The Setting Sun - Gotterdammerung, Japan 1944.

[harezmi]

SAN DIEGO !!!!!

25 divisions, hmmm. it is the road to Moscow through BAKU, i guess.

Central Asia and Suez are also possible, who may know what Remble is thinking now?

Baku 57%
Central Asia 19%
Syria-Suez 14%
Cape Town 3%
Syria-Turkey 2%
San Diego 2%
Alaska 1%
Yemen-Oman-Doha 1%
Diego-Garcia 1%

[zdlugasz]

SAN DIEGO !!!!!

25 divisions, hmmm. it is the road to Moscow through BAKU, i guess.

Central Asia and Suez are also possible, who may know what Remble is thinking now?

Baku 57%
Central Asia 19%
Syria-Suez 14%
Cape Town 3%
Syria-Turkey 2%
San Diego 2%
Alaska 1%
Yemen-Oman-Doha 1%
Diego-Garcia 1%

Is not Turkey neutral? And Suez does not give him anything - South Africa would be much better target, except of see convoy routes (I guess that Africa should be almost empty of Allied troops).
Anyway with Soviets overflowing Persia it is no time for adventures in Africa.
However if Yemen and Oman are empty of Allied presence Remble might want to recapture it (it would be 2 IC and some resources for him).

BTW: what is the status of Diego Garcia and other allied bases on Indian Ocean? Do you Remble have any idea/ any plans regarding them?
Similar question - what is status of US presence in Attu (or whatever was name of that northern Pacific island)?


And finally my proposal explaining level 1 Soviet sub around Ceylon.
It is not force field technology which keeps them alive - it it their belief in world revolution (and their commitment ).
Level 1 means true, real Bolsheviks, people who might have worked with Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov himself. If they did not hear about purges yet they might try to undermine Japanese garrison on Ceylon by organization of soldier committees, if they did hear, they might be stuck between decision to go to Mexico like Trotsky and return home, just right around Ceylon.

[Nathan Madien]

"Manpower has increased a little and the completion of another Agricultural advance has increased our daily recuitment from 660 to 690 men. Nowhere near as much as we really need as we require a large investment in garrison troops at some point unless you wish to give up the reins of power and allow us to become a Democracy your Majesty."

Hirohito merely raised one eyebrow.

"I didn't think so. All done here." concluded Ginjiro hastily.

"I have one change to advise you of as well." stated Hideki. "In the absence of turning into a Democracy His Majesty has allowed our Society to become slightly more open which should aid our partisan problems a little."

While the manpower issue is certainly important, it seems rather ballsy to ask the Emperor if he wants to step aside:

"If you step aside, your Majesty, then Japan can become a Democracy and unite the world under Japanese Democracy".

[Velko]

I'd say Ginjiro would in real life have mysteriously disappeared pretty soon after that kind of proposition...

[Remble]

Thurak, Avatar018 - He has a sense of humour on occasion. Three ways at once does sound sort of right

safferli - Long term is better I think as there is little sign of any War ending anytime soon. The partisan reduction will help TC at a time when I need to redeploy troops so counter balances that a little. Standing Army would help upgrades but I have so few spare IC's for that right now that it wouldn't have helped much. I will avoid enemy Carriers as much as I can.

gooy - Correct. Thank you for pointing it out and the post was changed accordingly

Maj. von Mauser, Velko, ColossusCrusher - Thank you. The next update might also contain some humour so watch out. I was sort of surprised to see that my years of planning finally bore fruit and I managed to get four out of five research numbers the same

alan_le_cowboy, BobaFett696, Mattabesta, harezmi - Suez will give me one thing I need. I have to get to Albania to annex the Soviet Union and its not far from Suez by boat. Turkey is neutral and will not be attacked ... yet. Maybe I need 25 divisions to conquer Tibet

Riptide - Thank you. I might get that far certainly but I do expect the Americans to do something soon as they are building their fleet numbers up again.

zdlugasz - Yemen and Oman are possible as they are merely British territory now with some IC. Diego Garcia had three divisions defending it last time I looked and Attu still has one garrison. I would like to take Attu but I would also need to take the remainder of its island chain to prevent an AI superstack appearing. Very plausible reason for the Soviet Sub and I had not thought of it

Nathan Madien, Velko - Democracy would help with partisans quite a lot though. Fortunately for Ginjiro the real Hirohito isn't in charge or he would probably be sharpening his sword about now.

One of my infrequent dialogue type updates to follow ...

