The Setting Sun - Gotterdammerung, Japan 1944.

[harezmi]

Does Madagascar exists as separate country?
So let me speculate on possible super-secret mission targets: Ethiopia, Madagascar (if exists) or South Africa. That will probably close list of easy Allied targets (Liberia might be easy but is too far away).
There are some minors in Latin America, but that would be (IMO) uncomfortably close to USA (and their second carrier fleet )

yes, i vote for Latin America. The extra troops from Australia after placing some garrisons over there or the ones in Hawaii (lucky b... - maybe not, they might forget how to fight in the last two years and i bet they all gained at least 20 pounds :rofl: ) can be used for Latin America. and i think it`s the best time to do it while US fleet is on vacation under protection of Japan

 

[Krogzar]

I vote for taking out africa first, little gains in usefull stuffs, but also no partisans, and lots less armies for the silly brittish. It should be a combined effort though, both invasions along the coast as advances trough suez. But those are my 2 cents.

Ow and once suez has been captured also an invasion of Albania

 

[Black Watch]

I'm surprised that bunch of troops in Uralsk isn't attacking your salient in Guriev. The mud must be offering some deterrent, but it won't last. Hopefully the Central Asia Army will arrive in time, or there will be bouncing.

yes, i vote for Latin America. The extra troops from Australia after placing some garrisons over there or the ones in Hawaii (lucky b... - maybe not, they might forget how to fight in the last two years and i bet they all gained at least 20 pounds :rofl: ) can be used for Latin America. and i think it`s the best time to do it while US fleet is on vacation under protection of Japan

You want Remble to attack Latin America with 9 divisions? :rofl:

Including everything in Hawaii, that would just add another 10 or so. Even Remble might be slightly challenged by this.

 

[unmerged(87183)]

A routine update.

Except for the return of the Naval Bombers.

 

[harezmi]

You want Remble to attack Latin America with 9 divisions? :rofl:
Including everything in Hawaii, that would just add another 10 or so. Even Remble might be slightly challenged by this.

actually i meant Central America, not the South. Latin includes both, my mistake.

 

[unmerged(59906)]

Reado, Sokraates - I might send some aircraft over the Med at some point but it may be a little dangerous given the amount of enemy Fighters and the availablity of air bases for them.

harezmi, OneArmed - Those were all the resources from Lebanon. I used the numbers after annexation. Currently there are two Tactical and two Naval bomber wings patrolling around or resting close to Samoa. If those Carriers leave, and they will be at some point, I want to have enough aircraft around to be able to hurt them. I can move the Naval bombers if needed to chase other enemy ships. I won't allow the US Carriers to sit in Samoa indefinately

zdlugasz, Panzer6 - Actually there are 22 Allied Countries right now. Lebanon was not on the list at the beginning of the year for some reason. Two more to get it to twenty. I have no idea which two either. The easiest would probably be Ethiopia and South Africa. Madagascar is French. I might not always give a monthly meeting if nothing much happens.

harezmi, zdlugasz - Central and South America are a long way away. I have no port even close to either area from which to conduct an invasion.

Krogzar - Africa is a more logical approach and you are correct that is has almost no partisan activity. There are more resources in Africa than most people consider, just very widely spread out. Albania may also take some time as I still have to try and reach Suez.

Black Watch - They attacked once but Guriev has been reinforced now as the monthly update will show. 9 divisions and 32 TAC's can accomplish quite a lot

Maj. von Mauser - Yup, nothing unusual that can be seen

Monthly update to follow ...

 

[harezmi]

my first sneaky post

 

[unmerged(59906)]

Update (May 1st 1948)​

0000 May 1st 1948.
Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. I will outline our current objectives before we go into more detailed reports." Hideki began the monthly meeting.

"1948 Objectives:

- Reduce the Soviet Union to less than one hundred factories and less than fifty divisions.

- Capture Moscow, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Baku and Sverdlovsk.

- Capture Soviet Energy reserves in the Ukraine.

- Reduce the Comintern to five Countries by annexing Tannu Tuva.

