The Setting Sun - Gotterdammerung, Japan 1944.

[unmerged(59906)]

Maj. von Mauser - I was a little surprised the Panamanians even had an airforce. Zhukov might find the march a little stressful but he is not top of the hit list right now as he isn't going anywhere in a hurry.

robou - It looks like Higashikuni is in for a hard few months. I actually have no plans other than to weaken the Red Army with my bombers until it is weak enough to attack. This is likely to happen in some areas earlier than others.

Beladriel, Phax - Thank you and welcome aboard I think Phax covered your question.

Nathan Madien - Tongue-in-cheek humour it was and I am glad that is how it came across. It was nice of the Mexicans and Soviets to give me the chance to embelish a little.

Thurak - I know how you feel. Right now just when I think I have things under control something else keeps popping up.

Cyphers Fury - You are spot on. That is where the Red Army looks to be at its weakest but I don't know what is behind the lines. Marching times would be bad for me as they were for the Soviets but they only sent 12 divisions so far which is not nearly enough.

harezmi - Central America is out of range unfortunately or it would be a very tempting target. South Africa may be possible but it would be a hit and run if I try to do it. I am contemplating reducing my forces in Hawaii but it is possible that the current defences are too good for the U.S. to attempt an invasion. Weakening the defences may provoke a landing, which I could probably not stop, and would result in the loss of whatever troops I leave there.

OneArmed - I am glad I give you something to read at work General Imamura is currently sunbathing with Mj. General Banzai and their marines on Kauai Island in the Hawaiian Islands.

A small aside type of update to follow ...

 

[unmerged(59906)]

A Meeting of Minds​

2100 April 30th 1947.
Diplomatic Office. Tokyo, Japan.

Whilst the majority of the Cabinet concentrated on protecting Japan and furthering its Military objectives two members sat down to discuss their roles in ensuring that the Country could achieve its goals. They knew that without their departments the Military would come to a grinding halt as the front line troops suffered from shortages that would make fighting almost impossible.

"Good morning." Mamoru greeted his opposite number in the Industry department.

"It's a little early for it to be good just yet." replied Ginjiro as he tried to shake off the effects of sleep.

"Maybe some tea might help to brighten your day."

"It wouldn't hurt." Ginjiro replied as he accepted a cup from Mamoru. "Thank you."

"We have a few hours before the Cabinet meeting so I thought we could go over our current Trade situation before we go to entertain His Majesty."

Ginjiro perked up a little as he always enjoyed discussing the nuts and bolts of economy with Mamoru. The two nearly always saw eye to eye on what was needed and when. "That sounds like a good idea. Maybe we can find a few extra tonnes of materials from somewhere."

"Possibly, but I have exhausted most possibilities already to get us to where we are now."

"Some fine tuning might be available, you never know."

"True enough. We may as well begin with our European trades, such as they are." said Mamoru.​

"Our former Ally of Italy is of some use but the costs are high since it was forced out of the War."

"The losses to enemy shipping are also a little much as well." replied Ginjiro.

"Blame that on the Allies and the fact that both Suez and Gibraltar are Allied controlled. Not much escapes the Mediterranean in tact but we need Energy badly enough to risk losing a lot in transit."

"Maybe one day we won't need to worry about Energy at all, although that is still some way off I would imagine."

"Yes it is but I will let the Armed Forces Ministers worry about that part as it is out of my hands."​

"Portugal is suffering the same problems and also contributes only a small amount of Energy to our cause." stated Mamoru.

"Sailing around Africa isn't too good for our convoys either is it?"

"Not particularly no. I think this is more a problem of so many smaller Navies rather than any one in particular. The British are not likely to be patrolling the entire route alone and the Americans are busy in the Pacific, so it seems logical that the miriad of small enemy fleets are responsible for a lot of the losses on this route."

"That could well be the case. Not much we can do about it but at least the Portuguese are willing to trade." said Ginjiro.​

"The Spanish are providing a little more assistance and are also allowing us to fund some espionage from time to time." Mamoru continued.

"Still pretty expensive from a formerly friendly Country though."

"Yes it is but we need both commodities to allow our Industry to work effectively even if only half of it arrives in Tokyo."

"Even small amounts help but it would be nice to not waste valuable resources in transit."​

"Hmm that trade is even more expensive than the rest so far." Ginjiro observed.

"The Turks seem to know how desperate we are and they haggle like you wouldn't believe. If I could drop any trade this one would be the first to go."

"You can find another source for that much Energy?"

"I wish I could but we shall have to live with this trade for a while to come I think."​

"This is my favourite trade." Mamoru said.

