Kantai Kessen - Empire of Japan HPP AAR

Chapter 11: The Invasion of Hainan - March 3, 1938 to April 2, 1938

The Spring Offensive was a multi-pronged attack, with the key thrust being performed by the SNLF in Guangdong province. The aim of the operation was to first draw Chinese units south by landing on Hainan Island. The invasion of the island would be performed by the 4 SNLF divisions. After Hainan was secured, 2 SNLF divisions would cross the shallow Qiongzhou Strait and march up the Leizhou Peninsula and take defensive positions. Meanwhile, the other two SNLF divisions would land in Guangzhou, southern China's largest city and a major transportation hub. These two divisions would trap any Chinese defenders positioned between Leizhou Peninsula and Guangzhou.

In the meantime, it was believed that pressure in the north would be relieved as Chinese divisions moved south to reinforce Guangdong. 1 Shinagun's main task during the operation was to capture the city of Xi'an and advance on Chongqing, while 2 Shinagun was to continue its advance west along the Yangtze River and capture the strategic cities of Changsha and Changde. The goal of the entire operation was to capture China's remaining large population centers and force Chiang's government to capitulate. The invasion of Hainan was slated to begin on March 30, after the SNLF had recovered from its pacification of Shandong.

In the lead-up to the offensive, elements of 2 Shinagun had captured the port city of Shantou and thus secured the Chinese side of the Taiwan Strait. The Strait was a major global shipping lane, and having secured the waterway Japan was able to police and patrol it, ensuring that foreign merchant traffic was kept safe from Chinese pirates taking advantage of the war. As a result, civilian traffic through the Strait increased, resulting in higher tax revenue and increased supply production due to having access to cheaper materials. However, due to the possibility of Japan closing the Strait, Japan became much more threatening in the eyes of the world's leaders, worsening Japan's already bad standing in the world and solidifying its status as a pariah state.

The Empire of Japan gained full control over the Taiwan Strait on March 7, 1938


In the north, 1 Shinagun had managed to make another bridgehead across the Yellow River, this time at Linru. The costs of the battle were high, with 4,342 Japanese KIA and 2,836 Chinese KIA. 1 Shinagun had reached the limits of the Northern Chinese Plain and began to encroach upon the Dabie Mountains in the south. This battle marked the first of many battles where casualties favored the Chinese and losses on the IJA's side were heavier. In addition, China's undeveloped infrastructure was raising attrition amongst the entire IJA, and supply problems were common.

The Battle of Linru marked the beginning of a trend of battles where the IJA suffered very heavy losses


China's poor infrastructure wasn't the only cause of supply problems and attrition. Partisans ran rampant in the areas behind the front lines, as Communist and KMT guerrillas sabotaged roads, rails, and ambushed IJA peacekeepers. The situation in Suiyuan and Shanxi exploded into outright rebellion in mid-March, as 18,000 Chinese partisans grouped together and formed 2 divisions of organized resistance fighters. Since 1 Shinagun had its full attention focused on the front lines, a cavalry division stationed along the Soviet border was dispatched to deal with the sword-armed rabble. It would take months to clear out rebels.

A massive partisan uprising in Suiyuan province


2 Shinagun would face similar problems to what 1 Shinagun faced in the north. The terrain in south China was characterized by forested mountains with farming villages hiding amongst the various mountain valleys. Such terrain favored the local Chinese, who could hide in the mountains and ambush Japanese divisions as they fought to occupy the area. Even with Japan's superior artillery and support from IJN carrier-based aircraft, rooting out the defenders from the mountains was slow and deadly work for IJA infantry. Even worse was the jungles of Jiangxi province, which made it easy for defenders to conduct ambushes by hiding in the thick vegetation. One such battle was the battle of Yichun, which saw 2,041 Japanese KIA compared to 1,002 Chinese KIA.

As the terrain in China's interior grew more extreme, taking land became much more difficult¹


Finally, as planned, on March 30 the SNLF began their invasion of Hainan Island. The Island's main port, Haikou, was undefended, but a militia division was stationed on the island and quickly dispatched. It would only take a week to clear the island of organized resistance and begin phase 2 of the offensive: the capture of Guangzhou.

The SNLF quickly occupied Hainan Island


The front lines on April 2, 1938


China's government is on the verge of collapse²


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1. You can see some infantry divisions hanging out again. The AI moved them there so they could regain org in safety, but forgot to move them back. Again I had to save-reload to fix the sleepy 3.062 AI. The tank division is also moving away from the front in order to regain org, as it was near-zero after defending Nangsha from a counter-attack.

