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Skywalker_T-65

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Nov 30, 2013
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744px-China_Qing_Dynasty_Flag_1889svg_zps5bfc62db.png


The Dragon Throne

Manchukuo, the diminished Kingdom of Qing Emperor Pu-Yi, was historically founded by Japan after the Mukden Incident in 1931. Nothing more than a Japanese Puppet, the Kingdom had no claims on the Republic of China or the Warlords, as the Japanese made Pu-Yi renounce these claims. As a result, Manchukuo only had the resources of Manchuria to call on...and was quickly overrun by the Soviet Union in 1945. I aim to change that.

Version: Semper Fi, HPP (with some personal touches)
Style: History Book/Narrative (maybe)


I should note I don't know if I can update anywhere near the frequency I managed with Warriors of the North. A bit more busy now than I expected. Prologue (explaining my little modding touches) will be up tonight or tomorrow.
 
Being a puppet is always somewhat annoying...

Good luck!
 
Since your Sweden AAR was so great, I simply wouldn't deprive myself of missing this! ;)

Good luck!
 
Well that's a country you don't see every day! I enjoyed your Sweden AAR so I'll keep an eye out for this one too!
 
Thanks for the interest everyone!


Prologue:


48da3584-686d-4c74-8a1e-445516b5d459_zps3484d630.jpg

The period following the end of the Great War was a tumultuous time for Asia. The Russian Goliath, long looming over the continent, fell apart. Civil War raged through the nation, as White Admiral Kolchak controlled Siberia and fought against the Bolshevik Reds. While this might not have been an issue for the other Asian states, such as fractured China, the rising star of Japan made it an issue. While officially acting as part of the international effort to defeat the Bolsheviks, the Japanese leadership sent more troops than anyone had anticipate--over 70,000 men. These men quickly fought as far as Lake Baikal, propping up the White Forces in Siberia to a certain extent.

With the defeat of Admiral Kolchak in 1920, however, the Japanese were forced to withdraw from Red Russia. The problem with this was apparent, as the Japanese had put much effort into the area around the Amur River...Outer Manchuria. Vladivostok, for example, held upwards of 50 thousand Japanese civilians brought in during the days it seemed that Kolchak might win. Most of these settlers were loathe to leave their new homes, though the Bolsheviks would likely oppress the firmly capitalist Japanese. Because of this fact, the Japanese Government delayed leaving the area as long as possible, taking advantage of Red Russia's continued issues with White rebels.

Further impetuous to make a decision came in the form of the Washington Naval Treaty. The Japanese were forced to downscale their navy, and naval construction, drastically. The 5-5-3 ratio of ships left the Japanese with multiple ships they would have to scrap, or otherwise get rid of. The Treaty was bitter, and left the Navy leadership looking for some way to retain their hitting power. Such an opening came with the unexpected death of Zhang Zuolin, leader of the Fengtien Clique...roughly controlling Inner Manchuria. The Japanese had been sponsoring the Clique in the ongoing Chinese Civil War, much as they had supported Kolchak. With the sudden power vacuum this opened up, the leadership of the Island Empire scrambled to find an appropriate leader for Manchuria, to retain at least some influence in mainland Asia. Zhang's son was leaning towards the Republic of China more than Japan, and that was unacceptable.

Another option was quickly found...Pu-Yi, deposed Qing Emperor. With Manchuria being the ancestral home of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Japanese felt that returning Pu-Yi to control of his 'ancestral homeland' to be an acceptable compromise. The deposed Emperor agreed, on condition that the Japanese leadership endorse his claims to the rest of China. Most of the Japanese leadership refused outright, but the remaining minority managed to push through the agreement...on the logic that having Pu-Yi in their debt could gain Japan far more than Manchuria's resources, should the Republic of China collapse in on itself. And thus, the state of Manchukuo was born in early 1924.

