Chapter Three, Part Three: Sino-Japanese War / Japanese-Soviet Border War
Sep 1939 - Dec 1939
Previously in the Influence Wars...
The Japanese troops secured all major Chinese ports and advanced relentlessly in northern China. Two Homegun landed near Shanghai and the Battle of Nanjing has begun.
And now, the conclusion...
Politics
Shoda Kazue was appointed as a new Armament Minister. He is a skilled logistician who will help the Japanese armies with their supply difficulties and make effort to increase supply production.
Our army and airforce both achieved veteran status. The invaluable experience from the war with China will aid us in our future conquests.
Battle of Nanjing
The battle of Nanjing lasted several days. At first, the Chinese defenders outnumbered the Japanese soldiers, but most of the enemy's forces consisted of poorly trained militias. Therefore, the Chinese were eventually dislodged from the city and Nanjing fell.
There are some rumours about a "massacre" that supposedly took place in the former Chinese capital, but such claims are simply Chinese propaganda. Japanese honour would never allow the massacre to take place.
The fall of Nanjing had massive repercussions for both China and Japan. The Japanese soldiers found massive stockpiles of strategic resources and supplies in the city, which aided our war effort greatly. Captured supplies were distributed to places where supplies were needed the most.
The Changkufeng Incident
On
4th of October, the Soviet forces stationed in the Vladivostok Region ambushed the Japanese border patrols and thus started a skirmish known as the Changkufeng Incident. The Empire's forces quickly managed to capture Changkufeng and after several relatively bloodless confrontations, the Soviets conceded defeat.
However, this minor skirmish resulted in the Soviet embargo on the Empire of Japan and relations with Moscow deteriorated rapidly. Later it became clear that this was just a prelude to a much larger border war...
Progress in China
In southern China, the Japanese marines reassembled in Hainan and performed an amphibious invasion in Xiamen. The port was secured quickly and the marines were reassigned to the 2nd Canton Army Group in order to strengthen our defences in the area.
The main objective of the 1st Canton Army Group was to capture as many important Chinese cities as possible. The port of Guangzhou allowed the Imperial logisticians to send more supplies to this theatre and the logistical situation of the Japanese troops has been improving steadily since September. Also, one of our CTFs was moved from the North to support the troops fighting in the South. Thanks to all that, considerable progress has been made.
However, terrain and numbers still favoured the Chinese. As the Japanese forces advanced deeper inland, the Chinese resistance became fiercer. Our casualties are high and casualty ratios are no longer favouring us so greatly.
In northern and central China, the main objective was to capture strategic railways and advance in the direction of Baofeng. In general, our armies have been quite successful in this theatre. The logistical situation was greatly improved when they achieved their first goal and they are advancing steadily.
The Japanese-Soviet Border War
Apparently, the Soviets were not happy with their defeat from October and they engaged the Japanese troops in Manchuria in the last days of November again. This time it was a start of not just a small skirmish, but a full-blown border war.
The Japanese SAGs began regular patrols in the home waters after the Emperor received confirmation that the Soviet ships sunk several Japanese convoys. Most of the CTFs were busy in China, but the Emperor personally ordered one of them to bomb Vladivostok. He believed that it was high time the effectiveness of the torpedo bombers was tested.
The results exceeded all expectations. All Soviet subs docked at Vladivostok were sunk in just two days. The Emperor was very pleased with the results.
The CTF is now supporting the advance of the Japanese troops in the region.
Another decisive Japanese victory was scored in the
battles of the Taiwan Strait. It was a prime example of the importance of naval-air cooperation. At 5.00 on 17th of December, two Japanese SAGs sighted the Soviet SAG and the Japanese ships opened fire. The Soviet battleship Parizhskaya Kommuna was sunk and the Soviet light cruiser soon met the same fate. The rest of the Soviet fleet escaped.
However, two Japanese CAGs held in reserve on Taiwan began air patrols and they found the remnants of the Soviet fleet several hours later. The enemy vessels were torpedoed, but most of the torpedoes missed their targets. Especially submarines were hard to hit. The Japanese SAG and several Japanese submarines were informed of the enemy's positions and moved to engage the Soviet vessels.
Two Soviet light cruisers stood no chance against the Japanese battleships supported by torpedo bombers and soon enough, one Soviet light cruiser was sunk while another one was heavily damaged (one of the torpedoes nearly sent it to the bottom of the ocean). Unfortunately, most of the Soviet submarines escaped.
As a result of the engagements, the Emperor ordered the Navy to find effective means of fighting the enemy submarines. He claimed that we could not hope to find and sink all enemy submarines in ports.
Both sides made limited progress on the Mongolian border. There are only several Japanese cavalry divisions in the area and we have no reserves nearby. The sight of Soviet armoured divisions caused some of our soldiers to panic, as they have few means of confronting the enemy tanks.
Generally speaking, the Japanese soldiers, despite limited numbers, performed very well against the Soviets. However, we cannot hope to deal significant losses to the enemy without additional troops. There is also no doubt that the enemy will soon bring more soldiers to this theatre.
Overview of the situation in China
The economy and other matters
The industrial output of Japan is at record-high values and the industrial expansion program is still active. The supply requirements are now rather stable and are no longer increasing at so high rates. Ten new garrison divisions were dispatched to guard the Chinese ports, one new figher air wing was formed and another one will be formed soon. The Japanese shipyards got new orders for a light carrier and a light cruiser and both these vessels are expected to be ready in early 1941.
Our spies reported that both the communists and the nationalists now suffer from significant economic problems. Is it the sign that war in China is coming to an end?