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Hi guys, sorry this is late, but it's still technically Australia day in the US! >_>

Here you go, hopefully it was worth the wait.

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Chapter 1.3 - Spanish Civil War

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The HMAS Hobart in port at Brisbane - the city was garrisoned and well-defended.

The remainder of 1936 was a quiet time for Australia - with no key events and no wars abroad, it seemed that the British Empire could finally rest and take solace in the rare moment of quiet and solitude. The newly commissioned HMAS Hobart was deployed to Brisbane along with several frigates and a single destroyer from the Australian Squadron. This new squadron was immediately put to the test in manouevres conducted with the aid of the RAAF - although the sailors thought it curious, Admiral Colvin had ordered the cruisers to train heavily in anti-air operations and especially escort missions. Officially, the Australian Navy was to prepare for war alongside the British Navy, so that her ships could escort British capital ships. Unofficially, however, there were intense rumours that Australia had found the funding to begin construction of her first native-built capital ship.

By October it was known that large plates of steel hull and ship machinery were under construction at Melbourne and components were being shipped to Sydney by order of the Royal Australian Navy. Finally in December it was confirmed by Admiral Colvin that the Australian Navy was, with the aid of British designers, undergoing construction of a major capital ship and that her hull had been laid down in Sydney. The ship was heavily based on the design of the HMS Nelson and would fall within the constraints of the Second London Naval Treaty - it was unknown whether or not the ship would be competitive with leading Japanese designs, but the Australian High Command seemed confident that their decision was the right one. Although Australia's naval development was not restricted, it was a growing concern amongst the people that this was the beginning of a trend of militarization and aggression in the South Pacific. Prime Minister Joseph Lyon would attempt to reassure the people, but confidence in his rule was waning quickly.

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In December, news would echo around the world of mass uprisings of angry civilians in Spain; the country was fraught with instability and it was rumoured that the army had been called in to put down the rebellious citizens. Faith in the Republic was shaking, but there was little international news from Britain and France. They seemed content to let these events pass by unnoticed.

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Just a week later, massive uprisings in the far west of China would make the headlines. The winter seemed to be a time for violence, as the Ma Clique would march into Xinjiang and attempt to restore order through use of force. Britain again remained silent regarding these affairs, content to let the world events pass them by.

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The Army was attempting to overthrow the rightfully elected Republic

Even Britain and France sat up and took notice. The Spanish Army had launched an all-out assault and the forces of the Republic were thinly spread and outnumbered. In the initial chaos, soldiers fired on rioting civilians and seized major railways and cities across the country. The all-important pyrite mines in Huelva province fell without a fight, and only a token force was loyal enough to resist.

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Spain's Capital fell into the hands of the Army despite bitter resistance by the locals.

The Nationalists (as the Army faction had become called) would celebrate New Years Day in Madrid. In a week-long battle involving nearly 100,000 men, the city was badly damaged by barrages of artillery and a mighty air battle took place over her skies, resulting in chaos as bombers attempted to dislodge the hastily-assembled Republican defence. In all, nearly 15,000 lives were lost, over 10,000 of which were civilians. It was a bloody start to what would be a long and bloody conflict.

General Francisco Franco, supreme commander of the Nationalist Army, boldly claimed that the Republican regime would be crushed before Easter. On the opposite front, President Manuel Azaña Díaz called for the people of Spain to rise up against this coup in force, to take arms and fight no matter the cost. Hundreds of thousands of men and women would join left-wing militias across the east of Spain and calls for volunteers and supplies were heard across Europe. The war was seen by many as a battle between Fascism and Socialism, and the moderate democracies of the west were uncertain who to aid.

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This chaos did not, however, draw Soviet eyes away from the east. At the request of the warlords in Xinjiang, the Soviet Union agreed to send aid in resisting the overwhelming power of the Ma Clique, who were already making strong gains into the harsh desert. Russia was currently in chaos as an internal purge of the officer corps was underway, seeing thousands of men executed for supposed disloyalty to the cause. Stalin was weeding out all opposition, and the war in Western China was seen as a good opportunity to gain an easy victory, drawing attention away from the purge.

