Banner of the White Sun

[TheBromgrev]

Nation: Republic of China
Difficulty: Normal
Start Date: 1936
Game Version: 1.4
Mod: HPP v 1.0

This is an AAR for the HPP mod, focused on the Asian Theater. This is my first AAR, so any input is welcome, good or bad! I'm not much of a roleplayer, so the format will be similar to what I think Chiang's diary/journal might be, focusing on major events and plans through the Generalissimo's point of view.

One major change the HPP made I should bring up is that the PRC and the ROC start off at war with each other. Also, the Xi'an Incident will take place at a random time in '36 or early '37, which will result in either a non-aggression pact between the two factions or Chiang's death. If/when it occurs I will take the historical route and stop the fighting, although I hope to be victorious by then.

I'm not going to use the knowledge of what the Marco Polo Bridge event will do when formulating my initial plans, and you'll see why in chapter 3. Also, once I have more than two armies I will use AI control at the army-level, and will only retain manual control of garrisons, police divisions, the navy, and select air wings. My overall goals will be to restore Qing Dynasty territorial claims, which means annexing Taiwan, Dalian, Manchukuo, and the warlord states. I'll also aim to annex Sinkiang, Tibet, Tannu Tuva, and Mongolia, which means I will need to force Tannu Tuva to surrender before the USSR annexes them in 1943. Any other nation I force to surrender will be puppeted instead of annexed. This means that Korea and Indochina will be released as puppets if possible (there's an HPP-unique event for Korea which I will fire when/if its available).

EDIT: I changed the organization of the pictures on the hosting site. If they don't show up for you, PLEASE tell me which ones so I can check the link.

[TheBromgrev]

Chapter 1, First Steps

Jan. 1, 1936: The situation is deteriorating. The KMT has begun to lose the confidence of the people due to ineffective governing, corrupt officials, and our foreign policy. Even now, areas that were formerly under our control are currently being ruled by petty warlords. Our National Revolutionary Army (NRA) is currently unable to finish off the Communist survivors. Truly pathetic.

Things cannot continue as they are. I'll start by replacing several corrupt ministers, which should help regain some trust with the people and make the government more efficient. Chen Guofu will be the first replacement, and his supply-stealing predecessor will be imprisoned. Chen's capitalist-oriented beliefs will allow our state-controlled factories to focus more on military and internal development. The next replacement will be Chen Lifu. While his methods are suspect, he hasn't demanded bribes from our state industries like his predecessor. The final replacement will be Zhang Xueliang. Because of the ongoing war, and the threat from Japan, we will need to boost our intelligence capabilities when it comes to our enemies' land armies.

Next, some gestures should be made to the people that China will be unified once again, but not at the price of a son in every family and the loss of every private business. To do so, I've announced a cut in the maximum draft age from 55 to 45. Also, the state will relinquish control over some companies and privatize them. The people have suffered long enough, hopefully they believe these measures show that the fighting will soon stop affecting their daily lives. (OOC explanation: three laws now increase war exhaustion, which has many nasty effects such as lowered party support and daily dissent change increases).



At present, our domestic policy should come before our foreign policy. Crushing the communists hiding in their fortresses will cripple the party leadership and effectively destroy the party. Afterward, the NRA must regain control over the areas of China currently held by petty warlords, who have taken advantage of our temporary weakness. Only then, with combined might of China may we begin to take back land which was stolen from us by Japan and the Soviet Union. However, until our internal problems are solved, we will be unable to face either great nation.

To make our victory easier, efforts have been made to equip the NRA with the weapons we've purchased from Germany. Currently, our soldiers are using weapons older than themselves!

To begin the unification, we should finish off the Communist leadership. The plan is fairly simple: lure them into a trap. Moving away from our current defensive positions will not only lure them into more favorable fighting terrain, but also allow us to reorganize our army in the German model, as Falkenhausen has been suggesting.



The plan will have two stages, Phase A in green where our troops fall back into better defensive positions, and the rest of the army collects in the circled province. As divisions arrive, they will be reorganized from binaries to 3-brigade divisions and assigned to a corps HQ, and rotated between the defenders as necessary. When the reorganization is complete, Phase B in red will begin.