2. China starts off with an NU of about 80. It's now around 76, because I've been performing strat bombing non-stop.

Wallienator said:

Those are quite some decisions.

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The mod has a lot of decisions you'll end up ignoring. The Release Puppet one, for example. Some people hate puppets, so that decision lets you release them to conquer later or do whatever else you'd like to do. The Naval Models decision doesn't work for Japan yet, but is almost complete for Germany. What it does is fire up a "menu" event where you can see what tech components are needed to build every ship model in the mod.

robw963 said:

Infrastructure, terrain and partisans...it's a slow grind in there but Chinese surrender progress is proof you're wearing them down. I'm just curious, why is China aligned so extremely toward the Axis on the diplo-chart? Shouldn't they be in the Allied corner? Did I miss something earlier?

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FelixMajor said:

I believe China begins with a moderate Axis alignment because they're paternal autocrats which fit well with the Axis. Germany had a military mission in China until 1938 if I'm not mistaken. Ribbentrop, Japanese success in destroying the seeds of Chinese military industrialization, and the Sino-Soviet non-aggression pact would finally put an end to warm happy relations between the Reich and China.

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FelixMajor's right. Starting in the '20s Germany exported weapons and sent trainers to China, which continued until 1938. Von Falkenhausen, future governor-general of German-occupied Holland, was one of the advisers and is a Chinese leader in the game. The base game is backwards; Japan should be further from the Axis corner than China, and the mod swaps the positions of the two nations.

SSmith said:

This does indeed look like a slow grind at the moment but the outcome doesn't seem in any doubt.

I'm curious about the rebellion in the north. Which AI level were you using? Was it one of your front line combat AIs? And did it actually manage clear up the mess with just one cavalry division?

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I'm using AI control at the army group level. The AI steadfastly refused to send troops to deal with the uprising, so I detached a cavalry division in Korea and sent it west. If I had used the theater-level, then the AI probably would've taken care of the partisans, but it also would've left valuable units sitting in every VP I've captured so far. I really don't like the theater AI, because it has a really bad habit of using tanks to garrison 1-VP provinces.

Hardradi said:

The front line has made excellent progress, even under AI control (with a bit of nudging). Thats quite a partisan force to deal with.

Are the higher casualty rates the AI's fault?

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Not really. The high casualties have more to do with crossing rivers while attacking forest, jungle, and mountain provinces.

RogueLeprechaun said:

Does China suffer a national unity penalty for units fighting on the homefront?

You mentioned units being moved off the front to regain ORG, how is the army holding up in general? Do you have enough units to keep your front line moving forward with decent ORG? Or are things starting to slow down?

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I think China does suffer a NU hit, but Ma Clique troops are fighting too so that lowers the penalty.

The army is holding up quite well given the circumstances, even if it can only field 1 division per province on average. The two fronts linking up has actually shortened the front line each army group needs to cover, so my AI sending troops away to recover isn't as bad a thing as it was earlier. Things are definitely slowing down though, as the mountains begin to take their toll. Everything will speed up again in the next month, as the southern army group's infantry finish their training.

Chapter 12: The Capture of Guangzhou - April 3, 1938 to May 2, 1938

Despite being at war for almost a year, Japan's foreign policy was, to put it mildly, lacking in foresight and creativity. Before the war started, Japan's main geo-strategic objective was to pry the Soviet Far East out of the hands of the communists and to install a communist-free puppet state in the area. However, war with China radically altered those plans, as the IJA lacked the strength to fight a 2-front war. In addition, the war in China also strained Japan's already thin ties with the western Imperialist powers, with the United States in particular becoming uncomfortably vocal and belligerent. From a realistic perspective, Japan's plans for Siberia had to be shelved for the time being, and in their place plans were drawn up to protect Japan in the event that the Western democracies declared war.

Part of the new plan was to strengthen ties with Europe's major pariah states, Germany and Italy. Italy's invasion of Ethiopia caused it to be spurned by France and the UK, leaving Germany as Italy's only remaining potential ally in Europe. Likewise, Germany had few friends in Europe and despite its efforts to rearm was greatly weakened by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Despite their shortcomings, Italy, Germany, and Japan had several things in common that would make an alliance between them advantageous. First, the geographical separation of the two European nations and Japan was both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, each side could expect little to no assistance from the other, while on the other hand that very same separation would force their enemies to split their forces. A divided Royal Navy and Marine Nationale could allow for the Regina Marina and Imperial Japanese Navy to establish local superiority over their enemies. The risk, of course, was that the Allies would focus their naval might on one opponent at a time. In such a situation, the RM would likely be targeted first, which from the Japanese perspective was ideal, since such a move by the Allies would allow Japan to liberate their Asian colonies without much effort, thus securing natural resources vital to Japan's economy.