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Despite direct Soviet intervention in Western China, there was nothing but silence from the Kuomintang. China's official government sent their regrets, but they were unable to intervene due to increasing political pressure by the Empire of Japan. A conflict was believed to be brewing and the young republic could not waste troops by making an enemy of the Soviet Union and its might.

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Fighting in the east had been intense, but the lowlands of Catalonia had begun to slowly give way into Nationalist hands.

Meanwhile in Spain, the Army had managed to march on Barcelona, but there they encountered a stiff line of defences and dug-in troops, both loyalist army and brigades of militia who had, by now, gained valuable combat experiences. There was a shortage of heavy munitions on the eastern front and the Nationalist tanks were busy in the southern plains; the Republic had taken advantage and formed a huge line of trenches stretching from the French border, through the hills and down into Barcelona itself. Spanish morale was at an all-time low on the Nationalist side and whenever determined officers were not present, both sides were reluctant to fight. Assaults were made across the Catalonian line, and fierce fighting still raged between militias and the elite mountain infantry in the Pyrénées.

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Valencia in February 1937 - Although the Army had made excellent progress, the Republicans had dealt them a bloody nose in the assaults and it was unsure who would survive on this day.

In the south, the other pocket of Spanish resistance had been isolated by the same armoured push that had taken Tarragona. Now these tanks were descending on Valencia, the de facto capital of the Republic, but they found nothing easy waiting for them. Here too, the Republicans had dug in and offered fierce resistance. Reinforcements from the Soviet Union had arrived and these well-equipped infantry were a fierce foe. With the support of such a powerful country behind them, the Republicans were heartened and the Nationalists would suffer heavy casualties. Nearly 10,000 Nationalist lives were lost in the first two weeks, and at long last the Army was forced to fall back from the Republican capital. The resistance had won a great victory at last, but they were trapped, cut in two and outnumbered. Within days the assaults would resume, and forces marched east from Malaga towards the other Republican stronghold in Alicante, pushing back militias the entire way.

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The British people were extremely polarized with Stanley Baldwin's handling of international affairs.

In March, Stanley Baldwin resigned from the office of Prime Minister. The new Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, promised firmer action and a commitment to peace in Europe. "There will be no war for Britain." He promised. Germany would respond by dispatching a battalion of tanks and an entire wing of medium bombers to Spain, to support the Spanish Nationalists. Britain would send nothing but empty words.

Australia's Prime Minister continued to preach the same words as Britain, declaring peace and prosperity, and despite many Australian volunteers displaying interest in going to join the fight in Spain, no Australian attempt was made to organize and send these volunteers - they would have to find their way to Spain on their own money and most gave up and stayed at home. Dissent was growing quickly, and at the start of October, a second election was called in time with the regular schedule.


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Australia's New Party and New Leadership

The Australian Labour Party announced that they would be focusing on Australia first, Britain second, the world third. Under the guidance of the new Prime Minister, John J. Curtin, the economy would be reorganized and begin to experience a revitalization. Although less effort was made to mine and acquire Australia's own resources, a massive industrialization effort was made, aiming to expand factories located in Melbourne and Sydney for exploitation. A new industrial park came under construction in Canberra, and Prime Minister Curtin boldly claimed "...[if India] is the jewel in the Empire's crown, then Australia shall become the diamond in her scepter."

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An Australian woman working at an arms factory in Melbourne.

Curtin's new administration saw a boom in jobs, with investment coming straight from the government. Geoffery Street oversaw a large-scale revamp of industrial technology and methodology, including the recruitment of large numbers of women to begin filling the factories. It was hoped that the increased industrial output of Australia would help to prepare her both for war, and to help her crawl out of the pits of the Great Depression. Soon the Australian industrial belt was unable to feed itself - increasing imports would be required, especially in valuable coal shipped from the home country, India and the United States. Rubber was imported from Malaysia and valuable tin from Burma.

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This massive spending program had powerful implications for Australia.

