Expanding Empire
4
0000 July 6th 1945.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Mukden, Manchukuo.
Field Marshal Hata had been appointed commander of the Kwantung Army. He was to hold Manchukuo and Korea against any possible Soviet invasion. Not an easy task but he had proved his abilities in Siam and Burma and would do what the Emperor needed him to do here.
His defensive line had just been completed with the arrival of six infantry divisions in Chongyin. There were another nine waiting in Fukuoka for his orders when the time came.
0000 July 7th 1945.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Ahmadabad.
American troops had landed on the island of Ngulu in the Carolines. They had begun their march towards Yap to reclaim the island and its vital airbase.
Yamamoto ordered Admiral Triye to move his Submarine fleet to the Yap Trench to prevent the loss of the island.
The British fleet in Bombay had decided not to leave and had paid a very high price for that decision. Only four ships remained of what was once a formidable high seas fleet. The bombers would finish off the remnants fairly quickly and the cavalry to the south of Bombay was given orders to advance and take the province.
Admiral Cooley had moved his Carrier fleet south of India where it was picked up by the patrolling aircraft. It would be monitored but no aggressive action would be taken for the time being.
Triye arrived in the Yap Trench at 2000 hours on July 9th and slammed the door in the face of the advancing American ground troops. Yap would remain under Japanese control unless the Submarines were forced to move.
0200 July 10th 1945.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.
Things were progressing well in India for Higashikuni and his forces. The destruction of the British fleet in Bombay allowed the bombers to begin looking for other targets and his ground forces could continue their advance.
General Abe had arrived in Hyderabad and was given new orders to advance on Karachi to islolate any remaining Allied troops in northern India.
0100 July 13th 1945.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Ahmadabad.
One of the American Battleship fleets had been detected by Siamese aircraft on patrol. Yamamoto knew that this meant they were close to the Japanese mainland.
Halsey had taken his older fleet on a patrol of the home islands. His fleet would be completely ignored as it could do little harm unless Japanese ships were at sea in the area. None were.
2200 July 13th 1945.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.
Japanese troops advancing across northern India had been racing a British division that was coming down from the mountains of north western China.
They lost the race to Lahore but would force the British division to retreat once the Tactical bombers arrived at dawn.
General Abe was taking too long to advance into Karachi and was picked up by the Transport fleet to conduct an invasion instead. Carrier Group C was in good condition and would provide an escort while the Battleship fleets rested and repaired.
0000 July 14th 1945.
Intelligence Headquarters. Tokyo, Japan.
Yamamoto's rest in Ahmadabad had allowed him to concentrate on some research. He completed his study in to Trade Interdiction Doctrine and would receive another task from Kuniaki.
No Japanese research team was familiar with Unrestricted Submarine Warfare as it was a neglected part of Japanese doctrine. Yamamoto was the best choice to conduct this research under the circumstances.