My apologies for this most ungodly delay~
Good news: A huge fatass new update.
Bad news: There are still ~40 Screenshots I've got to work my magic on (told you last session was long), so the next update might be a bit shorter.
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Chapter XVIII - Infernal Arsenal of the Sun
Early 1948 saw the end of Sternberg's Mongolian Empire. For years it stood there secluded but powerful as one of the world's greatest industrial and military powers. But the wide steppes of Central Siberia had been conquered by Axis Forces from all over the World & the Tibetan Himalaya once again became Home of the Chinese Dragon and so did Ulaanbaatar.
This brought a big geo-strategical change to the war between Axis Mundi & Japanese East Asia. Now a direct frontline to Transamur was established and Fleischer immediatly moved his forces...
The Qing Empire - strengthened by the acquisition of Mongolia and Tibet - decided to make use of the current political situation to regain it's former lands of Manchuria. The Japanese Fengtien Republic's leadership showed readiness for negotiations and within a few weeks, Manchuria switched sides and was reintegrated into the Qing Empire, giving the Japanese Sphere a severe manpower-blow.
Not only that, though: With most of their forces concentrated in Eastern Siberia, the East Asian Alliance was open and vulnerable for potential chinese attacks, which followed the very hour Zhang Zueling pledged his loyalty to the Qing Emperor. Haakon was happy - now Japan would definitly bleed dry...
Following the doctrine of "My enemy's enemy is my friend", Wrangel sent massive military equipment and supplies to the Qing as a little present. Relations between both nations warmed up further thanks to the Qing delivering Sternberg to Petrograd, where he was hung up and put on display for several days.
Eventually, the Qing officially entered the Axis, which led Fleischer to move his forces to Beijing and Nanjing in order to resupply and prepare for possible Japanese Naval Invasions. However, he seemed to be the only one...
Russia gaining the former lands of Xibei Lianbang Yiyuan from it's conquest of Sternberg's Empire decided not to include yet another ethnic minority into their state and released another puppet, which led to small internal frictions with the Qing. For now however there were more pressing matters at hand.
Fleischer's predictions turned out to be true: the Japanese landed near Nanjing. But the Norwegian Forces were still far from the Chinese Coast and most Quing units had been redeployed to the Korean Front. The speed, logistics, equipment and strength of these enemy forces was unseen by that point and quickly overwhelmed the few Axis troops stationed in the region.
With Haakon's whole Colonial Navy entering the Chinese Sea, a devestating defeat was dealt to the IJN and was witnessed the by the IJA Forces of Port Arthur. This victory was a hollow one, though since most Chinese, Peruan, La Platan & Greek Vessels were already sunk by the IJN, which merely lost a fraction of it's forces in that battle.
By September 1948 it got way worse: While slow but steady breakthroughs were being made against Transamur, the Korean Front became a complete stalemate with several million men entrenched on both sides, unopposed IJA Forces rolled through the Chinese Heartland. Only few Axis troops managed to organize a feeble defense ring in the north in order not to let Beijing fall...
Changzhou became a prime example of that phase in the war: Well-equipped modern Japanese Infantry was facing a bled-out & out-dated Russian Infantry Division and the line was merely held by Haakon's Motorized Troops and a left-over of the Alg. Ostasien GmbH. Had the tide turned? Would the ally considered so valuable turn out to be a weakness?
It was time for drastic measures. Haakon tapped female labour forces for the factories, so he could free up more men for Norway to recruit. Oslo was sure, that this could become a long war. The same thing would be issued again barely one year later to free every men able to carry a rifle and serve the Axis.
In October, even the Qing realized that things had turned really bad really fast. The resistance at Changzhou however inspired every last men under Wrangel's command. The city has been held for quite some time now - longer than any other fortress against the IJN. Reinforcements were sent now that Transamur was starting to draw it's last breath and only snow could slow down the Russian advances. The defensive ring got thicker...
For all the strength the IJA & IJN showed, the IJAF lacked it. Total air domination was achieved by late 1948 which didn't just take care of the remaining Japanese vessels (cutting off reinforcements and supply for the IJA in China), but also of the industrial powerhouse those islands had. Things bombings were taken so far, that even Formosa dealt with open riots and changed to a Socialist System (which did not help at all as they didn't leave the Japanese Sphere).
With Japanese Infantry now concentrating on breaking the Beijing Defense Ring, Fleischer and his Russian allies were outnumbered and outgunned by all means and resorted to slow retreat buying more time, which was all they had against Japan. La Plata staged a few naval landings on it's own, but soon found that Tojo did not leave the beaches vulnerable like Pu Yi did.
Bled-out but successful, Fleischer for the 1st time would command a combined Axis Army Group of 13 Divisions and against all odds prevailed. By now he had gained renown even outside of Europe receiving several medals from Axis Partner Nations.
By mid-1949 the trenches of Korea did not move a single centimeter, but Axis Forces dominated the skies and got dangerously close the Japanese Home Islands. Time indeed did not favour Hirohito's alliance this time. "I should have acted back then, when I still could." as the Emperor later stated.
The surrender of Transamur brought about the birth of "Asia's USA". Fearing a similar fate as Sternberg had, the Transamuran leadership surrendered to Beijing instead of Petrograd which brought the acquiration of Kamchatka for Pu Yi leading the his empire becoming a mirror-image of the USA and Alaska. With hundreds of divisions now freed up, counter offensives were started as the Beijing Defensive Ring could not shrink any further. "At the very last moment..." Fleischer wrote in his diary.
As the IJA had entered Tibet westwards, the Norwegian High Command conceived a plan of making a well-placed cut towards neutral Yunnan and therefore starve the Japanese Forces in the West. The lack of supplies from the Home Islands already showed, as most IJA Divisions lacked any strength to fight back. It was concluded that this must've stopped them from taking Beijing earlier that year.
The offensive moved fast a saw the Japanese fleeing in disarray. Only at Uqai they finally managed to mount a proper resistance stopping their forces from being cut apart. Still, now that the Axis also dominated the seas, a La Platan landing in South Korea forced the local HQ to redeploy forces entrenched in the north to fend this invasion off. This tipped the balance at the northern front in favour of the Axis.
Haakon immediatly issued a Special Royal Medal for this ingenius military maneuver that turned out to completely break a stalemate, that had lasted for 1,5 years. The following operations became famous as "The Christmas Offensives".
Then it happened: Fleischer would be the one to face off against Tojo Hideki himself. It would be Haakon's men breaking the Hero of Japan in a battle out in the vast nothingness of Western China. The symbolic value of that battle was immeasurable. Especially in Norway the feeling of invincibility emerged and not just within nationalist circles.
As the last men of the La Platan Expeditionary Corps made their last stand at Busan, reinforcements arrived pushing the Koreans back to Seoul. With the Christmas Offensive stuck on the die-hard resistance of the bulk of the IJN at Port Arthur, this was yet again a very valuable assistance by the South American Partner. In occupied Busan - another important landmark of the war - La Plata built an Axis War Museum for the local people to witness the sheer superiority of the alliance that spanned the globe.