The expenditure of money was huge, but suddenly Australia's economy was climbing out of the darkness of the first half of the 30's. With job prospects improving, both state-sponsored and in private industries, the people were happy and the government found that it needed to invest far less in subsidizing the civilian economy. The savings would immediately go into new factories built across the southeastern coast. With the improved economy came extra costs, and soon Australia realized coal alone could not fuel her. Oil-based power plants were set up and work was underway to create new fuel dumps for an expanding navy and air force with greater demands. Late in 1937, a deal was cut with one of the world's largest oil suppliers - Venezuela.

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Venezuela was a safe and mostly stable supply of oil - and best of all, Australia didn't have to worry about invasions of the oilfields or American interventionism to secure this black gold.

Continued cries from volunteers to fight in Spain reached the ears of the Australian Labour Party, and at last in December, a concerted effort was made to organize a brigade of volunteers for dispatch to Spain, but the move was too little too late. The news reached Australia that, on the morning of December 17th, the Spanish Republic had surrendered. Barcelona and Alicante had fallen earlier in the week after a long resistance, and Valencia was under heavy siege with no way out. Rather than risk further death and bloodshed to her already beleagured civilians, the President called for the Republican Army to stand down and surrender.

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The Spanish worked quickly to establish a new and powerful fascist state, modelled heavily on Mussolini's Italy and to some extent, Hitler's Germany. It was a dark day for the Allies of France and Britain, who feared a Fascist alliance hemming them in from all sides. Spain could easily seize the naval base at Gibraltar and thus force the British out of the Mediterranean, and draw valuable forces away from the crucial battlefields in northern France. A dark shadow now hovered over Europe, and Australia was forced to watch from a distance, unable to intervene. Little did she know that matters closer to home were about to explode into chaos as 1937 came to a close...
 
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Ah, always sad to see the Spanish Republic fall... But things are looking up for Australia! Increased industry! An honest-to-god battleship under construction! No plausible threat in the foreseeable future whatsoever! :p

Good job describing the buildup and making it sound like a plausible real-life development, as opposed to merely fine-tuning your game.
 
Looking forward to an Aussie Battlefleet to rival Japan. :)

What's your total leadership? How confident are you that you can keep up to date with Japan both in Infantry/Naval doctrines? From what I hear, Leadership is given differently in HPP. Therefore is it possible for Australia to attain better levels of leadership over vanilla FtM?
 
I wonder if the US will be involved in the war? In HPP Japan doesn't necessarily attack the USA oftentimes and USA has a hard time joining the Allies with their high neutrality.

There's no real way of telling - it all depends on how Japan feels, much of which will depend on the Soviet War. If the Soviets escalate Khalkin Gol, I don't expect Japan to declare on the Allies anytime soon, although I have seen it happen.

Ah, always sad to see the Spanish Republic fall... But things are looking up for Australia! Increased industry! An honest-to-god battleship under construction! No plausible threat in the foreseeable future whatsoever! :p

Good job describing the buildup and making it sound like a plausible real-life development, as opposed to merely fine-tuning your game.

Spanish Republic rarely survives in HPP, I find, although it *does* usually last longer than in vanilla. The Spanish Civil War lasted about a year of gametime and most of that was when it looked like the Republican position was doomed. Still, Republicans have it hard as the Nationalists are hungry for blood and get most of the army in the secession.

I'm very happy with Australia's current advisors, +20% IC is pretty much a dream come true although it's done my resource production no favours. The buildup is steady enough, we'll see if it lasts.

Looking forward to an Aussie Battlefleet to rival Japan. :)

What's your total leadership? How confident are you that you can keep up to date with Japan both in Infantry/Naval doctrines? From what I hear, Leadership is given differently in HPP. Therefore is it possible for Australia to attain better levels of leadership over vanilla FtM?

I won't be able to match Japan in every field, but I don't feel that I will have to. Australia's currently got 10.50 leadership and Japan's got about 17 leadership. The AI is very erratic about what it researches, although I expect Japan's navy and air force to be very competitive. The army I don't expect as much out of, but we'll see, they could surprise me. Either way, I think matching them on the water is the most important move early on.
 
