The Setting Sun - Gotterdammerung, Japan 1944.

19​

The Allies had been trying for years to gain a foothold behind the Japanese lines and had been repeatedly thrown back into the sea during every such attempt. Allied Commanders suffered from three major weaknesses when planning amphibious invasions. A lack of available forces to adequately back up the initial assault and a lack of Transport capacity to move troops ever since the Japanese threw the British out of Borneo causing massive losses to the Allied Merchant Marine. The third and possibly most important problem the Allies were facing was a lack of Air support at the invasion site.​

The recent gains made by American forces in Finland were suffering from the same symptoms as previous invasions. Obata's Tactical bomber group was systematically reducing the beach heads and preventing any major gains being made as the Allies failed to adequately reinforce the landings and had little to no air support.​

Progress in southern Africa was being made at a high speed but Higashikuni knew that any further advances were likely to be considerably slower as terrain and fatigue began to drain his forces.​

North Africa had been an area of quiet in the storm of battle around the World but Higashikuni had managed to gain a critical edge as Lt. General Yuyoushi joined Mj. General Kawashima in Tanta. The extra firepower brought with the second Infantry division was enough to overpower the defences of Alexandria which would allow Itabana's bombers much easier access to more vunerable Allied troops.​

Japanese ground attacks were rare in Europe as Hata was required to make certain that the enemy was guaranteed to lose any battle. The current weather and supply situation largely dictated the pace of any counter offensive made by the Commander of the Central Asia Army.​

Removing the remaining dug in enemy division in Vinnitsa required little effort by Lt. General Iida's Infantry corps as Shimoyama's Dive bombers had already disorganised the defenders. Iida would not be advancing after the easy victory as Hata allowed the bombers to destroy the retreating enemy.​

The surprise of Operation Perfidious had still not been overcome by the Allies as Higashikuni's forces in South Africa kept up their blistering pace and achieved their objectives in a timely manner.​

The capture of Cape Town by Lt. General Homma forced the Transport fleet in it's port to head out to see where Carrier Group D was waiting. Aircraft from IJN Zuikaku quickly accounted for the enemy vessels.​

Yuyoushi required a little over three days to advance and capture Alexandria as he arrived at 1500 hours on the 5th of February. Allied forces had taken Cairo in the mean time but Itabana had already destroyed the retreating Armoured division and was beginning to thin out the remaining Allied divisions in the area. Higashikuni's Africa Army was entering a new phase of operations as it began to expand in both the north and south.​

The area around Kiev had been cleared of enemy troops once more which left Shimoyama a wide range of possible target areas. The Romanian border was not a good choice as the defenders had been given ample time to dig in and any air attacks would only inflict minor damage. Hata ordered Shimoyama deep behind enemy lines.​

Stryj was the chosen target as the bombers headed into the airspace around Lvov. Both Tanaka and Fukui were escorting the more fragile bombers to offer as much protection as possible. The reports that Hata got back from Shimoyama indicated that the enemy was indeed very weak in the area opposite Kiev and a possible counter attack could be launched to at least try and regain some of the lost territory.​

Mamoru had already made the necessary alteration to one of his lists before the summoned Ambassador arrived in his offices. For the first time in a while a list shrunk rather than expanding.​

The South African Ambassador had brought the keys to his own Embassy along as he knew why Mamoru had summoned him. Japanese forces led by Mj. General Kawarada had arrived as predicted in Johannesburg. Back in 1944 the amount of Energy recovered from the annexation would have brought great cheer to Minister Mamoru, but a few thousand tonnes of the commodity were no longer worthy of celebration given the enormous Japanese stockpile. Little else was liberated.​

Encounters between Japanese bombers and enemy Interceptors were not uncommon but were usually avoided. Only one bomber group was operating without it's own interceptor group and this was the one that was attacked.​

Obata was not defenseless of course as he had dedicated Escort Fighters within his formation. Those veteran Escorts managed to inflict severe casualties to the Greek Interceptors that had attacked the bomber group. Almost half of the attacking aircraft had been shot down inside two hours and the remainder returned to their base in Oulu an hour later which left Obata to continue his ground attack mission.​