[Remble]

Operation Improbable

17

0100 September 1st 1947.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Qiqihar, Manchukuo.

Field Marshall Terauchi scanned over the orders that he had received as he awaited the arrival of the two commanders he had summoned to his headquarters. The orders were fairly specific but did allow him a little leeway with the timing, although not much. No leader liked to be told that his command was shrinking as it usually meant that he had not done his job, but he had been re-assured that this was not the case and that he was a victim of his own success. The rapid destruction of Soviet forces in and around Manchuria meant that the Kwantung Army no longer needed so much force and he would have to make do with what was to be left under his command during the Winter months and possibly even longer.

His two visitors arrived together and were ushered in to the small room that Terauchi called home. "Good morning Gentlemen, nice of you to arrive so quickly." he greeted them.

"Your invitation did say 'immediately' Field Marshall." replied General Kawabe as Field Marshall Hata nodded in agreement.

"I find that words like that get results normally." replied Terauchi with a smile. "I suppose I had better get down to business and explain why I asked for you both to pay me a visit."

"Its not a social call then?" Hata asked.

"No, that it is not. Congratulations by the way."

"Congratulations?"

"You will be getting your own Army to command although its name and objectives are not subject to open discussion right now." Terauchi replied handing Hata an envelope that contained details of his new posting and orders.

"I don't suppose you have any idea how big an Army it is going to be?"

"You're just full of questions today aren't you?"

"They seem appropriate." Hata replied off-handidly.

"I do not know the full extent of the forces you will be commanding but I do know that twenty five divisions are going to be accompanying you from the Kwantung Army. Apparently the Emperor doesn't want his soldiers to get fat and lazy during the Winter when combat dies down due to the weather."

"That is a lot of our forces here Field Marshall and a lot still needs to be done to achieve our objectives." replied Kawabe.

"We will still meet those objectives but it will take a little more time. You are going to be my new second in command by the way and you will take direct command of the forces that Field Marshall Hata was directing, well nine of the thirteen divisions anyway."

"Nine is better than none. So do I get a promotion too or do I just get to do the extra work for no extra pay?" Kawabe asked flippantly.

"I warned you." Hata said with a laugh.

"Well it was a choice of two and the other candidate didn't want the job so I had no real option. You have been training him though so he should work out alright." Terauchi countered without even bothering to let Kawabe in on the discussion. 'In answer to your question General, no there is not a promotion, and, as everyone seems to think that the higher someones rank the less work they do, you should feel grateful that there is no pay cut."

"Ah well at least I get to have a nice shiney Headquarters." Kawabe responded.

Hata had briefly looked at his own orders during the by-play. "Apparently not. My Headquarters is coming with me."

"Your joking right?"

"Says so right here, look." Hata pointed to the relevant part of his orders. "You do have a very fine tent that you have been using, it should be more than adequate."

"Remind me not to get promoted again anytime soon." replied Kawabe with feigned disgust.

"That may well happen you know." Terauchi interjected trying to wind the General up even further.

"Can I resign my commission?" asked Kawabe.

"Nope." replied Terauchi.

"Damn."

"As things stand Manchuria is going to be heading for a transition with the ultimate aim to have the Manchurians defend their own territory as well as eastern Siberia. That will mean a gradual decrease in our own forces in the area and at some point I will also be given a new command I expect. Guess who gets to take over from me?"

"I could just get myself shot you know."

"You could, but that sort of thing is fairly final in most cases as our enemies tend not to be very obliging when you just want a flesh wound."

"I think he has you there." Hata said to Kawabe.

"Have I ever told you that I hate working for smart people?"

"Several times a day usually."

"Alright Gentlemen. Back to business for a few minutes. General Kawabe you will continue with the current advance north into Siberia to force the remnants of the Red Army from that area while I sit in these marshes and wait for some Manchurians to show up to take over the defences. Before you ask, yes that is a perk of being a Field Marshall. I get to sit around while my Generals do the marching."

"That is fine Field Marshall. I did put that I enjoy taking long walks in the countryside on my resume. When are you going to order the forces we are losing to begin redeploying by the way?"

"Sometime before midnight is all my orders say so early this evening." replied Terauchi.

"Would you object if I were to start my Headquarters and myself moving as soon as possible? I would prefer to arrive ahead of my main forces to get myself situated." Hata asked.

"That's fine with me. Don't forget to let your command know that the General here is taking over or they might find someone more suitable for the job."

"I will make sure they are aware of the changes." Hata replied laughing.

"I think that covers all of the immediate orders. Good luck Field Marshall Hata, you will probably need it."

"Thank you." Hata replied as the three officers went their seperate ways.

[Timmie0307]

Nice humor yes, to see how Kawabe is toyed around (no shiny HQ for him! ) I hope that we will soon see those Manchurians...if there are any left ??? (How many divisions do they currently have?)