Phase B will rely on the northern advance to re-secure the land south of the Yellow River, and the southern advance to do the same quickly and create a pocket. The southern advance will also attempt to tie up any communist advances to the west. During both phases, our single tactical bomber will perform bombing runs against any ground targets in range. We know that most of the communist leadership perished in their Long March, and it's only a matter of time until they can't recruit enough farmers to reinforce their ranks. That said, their troops are battle-hardened and of better quality than the NRA. However, time is on our side.

Looking ahead, to aid in our future endeavors, construction has begun on 40 merchant transport ships, research into education, basic industrial improvements, and infantry small arms has begun, with the rest of our talented individuals training officers. The transports will allow us to trade for any raw resources our mines cannot provide themselves, in order to fuel the industrial expansion planned after the warlords and communists are defeated.

Feb. 3, 1936: The plan to defeat the communists didn't go...as planned. The basic plan is intact, but the retreating defenders were unable to hold their ground in Phase A. However, all but 3 divisions have been reorganized and are in place for an improvised Phase B.



The plan stays the same. The northern advance will carry out its objectives, while the southern front tries to create a pocket.

Feb. 5, 1936: Unbelievable! The communists actually left a gaping hole between their eastern and southern fronts. Their eastern front has engaged NRA forces in Houma, and in return I ordered an attack on the originating province, Yuncheng. While the battle isn't going well for us, the communists will be tied down while two infantry divisions pour into the gap and cut them off from supplies. The TAC bomber has also been reassigned to strike at their supply depots instead of combat troops.

[Slan]

Don't be too harsh on those petty warlords! You may get into trouble

[TheBromgrev]

We'll see. The only one that can actually challenge the ROC is Guangxi.

I have the pictures ready for the next chapter, but I won't be able to post until May 31st, as there's a 3-day holiday over here this weekend and Monday.

EDIT: Now that version 1.0 of the HPP has been released, I'm going to start over, because, among other things, a bug was fixed with Xibei San Ma. However, I will still take the same steps as outline above, and unless the AI does something really wacky I will only update the dates. Since I only got as far as March, I don't feel that anything serious will change. Expect Chapter 2 today.

[TheBromgrev]

Chapter 2, Fall of the Chinese Communist Party

Mar. 1, 1936: The NRA has managed to cut off a Communist militia division, which surrendered after a fierce 3 week battle in the forest. With the division's surrender, we have pushed the Communists back to their fortresses. While they have crossed into the western mountains, their most important holdings are just across the river. I've ordered the TAC bomber wing to begin bombing any hostile ground forces the pilots can find in preparation for the assault.

I've also ordered the recruitment and training of 12 garrison divisions. While the KMT's immediate focus should be to solidify its hold on China, the threat from Japan is too great to completely ignore. These new garrisons will protect our ports from any potential Japanese aggression.



Mar. 11, 1936: The foreign ministry tells me that Ethiopia surrendered to Italy and a new regime was installed. I dismiss their report and focus on the matter at hand.

Mar. 13, 1936: I've ordered the first Army to assault the forts. While most attacks seem to be failing, keeping up the pressure will prevent the Communists from moving troops from one location to reinforce another. Of the attacks, the battle of Daning seems to be the enemy's weak point and our best hope of crossing the Yellow River and achieving victory.



Mar. 24, 1936: After crossing the river at Daning, the First Infantry Corps has begun to aid in the attack on Yanan. The Communists are crumbling, and it's only a matter of time until they are beaten completely.



Apr. 9, 1936: Finally, the Communist forces have surrendered, and a division of specialist mountain infantry and 3 divisions of militia and their corps HQ have defected. With their defeat, our most dangerous internal foe is now gone. Soon, we will deal with the remaining portions of China that are outside of our control. Maybe the warlords can be persuaded to join the KMT and bloodshed can be spared.

[TheBromgrev]

I'm going to keep the pictures from Chapter 1 intact, as nothing overly different happened. The pocket was still made in the same spot, but my troops were beaten back the second time. Regardless, I still managed to pocket some troops during each game.