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With the exception of Soviet controlled Mongolia and Japanese controlled Inner Mongolia, the reborn Qing Dynasty laid down its claims to all of historical China. Were it not for the support of Japan, this would have brought Manchukuo into conflict with several factions in the fractured Chinese realms. The Republic of China, the People's Republic, Shanxi Clique, Ma Clique, Quanxi Clique, Yunnan Clique, Tibet, and Xinjiang. All of these states had territory Pu-Yi claimed as his right to rule, and none were inclined to give their land up to the Qing Empire, diminished as it was. And with the various factions supporting each other, there was no way that Manchukuo could claim its lost territory without Japanese support...something it had not received in the decade since being formed.

While the Japanese leadership was willing to 'humor' Pu-Yi and allow him his claims on China, they would not outright go to war with the various factions to support a Qing Restoration in full. And as Manchukuo was nothing more than a Japanese sponsored puppet state, Pu-Yi had to agree to what the Japanese said. Not that there were no benefits to Japanese rule however. The Manchurian region was heavily industrialized by the Japanese, more so than any other region of China relative to its population and resources in fact.

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The Imperial Navy's reaction to the Washington Treaty has already been mentioned as part of the reasoning behind taking the Fengtien Clique and replacing it with Manchukuo. The Japanese Navy, as part of its treaty obligations, would have been forced to retire several battleships, in addition to halting most construction in its yards. There was something of a loophole in the treaty however--nothing said that the Japanese could not sell their oldest Dreadnoughts instead of scrapping them. While Manchukuo was primarily a land-locked nation, the choice was made to 'sell' the three oldest Dreadnoughts in the Imperial Fleet to them.

Satsuma, Aki, and Settsu were the ships in question. The former two are considered semi-dreadnoughts to be technical, while the latter was a full dreadnought. All three would have been decommissioned according to the Treaty, the former two scrapped due to their age, while the last would have been converted to a target ship. While the three ships, and the equally old cruisers and destroyers that would have been scrapped alongside them, were no match for modern warships, having them around provided more strategic options for the Japanese Navy. It was for this reason, that the ships were granted to the Manchukuo government, though they retained their Japanese names and crews.

That fact raises another point with the new Qing Nation. Other nations that signed the treaty condemned the fact that Japan gave several of their ships to a nation that was nothing more than a puppet. In fact, few nations even recognized the Manchukuo government, something that added to that issue. Giving the ships to a nation that was unrecognized was...recognized...as a ploy to get around the Treaty. But in the days so soon after the Great War had ended, none of the nations of the world were inclined to push the issue.

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As was previously mentioned, the Japanese poured funds and engineers into Manchukuo to improve the regions industry, as a way of providing for the ever-hungry Japanese war machine. This industrial improvements gave the Qing an industry that could provide for most of the needs of the relatively small population living in Manchuria at the time.

The other notable improvement compared to Fengtien Manchuria was in the education system. While it lagged behind the great powers of the world (or even more minor European powers), the amount of work put into the schools and universities by the Manchukuo government was massive for its time.

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Okay, explanation time:

Non-modded Manchukuo, or even HPP Manchukuo, has very few techs and a weak industry for a nation that was heavily industrialized by the Japanese. Understandable when its only been four years since the founding of the nation. However, when playing as a puppet it makes it very not-fun. Thus, I went a bit alt-history here, in order to make the experience more fun (though the massive education funding is actually historical, which makes it odd that Manchukuo has no education techs without me changing things).

The changes to the cores is so that I can actually get my goal of restoring Qing China (though I left Mongolia untouched, and same goes from Menjiang cores since I don't want to mess with that decision). If I only had the base cores in Manchuria, I'd have to somehow sneak past the Japanese and conquer Shanxi, PRC, the Ma, Quanxi, Yunnan, and Xinjiang...see the problem? By giving myself the cores, and removing the ROC-Nanjing decision, I set it up so Japan would transfer territory they conquer to me...tying into the alt-history.

Ships are simply because I like having a navy and trying to build one up would take a lot of time. None of these ships are advanced, in fact they would get slaughtered against the IJN, Royal Navy, or USN. The entire fleet is all of 11 ships, which is smaller than Sweden's actually.

I also improved other techs to fit the much-larger Japanese influence this go-round. Again, nothing drastic and I'm still very much behind the times...just not quite as much behind.

Sadly, I remain a puppet though. While full independence could probably be justified...it messes with the Khalkin Gol event-chain. And I want that to remain untouched so that a war with the Sovs could still happen.
 