Spain's over rather quickly. Any famous Australians to come home and write of the experience?

An Australian BB! Sounds magnificent (if a bit expensive as an investment in the singular number).
 
This is the first AAR of yours I've read, and I have to say I like it! My first HOI3 (vanilla) game was with Australia; I can honestly say it was a really bad choice for my first game :rolleyes: Still, I'm on board and look forward to more!
 
The idea of an Australian battleship is absolutely spectacular. I'd enjoy this AAR for that alone, but the great pictures and your crisp writing are making this a great read. Awesome work :)
 
Are we going to see any Aussie carriers to complement the battleship?
 
Spain's over rather quickly. Any famous Australians to come home and write of the experience?

An Australian BB! Sounds magnificent (if a bit expensive as an investment in the singular number).

It's very expensive - Australia at this point had about 28 IC to spend and a Battleship will cost like 12.5 of that over a 900 day period?

This is the first AAR of yours I've read, and I have to say I like it! My first HOI3 (vanilla) game was with Australia; I can honestly say it was a really bad choice for my first game :rolleyes: Still, I'm on board and look forward to more!

Thank you! I'm more of a CK writer usually but I've been getting really into HOI lately so I thought I'd pick it up. Australia's a bit weak in vanilla for a new player - I think it's pretty good for a new HPP player with HOI experience, though. You've got a lot of power and a lot you can do with it - the world is your oyster, pretty much.

The idea of an Australian battleship is absolutely spectacular. I'd enjoy this AAR for that alone, but the great pictures and your crisp writing are making this a great read. Awesome work :)

Well, I hope you enjoy it - I aim to please with pictures and writing more than with the Australian Navy, but I thought it'd be more fun than letting Britain do all the work and sending off a huge expiditionary army (in my solitary test game I was able to build an army of roughly 150 brigades, of which 90 or so was available for duty in Europe. It kind of made life too hard for the poor AI.)

Are we going to see any Aussie carriers to complement the battleship?

That's a very good question - you'll find out, all I'm going to say is that so far, Navy and Air Force are both being spent on quite intensively.
 
I've never played Crusader Kings, although I'm unreasonably excited about CK 2; I'll probably pick it up just on reputation alone. I'd read your CK AAR but I'm worried I'll be totally lost since I haven't played it.
 
I've never played Crusader Kings, although I'm unreasonably excited about CK 2; I'll probably pick it up just on reputation alone. I'd read your CK AAR but I'm worried I'll be totally lost since I haven't played it.

My CK AAR is extremely light on the gameplay, just to be clear - it's 95% narrative with some gameplay thrown in. Feel free to read it if you want, you don't have to know anything about CK for it.

On the subject of THIS AAR, to get back on topic, I hope to have an update up by tonight or maybe tomorrow, depending on how work goes on my other AAR's update.
 
So the battleship project is a go - great news! :)

Interesting to see that the Lyons government lost. In the hands-off tests I have done, the AI most often stays in power until at least 1940. Do you think it was your laws, minister choices, or simply chance events that made that happen?

Am I right in thinking the USSR is now at war with Xibei San Ma? Soviet support for Xinjiang is not something I've seen before so that will be one to follow.

It is a shame about the Spanish Republic, but things could get interesting around Gibraltar... you would think the Spanish could take the Rock, but I have twice seen the British break out from Gibraltar to take Spain and eventually defeat Germany!
 
What shall your new battleship be called? And where will you use it first? Shall it first sortie against the Regia Marina and possibly collect some salami off the Ey-Tyes? Maybe the newly strengthened Royal Australian Navy can support an invasion of
Sardinia?
 
So the battleship project is a go - great news! :)

Interesting to see that the Lyons government lost. In the hands-off tests I have done, the AI most often stays in power until at least 1940. Do you think it was your laws, minister choices, or simply chance events that made that happen?

