Land of the Samurai - Japanese AAR

[FlyingDutchie]

Why not have the French and Stalin tear eachother apart and mop up what remains .

[trekaddict]

I had debated at the start of the AAR whether or not Britain would return German East Africa to German Control. I decided against it.

Well, what about Togoland? Not only would that carve territory off the French, it would also give the exile Germans somewhere to actually rule from.

[FlyingDutchie]

Well, what about Togoland? Not only would that carve territory off the French, it would also give the exile Germans somewhere to actually rule from.

Togoland and Kamerun? It would make some sense and perhaps you can salvage some German ships, planes and divisions for later.

[Nathan Madien]

Why not have the French and Stalin tear eachother apart and mop up what remains .

Where's the fun in that?

[TemplarComander]

Jus to let you all know, this AAR is not dead and that I am being forced to take a two week long hiatus from it.

My apologies for that, but I thought you should know that this still lives.
See you in two weeks!

[Kurt_Steiner]

We'll be here in two weeks, then!

[Nathan Madien]

Jus to let you all know, this AAR is not dead and that I am being forced to take a two week long hiatus from it.

My apologies for that, but I thought you should know that this still lives.
See you in two weeks!

Good luck during your hiatus.

[TemplarComander]

Fall of Germania - Part 10

October 22 1936

In the final days of the Battle of Germany, anarchy descended across the whole of the nation as panic and uncertainty engulfed them. This was greatly spurred by the fears of being captured by the Bloc Guard, who were reportedly rampaging across Germany 'repaying' them for the destruction and death caused in World War I.

Near Wolfsburg

Einglen awoke as the truck passed over a body beneath it. The French had already been here. His eyes readjusted themselves and he stared into the sky, black smoke covering the sun in a veil of darkness.
“Another one?” asked Klaus.
Feurersturm brought his head level and looked behind the man in front of him. Burning buildings, ruined streets and corpses along the ground. The French had certainly passed this way. A large crash signaled the collapse of a house down the street and a spiral of flames rising into the air.
“Where are we?” he asked Sigmund, sitting on his left.
“Lehre. We’re moving to defend Hamburg”
“Have they advanced that far?”
“We aren’t sure. Command has no idea where the Front Lines exist anymore. There’s word of French forces in Berlin, while other reports say there is heavy fighting as far west as Magdeburg. Some are even reporting that a successful counter attack has been made reaching to Erfurt. They can’t confirm anything so they are establishing a new line in the North stretching from Wilhelmshaven to Rostock, to Potsdam and then south to Cottbus. Forces in Poland are being told to just stay still”
“Well they’ve certainly had someone here” he commented.
“We might even be behind their lines and not know it” said Erhard.
“Check weapons and ammo” Einglen said, peering over his shoulder.
“Why? You know something we don’t?” asked Sigmund.
“Just a feeling” he responded.
“Shit … we better get ready then” joked the man in front of Einglen. The men slowly began to laugh.
The occasion was spoiled as the scream of gunfire tore into the first truck.
“Ambush!” yelled out Einglen as his men jumped out of the Truck to find cover. An explosion on the right side of the Truck tossed the vehicle to its side and sent men thrown to the ground.
Einglen was thrown back by the blast and into the ground. The spur of pain he felt passed as quickly as it came and he looked back to see the burning wreck before him. Fire and smoke billowed around him as yet another battle erupted.
“Get cover!” he yelled, grabbing his rifle and sprinting towards a nearby house.


** Rather small for a returning update, however I find myself constricted for time and the lack of writing for the project has left me somewhat devoid of inspiration. That said however, IT'S BACK **

[Vesimir]

It is back!

Unrelated to the update - Would you be kind enough to post a political map of Europe after Germany falls and France establishes the puppet government or whatever? I want to see the gains of the French blocs countries.

[SouthCarolinian]

hoorah!
Glad this is back. this is one of my favorite aars

[Kurt_Steiner]

France must be annihilated... grrr...

[Nathan Madien]

This AAR has returned.

[FlyingDutchie]

Hurrah and huzzah, its back .

[TemplarComander]

Fall of Germania - Part 11

October 26 1936

Near the French Coast ...

On October 26, the British launched Operation Catapult to decimate the 5th Destroyer Group of the French Navy. Unfortunately, British Intel had failed to notice that a trio of French Aircraft Carriers and their main fleet were conducting patrols which would directly pass the attack zone.