- Reduce the Allies to less than twenty Countries.

- Maintain the current Naval strength position by keeping the United States Navy below fifteen Aircraft Carriers.

- Capture the West Aleutian Islands.

- Capture Diego Garcia Island.

- Link Asian Armies by land connection.

Spring Army Objectives:

Kwantung Army:-
- Advance north towards Strategic objectives in Siberia.

East Asia Army:-
- Link with the Central Asia and North China Armies.
- Form a defensive line from Lake Baikal to Lake Balkhash.

North China Army:-
- Redeploy with the Central Asia Army to prepare for Summer offensive.

Central Asia Army:-
- Secure high ground north of the Kaukasus mountains.
- Dig in and await redeployments from the North China Army.
- Maintain status quo in the Middle East.
- Prepare for Summer offensive.

There are two changes to our yearly objectives. The conquest and annexation of Lebanon leaves the Allies with a total of twenty two Countries making up their forces. Our Asian Armies have linked by land. Intelligence report first this month please." concluded Hideki.

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Kuniaki began. "I am still one agent short of the maximum I can sustain in the United Kingdom but reports are still very accurate."​

"The Soviet Union has lost another six factory complexes during April as our advances continue. They concluded research into an Experimental Reactor.

An increase of ten Infantry divisions has occured during April with the loss of one Armoured division. The increase could be due to additional lent forces from their puppets as well as production. We have not been able to destroy too many divisions as most are out of our air range. When our Summer offensive begins I would expect the numbers to drop fairly quickly.

No change to the Soviet Airforce with one extra smaller ship produced."​

"The British continue to struggle with Rare Material resources but their base factory levels are unchanged. They completed research into an Improved Turbojet Strategic Bomber and have begun research into Elite Infantry.

Both Infantry and Armour numbers have increased by a small amount during April almost certainly because of additional Allied Countries lending them troops. We have destroyed several divisions in the Middle East but clearly not enough.

No change to the Royal Air Force with two more smaller ships produced."​

"As usual their are no changes to American production levels. They completed research into Sem-Modern Repair.

They lost three Infantry and one Armoured division during the last month which were likely to have been destroyed when their Transport ships were sunk during more attempted invasions in north eastern China.

No real changes to their Airforce with another Aircraft Carrier being completed as well as a net gain of two smaller ships. We know where twelve of those seventeen Carriers are and it is possible that a further two could be seen during May if they follow their normal pattern."

"Keep an eye on Samoa with occasional attacks just to make sure those Carriers do not leave without our knowledge. Things could become complicated if they manage to elude our patrols." said Hirohito.

"I will see to it that we do so your Majesty." replied Tanigawa.​

"We completed no research projects in April but will certainly finish two in May with Improved Synthetic Oil Plant almost finished and Advanced Medium Tank not far behind. No other projects are due for at least another month though and I will begin research into an improved Light Carrier design once the Armour research is complete. Nothing further." conlcuded Kuniaki.

"Industry please."

"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning. Japanese Industry continues to work at full capacity with some of our longer term construction slowly reaching a conclusion." Ginjiro began.​

"Several things worth noting this month. Our Transport Capacity has become even more overloaded with the large redeployment of troops by the North China Army. Industrial Capacity increased by a further two factories captured from the Soviets and it should continue to increase.

There has been a fairly large increase in both Energy and Metal reserves. As you can see we are transporting a large amount of both right now which is the result of two of our Armies linking up. This has allowed me to transfer the stockpile that was in Borzya to Japan which also placed a large burden on our merchant ships but they handled the situation with spare capacity still available.

Oil reserves declined slightly with Supply reserves increasing. Financiallly we gained a large boost from the annexation of Lebanon and there is little we need the funds for."

"Are there any other Countries that you would like intelligence reports on?" Kuniaki asked Tanigawa.

"West Germany, France and Canada would be nice." he replied.

"I can begin to try and send agents to those Countries during May then but do not expect much success. What about Poland or Finland?"