Two hours after Obata had been attacked, Fukudome began a dogfight of his own as he intercepted a Yugoslav Tactical bomber formation over Baranowicze at 0900 hours. By 1100 hours one outdated enemy squadron had been totally destroyed with a second following at 1200 hours. The third would not escape either as Fukudome's experienced pilots tore it to pieces.​

Higashikuni had moved some of his beach defending forces west towards Port Said as the threat of an enemy invasion had greatly reduced. This now gave him the numerical edge in the north as Itabana had destroyed most enemy opposition.​

Cairo would soon be back in Japanese hands as two divisions began their advance on February 6th.​

The rebasing of two Japanese Tactical bomber wings to Cape Town had greatly increased the hunting grounds available to the bombers. Tsukahara led his wing along the west African coast where he encountered an American Transport fleet heading south. Several smaller fleets would be spotted heading this way which gave the Imperial Japanese Navy ample time to intercept if required.​

The Emperor had chosen to speak with several of his Cabinet Ministers following the monthly meeting and had expressed upon them certain plans that He had been concocting. No fancy new offensive had been discussed but there were clearly some things on the Emperors' mind that had been clarified during the meeting.​

An offer made by the Italian Ambassador would lead Mamoru back to His Emperors' chambers to determine if the timing was right. The Swiss Ambassador had accompanied his Italian counterpart to broker the trade deal as his Country was notoriously neutral to events occuring in the World at large. They did not have to wait long for Mamoru to return to his office and respond to the possible trade agreement.

"Gentlemen, thank you for your patience." Mamoru said after returning from the Imperial Palace.

"You are most welcome Minister Mamoru. I trust the Emperor thought about our little deal before agreeing to it? It is after all beneficial to both Nations involved." replied the Swiss Ambassador confidently.

"He did indeed think on it Ambassador. The Emperor has decided to offer a different proposal."

"Oh?" asked the Italian Ambassador thinking of a larger Trade being made.​

"I have been asked to inform you that Japan has no need of such a Trade agreement at this time, and the Emperor thinks that His interests would be better suited by invading both of your Countries and taking by force what you Gentlemen are offering."

"Is this some kind of joke?" asked the Italian Ambassador.

"I can assure you that the Emperor is not even remotely joking Ambassador. Please inform your respective Governments that a State of War now exists between them and the Japanese Empire."

The two astonished Ambassadors left Mamorus' office shaking their heads in disbelief, leaving the Japanese Foreign Minister time to talk to his assistant, who quickly noted down his Ministers requirements.

A procession of Ambassadors were seen arriving and leaving the Japanese Diplomatic offices shortly afterwards.​

The list of Japan's enemies grew as the Ambassadors from the Netherlands, Denmark, Nationalist Spain and Luxemburg were informed that they too were now at War with Japan. Minister Jun had impressed upon the Emperor during the meeting at the beginning of the month that his aircraft were beginning to find it more difficult to find decent targets in the West and some fresh enemies could easily be accomodated at this time. The Emperor did not wish to have his main bomber wings idle and had agreed to give them some extra work at a convenient time.

Minister Kuniaki's agents estimated that an additional one hundred or more enemy divisions would now be making their way towards the Soviet border to suppliment the already large Allied presence.​

The latest intelligence report on France backed up such numbers as the French Army swelled to a size that gave it more Infantry divisions than the Imperial Japanese Army possessed. The Emperor was undaunted by such numbers as He was supremely confident in His own Armed Forces ability to defeat any such force after the destruction of the Red Army.​

Obata had not needed much time to annihilate the remaining American troops in Finland which left him the freedom to move onto his next task.​

The destruction of enemy surface ships in the Baltic Sea to prevent further invasions. A small anti-Submarine fleet would be his first find as he searched along the Swedish coast. The Light Cruiser, USS Santa Fe, would not survive the bombing runs made by Obata's bombers.​

Operation Perfidious had a number of objectives and the capture of South Africa was but one. Ozawa was also required to support follow-up landings throughout eastern Africa.​