Japan signs the Anti-Comintern Pact


Japan had earlier signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, which was a highly symbolic treaty signed between the world's autocratic powers denouncing communism. Building on the increased relations the signing of the pact brought, Japan sought for Germany to clarify its stance on the issues surrounding German military aid to China. It was a well-known fact that a German was leading one of China's armies and that some Chinese divisions were equipped with German grenades, guns, and and helmets. If Germany were to recognize Manchukuo as a sovereign state, something no other nation had done up to this point, then it would be fully aligning itself with Japan in the conflict that seemed to be approaching and would be forced to withdraw its advisers to China and cease weapon shipments. On April 2, 1938, Germany decided to recognize Manchukuo.

Germany becomes the first nation to recognize Manchukuo as a sovereign state¹


Five days later, on the front lines the SNLF had finally taken China's last major port city of Guangzhou and had also begun to secure the coast of Guangdong. The SNLF would ultimately capture 5 NRA militia divisions. The port city of Fangchenggang would eventually hold out until China's surrender. The capture of Guangzhou was highly symbolic, as the city is the birthplace of the Republic of China, and Chinese morale dropped considerably. Chiang's regime was on the brink of collapse, and the ongoing offensive looked like it would succeed quickly.

The SNLF invades southern Guangdong province


Unfortunately, the IJN's and Tokyo's optimism wasn't felt on the front lines. The IJA had finally reach the limits of the Northern Chinese Plain and thus the "easy" battles would come to an end. 2 Shinagun had been fighting in jungles and canyons for quite some time, and by April 25, the southernmost elements of 1 Shinagun had begun to fight in the same terrain. The bloody Battle of Zhongxiang saw the IJA lose 2,242 soldiers during a failed river crossing while the NRA lost 990 men. The battle was a major defeat for the IJA and was one of the few attempts to advance the front lines that was repelled.

Another typical battle in the Chinese interior, with heavy Japanese losses²


The front lines on May 2, 1938³


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1) What happens in-game is that China loses the 30% officer recruitment bonus it gets from German aid, loses Von Falkenhausen as a general, loses out on a money bonus and loses a rare materials production penalty. Germany now has less rares than it used to but more money.

2) You'll notice that Germany is asking me to join the Axis. I'm going to hold off on joining until France falls for several reasons. First, threat is scaled on many things, including faction membership, and I'm generating a lot of threat. I don't want to help the Allies reduce their neutrality more than I already am. Second, there is the potential for the Allies to start WW2 instead of Germany, and I don't want to join the war until I'm ready to do so. That means China needs to be pacified and the IJA brought home.

3) The partisan uprising still hasn't been suppressed by the AI, though the cavalry division I detached is getting close. At this point the partisans ran out of supplies and stopped moving.

SSmith said:

The neat little amphibious operation in the south should have quite an impact. Surely China can't last much longer - are you intending then to create the Jingwei puppet?

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Yes, I'll create the Jingwei puppet. The puppet makes everything go much smoother after its made, and I haven't created it yet because doing so will hurt my supply lines.

RogueLeprechaun said:

Nice, looks like things should be wrapped up sooner rather than later in China.

When can we expect an update on your research goals and plans for your forces?

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Once things are wrapped up in China I'll have an entire chapter dedicated to research and production. It won't be too much longer until I write that chapter

Chapter 13: The Battles of Xi'an and Changsha - May 3, 1938 to July 2, 1938

The months of May and June would see several major events take place, both in China and in Europe. The biggest event was the completion of 4 Homengun's regular infantry divisions, which were deployed to China in early May. These 10 infantry divisions were composed of 3 brigades each with an additional brigade of horse-drawn heavy artillery. These extra troops would provide the critical punch needed for 2 Shinagun to advance along the Yangtze River and end the war. The soldiers were critically needed, as shown by the May 4, 1938 Battle of Xianning, in which 2,120 IJA soldiers were killed and 1,184 NRA soldiers were KIA. Both 1 Shinagun in the north and 2 Shinagun in the south were exhausted, but so were their Chinese opponents. The arrival of 4 Homengun's fresh infantry would tip the scales in the IJA's favor.