"We will find out what they have before your network would be running effectively I would hope. If we need intelligence reports from those two then our Summer offensive probably failed."

"I will make sure Minister Kuniaki has the necessary funding then if you approve your Majesty." said Ginjiro.

"I do." the Emperor replied.

"Moving on with my report. Manpower reserves increased by two thousand but I expect this to drop during May as we have some forces due during the early part of the month. Both Carrier Air Groups are due on the 3rd as well as four more Escort Fighter squadrons, four Tactical bomber squadrons on the 7th and another Garrison on the 9th with its Police brigade. The production of the Carrier Air Groups will allow me to divert more attention towards upgrades but the remaining builds are still ongoing."

"How many more bombers are we making?" asked Hirohito.

"One more set of four your Majesty with their Escorts due in July and the bombers in August. Even with that extra spare capacity I might not have enough time to upgrade everything before the end of the year as aircraft upgrades take time."

"There is no hurry. Please continue."

"Yes your Majesty. The amount of production required for reinforcements has increased due to aircraft losses sustained during the pursuit of the American Carrier Task Force in the Pacific but these repairs are not high in manpower cost. Upgrades continue and are not decreasing as a comparison with last month would show. Redeploying divisions and aircraft that are currently not at base are not factored into the equation and we actually need more production not less. I expect it to increase more as our Infantry upgrades progress as they need a second upgrade to a better division after the first. We still have both Close Air Support and some Tactical bomber wings to upgrade as well. Nothing more from me today." Ginjiro concluded.

"Armed Forces please."

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." began Tanigawa. "We did not manage to sink the American Carriers in the Pacific but we did force them to move to Samoa where we unexpectedly encountered the rest of the United States Pacific fleet. The island is too well protected to bomb so we have set up patrols to monitor the situation and we will conduct periodic attacks against the harbour facilities to make sure the enemy stays in the harbour."

"I take it I will be having another meeting with you after this one?" asked Hirohito.

"Yes your Majesty. We made some changes as you know." replied Tanigawa. "Asia is progressing very well with the linking of Armies completed and our defensive line taking shape in the center. Soviet forces are still moving west from Siberia which should allow us to advance north of Manchuria soon and I may order some initial attacks shortly as the enemy position looks to have weakened somewhat.

Redeployments to the Central Asia Army are progressing and the first few have begun to arrive to strengthen our position. These movements will take most of the month to complete with only one failing to arrive before June. This is Field Marshall Hata's Headquarters which had to occupy Soviet territory before redeploying. Our advance through the Kaukasus mountains is almost complete and we have made progress in the Middle East by annexing Lebanon. This area remains weak but we have the upper hand for now. Over to Minister Satoru for a more detailed briefing." concluded Tanigawa.

"Thank you Minister Tanigawa. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." began Satoru. "I shall begin with the Middle East today."​

"Territorial gains have all been in the western part of the map. Advances in Syria, Lebanon and the Kaukasus mountains have strengthened our own position considerably."​

"We reinforced the Saudi Arabian Peninsula during April with troops that had redeployed from northern India. Two extra divisions have allowed us to try and advance towards Sanaa to cut of the British Headquarters in Aden. Once our advance is complete we shall endeavour to capture this division as the American Armoured force left Aden early in April. The capture of Sanaa will gain us another airbase but more importantly will deny it to the Allies."​

"In the Middle East we are also advancing. The capture of Damascus and Haifa will again deny the enemy airbases and allow us to use them. Both of the moves shown are due to complete by May 5th with Haifa scheduled to be occupied later on today. We will need to send more troops here to stabalise the front and there is another Infantry corps advancing from northern India which could be used. It is due to arrive today as well and I will order it to redeploy once it finishes occupying Hotan province."​

 

[unmerged(59906)]

"We are making excellent progress around the Kaukasus mountains with only one hill province left to occupy before we rest. Our line is solid but the enemy's is far from being the same. We have not conducted air patrols close to Stalingrad as it is out of our Interceptor range and has the potential to be too well protected by enemy air patrols to consider. The first new forces are due in Grozny towards the end of this week."​