Now it's time to unify China!

[GameG]

Cool!

[TheBromgrev]

Chapter 3, The Unification of China

Apr. 11, 1936: Plans have been drawn to incorporate the other warlords into the Republic of China. We have placed our new garrisons in our large ports, and placed the rest along the Guangxi/Guangzhou border. Due to the threat Hu Hanmin's faction of the KMT pose, the Guangxi Cliche will be the second to last area to be reincorporated. Hu has been deathly ill lately, and may succumb to his sickness soon. If that happens, we may be able to regain control without violence.

First, the warlord states Xibei San Ma will be brought under KMT control. The leading Ma Cliche has refused our demands to join the KMT, and our newly formed 2nd Army consisting of the 4th and 5th Infantry Corps, for a total of 24 3-brigade divisions, will be responsible for pacifying the region. The 5th Inf Corps will focus on the eastern portion of the state, and the 4th Inf Corps will proceed to Golmud.



Simultaneously, Yunnan will be reincorporated into the ROC by the 1st Army consisting of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Infantry Corps and the 1st Mountain Corps, which totals 1 mountain division and 36 3-brigade infantry divisions. The 1st Army will be supported by our interceptor and tactical bomber wings.



At this point, our militia will head to the Sinkiang border, the 1st Army will position itself along the western portion of the Guangxi border, and the 2nd Army will position itself along the Guangdong (eastern Guangxi) border. The 1st Army will take over key western positions and advance to Guangzhou. The 2nd Army will primarily guard the border while advancing toward Guangzhou when the opportunity arises. Both armies will be supported by our airforce.



As soon as our militia is in place, they will begin to bring Sinkiang, and later Tibet, back under Chinese control. These areas were formerly semi-autonomous vassals under the Qing Dynasty, but broke away during the chaos after the Empire's collapse. They will be brought under direct Chinese control, and the militia will serve as peacekeepers. Brigades of military police will be attached to the militia divisions to help in this task.

Finally, Shanxi will be reincorporated into China last. They serve as an important buffer against Japan and Manchukuo, and if Japan attacks during our other campaigns, they will help buy us time to finish the reunification and reposition the NRA.

The plan to reincorporate Shanxi will rely on the 1st Army to advance across the river from the south, and the 2nd Army to advance from the west. I don't expect much serious resistance.



Only when these states are brought back under the control of the KMT will China be able to challenge Japan and the Soviet Union. Manchuria, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Tannu Tuva are essential parts of China that were taken either during the collapse of the Empire or during the recent Mukden Incident, and should be returned.

May 12, 1936: The governor of Guangdong, Hu Hanmin, has passed away. With his death, the faction in the KMT that opposes my leadership is now leaderless. I have proposed a replacement governor, and Hu's faction agreed to the replacement on the condition that I step down. Of course, I have no plans to do so.



Because of Hu's death, some troops decided that joining my faction of the KMT was the best course of action. They will be reorganized into the 2nd Army.



The plan to crush the KMT traitors has changed due to this recent event. The 1st Army will be able to take care of the plan by itself, which will free up the 2nd Army to aid the militias in pacifying Sinkiang and Tibet, which will greatly speed up the re-unification.

May 29, 1936: All divisions are in position, and I gave the order to attack Xibei San Ma and Yunnan.

June 2, 1936: I've received word that a coup against me by the Guangxi Cliche was crushed by more moderate members of that faction. The fact that they were plotting against me is disturbing, and the 1st Army will be dispatched as soon as they are finished in Yunnan. I will reward those who stopped the coup with high ranking local positions.

June 9, 1936: Yunnan has surrendered and the 1st Army has been ordered to prepare to attack Guangxi. Also, major advancements were made in education and infantry small arms. While these are good first steps, we are still far behind Japan and the USSR.

July 2, 1936: The Foreign Ministry has reported that Spain is experiencing widespread unrest due to recent elections. I dismiss their report and focus on the matter at hand, as Spain's internal problems are nothing for me to worry about, given China's internal problems.



