during bad nightime visibility. IJN Yamato was damaged during the battles with the two American Carriers in the Gulf of Mannar. The ships with the yellow dot are damaged but remain operational with their respective fleets. The Carrier IJN Katsuragi should complete its repairs this month and will either remain in Tokyo or move to Colombo as a replacement for any damaged Carriers operating in that region."​

apr1470000nav2.jpg

"Our two Carrier Groups are currently blockading the Red Sea and undergoing repairs in Colombo. Both Groups contain three Carriers. CA Division 1 is stationed in Truk where it will remain until enemy ships are sighted close to the Carolines."​

apr1470000nav5.jpg

"BB Division 1 is protecting Ceylon and is currently patrolling the Gulf of Mannar. BC Division 1 is heading back to Tokyo for repairs. CA Division 3 is blockading the Persian Gulf. Our Destroyer fleets are supporting Operation Tedious off the Siberian coast and blockading Vladivostok. Nothing further." concluded Osami.

"Intelligence please."

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. I have managed to recruit another agent in the United States during March with no successes elsewhere." Kuniaki began.​

apr1470000intsov.jpg

"No change to Soviet Industrial Capacity and they completed research into a more modern Decrytion device.

Ground forces have reduced by eighteen Infantry and seven Armoured divisions over the last month. The improving weather should see their losses increase during April. I estimate that no more then two thirds of their forces are either actively engaged or close to the front with our troops. The remaining third are most likely guarding the west or the Persian border.

Their Airforce numbers have not changed but there has been an increase of one vessel to their Navy."​

apr1470000intuk.jpg

"The British have slightly more production lately than usual which points to some increased trade with the United States for Rare Materials. They completed research into a Main Battle Tank and Modern Destroyer.

Ground Forces have not altered much with a slight drop in Infantry and an increase of one Armoured division. Most of the losses in the Middle East were from puppet States and not the main British Army.

The Royal Air Force appears to have lost some Fighter squadrons which could have occured in Baghdad. No change to the numbers for the Royal Navy overall."​

apr1470000intus.jpg

"American Industry remains unchanged with three research projects completed. A Strategic Rocket as well as Improved Dive bomber and Air Transport aircraft were the completed research.

Three Infantry were lost and one Armoured division gained. We think we destroyed more than this on Transport ships but some have been replaced.

No noticable change to the United States Air Force with two less Aircraft Carriers according to the numbers. This would mean that they produced one to replace one of the three lost. The United States Navy is still failing to increase its numbers and is not thought to be in sufficient state to reverse the current situation in the Pacific. They do have enough Carriers to support operations but they are expected to be very short of Transport ships especially after losing several in March."​

apr1470000intjap.jpg

"Our own research continues with no breakthroughs expected for at least another two months. Nothing futher." concluded Kuniaki.

"Our main concern is still the Red Army with the Allies seemingly unable to cause us any major difficulties. I expect the Soviets to be moving backwards before the end of the year and it is up to you Gentlemen to see that this happens." stated the Emperor as he stood and left the meeting.​
 
Wonder how everyones manpower is holding up.. Thats obviously what's going to descide this war.
 
Remble said:
"Our main concern is still the Red Army with the Allies seemingly unable to cause us any major difficulties. I expect the Soviets to be moving backwards before the end of the year and it is up to you Gentlemen to see that this happens." stated the Emperor as he stood and left the meeting.​

It would be nice if you could reverse the tide this year; although it is a long way to Moscow and I don't think you can get there in a year.
 
And yet another solid monthly update!:cool:
 
Nathan Madien said:
It would be nice if you could reverse the tide this year; although it is a long way to Moscow and I don't think you can get there in a year.

a little surprise offensive to encircle a few divs would be great...

btw: It seems that the Soviets doesn´t build any troops. I hope that this will continue...
 
