0000 February 4th 1947.
The Skies Above Chongyin.
Japanese Dive bombers commanded by Nakajima received a new task which would provide reconnaisance for Terauchi along the coast. The was no target in Xinjing for the moment which allowed such a mission to take place.
There were still twelve enemy divisions in Chongyin province all of which were heading towards Vladivostok. Nakajima would be returning to Xinjing the following morning as Soviet Armour had moved into the province during the reconnaisance mission.
0500 February 4th 1947.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamato, Gulf of Mannar.
Naval patrols were still taking place over large areas of the Pacific Ocean to maintain the constant vigilance required to keep the United States Navy at bay.
Lt. General Kira, a Naval mission specialist, was conducting his normal routine patrol around the Carolines when he encountered the USS Princeton off the coast of Truk. Admiral Sherman was clearly looking for something and he seemed to be heading west. By the time the Heavy Cruiser Division in Truk had arrived in the East Carolines Sherman had already left and no pursuit would be ordered as there was no chance of the slower Japanese vessels catching USS Princeton.
0500 February 4th 1947.
The Skies Above Okhotsk.
Shima had been ordered to rebase his Tactical bombers on the island of Sakhalin where he could reach some parts of the northern Siberia coastline. There were no enemy airbases in this region which would allow him to pick and chose any target he wished.
There were a lot more Red Army divisions in the area than had been thought as they responded to the invasions during Operation Tedious. Shima would conduct limited hour operations to allow his bombers to recover from the damage sustained during operations around Vladivostok.
Dive bombers from Beiping were ordered to operate to the south to remove any chance of the partisan activity spreading. The single outdated Militia division would not require a second visit which would allow Fuchida to return to bombing Soviet troops around Erenhot province.
0700 February 4th 1947.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.
Field Marshall Higashikuni was keeping up to date on operations around Iraq and Persia as they became his responsibility once the troops were ashore.
Most resistance around the landing zone had already been removed by the Tactical bombers which allowed an expansion inland to begin as General Abe split his Infantry Corps into single divisions. One division would remain in Kuwait City, Basrah and Adadan to safeguard the beaches and to provide an uninterupted supply route inland.
The Transport ships that had taken refuge in Doha were forced to leave by constant strikes from Carrier Group C. Unfortunately for them they entered the Persian Gulf during daylight hours which made them easy targets in their damaged state. IJN Shinano would claim the Mexican Transport flotilla as IJN Ryuho sank the one from Nicuragua. Both the South African and Brazilian flotillas would fall to aircraft from IJN Hiyo.
Targets close to the landing zone had been eliminated which allowed Kondo to move further afield for prey. His latest mission would be two fold as he bombed a Persian Infantry division in Mashad province. He also brought back intelligence information on the size of Soviet forces across the border. No accurate count could be made from this distance but the Red Army was protecting its border with Persia and there was some Armour involved.
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Originally Posted by harezmi