Imamura and Banzai had not stayed long in South Africa and began their latest venture as they headed towards the vacant port of Mogadishu. The beaches along the eastern coast of Africa had all been protected by South African troops under British control and it appeared as though the fall of South Africa had led to them abandoning their posts.​

The Central Asia Army had been building up forces around Grodno for some time and the enemy had been almost constantly bombed during that process. Several weeks had been required to prepare the Japanese troops for combat as they recovered from long trips and the infrastructure was rebuilt.​

General Dohihara led twelve Japanese divisions forwards on February 9th as Hata finally decided that it was time to turn up the pressure on the Allied front line. Softening up attacks had already been made by Nakajima's Dive bomber group which allowed for a quick victory that would see ten Japanese divisions advance towards Grodno from Wilno and Lida, including all six of Japan's Armoured divisions.​

The first consequence of the added Declarations of War occured in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The annexation of South Africa had gained the island of Crete which had been controlled by the former Country. The presence of a large Energy reserve had sent several Japanese convoys to the island to recover the stockpile.​

Intelligence reports had not given the Italian Airforce many squadrons but there were clearly quite a few Naval bombers amongst them. Convoy losses began to mount quickly as these aircraft hammered the unprotected merchant ships. Minister Jun would respond by sending Tanaka and Fukui to the North African coast to neutralise this new threat. They would require some time to recover from their journey before they could halt these attacks.​

Operation Influx

20​

The Imperial Japanese Airforce had taken a few months to gain control over the Western Front but had managed to inflict serious damage upon it's enemies, largely due to the total abscence of both Fighter Command and the United States Airforce Fighter wings. Intial problems due to a shortage of Interceptors had been overcome with the smaller enemy Nations air cover slowly being destroyed. There had also been a very steep decline in the number of Strategic attacks against Japanese Industry and Airfields as the major Nations suffered large losses to their bombing assets.​

The main tactic used by Minister Jun and his sub-commanders throughout this period had been multiple wing interceptions against enemy bombing formations. The easiest way to conduct such operations was to allow the enemy to try and bomb the airfields containing the Interceptor squadrons. Fukudome and Watanabe had spent a large part of the time in the northern part of the line and had frequently attacked enemy formations targetting their main airbase in Kaunas.

Mj. General Denny had led several of these raids for British Bomber Command and lost a lot of his aircraft over time even though he always managed to severely damage his target. Today he would meet Fukudome and Watanabe over Kaunas once again and the results would not be to his liking. Both Japanese wings were airborne together and quickly engaged the incoming bombers as they began their approach to the airfield making them more vunerable as they lost their ability to evade. The Japanese wings were used to dealing with the Escort Fighters by now and had gained a lot of experience, making their job considerably easier.

After only one hour of the dogfight Denny had lost almost forty percent of his bombers but was left with little choice but to continue with his attack. The next three hours were disasterous for the British Commander as one by one his squadrons vanished from radar as they were systematically destroyed. The airfield at Kaunas suffered a high degree of damage but none of the enemy bombers would be returning.​

Minister Ginjiro had long sought to improve the infrastructure of the Japanese mainland as some provinces were well below the high standards set by Tokyo and other major cities. The completion of the major upgrades to the Japanese Airforce bomber squadrons had allowed him enough spare capacity to begin the slow process of road and rail construction.​

Seven provinces would benefit from the improvements which would allow resources and troops to move more swiftly once they were completed. Ginjiro had no immediate plans to spread the measures to the Asian continent even though it sorely needed a major investment in infrastructure.​

Ginjiro had also discussed the Imperial Japanese Navy's future requirements with Minister Osami and production began on twenty new Transport Flotillas, which were gong to be needed to transport Japanese troops as the redeployment distances increased. Another twelve more modern Destroyer Flotillas were also ordered with additional Convoy ships being added to list a week later.​

Some of Higashikuni's forces were being protected by the Imperial Japanese Navy as they conducted more landings along the eastern coast of Africa but there was only a small chance of any enemy fleet arriving in the area that could seriously hamper the invasions.​