"The area around Guriev shows a high level of enemy activity with this area clearly being the hub of their movements. One attack against Guriev was successfully defeated and the defences have subsequently been increased as the first units from the North China Army arrived. More forces will be arriving at regular intervals for the next two weeks to strengthen the position but it does look like breaking out of this area might prove a little difficult to achieve."​

"Asia has also seen advances and quite a few. All are again in the west where much more rapid progress has been made as the snows melted allowing for much faster movement. The East Asia and Central Asia Armies linked around Semipalatinsk yesterday and are in the process of handing over control of the area to the East Asia Army which has already begun to redeploy its forces forwards to form its defensive perimeter.

Several Soviet provinces are still behind our lines but we are moving to capture them all. The forces being used to occupy them are probably going to have to remain to deter the locals from uprising."​

"We were forced to abandon Zhambyl early in April but Soviet forces failed to advance which allowed us to re-occupy it. This province has large Rare Material reserves and is of high importance."​

"Further north and east we can see the area around Semipalatinsk. Field Marshall Terauchi is moving towards the province where he will establish his more permanent headquarters. We also moved one of our Close Air Support groups to the airbase as there are Soviet troops moving to the north west that are in range. We will begin to launch attacks once the aircraft have recovered from their trip from China."​

"Our defensive forces were reduced to two divisions per province during April to allow for a more solid defensive line to the west. Soviet troops are arriving in small numbers to the north east of Irkutsk but are being controlled by our second Close Air Support group based in the province."​

"Here we can see the exodus of Soviet troops from Siberia. They are moving directly towards an area patrolled by our Dive bombers as they weaken their own defences to the east. You will notice that the defensive force in Mogocha has been reduced from ten to five divisions. The five still occupying the province are all Manchurian Mountain divisions with the five Japanese divisions having been redeployed. Needless to say we are not contemplating an attack in this area any longer as the Soviet troop movements made that almost impossible anyway."

"Where did the Japanese divisions go?" asked Hideki.

"Classified." Satoru replied with a smile.

"I should have known I suppose."​

"The Manchurian border shows some weaknesses now as the Soviets continue to abandon the area. Attacks across the Amur are looking highly likely by our Manchurian forces in the east. We are still in no particular hurry to move forwards but we do have to at some point to capture Strategic locations to the north. Over to Minister Osami for a Naval briefing." concluded Satoru.

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. There have been some losses during May but the encounters have dropped off a little. Our failure to sink any American Carriers in the last month is of some concern but we are taking steps to alter that." Osami began.​

"All losses were to the Allies with the vast majority to the United States Navy as it tried to land in China again. Their landings did not go very well as BC Division 1 was on hand to blockade most of the invading forces."

"Did you spill something on the bottom of this report?" Hirohito asked.

"No your Majesty. That particular line falls under the 'Classified' heading."

"Ah I see. I expect that to be de-classified after the meeting."

"Of course your Majesty. The Imperial Japanese Navy continues to protect the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea as well as providing support to ongoing operations. I will still look to avoid direct Naval confrontation, particularly with the United States Navy's Carriers, unless I have absolutely no choice. Done." concluded Osami.

"Good progress as always Gentlemen. Let us hope that our build up can be completed before the Red Army's or our Summer offensive may turn bloody which we can ill afford to happen." Hirohito said as he stood and left the meeting closely followed by his Chiefs of Staff.​

 

[genbrad]

a classified sinking??? now THATS security!

 

[Edzako]

Also nice to see that your allies is doing their part and even Siam have sunk something

 

[midget_roxx]

LOL that classified sinking wouldn't be one of your transports would it ;D

 

[safferli]

Classified sinkings... In a war, these kind of things only happen if the ship sunk was one of your own...