Edzako said:
Overall situation is worse than i expected, it looks like this is gradually evolving into giant draw, as neither you, or Soviets can make a decisive move.

totally agreed and we don`t want a draw. i prefer defeat instead of a draw.

however i`m sure Remble will try something risky when the time comes. trying to make some encirclements or any offensive will be a suicide for now. he has to wait for the bear get into the traps.

good luck
 
The Emperor is still filled with his undefeatable confidence, I see. I don't doubt it will eventually pay off...
 
I dont think manpower is really an issue for the Soviet, instead its their lack of IC allocation to reinforcements that kills their units. If they were willing to spend the IC to keep their troops alive, instead of producing new ones, they might actually be able to keep some alive through all the bombardments, and maybe even get to move forward for a change.

Seems to be one of the bigger flaws of the AI in my oppinion...
 
It seems to me that the war has decended into a very difficult situation. The Soviet forces have barely changed over the last year and this could be considered the easy year. One year ago the Soviets clearly weren't properly deployed for this war and hence performed rather badly. In a year of fighting the only bright spark is that Japanese forces have increased slightly through the building of more aircraft. Unfortunately Japan has had a serious decline in manpower reserves.

As an outside observer it is difficult to tell how bad things really are but it seems to me that if this year is fought much like last year then the Summer campaign cannot avoid serious loss of territory. The only way to exploit human superiority over the AI is to move units and the only space for manoeuvre is backwards. Unfortunately the game does not give really good defensive bonuses even in the best defensive territory and once the Soviets apply sufficient numbers the Japanese must pull back.

I don't know what Remble is going to do but I would say this AAR has a long, long way to go. There is no effective way for the Russians to actually defeat Japan and it will take them a long, long time (and I mean years) even to overrun all the Japanese mainland territories.

All other theatres except the Russian front are secondary, the outcome of the war will be determined from fighting the Russians. If they can be defeated then Japan can achieve anything. If they cannot be defeated then the war will fizzle to a draw when the game deadline expires.

I would think that Remble's only real chance is through actually defeating and destroying chunks of the Russian army and the only way to do this is by a more extreme ground strategy although I am extremely hesitant to suggest such a thing. I would draw the Russians forward and pocket some, possibly let them into Korea and then cut them off and eliminate them. Possible something even more daring and precarious.

An alternative (or supplement) is to properly concentrate the airforce against them. Losses to air attack are responsible for making sure the Russian army is at least slightly smaller than one year earlier (see post #1842 on page 93). Losses appear to be 14 infantry and 5 armoured divisions although the entire Mongolian army is also gone. Only Remble can give us any guidance on actual enemy losses, all I can see is the balance between builds and losses. Additional air power will swing this more solidly in Japans favour but even so I can see two years (don't hold me to that) of retreating and bombing before we get a realistic turn around.

Finally there is one other alternative which I suppose should be mentioned. Remble could release a major puppet. If he does this - India or China - then the game is won. I mention this just so everyone will appreciate how significant such a move would be. Either of these puppets is strong enough in manpower to swing the balance in a truly massive way. I suppose there is also one more alternative which is to cede vaste tracts of Chinese territory to Manchukuo (can you do this?) which amounts to the same thing but is what Japan would likely have done if China had been defeated.
 
Kanitatlan said:
An alternative (or supplement) is to properly concentrate the airforce against them. Losses to air attack are responsible for making sure the Russian army is at least slightly smaller than one year earlier (see post #1842 on page 93). Losses appear to be 14 infantry and 5 armoured divisions although the entire Mongolian army is also gone. Only Remble can give us any guidance on actual enemy losses, all I can see is the balance between builds and losses. Additional air power will swing this more solidly in Japans favour but even so I can see two years (don't hold me to that) of retreating and bombing before we get a realistic turn around.

Only one note about those numbers, in that post Remble mentioned that there were 150 divisions unaccounted for in that number, he has actually destroyed probably almost 200 divisions since last year counting new builds.
 
Brad1 said:
Only one note about those numbers, in that post Remble mentioned that there were 150 divisions unaccounted for in that number, he has actually destroyed probably almost 200 divisions since last year counting new builds.
Damn, forgot about that. I guess things don't look nearly so bad. Even so, I would still go for a much stronger focus on the Russian front as the only one that really matters.