"I can see why." Ginjiro replied with a grin.

"This trade alone allows us to make several others as the Siamese provide us with all of our Rare Material and Metal surplus. Whats even better is that its free and suffers no losses at all as it is close to home where the Imperial Japanese Navy stops hostile actions."

"I guess I should keep building them new ships then." replied Ginjiro.

"A wise choice. That leaves us with South America. Some Countries are a little vexed with us and appear to favour War over Trade but others are a lot friendlier."​

"Argentina doesn't have much that we need but it is helping somewhat."

"Still pretty expensive though."

"Yes it is. A lot more of this actually arrives here though but it varies quite a lot."

"The Pacific is not totally safe yet. The numbers are better than they were a year ago."​

"Our trade with Chile is almost decent and they are not asking for much more than fair price."

"That's nice of them." Ginjiro responded.​

"Equador is another small trade but it seems to escape most of the interdiction that plagues other South American routes."

"The Allies must be sending some ships around the bottom of South America for some reason. It would be better for us if they just used the Panama Canal."

"Would you like to ask them or shall I?"

"I think we should leave that sort of Dipomacy to Minister Tanigawa and his collegues."​

 

[unmerged(59906)]

"It seems that with some tea and numbers under your belt you come up with all sorts of good ideas."

"Maybe a refill might help me even more." Ginjiro replied handing his cup back to Mamoru.​

"Unfortunately Peru is another Country that wants to charge a high price for its wares. The Oil we can probably live without but Energy is again the problem here."

"I sort of miss all the trades we had with the Soviets. Balancing the books was relatively easy then."

"You enjoy the challenge of balancing things when its more difficult like I do and you know it." Mamoru scoffed.

"Your right of course but I don't mind having a few easier months from time to time."​

"Uruguay provide us with money more than anything which is always expensive, so I have no real problem with this trade."

"Agreed."​

"The final South American Country causes you almost as many headaches as it solves your problems I would imagine." said Mamoru.

"That it does. Shipping almost one third of our Supplies to Venezuela is a large undertaking but they are by far our most valuable trading partner."

"Things might get a little awkward if they choose to join the Allies."

"Given the trouble we have getting any Energy and Oil from elsewhere I think 'little' might be a small understatement. It would be nice to receive more than 75.1% though."

"It would but like all trades with South America it does vary quite a lot and we actually get most of it a lot of the time."​

"Our final trade is with Saudi Arabia and the Imperial Japanese Navy protects most of its route through the Indian Ocean."

"Good but its not a huge trade and is still somewhat expensive."

"Yes but even these small trades build up our Diplomatic ties with such Countries which does enable me to renegotiate for better terms eventually."

"True. I suppose you want me to add the numbers up?" asked Ginjiro.

"Be my guest, you like that sort of thing more than I do."

"Ok then.

For Energy we would receive 267.5 tonnes a day and according to numbers we received 204.6 tonnes yesterday which is 73.9%.

For Oil we should have got 86.4 tonnes and received 65.2 tonnes which is 75.5%.

For Money it was 3.5 tonnes and we got 2.7 tonnes which is 77%.

Not too bad overall but could be better."

"Considering what it used to be this is almost a miracle." replied Mamoru.

"No argument there."

"I shall keep a close eye on the World market to see if I can juggle things a little to either improve on some of these or replace the more expensive ones."

"The more you can save on Supplies the better as it will give me more scope to divert our Industry to other areas."

"I will do what I can. The World has changed quite a lot in the last three years and some things are easier than others as a result."

"Do you still have those maps you used to keep showing what the World looked like back then compared to now?" asked Ginjiro.

"They are around here somewhere. I think we have time to have a look at them before the meeting." replied Mamoru as he started to look through various cabinets.​

 

[Kanitatlan]

Nice to see money quantified in tons. Just what does 2.7 tons of money look like

Have you considered make single trades when the varying efficiency is at a high point or is the money supply inadequate for this? You could consider trading blueprints for material, the risk of blueprints trading on to the allies is irrelevant since they have a technology lead.

Is there any sign of all these countries you trade rares to trading them on to the allies?

 

[unmerged(59906)]

Nice to see money quantified in tons. Just what does 2.7 tons of money look like

Have you considered make single trades when the varying efficiency is at a high point or is the money supply inadequate for this? You could consider trading blueprints for material, the risk of blueprints trading on to the allies is irrelevant since they have a technology lead.

Is there any sign of all these countries you trade rares to trading them on to the allies?