Can't wait for the next update although this one was funny! Nice job!

Tim

[cosminus]

Operation Improbable

17

"Nine is better than none. So do I get a promotion too or do I just get to do the extra work for no extra pay?" Kawabe asked flippantly.

"In answer to your question General, no there is not a promotion, and, as everyone seems to think that the higher someones rank the less work they do, you should feel grateful that there is no pay cut."

The world financial depression seem to strike also in Japan empire.

[Thurak]

What does the General think? HQ´s are for Field Marshals only.

Three directions at once? That means you really want to walk through the Caucasus in winter? Your troops will need eternities to move to Tabriz. And from there on all those other shiny, snowy, icy mountains will drain all the org from your moving units.

On the other hand, there won´t be much ground combat with the TAC´s in action there

[harezmi]

alan_le_cowboy, BobaFett696, Mattabesta, harezmi - Suez will give me one thing I need. I have to get to Albania to annex the Soviet Union and its not far from Suez by boat. Turkey is neutral and will not be attacked ... yet. Maybe I need 25 divisions to conquer Tibet

aah, Tibet... don`t think that i forgot them, i didn`t include Tibet because you have no chance to win against them and under these circumstances -fighting almost every country in the world-, you can not dare to attack them.
you don`t want Dalai Lama invade your country with his special Yak units.

[Maj. von Mauser]

Interesting. I wonder what this all means.

[Nathan Madien]

I loved the subtle humor of the update.

I did put that I enjoy taking long walks in the countryside on my resume.

My favorite line.

[harezmi]

is this a Christmas break like the DEV diaries?

Remble is under maintenance i think. every ROBOT needs annual checking

[robou]

Finally, caught up again. Apologies for falling behind. That was a very entertaing update, Remble, very good and light humour. One wonders where the troops are going, though with you, it will always be an unlikely place. I don't think it will be somewhere overseas, as moving 25 divisions via transport is both fiddely and risky if you were to encounter an enemy fleet. It may well be to bolster the centre and help cut off much of the Red Army in North West China, but that also seems doubtful as it is not really very nesercary will take some time to amrch through the deserts and mountains. I would say that it is to prop up the Middle east and then start an invasion, not through the Caucaus mountains, but into Central Asia, and you can take, after a wee while of marching, the Red Army forces in North China from the rear, and of course march into the Urals. That's my 5 cents anyway. Excellent updates, continue!

[Remble]

Timmie0307 - Thank you. The Manchurian Army is actually quite large when you include all of the lent forces that Japan currently controls. The defensive Manchurians will have almost all of their troops, including the lent ones, with which to make a defence.

cosminus - Indeed

Thurak - Exactly, headquarters are for Field Marshalls, well at least the more well known ones anyway. Tabriz is a tentative target only and the chances of me making it that far are not too good, particularly if the Soviets reinforce the area. Walking through undefended snow covered mountains is character building stuff and will be attempted if it is lightly or undefended

harezmi - Tibet is a troublesome foe to have and I would not wish to anger the Dalai Lama and his Yaks for the time being

Maj. von Mauser - If you find out what this all means let me know because I have no idea

Nathan Madien - I much prefer subtle humour most of the time and military humour is usually in that vein.

harezmi - Remble was suffering from that mad rush to complete work before Christmas and was forced into 'voluntary' overtime before it became compulsory I am not going anywhere during Christmas so there should be quite a few updates.

robou - Luckily for you my update pace slackened a little so it was easier to catch up Maybe just for once the troops are going where it is easy to guess, but then again, when do I tell you all where they are going before they arrive

Update to follow ...

[Remble]

Operation Improbable

18

0100 September 1st 1947.
Intelligence Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Kuniaki's duties as the Head of Japanese Intelligence were numerous and not all were as expected. His agents made numerous reports from enemy Countries and his team was responsible for analysing and reporting on almost all of the information obtained.

One of the less glamorous tasks was painting an accurate picture of ground conditions and weather patterns. A clear example of this was the weather in the western Soviet Union. Snow had still not begun to fall in the east but the weather in the west was of use to Japanese planners in all departments. The mud that was common to the region had decended as normal which would hamper any Red Army forces that might be making the long march towards the east where Japanese ground forces were heavily engaged with them. Any delay to the enemy was a bonus to Japan and the seasons hampered the Soviets much more than the Japanese for the time being.

0100 September 1st 1947.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamato, Colombo.

Orders had arrived for Ozawa very quickly after the monthly meeting had been completed. A large number of fleet movements were to be made to support and protect Japanese interests around the globe. Japan had much more sea to cover than had been the case back in 1944 but those seas were less travelled by enemy fleets than had been the case back then.

