@Onni_Manni: The Germans and the Russians have not completed their nuclear programs yet, so they do not have any bombs to use. I am actually very surprised that I won the nuclear arms race.
@Cohacq: The only delivery system I have is by bomber. I do not have the rocket technology to build ICBM's yet, something I am going to try to do once the war with Japan is over.
@History_Buff: I am afraid that might not be possible. The main Japanese island of Honshu has beaches stacked with at least 15 divisions each. Tokyo itself has a huge garrison as well. Add in the fact that most of the home islands are either mountain or urban, meaning that it will be one hell of a fight for the Japanese homeland.
@salidas16: that map is pretty accurate, I think the only thing wrong is that Nepal handed over its portions of Indian territory back to India in the late 1940's. Other than that, it is pretty much dead on.
Oh, and about the Franco-Dutch union idea: I have been milling it over and have come to the conclusion that merging all those groups together would probably not sit very well. I think I might just have Germany release the Dutch, and then give independence to an enlarged Kingdom of Belgium or something like that, which they can use as a buffer between Germany and the Allies in western Europe.
@everyone else: Thanks for the comments!
As American forces make their final preparations for Operation Downfall, the Russian government decides to expand the war in Asia, invading the Chinese cultist state of Shanqing Tainguo.
The US air force begins massive bombing attacks against Japanese forces in Northern Hokkaido, with the aim of disrupting their organization and communications. Also note that these Japanese troops appear to be commanded by an Australian! It seems that Japan has organized an Australasian division made up of exiles or something.
January 7th, 1951. At last, the day has come. Under the watchful cover of US navy battleships, US marines and army units led by General Ridgeway storm the beaches of northern Hokkaido, facing fierce resistance by Japanese forces.
After three days of ferocious fighting, American forces finally secure the landing zones. The United States now has a foothold on Japanese home soil!
US troops continue their advance, marching on the city of Sapporo, defended by approximately 100,000 Japanese troops. With no hope of retreat, the enemy forces fight to the bitter end rather than surrendering to US forces, with many Japanese troops being killed in action before the city falls to US troops. The island of Hokkaido, the weakest point in the Japanese defenses, is now under complete US control.
Now, the focus shifts to the south, to the island of Honshu, focus of the bulk of Japan's mainland defenses. The first wave of landing troops arrives near the coast off Osaka, a key strategic point that must be taken in the initial landings for there to be a quick end to the war. However, the Japanese have massed a huge number of troops to defend the city, with some estimates putting the number at about 15 or 18 divisions. Many American commanders doubt that even the heaviest air and naval support can break the enemy defenses and allow US troops to land without taking huge casualties.
With American military and intelligence services predicting upwards of 50% casualties in a conventional assault on Osaka, President Truman decides to make a monumental decision: to deploy the Hydrogen bomb. A B-47 stratojet bomber of the 1st US airforce strategic bomber wing, based in Okinawa, is loaded with the weapon and ordered to take off for Osaka.
Only several hours later, Osaka, and with it hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers and civilians, goes up in a flash of light and fire, as the Hydrogen bomb is dropped on the city, wiping it off the face of the earth. Stunned American sailors, soldiers, and marines off the coast watch in terrifying awe as a giant mushroom shaped cloud rises into the sky.
The Atomic age has begun.