The guns of IJN Fuso quickly ended the passage of the Walter Reed Flotilla as it tried to transit through the Southeast Coast of Somalia. What it was doing there and where it was going would remain a mystery. Imamura and Banzai came ashore and captured Mogadishu an hour later. They would not remain there long.​

On February 11th Yoyoushi led another attack along the northern coast as two Japanese Infantry divisions overcame the Garrison of El Alamein with support from Itabana, who had eliminated all Allied opposition across this zone for the time being, which allowed for a multi-pronged advance by Higashikuni's small North African forces.​

Obata was being allowed to continue to pursue enemy shipping in the Baltic Sea as there were an inadequate number of Allied ground forces on the Western Front to need his services in that area.​

The Light Cruiser USS Cleveland was sunk along with the Transport Flotilla that it was supposed to be protecting as both Obata and Sakai pounced on the fleet as it tried to head north.​

The loss of convoy ships around the Mediterranean island of Crete was a concern for Higashikuni as Japan did not possess much of a spare capacity in such craft for the time being. Supplies could begin to be adversely effected if the Italian Naval bombers could not be neutralised.​

Under normal circumstances he did not like to lose any territory but in this instance the Spanish had done him a huge favour by landing troops on Crete and removing the need to send Japanese convoys to the island.​

More good news also arrived from Admiral Kaga who had set sail from Diego Garcia with six Infantry divisions from Australia and the Indian Ocean islands. His immediate plans were to sail into the West Gulf of Aden and await further orders upon arrival.​

The Spanish Mountaineers that had captured Crete would suffer for their impudence shortly afterwards as Itabana blew them apart. Itabana was running short of land based targets and would have little choice but to switch to scouring the western Mediterranean for shipping after finishing the Spanish troops off.​

Hata's thoughts turned towards offence more and more as the Allied front line began to crumble in the face of the onslaught by Nakajima and Shimoyama's Dive bomber wings. He had been in Asia when the same situation had occured to the Red Army and he knew when to start pushing back against what had appeared to be an overwhelming enemy.​

The capture of Grodno had left him with the option to advance further into a hole that had appeared in the Allied line. He ordered both of his Armoured corps into the breech and sent them towards Bialystok where the terrain was more suitable for tanks.​

The first of the new enemy Nations forces arrived over the Western Front at 0700 hours in the shape of a Dutch Dive bomber squadron. Fukudome needed little time or fuel to indoctrinate the Royal Dutch Airforce as he slaughtered the unescorted bombers over Baranowicze.​

Tanaka and Fukui had been sent to North Africa to remove the threat posed by Italian Naval bombers but the loss of Crete had seen the enemy vanish as they no longer had cause to search for Japanese convoys. Fortunately the experienced Interceptor wings would find other prey.​

An American Strategic bomber wing, which had been operating across the region for a few weeks, made the mistake of trying to bomb the airbase in Alexandria where Tanaka and Fukui were based. Bad weather would do the American bomber crews no good as the elite Interceptor wings of the Imperial Japanese seized their chance and made short work of the bombers. Fukui's wing in particular contained only a handful of pilots that had not flown around North Africa for months. His squadrons were not only elite amongst the Interceptor forces but also among the entire Imperial Japanese Airforce. Another four enemy Strategic bomber squadrons would fail to return to base.​

Higashikuni was growing more confident as time passed with his troops meeting much less resistance across Africa than had been predicted. The two Marine divisions at his disposal had sailed from Mogadishu as soon as possible and had headed north where they began another invasion. Normal practice was to seize all ports and airbases quickly which made Djibouti an obvious target for Imamura and Banzai. Again there was a total lack of enemy forces in close proximity.​

In the Mediterranean Itabana and Sakai had gone ship hunting. Their first sighting was a Brazilian Transport Flotilla in the Levant Sea which quickly vanished beneath the waves as it tried to embark troops from Cyprus. An enemy fleet was known to be in the port on the island of Cyprus and it was attacked twelve hours later. Two of the three Canadian Transport Flotillas would be lost.​