August 2, 1936: Xibei San Ma took much longer to surrender than I had initially planned, but they finally gave in this morning. Also, the last division is in place for the attack on Guangxi, so I have ordered that assault to begin. The 2nd Army is now positioning itself to attack Sinkiang along with the militia. I've also received a report from the Foreign Ministry that the political situation in Spain has exploded into an all-out civil war. Because our own civil war is winding down, I will watch how the Europeans fare in theirs.

August 9, 1936: Guangxi has surrendered, giving China a large amount of talented citizens and industry. However, a new problem as come up, in that our natural resources are unable to feed our growing industry. I've sent diplomats to secure trade deals.

August 10, 1936: A very worrying report came in this morning. Germany and Japan have signed an alliance and formed the Axis powers. This is disturbing, considering Japan is our mortal enemy and Germany was supplying us with weapons and training. I wonder what Falkenhausen thinks of this development, and whether he will continue to aid us in the future. I was considering forming a stronger relationship with Germany, now I will not do so with the ally of a nation that controls a large portion of China. I hope that Japan won't feel emboldened to demand more concessions from me.

August 26, 1936: The 2nd Army was ordered to attack Sinkiang at dawn, in the hope of arriving at Di Hua within a week. I was not prepared for Italy to join the Axis from fear of my actions. However, that alone wouldn't be a problem, but Japan reacted to my latest attack with one of their own. Germany has taken over diplomatic functions, and I am unable to appeal to the Germans to stop Japan's attack. It seems that the road ahead is a difficult one, as the NRA is not yet prepared to engage the Kwantung Army.

My plans to attack Shanxi are now on hold. I want to use them as a buffer against Japan, to prevent them from attacking from the North. I'm confident in the garrisons' ability to hold off any naval invasions until the 1st Army is able to react. For the meantime, I will begin to transfer our industry out of Shanghai and Nanjing and into the interior, to protect it from Japanese bombers.

[TheBromgrev]

Well, the AI threw a huge wrench in my plans. I knew it would do this if threatened enough, but forgot what the threshold was set at . By the way, does anyone know where Kaua'i Island is? I'm thinking a mistake was made in the transfer IC event.

While not the most historical of games, it's certainly made an interesting turn.

[Slan]

Well, the AI threw a huge wrench in my plans. I knew it would do this if threatened enough, but forgot what the threshold was set at . By the way, does anyone know where Kaua'i Island is? I'm thinking a mistake was made in the transfer IC event.

While not the most historical of games, it's certainly made an interesting turn.

Actually, I'm glad you didn't remember the threshold, as trying to stay within it would be kinda gamey
I'm much less glad about the bug with the industry transfer... My bad, I used prov ID 5782 instead of 5728 by mistake. It will be fixed later, but it's not really gamebreaking I hope

[TheBromgrev]

Chapter 4, The Battle of Shanghai

September 3, 1936: The Spanish Civil War is going poorly for the nationalists, and some volunteers approached me today about joining the nationalist cause. I agreed with their proposal and allowed them to sail to Spain to join the war.



September 29, 1936: Sinkiang surrendered, and the 5th Inf Corps was ordered into position to reclaim Tibet. Also, research of light artillery, support weapons, and hand-held anti-tank weapons has been completed, and the state arms industry is now working non-stop to arm our soldiers with the new models.

Meanwhile, the annexation of Sinkiang has placed China into the international spotlight, and the existing major powers have now recognized China as a major nation. That has allowed me to begin the second stage of the KMT's plan, the modernization of China. I've signed into law a large educational investment and created a new, superior training program that will hopefully allow the NRA to catch up to the Japanese.

Also, Shanxi has mobilized their troops in response to the latest round of Japanese aggresssion.

Finally, I've ordered research to begin on light armored vehicles. The Germans trained some of our troops in mobile warfare, but we don't have enough equipment to field brigades of the vehicles. Because the KMT has some commanders trained in combined arms tactics, and the next major battlefield will be in the plains of Shanxi and Manchuria, I've decided that fielding a corps of mobile units will be decisive when we finally engage.

I've also ordered production of 5 transport ships and research of marines - specialized amphibious troops. The transports and marines (when they are ready for training) will be used to reclaim Taiwan from the Japanese.