The most pertinent orders were for BB Division 1 and other fleets assembled in Colombo where some vessels were still undergoing repairs. Ozawa's own fleet would sail to Ahmadabad to provide a force closer to the Persian Gulf as well as CA Division 1 and the two damaged Battleships IJN Musashi and IJN Nagato. These two ships would continue repairs on arrival. Both Carrier Groups would remain in Colombo to protect Ceylon and continue their own repairs.

Admiral Godo was ordered to Gwatar Bay with CA Division 3 to provide immediate protection to the Persian Gulf. He only possessed one Heavy Cruiser, IJN Myoko, which made his force more like a reinforced Light Cruiser Division than a full blown Heavy Cruiser one. Japan's Heavy Cruisers had bore the brunt of most of the losses sustained by surface vessels and the force was a shadow of its former self.

More Naval movements were ordered around the Siberian coast as 3. Kaigan moved south towards the Northern Gulf of Tartary after leaving two of its Transport Flotillas with 1. Kaigan. This left 1. Kaigan with eight flotillas which was just adequate to provide a safe haven for the Japanese troops ashore in Chumikan. BC Division 1 provided protection for 1. Kaigan. 3. Kaigan had four Transport Flotillas which could contain the four divisions currently in Khabarovsk. Ozawa disliked having no spare capacity but the area was fairly well protected and some risks were necessary in War.

Risks were sometimes necessary but Ozawa could reduce them by utilising other forces most of the time. In this instance he gave orders to Japan's newer ships in Tokyo to sail north to protect 3. Kaigan. At a suitable time the two new Battlecruisers would be switched with the two Battleships in BC Division 1 before the older ships headed to Ahmadabad to reinforce BB Division 1.

0100 September 1st 1947.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

North China Army had not received any new orders following the monthly meeting which allowed Higashikuni to pursue his own plans in China and the Middle East for the time being.

He would test the Red Army forces in Mengkukuo by ordering General Dohihara to advance towards Hohhot with three divisions moving to Datong from Kalgan to cover his rear. The Garrision division in Bayan Nur was causing problems for Japanese bombers as they liked to attack it in preference to more viable targets. Higashikuni knew that Bayan Nur could not be attacked from Hohhot but he was not sure if his Soviet counterpart was also aware of the terrain.

0100 September 1st 1947.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Qiqihar, Manchukuo.

Terauchi had received the bulk of new orders for the Imperial Japanese Army and he already knew that he would be losing almost half of his Army within twenty four hours. He would delay some of the redeployments until later in the day but would also allow Field Marshall Hata to move immediately.

His own position was strong with Kwantung Army troops advancing across Manchuria and along the Siberian coast. Four of the thirteen divisions in Jiamusi would redeploy within the hour leaving nine to continue the advance towards Komsomolsk-na-Amure. A single division moved north towards Ternei on the coast as a much larger army headed towards Heihe from Harbin.

Six Manchurian Infantry divisions were heading towards Qiqihar from the mountains of Ulan Hot to suppliment his own army in the province. Eighteen of the twenty four divisions currently under his command had been given orders to redeploy but the six remaining would be adequate to control northern Manchuria with support from a Close Air Support and Tactical bomber group.

The decision to delay deployment of the majority of the forces from the Kwantung Army would work in Terauchi's favour as General Okamura came under attack at 1200 hours from Field Marshall Shaposhnikov in Chumikan. The Soviet night attack would not succeed on this occasion as Okamura held fairly easily. Gunfire support from BC Division 1 would not be available as had been hoped as they were operating at their range limit just by being offshore. Had the redeployments began at 0100 hours the Japanese Transport system would have been heavily overloaded which would make any defence with almost even numbers unlikely.

[Remble]

1200 September 1st 1947.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

The Middle East, and Persia in particular, was Higashikuni's biggest headache. His forces were heavily outnumbered by their Soviet counterparts and had already been forced to defend their land connection with India once when Abadan had successfully held on.

Having failed to win that battle the Red Army altered tactics and began to attack to the east where there were nothing but single Japanese divisions to stop them advancing. Major General Kanda would hold for some hours against the two divisions attacking his position in Yazd but would ulitmately be forced to withdraw towards Bandar Abbas when a third enemy division bolstered the attack.

Shima's Tactical bomber group were helping in the area now but they merely highlighted the numerical disadvantage that Higashikuni's forces were facing. The mountains of Esfahan were not easy to operate in which lessened the bombers impact on proceedings.

0500 September 2nd 1947.
Naval offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Under normal circumstances Osami would react with brute force when enemy Submarines were detected around the coast of Japan. On this occasion he chose to ignore the threat almost completely.