The Battle of Xianning was another typical battle in the Chinese interior


On the same day the Battle of Xianning ended, the Battle of Changsha¹ began. Changsha was a major rail-hub for southern China, as every rail line going from the north to Guangxi province or Hong Kong in the south passed through Changsha. Taking the city would cut off British aid coming in from Hong Kong and deliver a major morale blow to the Kuomintang leadership. Throughout the course of the battle, at most 2 IJA divisions were engaged in the fighting while a total of 6 Chinese divisions participated in the Battle. On May 18, Chiang Kai-Shek himself took command of the city's defense, but his efforts were in vain. On May 20, 1938 the Battle of Changsha was over, with 1,209 IJA soldiers KIA compared to 977 NRA KIA. The Chinese' main weakness during the battle was their lack of organization. Most Chinese defenders fled shortly after being fired upon.

The capture of Changsha left only 4 major cities under KMT control


Following the capture of Changsha, 1 Shinagun to the north captured the major city of Xi'an on June 10 after only a few hours of fighting. The NRA militia defending the city was not prepared to fight seasoned IJA soldiers supported by heavy artillery and left after taking 933 KIA, while killing 123 Japanese attackers. Xi'an was the last major stop on the railway heading east to Xhuzhou, and was of vital strategic importance. The city also was one of the final locations of China's heavy industry that managed to be relocated from the Nanjing-Shanghai area, and its capture dealt a major blow to Chinese morale. At this stage of the war, the KMT's leadership was on the brink of collapse and the loss of one more major city would cause the entire government to fall.

The capture of Xi'an meant that China's collapse was imminent


To the south, the capture of Changsha opened up China's second major southern rail junction of Hengyang to a flanking attack. The Battle of Hengyang was concluded on June 23, with 3,034 IJA soldiers killed and 1,840 NRA soldiers killed. The capture of Hengyang would allow for a multi-directional attack on Changde in order to end the war. The attack on Changde was slated to begin in July.

Hengyang's capture secured 2 Shinagun's southern flank, allowing it to devote many troops to the upcoming Battle of Changde


At the same time, 1 Shinagun's fortunes in the north were fading. The northern army group was fighting roughly 80% of the NRA, and the rough terrain was causing serious problems. It was at Fangxian (Fang County) where the IJA suffered its worst "defeat". The goal of the battle was to cross the Hanshui River and shorten the front. However, Chinese divisions were dug in to the forests of the county, and fought back viciously, inflicting almost 4 times as many casualties as they received. However, despite the NRA's heroic defense of the county, they were no match for Japanese tenacity and the battle was over on July 1, 1938. The battle was a Japanese Pyrrhic Victory, with the IJA suffering 13,572 KIA and the NRA suffering 3,961 KIA. It was by-far the largest battle of the war, and the most costly for either side. When news of the battle reached Japan, confidence in the government dropped and the few vocal calls to stop the war became louder.

The Battle of Fangxian could hardly be called a victory²


The front lines on July 8, 1938


Meanwhile, events in Europe during the months of May and June continued to steer the continent toward war. On May 8, Germany peacefully annexed Austria, and a day later Italy formed a defensive alliance with Germany, formally forming the Axis Powers. After the so-called Anschluss, Germany again approached the Empire of Japan with an offer to form a defensive alliance against the Soviet Union, but the Emperor once again declined, saying only that "the current situation is not advantageous to Japan", but conceding that should the situation in China and Europe change Japan would be willing to accept the offer.

On May 8, the Anschluss of Austria started in motion a series of events that would lead to World War 2


Several hours after the Pyrrhic victory at Fangxian, Tokyo learned of the result of the Treaty of Munich. Not content with annexing Austria, German dictator Adolf Hitler put into motion his plans to incorporate all areas with large German populations into a Greater German Reich, and his next target was the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia. Not willing to enter another war with Germany, the UK agreed to the land transfer despite protests from the Czech government, who wasn't represented at the negotiations. France also objected, but was unwilling to go to war without the backing of the British Empire. Abandoned by their allies, the Czechs reluctantly agreed to hand over the Sudetenland to Germany, an area that contained 1/4 of Czechoslovakia's heavy industry and population and virtually all of Czechoslovakia's static defenses.

Germany continues to steer Europe toward war


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1) There were several Battles of Changsha. The one I linked to here is the 1939 battle. Here are links to the 1941, 1942, and 1944 battles.

2) Yes, the KIA totals are backwards in the battle event