My version of game money is Gold so it looks yellowish and weighs quite a lot. It also takes up a lot less room

I don't really have the money to do single trades much and the ones I do look at are not very good exchanges most of the time. Most Countries charge a lot for anything. I would use single trades for emergencies if my stockpiles get really low though. My Allies are all puppets which means they have very little in the way of resources to trade for blueprints. I just throw them some blueprints from time to time to speed up their research.

Most of the Countries I trade Rares to have a healthy surplus but it is possible that some is being traded onwards. Venezuela receives 16.9 from me and has a surplus of 11.5. Whether it has a natural need for the difference for its own industry or is trading it on I have no real way of knowing other than to load up as that Country.

 

[E. Jünger]

You could consider trading blueprints for material, the risk of blueprints trading on to the allies is irrelevant since they have a technology lead.

As I recall it is impossible to trade blueprints to countries you are not allied with, so the potential for such trades is limited...

 

[Inner Circle]

How did you make a photo of my private cash reserves? :rofl: It´s mine!

It seems that Mamoru and Ginjiro reminds me more to be some kind of british than japanese with all that tea around

these trade deals are a pain in the ass because of all this nasty micromanagement...

 

[unmerged(87183)]

Nice update.

It's interesting how all those things come together.

Overall having 75% of your trades make it home doesn't seem to bad.

 

[robou]

THe IJN needs to get working on getting those convoys from South America to elsewhere.

 

[safferli]

168 supplies to Venezuela alone! Well, Mamoru must be a very busy man, juggling all those trade deals...

 

[unmerged(112641)]

You are still better than me.
While playing as Argentina, I got all the way to 44, more or less historywise. Firstly, just after invading Brazil, I had about 90% from Germany. In 44 it was down to 30%. But it's amazing that they still hold the SU just after Stalingrad.

 

[Thurak]

Some pages ago you mentioned that Venezuela is really important for Japan, it's nice to see the numbers.

 

[Mattabesta]

wun'tit be a good I dear to raid some central american cunties?
get some of there stockpiles and secure the panama channel? perhaps a landborder with venuzuvela.

 

[Fgorginator]

wun'tit be a good I dear to raid some central american cunties?
get some of there stockpiles and secure the panama channel? perhaps a landborder with venuzuvela.

But that may easily backfire..

 

[unmerged(59906)]

E. Jünger - Correct you can only trade blueprints with an Ally.

Inner Circle - Blame them seeming British on me being English

Maj. von Mauser, robou - Thanks. Trades are an important part of the game and they don't get much coverage usually. I was asked to go over them a while back so I obliged There is little the IJN can do to improve the trade losses as it can't reach South America.

safferli - Venezuela has basically taken over from the Soviets as a trade partner. Juggling trades is fairly easy now as most are already in place. Mamoru just checks them once in a while.

LordSlowpoke - Looks like you have a decent game if the Germans are still that far forwards. My trade efficiency is mostly because I have sunk a large part of the Allied Navies.

Thurak - The numbers do highlight Venezuela's importance certainly.

Mattabesta, Fgorginator - It can't backfire because I cannot reach South America Even if I use the unload command its a close call but I won't use that command unless I have the amphibious assault option available. Its in my gaminess rules somewhere.

The next update is a shortish synopsis of the War so far ...

 

[unmerged(59906)]

A Meeting of Minds​

(Continued)​

2200 April 30th 1947.
Diplomatic Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Mamoru spent several minutes looking through one of his cabinets before he found what he was looking for. He carried several rolled up maps back to the table he was sharing with Ginjiro.

"Let me see. I think this is the first one of interest." he said as he unrolled a map dating back to June of 1944.​

"This is the a map of the situation in Asia when the Emperor, in his infinite wisdom, decided to step in and alter the course of the War. We had been waging War with China for several years at this point and had made tortuous progress thus far."

"I see China and its various Warlord states were still very much alive and causing us no end of problems." Ginjiro said.

"Yes they were. In the west the Allies, in particular the British, were beginning to push us backwards in Burma. The one factor that allowed us to continue onwards in this area was that the Soviets were not at War with us."​

"By September things had changed somewhat. Imperial forces had advanced through most of central and southern China capturing many enemy troops in the process. The terrain slowed our forces down but we were making slow but steady progress."

"So were the British in Burma." interjected Ginjiro.

"The High Command decided to fight a slow withdrawal in this region to give our own troops time to deal with China. Manchuria became an area of few Japanese troops as the Kwantung Army redeployed to central China where it was instrumental in our advance. Our forces had a distinct advantage in more modern equipment against the Chinese, whereas the situation was largely reversed against the Allies."