October 4, 1936: Today is a sad day for China. Germany has formally recognized the puppet regime Manchukuo and recalled its military advisers. General Falkenhausen has returned to Germany, leaving a vacancy in the command position for the 1st Army. Yan Xishan, a defense specialist, has been chosen as Falkenhausen's replacement.



October 29, 1936: The 5th Inf Corps is in place to reclaim Tibet, and I have ordered the attack. This campaign will be long, as the troops will need to navigate the tallest mountain chain in the world. However, the 5th Corps is battle-hardened and ready for anything the Tibetans can throw at us. I'm also wondering why Japan declared war, since they've done nothing other than sink 2 convoys in the 2 months since the war started.

October 30, 1936: I've received word that our volunteers were unable to prevent the Spanish Nationalists from maintaining their hold on power; the nationalists have been defeated.

November 14, 1936: It seems Japan is starting to get serious. They've spent the past week bombing our defensive positions in Shanghai and have finally begun an amphibious invasion. I've ordered the 1st Army to move to support Shanghai and take up defensive positions in the forts around the city.



December 13, 1936: The poor roads and railways have prevented the 1st Army from reaching the city in time. Shanghai is lost. The 6th Corps from the 2nd Army happened to be closer and has taken position to retake the city, but still didn't arrive in time.

January 1, 1937: Several Japanese divisions have been cut off from their supply depot in Shanghai and are about to surrender. Meanwhile, I've replaced Chen Guofu with Bai Chongxi, a resource industrialist.



February 13, 1937: I've ordered the recruitment and training of 6 more infantry corps. Also, our 5 new transports have been completed and assigned to the transport flotilla. I've also told our intellectuals to stop training officers and begin to research the Grand Battle Plan and Human Wave doctrines to help our commanders better react to situations on the ground.

Shanghai has become a meat grinder, as after 3 months no material progress has been made to recapture the city. (OOC) On a side note, Japan really needs to stop advancing its troops in "finger" formations, as they're really easy to pocket.



February 19, 1937: The foreign ministry has informed me that UK Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin has resigned, and was replaced by Neville Chamberlain.

February 28, 1937: The Battle of Shanghai is over, with at least 15 Japanese divisions utterly destroyed. Work has begun on coastal fortifications for the city, to prevent a repeat of the battle. The 2nd Army has been placed in and around the city, while the 1st Army moves back to the Shanxi border.

[TheBromgrev]

Actually, I'm glad you didn't remember the threshold, as trying to stay within it would be kinda gamey
I'm much less glad about the bug with the industry transfer... My bad, I used prov ID 5782 instead of 5728 by mistake. It will be fixed later, but it's not really gamebreaking I hope

Yeah, it would've been gamey, and it's more fun if the AI is aggressive and doesn't follow scripted events. There's a reason why I said in the OP that I wouldn't plan for the Marco Polo Bridge event

As far as the event goes, a gain of 1 IC isn't that big of a deal as long as the island it's being taken from doesn't actually lose any (which I don't think it does).

[Surt]

Japan is prone to lose all its reserves in bad invasions if they don't get much success up north, maybe SF is better here?

[TheBromgrev]

Japan is prone to lose all its reserves in bad invasions if they don't get much success up north, maybe SF is better here?

I hope so, although Japan did something surprising that might've gone well for them had they not made a certain mistake. I'll post the next chapter either tonight or tomorrow.

[Rabid]

Looks like a good mod to add some of the historical flavour back to the game, it's nice to know that the ROC isn't totally neglected

[TheBromgrev]

Slan and I (mostly Slan and his events/decisions) put a lot of work into fleshing this theater out. I'm hoping to kick Japan off the continent and show off the new truce event for Japan, but things aren't going well.

[TheBromgrev]

Chapter 5, The Manchurian Stalemate and Operation Sunrise

March 17, 1937: The Soviet Union, jumping at the chance to use us as proxies in their conflict with Japan, has offered us supplies, a wing of 4-engine bombers, a wing of interceptors, and an airfield in exchange for a non-aggression pact. Since we could use the help, and the NRA isn't capable of fighting both Japan and the USSR, I've agreed to their terms.