Am I right in thinking the USSR is now at war with Xibei San Ma? Soviet support for Xinjiang is not something I've seen before so that will be one to follow.

It is a shame about the Spanish Republic, but things could get interesting around Gibraltar... you would think the Spanish could take the Rock, but I have twice seen the British break out from Gibraltar to take Spain and eventually defeat Germany!

I believe it was mainly events, although I didn't show them as I wanted to get through the peacetime relatively quickly - perhaps I should have, to given people a better idea of the political side of HPP. Perhaps in a future AAR or future situation, then! I got a Political Assassination Attempt on the rival party (what would become the winning SD party) and a mine workers strike that I chose to put down by force, which threw my dissent up to about 12% and tanked ruling party support. I'm happy with the result, though, as I didn't really want the SC in power anyway - SD gives me a better prime minister, after all! As for Gibraltar, I think the British would say that it doesn't matter if they think they can take the Rock or not, because the Rock is going to whip their candy asses. Or so I hope.

What shall your new battleship be called? And where will you use it first? Shall it first sortie against the Regia Marina and possibly collect some salami off the Ey-Tyes? Maybe the newly strengthened Royal Australian Navy can support an invasion of
Sardinia?

You'll have to see - I'll be sure that her christening is a noteworthy event of the story. ;) As for plans, it really depends on who joins the war when. Assuming I'm at war with Germany early, I may or may not raid the North Sea, and we'll see what I can get. I can't really afford to overstretch my limited manpower, but I also will need to seize any and every piece of IC and resource that I can get if I want to get the title of Major Power, so Sardinia is definitely an option in my book!

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Chapter 1.4 - Imperialism and Appeasement

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The Japanese used the incident at Marco Polo bridge as an excuse to attempt to seize territories in Northern China.

Japan and China were at war for the second time this century, and this time Japan was prepared to show no mercy. Claiming that the Chinese had attacked them ruthlessly and unfairly, the Japanese Army was launching a full-out assault from Manchuria with the objective of seizing Beijing and Tianjin for their own purposes. Despite assurances by the Japanese that if they would not resist, these would be the only compensations, China was unprepared to take this lightly. Shanxi Province was far more important to her than Manchuria - by far the greatest bulk of her coal reserves, one of her ancient capitals and a huge number of its population lived in this region and allowing it to fall to the Japanese without a fight would have been inexcusable. Chinese troops would put up immediate resistance, but as January came to a close, the Rising Sun flew over Zǐjinchéng, known to the west as the Forbidden City. This display of Japanese dominance over the Palace of the Ming and Qing emperors was humiliating, and Japanese morale was boosted to an all-time high. Feeling they were undefeatable, the Japanese troops marched on, thrusting south across the Chinese plains.

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The world was frantic over the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. Germany prepared to seize its opportunity.

A great chaos had spread across Austria, and the world leadership was so focused on trying to stop the erupting war in East Asia that it had hardly seen Germany's move until it was too late. A massive buildup of German troops on the Rhineland, Polish border and the Sudetenland was sparking fear of another great war across Europe. Although Germany's army was not as large as France's, she had a much larger industrial base and nearly two times the manpower - defeating her in a war was a prospect that the allies knew would be long, bloody and painful. The French were willing to fight Germany to stop her ever-growing military strength, but Neville Chamberlain believed a war would bring the British Empire crashing down - he proposed instead a policy of appeasement, to permit Germany small gains in exchange for the greater good of peace in Europe.

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News reached the world that on the 9th of February - the Germans had proposed a union of with Austria into a Greater German Reich, and a referendum was held. Although the majority of Austrians were in favour of the union, Chancellor Schuschnigg had set the minimum age of voting to 24 to lock out many of the younger supporters of the National Socialists. This move was infuriating and on the morning of the 10th of February, the Chancellor was forced to resign his post under threat of invasion and coup by the German government. The new Austrian government, composed of Nationalist Socialist elements, gladly passed a bill which surrendered all control of the government and military to Germany. Hitler's dream of a unified German state was coming true, one territory at a time. France was furious, but Britain argued that the laws were legally passed by the legitimate government and that there was nothing they could do about it.