"The Pacific was a very big problem in 1944 as the Allies, and in particular the Americans, had begun to rapidly reverse our advances across the entire region."​

"They had recently captured Saipan in the Marianas which gave them a valuable air and naval base close to our homeland. They were also making advances through the Carolines and New Guinea which was placing some of our forces in peril."

"Things were looking a little bleak back then weren't they." observed Ginjiro.

"Just a little yes." Mamoru replied.​

"By September things had not improved all that much as we continued to lose ground in most places. In the north we had lost Wake Island and in the center the loss of both Truk and Rabaul robbed us of bases in that region. Imperial forces were also being withdrawn from New Guinea as their position had become untenable."

"We did gain one little island though. In hindsight the re-taking of Saipan could well have been the single most important advance our forces made in 1944."

"I think you are probably correct. That one reversal would prove to be very very costly to the United States Navy and made our whole strategic defensive line much more solid."

"What was happening in Europe? It seems so long ago that I need a little refresher I think." asked Ginjiro.​

After looking through his maps Mamoru found the one he wanted. "Here we are. Europe in June of 1944."

"Ah yes. Our European Allies were struggling to hold the Soviets in the east as the Allies launched D-Day in the west. Not a completely hopeless situation by the looks of it back then."

"Unfortunately it would turn out to be a little more than hopeless." replied Mamoru as he unrolled another map.​

"Our small gains up to September 1st 1944 were dwarfed by the advances made by both the Allies and Soviets during that period. France had already fallen as well as northern Italy which left the way open to Berlin in the west. In the east large parts of the Wehrmacht had been encircled and destroyed and the Red Army had advanced into Poland and Romania in the south as well as capturing over half of Finland in the north."

"I still find it amazing just how quickly our Allies folded. True they had been fighting a War for five years by then and were weakening but it is still fairly remarkable."

"I seem to remember Romania was the first Ally to fall followed by the Finns."

"That sounds about right to me." replied Ginjiro.​

"By December the face of Europe had completely changed. Germany had surrendered on October 12th with the Allies and Soviets carving up the spoils as they saw fit. Many Countries conquered by Germany were reinstated. The only real difference between the Allies and Soviets was that the Allies gave those Countries full autonomy whereas the Soviets made most of the Countries they released into puppet states."

"The majority of the Countries released by the Allies joined the War against us though."

"Yes they did, although some did remain neutral, including Italy, Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Greece. The Countries that had been neutral for the War remained so as well. These included Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal."

"Nothing changed in Europe after that I seem to recall."

"Correct. The Allies turned their attention towards us and the Soviets became peaceful. No further changes to any borders in Europe have been made since."​

 

[unmerged(59906)]

"December of 1944 saw some major changes in Asia as well. Nationalist China and its puppets surrendered on October 22nd leaving us to mop up Communist Chinese forces. This had been completed by December and Imperial forces made their way towards the only hostile border with the Allies in Burma. The Allies had advanced into Siam and had captured almost all of Burma by this time. Siam was close to surrender itself but would ultimately be saved by the arrival of forces that had been fighting in China."

"The Allies also chose to advance into Sinkiang in western China I see."

"Yes they did but it would take them months to advance into the mountains of that region and our forces were well entrenched before the enemy arrived."​

"By the middle of 1945 any possibility of losing any further territory to the Allies had been crushed. Landings behind Allied lines had effectively isolated the entire enemy forces in Burma which would now rely on convoys for supplies. During this period the Imperial Japanese Navy savaged Allied merchant shipping and it has not been able to recover since. Dozens of Allied divisions ended up being captured in Burma as they could not be saved because of our blockades.

We also advanced across India slowly with this particular border being very fluid for some time. The final capture of Burma would release enough troops to allow a much better attack through India which could be well supported by our aircraft."​

"By the end of 1945 India had been more or less conquered with minor battles erupting along the border from time to time. The Allies repeatedly tried to land in Ceylon off the Indian coast and have done so ever since. So far they have not managed to regain any foothold anywhere in Asia."

"We have even advanced further in the last six months taking Iraq out of the War and threatening Persia as well."

"The Allies have had a pretty dismal time in the Middle East ever since they lost Asia and India. They lost most of their land combat capability in the process and large parts of their Navies were also sunk. In return they caused relatively minor damage to the Imperial Japanese Navy."​

"At the end of 1944 the Pacific had settled into a phase where little further land changed hands. The Allies had completed the capture of New Guinea but had made little progress elswhere despite some attempts to land in Indonesia and multiple landings in the Marianas against Saipan and Guam. All of these assaults failed resulting in large casualties.