March 19, 1937: 6 new corps of infantry has been trained and attached to the newly created 3rd and 4th Armies. 6 more infantry corps have been recruited and will be placed in the 5th and 6th Armies along the southern border to react to any landings there.

July 1, 1937: After their failed attack on Shanghai, Japan had done nothing. Now I know why: they've clustered around the Shanxi border and attacked the warlord state. I'm deciding whether or not to aid Shanxi.

August 15, 1937: Unfortunately for Japan, Shanxi was ready and the Japanese were pushed back to Mukden. However, today our spies report that the bulk of the Japanese army was finally moved from their defensive positions along the Soviet border and is pushing Shanxi back at a frightening pace. With their Army routing and the warlord state about to collapse, I've decided to reincorporate Shanxi into the ROC.

August 20, 1937: Our first three 2-engine bombers have been completed and assigned to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th armies. Also, the 6 infantry corps have finished their training and have been deployed along the French and British borders. I've ordered training to begin for 2 marine corps and 3 mountain corps, and construction of 3 interceptor wings to begin.

September 4, 1937: Possibly in response to Japan's aggression, Germany has decided to violate the Treaty of Versailles and annex Austria. Meanwhile, the other great powers sit by and watch. I'm not too surprised, considering that only the USSR has bothered to aid us.



September 19, 1937: Shanxi has surrendered to the NRA, and the ancient capital Beiping is now under KMT control. However, now the hard fighting will start, as we attempt to cross into Manchukuo and liberate its people from the Japanese. The Japanese army that routed Shanxi will be approaching soon.

January 16, 1938: The special forces have been trained and deployed to the front. The 2nd Army has been repositioned to help aid in the liberation of Manchuria, and the 2nd Mountain Corps has been attached to it. The 3rd and 4th Mountain Corps have been attached to our southern armies, and the 1st and 2nd Marine Corps have been attached to the 3rd and 4th Armies. Construction has begun of 4 tank divisions, consisting of 2 Light Armor brigades and an Armored Car brigade. These divisions will be reinforced with a brigade of motorized infantry once our researchers have finished their prototypes. Work has also begun on 8 AA brigades, which will be attached to our HQs. Lately, the Japanese bombers have been decimating our 500-man HQ divisions, causing several to shatter.

April 3, 1938: It's been a long time since I last wrote, but the situation has turned. Who it's turned against will become clear soon. After months of trench warfare, two pockets have formed. One contains 2 divisions of Manchurian militia, and the other contains 13 corps of infantry and mountain troops, plus 2 divisions of garrisons which were intended to help hold the line, then later the ports. If the fools who allowed themselves to be surrounded manage to break out, then it will be 5 Japanese divisions that will be pocketed instead.

I've also noticed that for some reason, the Japanese High Command has decided to transfer control of their army to Manchukuo. I'm not certain I can understand their reasoning, but the battles have become less intense as a result.



April 21, 1938: The fighting in the pocket was fierce. At times, the only hope for victory was for our TAC bombers to engage in night raids against the enemy, to avoid being shot down by Japan's superior Zero interceptors. However, the 2nd Mountain Corps and 5th Infantry Corp prevailed. They then forced the 3 Japanese divisions, including an elite independent division consisting of engineers, artillery, and infantry, to surrender. The Manchurian militia has also surrendered, and it appears that another large pocket will appear in Mandlat Sum soon.



May 12, 1938: One year and 9 months. That's how long we have been at war with Japan, and have been slowly advancing ever since their divisions surrendered in Manchuria. During that time, China has grown from a weak nation to one that is able to rival one of the world's major powers. As such, I believe it is time to demand the city of Macau from the Portuguese imperialists.

I've received word from the Portuguese ambassador that they will not turn the city over. In response, I presented him a formal declaration of war. The city was taken in a matter of hours.

May 18, 1938: Once again, the Japanese have started an international incident, this time with the Soviet Union. A skirmish took place at the Changfukeng Lake. I don't know the details of the skirmish's aftermath, and will press my intelligence agency for more information.