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Australia could sense that the policy of appeasement would lead to disaster. Large-scale investment was placed into training new officers and to revolutionize the way the Australian military fought. They would need to be ready to fight in any circumstances and against any foe; something Britain was currently unwilling to do.

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The quantity and quality of Australian leadership was vastly increased and Australia would train 2500 new officers over the course of 1938, a large increase from its current number of approximately 4000. These trained officers would already be experienced and in place to train new men upon the outbreak of a Great War and permit Australia to build up rapidly without needing to train as many fresh, inexperienced officers to do so. Efforts were also made to increase the quality of training the men had, adding on several weeks to their training regimen in order to ensure the best quality soldiers in the Empire. Most of this new training would be in the newly built Army Base at Cairns. With access to rough terrain immediately to the south and to the equatorial rainforests of the Cape York peninsula, Cairns would permit them to train in an environment that was unfamiliar to most Australian troops so far.

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Australia's Training Focus in 1938 was on the Doctrines of Infantry Infiltration & Manouevres, Combined Arms and an Elastic Defence.

Australia was preparing herself for an Asian war, where the terrain would be rugged, poor and thick with vegetation. The jungles of the East Indies were predicted to be her main battleground in the event of open war with Japan. The Australians were used to training in the temperate hills and the grasslands of the south, or in the harsh outback where the hot desert sun blazed down upon them. Despite the unfamiliarities of the dense trees, the Australians adapted well to this new field of warfare and even the torrential downpours of the rainy season and the endless insects could not damage the Aussies' sense of humour or swollen morale. Quietly, the officers wondered whether their men could remain so confident in the face of the enemy, and when their tours in the jungle would last months, not days.

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Japan and Russia were frequently at odds over who should control East Asia.

May 27th, 1938. A series of vicious conflicts erupted across the Manchurian border between elements of the Japanese Kwangtung Army and the Red Army. The conflicts were a short undeclared war, but they ended in brutality with thousands of casualties on each side. The Battle for Changkufeng Lake had been a minor victory for the Soviets, who had managed to hold the Lakeside territories with the aid of their heavy artillery and a brigade of medium armour that had rushed to reinforce the area. Although superior numbers and firepowers had won a victory here, the Soviets were concerned by the poor morale of their men. They were shaky and quick to panic under fire, and there was an inadequate number of officers and NCOs to lead and organize the men. Rather than escalate the conflict, a truce was called before the Kwangtung Army could lick its wounds and reinforce the area with greater firepower.

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Northwestern China, c. June 1938

The poor performance of the Soviet Defenders at Changkufeng Lake had worried Moscow. The Japanese were widely regarded as inferior opposition despite Russia's inability to defeat them in previous wars, and Stalin feared that if his Red Army made such a poor showing against the Germans, that he would not get away so lucky. His Great Purges had secured his position as uncontested leader of the USSR, but now he had a shortage of officers and even those who were trained were inexperienced and weak. Soviet expeditions into Northwestern China had failed to make adequate progress in the harsh conditions of the Gobi Desert, and so Stalin ordered a truce with the Ma. By freeing the Chinese resistance from their battles with the Soviets, they would be able to instead march east to face the Japanese Army and hopefully avert the disaster that was coming for them.

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Signing of the Tripartite Pact, August 1st 1938

The Japanese responded poorly to this move, and in a political conference at Berlin, Prime Minister Tōjō Hideki would sign the Tripartite Pact and Anti-Comintern Pact. In what would become known as the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis, the three countries tied their fates together and promised mutual protection and cooperation, especially against what was deemed as their main enemy in the USSR. Tensions rose even higher as the British and French feared this triple alliance would be used against them in the intervening threat. In order to reduce the threat of the Axis, Britain worked day and night to influence and appease the newly-established dictator Francisco Franco. They hoped that, with the looming threat of the British Navy and the economic damage its embargo could achieve, Franco would agree to maintain neutrality and allow the German and Italian dictatorships to seek their own path.