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Interesting setup, I think these changes are for the best, after all you are indeed quite handicapped when playing a puppet.
I like the intro, recently did a little bit of reading up on interwar China myself. Nothing major, just enough to understand how it turned into the mess it is in 1936. I can see you did too, nice.

So, the goal is to retake mainland China, with Japanese aid? That should be an interesting war, as I understand HPP buffed China, who isn't as crippled in the first place in SF as in TFH.

Lastly: I know unified China has a metric shitton of manpower and little IC. I see you buffed IC and LS a tad, how much mp do you have going around?

Good luck, looking forward to this story! If it gets half as good as your Sweden AAR, I'm in.
 
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My MP is roughly the same as Sweden's right before I entered WW2 ironically enough. 270 or so, going up at 2 per month.

I'm aiming to update tomorrow. Quick question though...should I just put all of '36 in one large update since the War is likely to begin in '37?
 
My MP is roughly the same as Sweden's right before I entered WW2 ironically enough. 270 or so, going up at 2 per month.

I'm aiming to update tomorrow. Quick question though...should I just put all of '36 in one large update since the War is likely to begin in '37?
Depends how you make it. Narrate the politics then not. If just gameplay then post it in a large one.
 
This is what I meant by taking longer to update. Sorry about that.

I decided to just split '36 in half like in my last AAR. Stick with what works and all.

1936: The Beginning​

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While there was still dislike in many circles, the Emperor Pu Yi had cemented control over most of Manchuria in the decade after being placed in the Fengtien Clique by the Japanese. His supporters made this fact very clear with a celebration marking the start of another year in the Qing Emperor's reign. This celebration was held in all the largest cities of the Empire, spreading to the countryside in some places. The celebrations, as always, were watched warily over the border in Republican China.

Though they had larger issues to worry about than the Qing at the time.

e112d117-45d8-4b6d-b161-3bd9e834dddb_zpse6dcf53f.png

Apologies for the map thing. Didn't notice that until after I was past that point...

The Chinese Communist Party, under Chairman Mao, were fighting hard in their mountain fortresses. The Republic and the Ma Clique were in an unsteady alliance against Mao and his Reds, fighting just as hard. The war was very much a stalemate however. The Ma were backwards and weak, even compared to the other Chinese Warlords. And the Republic was gripped with corruption and inefficient leadership, that crippled their military efforts. By contrast, Mao had the full support of the 'oppressed proletariat' in his little slice of China. With this support and the favorable terrain, the Peoples Liberation Army fought off much larger numbers of Kuomintang and Ma forces.

These numbers did manage to take one of the Communist forts, but the Reds took Republican territory along the border with the neutral Shanxi Clique in exchange, before pulling back to cover Yan'an from waves of Kuomintang forces. The events in central China were watched quite closely in Manchukuo, where the Qing leadership was eager to return to their full Empire.

For all the fighting between the Republican/Ma coalition and the Red Chinese, not all of China was involved in this war however.

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Four of the Chinese factions (discounting the Qing) remained neutral in this conflict. Far away, from the Manchukuo perspective, Xinjiang grew ever closer to Stalin and his cronies in Soviet Russia. The Yunnan and Shanxi Cliques maintained strict neutrality in the ongoing war, as both shared borders with the Republic and Ma, while Shanxi had the added issue of Mao and his Communists. The last of the neutral Chinese factions was perhaps the most powerful however, with plentiful resources and industry (by Chinese standards). The Guanxi Clique along the southern coast near the European colonies, was the stronghold of the 'Southern Kuomintang', a break away faction of the party opposed to Chiang Kai-Shek.