May 23, 1938: Not wanting to fight any more than necessary, I sent a peace proposal to Portugal. While at first, they were too enraged to think properly, they had cooled down enough to realize that a prolonged war with China would never end in their favor, and they ceded Macau.



June 2, 1938: Our research into advanced construction techniques has completed, and we are now able to quickly upgrade our poor infrastructure. As soon as the next group of AA brigades is finished and attached to the front-line HQs, then a railway will be constructed between Nanjing and Beiping, and between Nanjing and Shanghai.

June 13, 1938: Mukden has been liberated from the Japanese and their puppets! A KMT governor has been installed, and a local government set up. The Japanese seem to be out of supply. More and more often, NRA troops have reported a lack of mortar and other support fire coming from Japanese defensive positions, and the few that surrender beg for food. I think the puppet regime is no longer able to support its master's troops. While we have had our own supply problems due to the massive bombing campaign waged against the front, they are nothing compared to what the enemy seems to be going through. Now that I mention it, I haven't heard reports of any hostile bombings lately...

July 9, 1938: Our engineers have finished designs for a crude escort carrier. I've instructed them to begin designing a larger, sturdier carrier modeled on the Japanese one we saw during the Battle of Shanghai. I was impressed by the way they were able to launch air strikes at will, and believe that is the future of naval warfare. However, the navy in its current state is shameful, and must be rebuilt from scratch.

July 14, 1938: Research has finished on new models of all infantry weapons, in addition to advances into Grand Battle Plan theory.

On a side note, Japanese raiders have been sinking more of our merchant ships bringing oil back from the USA. I've ordered the state maritime industry to construct 50 more transports to replace the ones that have been sunk.

In addition, I've ordered the 13th Inf Corps to Haikou, in preparation for a surprise landing on Taiwan. The operation will be risky, but instead of directly assaulting the island's port, they will land on the surrounding beaches then attack by land. If all goes well, they will win before their supplies run out.

July 21, 1938: The foreign ministry has informed me that Germany has forcefully annexed the Sudetenland while the other great powers, in their typical manner, did nothing. Czechoslovakia has protested the decision to the UK, but Prime Minister Chamberlain was not willing to risk another great war and declined any support to the Czechs.

In the meantime, another Japanese division has been surrounded and will soon surrender.



August 2, 1938: The Japanese division in Xar Moron finally surrendered. However, something more important has happened today: the beginning of Operation Sunrise, the retaking of Taiwan. Because we lack control of the Taiwan Straight, the 13th Infantry Corps will be unable to directly assault the port, and must make a midnight landing on the surrounding shores. I pray for their success, as a victory here will be a huge blow to Japan.



August 4, 1938: To everyone's surprise, the Japanese surrendered without firing a shot. Reports from the prisoners tell me that the entire island has been starving for months, and the KMT has essentially saved the island from a hunger epidemic. Surely, this is a sign pointing towards our eventual victory. Even now, some progress has been made on the northern front, despite the year-long stalemate. (OOC: I loaded Japan up to see why I was able to take Taiwan so easily; it seems that they are sending all of their supplies to Korea in a vain attempt to supply their army in Manchuria; I hope SF fixes this, as ALL of their islands, including Japan itself, are out of supply. IMO this is gamebreaking, but I will continue the AAR because my goal isn't Japan's destruction, but China's territorial integrity.)

[Slan]

Great progress in an interesting fashion!

By the way, in my experience, Japan is usually showing arund 0 supplies in the interface, but actually they have around 80000 supplies in every major port because they are pretty much overproducing supplies after their overseas troops start to starve... Thanks to that in my AAR I managed to take Shikoku (one of the islands) and stationing about 100 brigades there plus two pretty big fleets with only one level 10 port, and not running out for at least a year, living on the Japanese reserves. If they have nothing in the ports in your game then I don't know why...

[TheBromgrev]

You're right, they do have supplies in the ports, but only the ports. Their HQs stationed in the interior regions are out of supply and org. Meanwhile, Korea has become the world's supply warehouse, with every province having at least 10,000 supplies, none of which reach their troops. I really hope the supply system in SF is fixed the way PI said they'd fix it.