Three old Soviet Submarines had been spotted in Tokyo Bay by the ever present Siamese Naval bombers. Osami could have ordered the new ships that were already to the north to turn around but they had a Transport fleet to protect. The only other asset at his command was the Battlecruiser IJN Kongo which was still being repaired in Tokyo. He would not send an unescorted capital ship out to fight Submarines in any case and would settle for letting the bombers keep an eye on the Submarines.

0900 September 2nd 1947.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Qiqihar, Manchukuo.

Soviet forces in Komsomolsk were retreating after being forced to do so by a much larger Japanese army which had made them easy prey for Japanese bombers.

Kondo was slowly reducing their number as his air wing was the only one with the range to operate this far north. Terauchi was happy to have the support of the bombers but he was very concerned with the Transport problems that the Japanese supply system was now operating under. The redeployment of twenty five divisions had added a large burden to an already overstretched Transport system and this would hamper both offensive and defensive operations for some time to come.

3. Kaigan arrived off the coast of Khabarovsk at 1600 hours on September 2nd with their protecting fleet only a few hours away. General Minami ordered his four divisions to begin to embark on the Transport ships in preparation for an invasion to the north in Bogorodskoe. Moving by sea was much faster than marching through mountains and would also conserve his troops energy.

0200 September 3rd 1947.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

Soviet troops had been allowed to leave northern India unmolested by bombers as Higashikuni had ordered them to Persia to protect that area is it was deemed to be under a more severe threat. His decision had been a good one, and had probably saved Abadan, but he would now have to contend with another incursion into India.

Field Marshall Rybalko had turned around after arriving across the border and attacked Lahore with four divisions of more modern Infantry. Lt. General Tokunaga led the defence which currently included a Siamese Infantry division that was heading back towards Hyderabad. Higashikuni would only require one hour to decide to order a withdraw towards Bikaner. The overloaded Transport system made an even defence a certain loss given that the Red Army was using increased supply and the Imperial Japanese Army was not in most cases. Only select troops had extra supplies and these would not be re-issued once they had run their course as the Transport system simply could not handle the extra load.

More bad news arrived at 1900 hours on September 3rd as the Mechanised and Motorised divisions that had been Esfahan moved into Dasht-i-Kavir. They attacked south east towards Birjand where Major General Aphaiwong was given no alternative but to withdraw south towards Chah Bahar.

0300 September 4th 1947.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Qiqihar, Manchukuo.

Terauchi was aware of the problems of the Middle East but he also received word of a Soviet attack. Apparently the Red Army was not completely under control in this area just yet.

Shaposhnikov had launched a second attack towards General Okamura's position in Chumikan. Four hours of combat would see the odds slowly alter towards the Soviet commander but night was only a few hours away.

Terauchi decided not to find out if Okamura could hold out that long and ordered him to withdraw to the waiting Transport ships. The added burden on the supply chain made such defences pointless particularly when they were in provinces of little immediate strategic valule. Manpower losses were also to be kept to a minimum which really left Terauchi no other option. Chumikan was slated to be the northern tip of the defences during the Winter but it was not Winter yet and time was not on the Red Army's side.

0800 September 4th 1947.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

Progress in China was satisfactory even if it was slow with North China Army in a fairly comfortable position after being under intense pressure during most of 1947. China was only part of Higashikuni's territory and was the least of his worries as he received more reports from Persia.

Shima's bombers had begun to target enemy troops along the border of north eastern Persia and they were causing damage to the enemies they found. The problem was the presence of yet more enemy troops to the north that were also moving towards Mashhad as well as the ones that were advancing on Yazd and Birjand. Higashikuni didn't even know if the Red Army was moving forces through the mountains of the Kaukasus to the north west which could present even more trouble in the future. His single bomber group was finding far too many enemy divisions for it to handle already without looking for more and it was always possible for the Allies to reinforce the Syrians in Iraq as well to put pressure on that area.

Above all things Higashikuni needed time but it was running out.

[robou]

Time is everyones enemy. Persia is looking a bit messy at the moment. Are there no bombers to spare? I'm sure another wing would do a lot of damage. And those redeployments are really hurting... but it is only temporary at least.

[harezmi]

one more wing really helps but i believe you can handle the situation. there are some motorized units around and they are vulnerable to air attacks. it`s going to get less time than expected i think.

you already weakened your army in China, if you send more aircrafts to somewhere else, you can loose your advantage in the area.

***i`ll be waiting for those quite a few updates

[Maj. von Mauser]

Good update.

Seems the Red Army isn't completely dead in the east.