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The Sino-Japanese War c. September 22nd, 1938

East Asia was slowly darkening as the Chinese were steadily pushed back on every front. The Japanese had complete dominance in the air and on the seas, effectively blockading every last import. Japanese artillery and armour had allowed them to punch through the plains almost effortlessly, but now Japan was facing the daunting task of seizing the mountains. Reinforced by new divisions from the homeland and the sympathizers of the collaboration government in the north, Japan promised to restore unity and order to China, an appealing prospect to those who were willing to profit off the loss of their independence. The slow, bloody push into Southern China would last day and night as the fanatically loyal Japanese soldiers fought to the death. Australia was concerned by their fantastic performance against an opponent who outnumbered them on paper, yet was unable to stop them in the field.

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Late in 1938, in yet another disgusting show of appeasement, the German government was invited to a conference with the French and British. There, they would call what was known in the west as the Treaty of Munich but in the east was called the Dictate of Munich or even the Munich Betrayal. Germany would be permitted to occupy the predominantly German territories of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. The Czechs were not invited to this conference, nor were they consulted, despite the looming threat of a mobilized German Army and Hitler's stated intentions to reclaim the German territories in the neighbouring Republic. Hitler would happily sign the Treaty of Munich, which confirmed peace between Britain. Neville Chamberlain informed the Czechs that, in spite of the British and French alliance they had signed, the two Great Powers would not protect them from Germany in the event of an invasion, and she would either have to accept Germany's territorial demands or fight alone. The Czechs were furious, but felt they had little choice and accepted Hitler's demands later that week. The Sudetenland was seized without opposition.

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Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland was unopposed.

Australian policy-makers were furious, but across the British Empire the Treaty was seen as a victory for Britain and for everyone who desired peace. The Treaty had, in British eyes, ended the threat of another Great War. Many Britons even believed that Germany was in her right to reclaim territories that were ethnically hers, and that this was the only way to ensure what Chamberlain had called "Peace in our Time." Although they did not openly speak against it, the Australian government and military believed that these events would only give Hitler greater confidence and that the dictator would continue to make increasingly unreasonable demands. Time would tell if their prediction would prove correct...
 
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Germany does its nasty things, as usual, and the Brits are not ready to do anything about it yet. So far, so par for the course. Japan's progress in China, on the other hand, is a much more immediate concern. At the rate they're going, they'll be able to simply march into Hong Kong from the inland.

Good to see that at least Australia is not blind to the threats of the world and is actively preparing.
 
Looks like the Japanese will be at your doorstep soon enough. And I feel like the Aussies will perform pretty damn well, haha
 
Nicely written. Dark days indeed - but the triumphant advance of the Axis is good news for this AAR! :)

It certainly gives me what I wanted - a challenge!

Germany does its nasty things, as usual, and the Brits are not ready to do anything about it yet. So far, so par for the course. Japan's progress in China, on the other hand, is a much more immediate concern. At the rate they're going, they'll be able to simply march into Hong Kong from the inland.

Good to see that at least Australia is not blind to the threats of the world and is actively preparing.

Germany is working hard to be the big and nasty - we'll see if there's any payoff to it! Japan's doing quite well, which is unfortunate - HPP makes their success in China far from guaranteed even if the Soviets don't prolong the east asian wars. We'll see if my preparations are adequate, however.

Looks like the Japanese will be at your doorstep soon enough. And I feel like the Aussies will perform pretty damn well, haha

I certainly hope so! What's the fun in battling the giant if you just get squashed?

Great updates. HPP sure makes it a richer game.

I agree with Stuyvesant the Japanese success is worrying but more so for the long term. Your definitely going to be needing the strong navy. :)

HPP adds a lot to the events and decisions and changes a lot of how history can progress. As for the Japanese, there's no way I'll be surviving this without a powerful navy and strong showings from all three branches of the military. I just have to remember that at no point do I have to take Japan itself out of the war, just that I can't let Australia fall, and hopefully I can prevent India's fall too.