For most of 1945 the Pacific remained in a status quo where the Allied Navies were slowly reduced by Naval bombers and occasional Naval battles. Territorial changes were rare but that altered towards the end of the year when Imperial forces went on the offensive to halt ever increasing bombing raids against Japanese forces which were threatening to undermine our defences. The conclusion of major hostilities in Asia and India had allowed the Imperial Japanese Airforce to move to the Pacific to support our forces there and this would make a large difference in the upcoming campaign."​

"By the end of 1945 large parts of the United States Navy had been sunk as our offensive coincided with one by the Allies. The presence of our bombers proved the deciding factor as they provided better intelligence which allowed our surface forces to pick and chose their fights very effectively. Most of the Allied capital ships also fell prey to these bombers.

Our initial obejective was to sieze the Caroline Islands which took some time to accomplish as there was stern resistance from Allied forces occupying those islands. Eventually we would overcome these defences and also advance into New Guinea. In the center we also made several amphibious assaults to capture vital air and naval bases in the region. Kwajalein, Eniwetok and Wake Islands were amongst these targets. The capture of the main Allied bases in the Marshall Islands allowed us some breathing space but there was still much to do."

"It turned out there was much to do in a short space of time didn't it." said Ginjiro.

"It did appear to work out that way yes. Hindsight is a wonderful thing." Mamoru replied.​

"By the middle of July 1946 our Pacific forces had made massive gains. Not only had they secured the Solomon islands to the east of New Guinea but they had also captured the Fiji islands in the south and the Hawaiian Islands in the north."

"Aren't you forgetting something fairly important?" asked Ginjiro.

"Oh I almost forgot. The United States Navy was close to being totally destroyed in the process." replied Mamoru.

"No, no thats not it."

"It isn't?"

"No. We captured Australia and New Zealand remember."

Mamoru looked at the map a little closer. "Why so we did. Thank you for pointing that out."

"Your welcome."

"Now where was I."

"The Pacific?" Ginjiro added helpfully.

"Right. The Pacific has remained unchanged since. The odd naval battle has occured from time to time but no territory has changed hands."

"I wonder why." said Ginjiro.

"It might have something to do with the next map." Mamoru said as he unrolled it.​

"On April 1st 1946 the Soviets bowed to Allied pressure and decided to declare War upon his Majesty."

"Smart move."

"Not particularly. They made some small initial advances into Sinkiang in the west and Manchuria in the East. Meanwhile North China Army advanced into Mongolia in the center and eventually forced them to surrender. The timing of the Soviet attack had clearly not been passed onto their Army commanders very quickly as the majority of the Red Army appeared to be nowhere near where it should have been."

"What a shame." Ginjiro added.

"Indeed. The Kwantung Army proved to be more than a match for superior numbers but was forced to allow the Soviets some ground. Hit and run invasions along the Siberian coast have kept the enemy off guard ever since."​

"By the end of 1946 the borders had changed very little. The Soviets continued to advance very slowly in the west while they were stopped in their tracks in Manchuria. They did retake most of Mongolia but the Winter would halt any further progress on any front. We were still a long way from defeating the Red Army at the end of last year and this year has not gone all our way so far."

"I think I can remember what has happened this year without any further maps. At least we are really only fighting one major War right now." Ginjiro stated.

"The Allies do seem to be licking their wounds somewhat and the loss of Iraq hasn't put them in a good mood I would think."

"Well it's not like we are gaining anything from the region either though. Their bombers are very adept at blowing up anything that isn't moving."

"That's true." said Mamoru as he looked at the clock on his office wall. "I think we had better put these maps away and head over to the Imperial Palace. I have kept His Majesty waiting a few more times than I would like and we don't want to be late again."

"Again? That's your speciality not mine, I am always punctual."

"You don't have to deal with long winded Diplomats." chided Mamoru.

"Not my fault you like the sound of your own voice." Ginjiro replied drawing a laugh from the Diplomat as they headed towards the Imperial Palace.​

 

[Inner Circle]

Inner Circle - Blame them seeming British on me being English

I think that the years, Mamoru had spent in the UK as Ambassador from 1938-41 characterized him and his friend Ginjiro a lot

 

[unmerged(112641)]

Ha. Thanks, I would say, I think that after a long time of playing, an overall would be good. Or so I think. Anyway, looking at that, you made better progress than in the German AAR. Is it time for a yellow world? Or am I too late?

 

[Deus Eversor]

at least once soviet ai gives hard time to a player...
how is the div comparison?