 

[Juan_de_Marco]

Aaah, HQ speedmarching... that sure saves some time, yes. But Moscow and Leningrad are still a way off, but with the kind of airsupport you have supplying uninterrupted marching time, you could make it to Moscow. I alter my position here.
Also, if you have spare cash, you might want to get Afghanistan to join your alliance, there is a good chance for they are fascists (one of the last few remaining). It's not puppeting! But it seems so silly as it is now, that country in the sea of yellow (Yellow Sea?). and you might be able to use their divisions for beach and garrison duty, they even have some mountain divisions like Manchuria.

Did you lose a BB? were you using it to escort Trannies toward africa? Suez? :0 speculation!

 

[unmerged(32135)]

Hmm. Speculation regarding a classified sinking.... perhaps or perhaps not linked to the classified troop movement from Mogocha, which is land-locked. I'm going to guess that Mexico made a surprise amphibious landing in Australia, and that Japanese planes hurried over and sunk the transport after the fact. The troops from Mogocha are rapidly SRing over to the coast to be taken via transport for more beach defenses.

In the unlikely event that I guessed anywhere near the truth, I say an in immdiate invasion of Mexico is called for. Divine retribution must be exacted!

-- Beppo

 

[zdlugasz]

When you see day when energy reserves are transported from Asia to Japan (and you have overall positive flow) it is time to make transaction with Siam (or other puppets) and establis trade deals to send them resources they require.

Did you capture Christams Islands (?) - those east of Hawaii.
Do you consider building naval base somewhere in East Pacific to be able to reach Central or South American enemies?

Or do you plan to invade America and USA via Attu and Alaska. (Invasion via Cental America would be more fun IMO becuase the moment you push USA out of war half of fun (or more) will be gone).

EDIT: I know that right now you are redeploying but is it possible to fight with such low ESE?

Edit2: In case you want to establish daily Energy flow to Siam and failed to use opportunity presented by linking with stockpiles in Borzoya (sp?) you can repeat similar conditions by stopping transport of energy from Asia to Japan for a few days. Then the stockpiles will grow and when you unblock transport to Japan you will have positive balance for a few days.

 

[Sokraates]

I love classified sinkings. It brings back memories of your operations around Hawaii.

In any case, it's good to see you making progress and having finally linked all of your armies. Now you can turn towards the more mundane tasks like eliminating the Soviet Union ... or conquering the United States.

 

[Nathan Madien]

An intriguing update, with the secrets and all.

Hmm. Speculation regarding a classified sinking.... perhaps or perhaps not linked to the classified troop movement from Mogocha, which is land-locked. I'm going to guess that Mexico made a surprise amphibious landing in Australia, and that Japanese planes hurried over and sunk the transport after the fact. The troops from Mogocha are rapidly SRing over to the coast to be taken via transport for more beach defenses.

In the unlikely event that I guessed anywhere near the truth, I say an in immdiate invasion of Mexico is called for. Divine retribution must be exacted!

-- Beppo

Of course, the difference between Japan and Mexico is that Japan doesn't have unlimited troop movement.

 

[unmerged(59906)]

harezmi - You very nearly got away with your sneakyness but not quite

genbrad - Some things will remain classified for a little while longer

Edzako - The Siamese bombers have been very useful overall as they have provided patrols around Japan since June 1944, which has allowed me to use my own aircraft for more useful tasks. They have sunk a few ships over the years.

midget_roxx, safferli - Speculation will abound about what was sunk and which Country lost it. All will be revealed in due course

Juan_de_Marco - HQ's are very efficient at capturing empty territory. I am glad the Emperor has convinced you to alter your point of view. Afghanistan will join the Empire at some point but by annexation.

Beppo - Mexico has been a little quiet and I have not seen any of their forces for some time. I can't invade it of course as it is way out of range. Where the troops from Mogacha went will also be revealed in due course

zdlugasz - You are correct I could use the current Energy surplus to set up a daily trade with Siam or I could engineer a surplus in the future. I expect my Energy to turn positive in the coming months as the captured provinces in the Soviet Union rebuild their reserves which will give me a good indication of what can be spared. This will probably be when I set up the trade so I will continue with open negotiation trades for the time being as and when they are needed.