While still staunchly anti-Imperial, the Guanxi Clique was the only faction in China willing to trade with Manchukuo, who were pushing most of their own supplies into Japan's hungry industry. While Pu Yi maintained his claims to their territory, cooler heads prevailed and an agreement was reached with the southern Clique. They would supply Manchukuo with rubbers and other crucial materials, while the somewhat rich coffers of the Qing would pay for their rearmament program in the face of the Republic of China's much larger forces.

a0c25683-447b-4351-812d-b5d50f0d3abd_zps7ff96f06.png

Mancukuo was also in the process of rearming its forces. The nation had less manpower to call upon than the Qing Empire in its entirety could have done, and because of this there was much debate over where to take the Army into the future. The dissenting opinions eventually coalesced into two factions. One favored fast striking forces, cavalry and armored vehicles. The other faction favored a more traditional approach...masses of men overwhelming the defense of an enemy, before overrunning their positions. The divided viewpoints both looked for favor from Pu Yi, who eventually decided in favor of the latter.

The logic being that, heavily industrialized or not, the Manchurian economy couldn't produce the tanks needed for the more mobile approach. While cavalry were an option, it was an option that would not be near as efficient as armor. Thus, the choice was made to stick with traditional tactics...masses of men, with heavy artillery support to overwhelm enemy defenses.

6362f458-14d7-4e18-940d-7c4dbd977faa_zps1e963ceb.png

To this end, the Imperial Armed Forces were totally reorganized. The previous Standing Army stood down, replaced by a draft model. While the army would have less troops ready to fight at a moments notice, it would make recruiting from the diverse population of Manchukuo significantly easier in the event of a war. Something that was inevitable, with both Pu Yi and the Japanese leadership looking greedily at divided China. A divided China that was growing weaker every day as the Republic/Ma Coalition and the Reds beat each other senseless.

facd8c35-47f3-48fb-b790-61aa6d99c726_zps16c745be.png

This was most clearly seen in the desperation of Mao's faction. The Communists, controlling a small and relatively sparsely populated portion of China, had severe difficulties in maintaining their numbers in the face of a three front war (north/south Republicans and western Ma). The only border that was secure was the one in Shanxi, and this was forcing the Reds to throw more and more men at the waves of Republican/Ma forces. This left the People's Liberation Army scraping the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. Peasants and others were conscripted into the army, as it fought desperately to keep the Kuomintang out of Yan'an.

Neither the Ma nor the Republic were having the same issues with manpower, though the war had to be hurting their forces as much as it was hurting the Reds. Meanwhile, the Japanese and Qing spent their time building and recruting new units...while letting China tear itself apart.

e6ece39a-139b-40d8-87e5-0b514a17356a_zpsea388909.png
 
I really like how there is an actual Chinese civil war in the mod. Let them bleed each other white (as much as NatChi can be bled) and then kick down the door along with Japan. with the various cliques and factions, the outcome of this seems far from certain.
 
Subbed!
Are you going to give Hainan to the Japanese? The people from across the eastern ocean are terribly short on living space, and land would be a suitable gift to express the gratitude and compassion of the mighty Qing empire.
Also, an IJN battle fleet sitting in Sanya might be in your best interest...
 
Another nice update. I'm interested in seeing how weak China is, after all, I would presume you are going to restore the empire! :cool:
 
I really like how there is an actual Chinese civil war in the mod. Let them bleed each other white (as much as NatChi can be bled) and then kick down the door along with Japan. with the various cliques and factions, the outcome of this seems far from certain.

Having the Chinese Civil War allows for interesting story potential to be sure, at least when I'm playing a nation in the area. Outcome is very much uncertain though, considering even bleeding against the Reds, the NatChinese have more troops on the border than I can muster while still being prepared for Khalkin Gol. I just don't have enough MP/IC to beat them on my own...which is where Japan comes in.

Subbed!
Are you going to give Hainan to the Japanese? The people from across the eastern ocean are terribly short on living space, and land would be a suitable gift to express the gratitude and compassion of the mighty Qing empire.
Also, an IJN battle fleet sitting in Sanya might be in your best interest...

I might give them Hainan...it is an interesting idea.

Another nice update. I'm interested in seeing how weak China is, after all, I would presume you are going to restore the empire! :cool:

I'm hoping they are fairly weak myself :p

Next update will probably be up tomorrow, if everything goes according to plan.
 
1936: End of the Chinese Civil War

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The efforts of the Qing to improve Manchukuo's education system began to show signs of progress in the middle of 1936. More and more people, Manchus, Han Chinese, White Russian and Japanese, went to the expanding school systems. A new generation of engineers and scientists were scooped up by the government to work on various projects, while their children had new schools to go to. This was part of a long-term plan to put Manchuria on a par with Japan, and to provide a solid core of educated citizens.