Captain C.S. Holland stood on the HMS Hood. Today was the long awaited launch of Operation Catapult and with it, the destruction of the French Fleet. With the HMS Furious, the HMS Glorious and the HMS London alongside numerous other vessels, the British Fleet was going to face its greatest threat at sea for a quarter of a century. Now, they would see the French Fleet destroyed and the superiority of Britain at sea assured.
“Time?” asked the Captain.
“Dawn, Sir” came a voice.
“Good. Relay orders to the Fleet. Open Fire” the Captain ordered calmly. This day was supposed to be like every other of this war. A quick attack to sink some of the enemy, and then a retreat. Not the sort of warfare which the Hood was suited for, but she had enough vessels here to go in a stand up fight if necessary.
As the sun crest above the sea, the Hood’s guns opened up on the docked French vessels. Explosions littered the docks as the other ships in the fleet opened up.
“Why haven’t we hit anything?” asked the Captain.
“Not sure Sir. Perhaps the boys are a little rusty?”
“Aye. That would be the reason” the Captain laughed.
The beach and dock were lit up in fire and flames from the guns of the British Empire. Airplanes from the Glorious and Furious swooped and dived above the dock, littering the area with gunfire. One of them dove down and opened fire on an old destroyer sending a plume of fire into the air as it struck an ammunitions room or a fuel compartment below deck.
“Oh my. I haven’t seen fighting like this for quite some time” the Captain said. The good mood was spoiled as a call rang in from one of the destroyers guarding the fleet.
“Sir !” called out the First Officer.
“Yes, what is it?”
“French Aircraft Carriers are coming. 3 of them”

Tokyo, Japan ...

“I am the Emperor of Japan and you will listen to me!” shouted Hirohito. Despite his assassination of Katsumoto, change was not as fast coming as he had hoped. His death had only further divided the ruling caste. The Imperials were the same as before and again, the Samurai were the same as before. Tojo and Yamamoto were those most in favour of the Samurai system of supporting Britain and Germany. The Imperialists wished to make war on Britain and America and create a super alliance with France to dominate the world.
“And this is a Council which governs Japan. No one may usurp the rights or speech of another. You would do well to remember that, your Highness” Tojo said. The two shared a deathly glare for a moment before Yamamoto spoke up.
“Council men, Emperor. I propose a recess before we resume, I believe we can all agree that lunch has been missed by several hours and a meal is in order”
At this, the Council agreed and slowly they filtered out. Emperor Hirohito was left in the room, his rage boiling up inside him. If the Council would not agree with him, then he had only to remove his enemies. Isoroku Yamamoto, Hideki Tojo, Kammu Tang and Toyotomi Masamune were on his list.
One by one, they would fall.


** Ramifications of Katsumoto's 'Assassination' and an alt timeline Operation Catapult. Whether the HMS Hood shares the same fate as its OTL compatriot, shall be revealed soon. **

- Congratulations to FlyingDutchie on his victory in the ACA's for Best Comedy AAR of the HOI 2 category even if the Albanians did tie it up.

-

[trekaddict]

One is begging for a shell splinter taht only hits the Captain, only that this is not Lancelot Holland who was the one who commanded her in Denmark Strait when she was sunk.

[Nathan Madien]

One is begging for a shell splinter taht only hits the Captain, only that this is not Lancelot Holland who was the one who commanded her in Denmark Strait when she was sunk.

But it may appear that having any Captain named 'Holland' is bad luck.

[El Pip]

Excellent news I must say, if the French carriers have blundered into such close range they can be picked up by a destroyer they're going to get mullered. Mind you this is a HOI2 naval battle so they'll probably be able to open up to a 100mile range in less than an hour. Damned lazy incompetent Swedes.

[Kurt_Steiner]

Excellent news I must say, if the French carriers have blundered into such close range they can be picked up by a destroyer they're going to get mullered.

My thoughts exactly.

And Hiro Hito is going to find himself looking at the narrow edge of a guillotine, at this pace...

Or of a Katana...

[TemplarComander]