[TheBromgrev]

Chapter 6, The Liberation of Manchuria

September 5, 1938: China's first domestic tank corps has been completed. I've ordered them to be deployed to Beiping, and once they have organized themselves the 1st Motorized Corps will be assigned to the 1st Army. The 1st Army is currently tasked with taking Xinjing, then will move on the Harbin.

September 15, 1938: Construction of the next batch of AA support brigades has finished, and they've been attached to the remaining HQs. Also, research on multi-role fighters and close-air support planes has completed, and I've ordered the construction of 4 FTR wings. Fighters have a longer range than interceptors, and are capable of reliably attacking ground targets. I feel such flexibility is essential to our air force at this time.

Also, significant progress has been made on the Northern Front (compared to the past year), as the 1st Army managed to take control of Xinjing without the aid of the tanks. For some reason, a garrison division has been retreating for the past 2 months, and the front line is now at least 5 provinces away. I'll need to discipline the divisions commander soon...



September 28, 1938: Manchurian partisans have gathered in strength and openly revolted against KMT authority. The extremely slow-to-retreat garrison divisions was captured as a result. I have ordered a swift punishment to those who defy KMT authority, and the 1st Motorized Corps is the first on the scene. Let's see how those rebels deal with tanks!

On a side note, I've ordered construction of the Nanjing/Beiping railway to commence. The engineers tell me it will take 5 months to complete.

November 15, 1938: Manchukuo's port has been secured, and the NRA is just outside of Harbin. It's only a matter of time until the city falls and Pu Yi's false government collapses.

December 24, 1938: Not much has happened this winter, as the NRA has stalled near Manchukuo's last major city, Harbin. While great progress, compared to the past year, has been made, victory is still not certain, as Manchuria's poor railways have been preventing our supply corps from properly delivering food and ammunition to our divisions on the front. I've reattached the 4th Army to the southern front, as I feel it isn't needed in the north anymore, considering the advances made in the past few months, and moving the army will help with the supply situation.



January 29, 1939: The supply situation is frustrating, as the 1st and 2nd Armies are almost completely out of supplies. I really wish I could assign my transport ships to ferry supplies from Shanghai to Dandong, but the captains refuse to risk the trip. Because of their cowardice, supplies need to be carted from Nanjing to the front by land. However, the removal of the 4th Army from the front has alleviated the supply situation somewhat. I may need to remove the 3rd Army if the situation doesn't improve soon. Already an elite mountain division has surrendered to the enemy because they were unable to fight back. The worst part is that the 1st Army has been sitting across the river from Harbin for a month now, and they don't have enough bullets to take the puppet regime's last city.

Some good news came in today though. Chinese researchers have figured out how to efficiently carry troops into battle on trucks. 4 brigades of the new motorized infantry has begun construction, and the brigades will be attached to the existing tank divisions.

February 2, 1939: Germany must be plotting something, as they mobilized today.

February 6, 1939: Today is the day China begins the road towards modernization. Chinese engineers and naval architects have completed plans for aircraft carriers. I've ordered construction to begin immediately of two such ships, and their associated air wings. Construction will finish sometime in June of 1941.

February 8, 1939: I guess Germany's grand plot was to scare everyone, as they demobilized their armed forces today.

February 11, 1939: Hitler must be drinking heavily, or going mad, as he has mobilized and demobilized the Wehrmacht every 6 hours since the 8th. I wonder what's going on?

February 16, 1939: Today will be marked forever in Chinese history as the day of Manchuria's liberation from Japan. With the fall of Harbin, Pu Yi's regime collapsed, and Manchuria has once again become part of China. Germany's recognition of Manchukuo turned out to be a mistake, and Japan will pay dearly for their earlier transgressions. I've ordered the 3rd Army to capture any Japanese troops trapped in our territory, and the 1st Army will aid the 2nd in liberating Dalian and Korea from Japanese control.

(OOC: With the reincorporation of Manchuria, China's base map leadership is 19.24, and base IC is 142. This includes gains from occupied Taiwan. From technology, laws, and the +2 bonus every country gets, China's total leadership is 31.48, which is more than Japan!).