I did not capture Christmas Island and have no islands in range of South America even with a port. America via the northern route is my preference as I also used it my other AAR. It saves any need to build ports but does limit my possible landing areas considerably.

Fighting with 50% ESE is possible if the numerical advantage is sufficient. The use of my bombers for pre-emptive organisational strikes makes things easier as well. Anyone who has played Germany a lot is familiar with combat with bad ESE so I am not overly concerned about it for now.

Sokraates - Linking of my Armies makes redeploying a little easier as well. During the Hawaiian operations I postponed a monthly meeting but it was suggested during that period that I black out some reports so I chose that option here. I also blacked out something else in the monthly report which no one has noticed. Not only am I being secretive but sneaky as well

Nathan Madien - A little intrigue every now and then is good for everyone

Update to follow ...

 

[unmerged(59906)]

Operation Enlightenment​

2​

1100 May 1st 1948.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. In Transit.

Shimoyama's Dive bombers had been given the minimum amount of rest required before Hata ordered them to look for enemy troops moving to the north west of Semipalatinsk.​

Two enemy divisions were spotted in Turgai with neither having any chance of escaping the bombers before they would be destroyed.

Japanese bombers were not the only ones flying.​

Soviet Dive bombers were also in action as Japanese troops moved into their range. Mj. General Saboru managed to intercept the unescorted bombers over Bashanta as they returned to base after bombing Japanese troops in Voroshilovsk. No squadrons would be destroyed during the dogfight but the bombers took heavy casualties from Saboru's experienced Interceptors.​

Advances by Hata's troops were becoming rare as most of his forces waited for the North China Army to arrive. Mj. General Kawashima was still moving forwards in the Middle East and had captured Haifa which was being used as the main port to send Allied troops to the region. Enemy aircraft using the airbase had left hours before his arrival.​

1900 May 2nd 1948.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Fuso, Classified.

The United States Navy's Carriers needed to be watched closely to prevent any surprises for Ozawa as he moved the Imperial Japanese Navy around to accomodate special operations. He was less than happy when he received a report from Kondo as he returned to Samoa to conduct a reconnaisance mission.​

Admiral Calhoun and his three modern Aircraft Carriers had managed to somehow leave the harbour and move away from the island without being detected by patrolling Japanese Tactical and Naval bombers. The hunt was back on to detect this fleet as quickly as possible to prevent any possible disasters for upcoming operations.​

0000 May 3rd 1948.
Intelligence Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

The previous month had not yielded any completed research projects but May would be a better month for new technology for Japan.​

Sumimoto informed Kuniaki when they had finished the latest research project into Oil Conversion technology. He ordered them to continue to refine the process as Japanese Energy was being used to suppliment Oil reserves as the latter dwindled.​

0000 May 4th 1948.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Fuso, Classified.

Ozawa received some slightly better news on May 4th as Ginjiro informed him of some completed construction. The new Carrier Air Groups had been finished and were hastily deployed to Japan's newest Aircraft Carriers.​

IJN Ryujo and IJN Akagi would sail immediately for a classified destination as they supplimented Ozawa's swelling Battlegroup forces. These ships were the final elements for two operations and these could begin once the Carriers arrived on station.​

0400 May 4th 1948.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. In Transit.

Hata now had control of three of the four Bomber Air Groups assigned to land based operations throughout Asia and the Middle East. Itabana covered the Middle East as Shimoyama began operations from Semipalatinsk which left one other group.​

Obata's group had been in the region for longer than the other two groups and had moved north some time ago to cover operations south and east of Stalingrad. Aktyubinsk would be his latest target as he pursued one of the few remaining Soviet Armoured divisions.​

News of another advance also arrived on Hata's desk as he continued his redeployment west. General Okamura had concluded his march into Novorossisk which completed the Japanese defensive perimeter that needed to be established prior to the forthcoming Summer offensive. This was one of the Central Asia Army's Spring objectives.​

Bad news followed good as another Allied division arrived in the Middle East and attacked Kawashima in Haifa. He would not be able to hold until Itabana could arrive in support and was forced to withdraw back towards Beirut.​