Fall of Germania - Part 12

October 29 1936

Somewhere …

Katsumoto opened his eyes to see the open sky above him. Where was he? What was the date? What had happened to Japan and the war? Despite his enthusiasm to discover the answers, he found himself in incredible pain when he tried to move. A short gasp and he laid back on the ground, the grass cooling his back.
“I would not be so quick to move” came the voice of a woman. Katsumoto turned to see a young woman sitting on a stone wall not 4 metres from him. She had shoulder length red hair and fair skin. Obviously western, she seemed rather out of place wearing a kimono. “My name is Catherine” she said. Katsumoto stare in near disbelief.
“I cannot decide whether to ask why you are here, or where I am” he said curiously.
She looked at him and smiled slightly. “You are in the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The home of the Dalai Lama. I am here because I am taking you to South America” As she spoke, he recognized the accent and he suddenly became very concerned.
“What is a French agent doing in Tibet? And why are you taking me to South America are among my next questions”
“Ah, so you caught my accent. I’m told I hide it well. I am, in fact, a double agent working for the British. Right now all you need to know is that, Britain and Germany are in desperate need of allies in South America and the French are moving in as well. More importantly, you’ll need allies when you regain your place in Japan”
“I think a glorious coup is outside of my foreseeable future” Katsumoto joked, clutching his side as he attempted to sit up.
“Perhaps. But you’ll be recovered by the time we return to Asia. We leave tomorrow” she said. Katsumoto just stared at her in disbelief, propping himself up against a nearby rock. She smiled slightly before standing and walking away, leaving Katsumoto with his most burning question. How was the war going?

10 Downing Street, London

Prime Minister Chamberlain sat in the living room with his cabinet arrayed about the room. The war was going worse than anyone had imagined. The grim mood of the evening overshadowed the small diplomatic success of Anthony Eden in gaining Mexico as an ally. By having allies on the North and South of the United States, it was hoped that Roosevelt would be pressured into an alliance. So far, he had resisted any attempt to aid the allies.
Clement Attlee broke the silence with his report. “Prime Minister, I have little positive news to report outside of the Middle East and Africa. Particularly, Germany is in a rough spot”
“Well, lets hear this report then” said Chamberlain with a sigh.

“I’ll begin with the positives. In the Middle East, we have managed to encircle a French Division in central Iraq - however we expect them to return to their lines by the end of the week. We have also noticed a build up of divisions along the Turkish border. We suspect they will begin an offensive Operation in early November. In Africa, we’ve managed to make a small drive into Libya and hold the Italian divisions at the border, however we have received news from Cairo that Italian forces have landed in Alexandria. We are rushing forces to the area but I don’t expect that we will be able to hold back Libya and deal with this threat” Clement said, flipping a page and placing some pictures on the desk.
“Was that your idea of positive news?” Churchill said, obviously irritated.
“It is a better situation than Europe” Anthony Eden said.
“That much is obvious” Church commented. Attlee stared at the pair of them for several seconds before Chamberlain spoke.
“Continue, Attlee”

“Yes, Prime Minister. In the Balkans, our allies have managed to make gains against the French Bloc. Greece has made an advance into Yugoslavia and Bulgaria and Rumania is fighting hard to capture parts of southern Poland. They have also managed to seize a large stretch of Yugoslavia and have almost met with Greek forces”
“It seems our allies fight better than us” commented Sir John Simon before taking a sip of his drink. The cabinet turned to him.
“Appearances can be deceptive” said Chamberlain before Attlee continued.

“ In Spain, France and the rebels have seized the North of the Country while the Spanish have managed to seize southern Portugal. However, their gains are of little issue. The loss of Madrid has severely crippled them. The army is already preparing to secure Gibraltar and man it with at least 3 more Divisions” Attlee finished.
“Indeed, Gibraltar is the gate to the Mediterranean and our key to harassing Italian operations in North Africa. It cannot be allowed to fall” Churchill said.
“I am well aware of this” Attlee snapped.

“The Polish Front has drained much of Germany’s military power and their forces on the very edge of collapse. Further, the loss of the German Heartland has severely crushed their morale. We expect Germany to withdraw their troops to Prussia. If you want, I can set up a meeting with Heer Rommel so you can discuss the possibility of an organized withdrawal from Poland”
“If you would organize the meeting, it would be much appreciated” said Chamberlain.

“And that brings us to Germany. 3 Divisions are still trapped in North West Germany and Churchill informs me that the Navy is attempting to organize their withdrawal with the Navy. In the east however the French army has met with the Polish and have surrounded Berlin on 3 sides. They outnumber the Germans by just over a factor of 4. But if there recent tactics have any relevance, the War Department and myself agree that they will completely surround the city before attempting an assualt. Other than that, we have little to report”
“Well then gentlemen, I propose that we adjourn until tomorrow. The hour is late and we need a break from this war” Chamberlain concluded.

** As you can see, the war is going poorly for the allies. There is also the introduction of Catherine. Yes she is French, she is working for the British. Any guess' as to who inspired the character? **

[Vesimir]

Carré? She was french and was a double agent for the germans. But here the germans are allied with the british so...

What's next for the French bloc? Scandinavia? The Baltic states? I bet Poland would like to get it's hands on Lithuania again.