Thanks to all those who've taken time out of their busy lives to read this AAR. And of course to those who don't mind a lack of screenshots and pictures.
I’ve reached July 1940 in the game and game speed is beginning to slow down as WWII goes into fully swing. Denmark and Norway has been annexed by the Germans, Finland held out during the Winter War, and Belgium and the Netherlands have been overrun. Hmmm, come to think of it the preceding sentences could be construed as an AAR in and of themselves.
--
Padre Manuel's War: Part III - December 1939 – July 1940
The fortunes of the Commonwealth took a turn for the better as the Army played one tribal Datu off another. Personal ambitions began to outweigh any coherent sense of a future Moro State and Muslim Filipinos began to see the benefits of political integration with the Commonwealth. The remaining Moro rebels began to concentrate themselves in the Zamboanga peninsula, in South-West Mindanao and prepared themselves for the eventual Filipino campaign. Sea power had proven decisive throughout the course of the insurgency as it enabled the Commonwealth to rapidly shift forces from one area of Mindanao to the next.
Soldiers of the I. Philippine Corps now found themselves stationed in Zamboanga City. The city was founded in 1635 and served as a way station for Spanish patrols in the Sulu Sea. Zamboanga City was one of the few solidly Catholic areas controlled by the central government; this contrasted sharply with the countryside which continued to be dominated by Islamic Moros. Lieutenant Borbón found himself and his platoon assigned to pickets, 10 miles outside the city proper. Picket Duty was viewed as trite owing to the fact that the Moros had stopped assaulting urban centers for lack of manpower. The monotony was relived by radio broadcasts and mail call every Saturday. Radio Manila was by far the most popular station having a balanced combination of news broadcasts and music. Most news filtering its way via the airwaves dealt with the status of the Commonwealth Navy, the war in Europe, the war in China, and the occasional broadcast about the war in Mindanao. Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands had fallen to the Germans. The Soviets had taken the Baltic States and were barely driven from Finland by Mannerheim. The United Front in China and the Japanese had fought to a stalemate in China. And the Commonwealth Navy had received the last two Carriers that it had been promised in 1936.
---
Mid-Morning, 10 miles outside the city limits of Zamboanga
Borbón finished his breakfast (comprising a slice of cured ham coupled with toast and eggs) and assembled his platoon for review. After checking that all as in order a courier from Division HQ arrived via bicycle with new orders. Credible intelligence reports had pointed to a possible Moro arms cache in a village 3 miles up the road from where Borbón was stationed. A relief platoon would arrive in an hour’s time to take up the picket thus freeing Borbón to evaluate the intelligence report on the field. Once his relief arrived, Borbón was free to lead his platoon up the road and into a possibly Moro stronghold. Expecting to find warriors or at least hostile locals the Commonwealth troops were disappointed to note that there was not one recognizable fighting man among the residence of the village. But a peaceful community such as this one would make a perfect depot for storing arms. Who would suspect such a place for harboring rebels?
Borbón’s men inspected the village residence by residence or rather hut by hut. There was no resistance met until they arrived in front of the local Church. Strangely enough it was not decorated or buzzing with the energy inherent in a Catholic structure. The Roman Catholic Church constituted the dominant religious faith in the Philippines since the time of the Spanish Conquest. She had no serious rivals to primacy until the coming of the Americans in 1898. Protestant sects had swarmed them islands in an attempt to win converts. And this Church was clearly an outgrowth of Protestant attempts to ‘Christianize’ the Filipino. Borbón could feel the Puritanical essence seeping from the Church; the same Puritanical essence that had convinced American politicians to deny the Filipinos what could best be described as that Wilsonian Right of Self-Determination on account of the lack of ‘civility’ inherent in the Filipino ethos; oh how wrong those politicians and holy men had been. But Borbón did not order a search of a Church out of spite or ideological conviction; a large building such as a place of worship was a perfect place to hide ordinance, arms, and the occasional insurgent combatant.
“Alright gents, let’s take it easy and go scope out that Church in front of us. It’s pretty much the only place we haven’t checked in this area. If we don’t find anything there we’re not going to be finding anything anywhere else. So let’s be through so we can get out of here before night falls.” The innards of the Church were plain; it was big enough to be impressive but bland enough to be thoroughly boring. Borbón had taken one group of regulars inside with him and commanded the rest of his platoon to take up positions outside the Church and to note anything suspicious. After ordering those worshiping inside out Borbón and his men began to probe the ground looking for any signs of a trapdoor or some opening into the ground. Though just as the search began it was interrupted by a booming voice of an aged pastor who barged his way into the building.
“And what in particular is your business here Sirs?” He was middle-aged, clearly an American national, and wreaked of naivety.
“I’m Lieutenant Borbón of the Commonwealth of the Philippines Army. We are here to search for any contraband items which include but are not limited to swords, daggers, rifles, pistols, ammunition, explosives, and anything which may aid the insurgency in their war effort.”
“Sorry to disappoint you but this is a house of God! And your actions are harming my flock. Is not the House of the Lord a place of peace? Take your weapons...” but before the Pastor could finish.
“If I wished to partake of sermons brought forth from the bully pulpit of Calvin or Luther, I would have become a Protestant. But as I am Catholic I shall have to pass the…” As Borbón strode forward to show the Pastor the way out, his foot chanced upon an odd sounding floorboard; beneath the blue carpentry there was a hollow of some kind. After retrieving his trust dagger he cut through the carpet and pried the floorboards away to revel a trapdoor. “Most interesting… I wonder what’s lurking in the depths beneath us. Private Jurado, restrain our friend the holyman while I scout this opening. Ruiz, Ortiz, follow behind me.” What awaited Borbón behind the trapdoor was a flight of stairs leading down to a cellar full of contraband arms. From rusting swords to a stack of Browning Automatic Rifles, it was a menagerie of what could be found on the Asian black market. Finished surveying his surroundings, Borbón emerges from the hole in the ground and motions for the Prelate to be led into the cellar to see for himself. After a good five minutes the missionary emerged, quite shaken.
“I never would have… I mean, the villagers seemed so eager to participate in the faith. They built this Church…” but before the missionary could complete his tirade the Lieutenant interrupted him. “A society will do what it must to achieve its goals. Moros are of an honorable an ancient race though there are some malcontents that would resort to using houses of worship as arms depots. In any case I shall have to commander your radio transmitter to call for back up; I need more hands to help me dispose of these arms. After all, as you said, weapons shall find no sanctuary in the House of the Lord.”
Padre Manuel's War, the fruits of Quezon's ambitions to an abrupt end as Moro rebels found themselves without ammunition stores. The diligent efforts of soldiers, sailors, and airmen had made it impossible for the remaining Moro groups mount serious resistance to the Commonwealth Army. An agreement whereby special elections were called to allow Moros to seat their delegates in the National Assembly was instituted and the lands of Mindanao finally came under the control of the central government. But as one war ended another lurked just around the corner. Japan had begun to stall in China; she was running out of raw materials and needed rubber, tin, scrap metal, to continue the fight. The Roosevelt Administration was hesitant at providing the Japanese with the means to continue fighting the Chinese. The way was now clear for resource advocates in Japan to press forward plans to seize the raw materials of South-East Asia.