The new Qing Empire would not be the backwards domain that had fallen to Western powers so many times. The Manchukuo government was determined to fund the education system, and create a nation on-par with the Europeans and Japanese. And they were well on their way to doing so.

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While Manchukuo was improving its education systems, the Chinese to the south continued to fight in the mountainous area around Yan'an. The Communist capital had been surrounded, cut off from the majority of the People's Liberation Army in Ma territory. The Coalition forces set in for a siege, putting the depleted garrison and its heavy fortifications to the test. And, defying all expectations...the fortifications held.

Yan'an may have been surrounded and under siege, but Mao's loyalists would not surrender. The forts in Yan'an held against repeated attacks from the Ma/Nationalist forces. The PRC even rallied and retook Shilou province to the north. The Chinese Civil War was still far from over, if Mao Zedong had anything to say about it.

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Seeing the surprising skill of the Red Chinese, the Qing military raised new troops of their own. Three proper infantry divisions, to stiffen the mostly militia army of the Empire. Two of these divisions were placed on the border between Manchukuo and the newly formed Menjiang, ready to move in support of a Japanese invasion of the Republic of China. The third was placed near the Khalkin Gol lakes, on the border with Mongolia. These divisions were the core of a new model army for the Qing, though at least for the time the army would remain mostly Militia, drawn from every ethnicity in the Empire.

The industry just lacked the materials or factories to produce equipment to fit out enough infantry divisions.

bfc2eeae-d6d1-4494-84eb-2bf4a57e170f_zps03d6a654.jpg

On the other side of the world, Germany opened the Berlin Olympics. Despite being unrecognized by the majority of the participants, Manchukuo joined in the games. The nation's athletes won a handful of medals, making the nation proud. But it was not the Olympics that mattered in Germany. For Hitler and his Nazi Party had another motive in mind...taking advantage of foreign diplomats being in Berlin to watch the Games.

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The Nazis proposed something they called the 'Anti-Comintern Pact'. A manifesto that announced to the world that any nation who signed the Pact was ideologically opposed to Communism, and would help Germany in the event of a war with the Soviet Union. Several European nations signed the Pact...Germany herself, Italy, Hungary, and surprisingly, Yugoslavia. All of these nations had varying levels of distaste for Communists and Red Russia, though only Hungary and Germany had real reason to fear the Stalinists. Germany for the fact the Nazis were ideological enemies of any Reds, and Hungary for being extremely close to the Red Bear.

The last nation to sign the Pact was not in Europe however. Japan signed soon after the Anti-Comintern Pact was announced to the world. While Manchukuo didn't sign, as of yet, the Military panicked at Japan's signing. Reserves were raised and moved to the Soviet border, which would be the frontline in any war between the Island Empire and the Soviet Bear.

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This stretched the Manchuko army to its breaking point however. Something that became apparent when less than pleasing news reached the Qing court. The Republic/Ma coalition and the PRC had come to a cease-fire. If Japan were to attack, it would be against the full might of China, sans maybe the southern Cliques and Xinjiang. More and more divisions were trained, reserves raised and armed, and rushed to the border. Manchukuo would be ready as it could be when war came...whenever, and wherever, that may be.
 
Nice update! Does the Anti-Comintern Pact do anything other than increase relations with signatory states and decrease them with the SU?
It would seem Mao is in a spot of trouble there, it would be nice if they could keep fighting each other for a little while longer wouldn't it.
 
Nice update! Does the Anti-Comintern Pact do anything other than increase relations with signatory states and decrease them with the SU?
It would seem Mao is in a spot of trouble there, it would be nice if they could keep fighting each other for a little while longer wouldn't it.

It enables some events. I believe it is required for the "Recognition of Manchukuo" event.
 
Very interesting idea, all of it. With the Japanese as your frontline troops, will you edit the gamefiles so that you eventually get what they conquer? Have you any plans regarding the possible war against the Russians?

Most of all, I like the idea of handing old Japanese ships to their puppet. Should've done that IRL.