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Griffin.Gen So do I.
Kurt_Steiner I will, I will. Invasion planning takes time.
Lord Strange Huzzaah!
Kurt_Steiner I will, I will. Invasion planning takes time.
Lord Strange Huzzaah!
Ahh, another suggestion for future updates:
NAVAL PORN!!!
How about fortification and Coastal Artillery Porn instead?
Bah!
btw, to get you into naval porn, I shall state that I have made a battlecruiser design that is S-U-P-E-R-I-O-R to your so called "mighty" Hood. (I think I should call the Hood Little Red Riding Hood from now on.
)Feeling intimitated? Well, show me the best you have with some sort of modernised Hood in 1940.
umm how about an update on the japs that plan to kill the brave americans at pearl harbor? or is it different in TTL? and the soviets have to be getting on the german nerves by now..thats 2 updates right there. then its back to jerry and mussolini..right?
and mussolini..right?
All conversions from metric into Imperial done on the web, so sorry for any inaccuracies.
29th March 1940
Singapore, British Malaya
No.1 Bunker, “A” Battery
“You know, I never thought I'd be glad that their Lordships cancelled a Battleship.” “I can imagine, Rear Admiral. But trust me, I like them better in here than out there. We can use them.” With that the Rear Admiral agreed to the fullest. He and General Slim, GOC Malaya were inspecting the guns of the 'Lion' Heavy artillery group, General Slim because they were the biggest guns on this island and, unlike the others, specifically meant to help in the defence of the main line of defence on the mainland, and the Rear Admiral because they were BL 16 inch Mark II guns, meant for the Lion Class that had been cancelled long ago. The Admiralty had been sitting on the guns for months until someone had decided that Singapore might need some additional heavy Artillery, so the nine guns already produced had found their way to Singapore, where they were now situated in heavily armoured turrets that were protected by massive rearward concrete bunkers. When Slim had first seen the completed bunker had been tempted to cable London and ask where the money for such a massive emplacement had been found, but as it turned out, much of the work had been done with cheap Chinese labour and to the detriment of the works on airfields and field fortifications. Slim would take properly protected heavy Artillery and hardened aircraft shelters here on Singapore Island over concrete trenches up at the Siamese border any day. Followed by his staff and by the Rear Admiral, Slim toured the rest of the massive bunker. Had work not started almost three years ago, it would not have been possible, and this was only one, with four of the others still under construction and slated to become operational over the next few weeks and months. From the outside it was most impressive. Hidden under a ghastly amount of camouflage netting was a concrete monstrosity with a diameter of roughly 131 feet, and a height of almost half that. The gun itself was placed in a traversing steel turret that allowed the gun to swing back and forth for roughly fifty degrees in both directions, protected against counter-battery fire and air attacks by an overhanging slab of concrete and several anti-aircraft guns in the area.
[1]
“Are you sure they are worth the expense?” the Rear Admiral asked, referring to the enormous costs, the long building time and the fact that the ingredients and the steel for reinforced concrete had been shipped in from as far as Auckland, never mind the fact that it took literally years to build and there was no keeping them secret. “Yes, yes I do. For one we needed additional land-facing Artillery, and second I think that these things will be a great boost in morale should we ever come under siege. The knowledge that one has the means to fight back does a lot to keep the spirits up, you know.” said the landlubber General to the sailor. Making the usual non-committing face that was so often found in the upper ranks of organized military forces the Rear Admiral followed Slim outside and back to his car. As they were driving back up the small rise out of the low and shallow artificial depression the bunker and the gun were located in, they could see the massive size of the bunker and the surrounding infrastructure despite the ongoing camouflage operations. The bunker was simply massive, and by the looks of it the gun would be even better protected than on any Battleship. Slim was driving himself, like he always did when he was out on these unofficial trips. Today he was here to witness the first test shot of these guns. It was merely meant to make sure that the foundations could take the strain and no real shell would be fired today. Normally this would have brought about a major social event to the Singapore calendar, but Slim had decided to do it all sort of hush-hush because he still felt not really at home in the upper crust of any Imperial city, and because he simply wanted the Japanese to have to actually work to find out that Fortress Singapore had gotten stronger and a harder nut to crack yet again. A small group of men had gathered nonetheless, and at the spot where they were waiting he could see Wing Commander Dashwood having an animated conversation with Air Marshal Browning. These two men had a healthy professional respect of each other, Browning liked Dashwood because he was an incredibly gifted pilot and leader of men along with being his second in Command, and Browing because the Air Marshal was as good a leader as Dashwood and had the uncanny ability to make materials appear out of seemingly thin air, and this was helped by the fact that the wives were good friends too, and had been since Browning's Chinese-born wife had offered to nanny Dashwoods son when his wife had had her appendicitis removed a few weeks after they had arrived.
Slim approached the small group, and with a quick salute broke up their conversation. Dashwood looked at his feet for a second and still asked himself why he was here, but then again, there little else he could do today since the Squadron was currently on stand down. He suddenly realized that Slim was talking and decided that it was best to listen to the General. “...metric tons of concrete. Today we will get to see the first test shot, and your reports, Gentlemen will be needed. Wing Commander Dashwood, you are here because later today you will be here in the air while we fire a second shot. There is no question of camouflaging it while shooting, but I want you to give me a report on how well it is camouflaged while firing.” “Yes Sir.” “Good.” No more words were exchanged as the men watched through binoculars as the gun was slowly elevated to firing position. The massive barrel then suddenly jerked back and huge jet of flame and smoke erupted from the muzzle. A second later the growling thunder of the shot reached the small hill the men were standing on as the shell made it's way into a hilltop somewhere on the peninsula. Dashwood was impressed. As an aviator he held some disdain for artillery and preferred arieal bombing, but if the flame and the noise were any indication then anyone being at the other end of these guns would be very sorry. Dashwood looked at the gun through his binoculars and observed how it was lowered and retracted a bit into the bunker for reload or something. “General, camouflaging that thing will be difficult at the best of times.” he said, totally forgetting that Browning was present. “Carry on then, Wing Commander.”
Dashwood saluted and excused himself before walking back to his own car. Slim glanced back at the bunker once more and wished he really felt the confidence that he put up and into his reports to London. If these bunkers were finished before the Japanese made their move, then he was more than confident that he could hold onto this island. Meanwhile Dashwood was sitting in the back of a pre-war Morris and wished he was back in the married Quarters with his family where his wife had probably just collected little Jonnie from school and was preparing lunch. But the flight he was about to embark on was the last for the day, and then he could look forward to a weekend of, which was more than his mates back in Blighty had. When he looked outside he saw that the car was pulling up in front of the gates of the airbase, and as he showed his papers, he could see that the last hardened aircraft shelter for his Spitfires was at last finished. Hardened might be a bit of a stretch, but the sturdy wooden shelters, to be reinforced by sandbags and camouflaged with netting in case of war were not meant to keep out any direct hits and more to protect the plans from splinters and near misses. He passed the shelter where his own Spit was parked, but she was not the kite he would take up today. Instead the car headed for a nearby hangar where the four co-operation planes, old Hawker Audaxes[2], were parked. Officially these aircraft were already scrap metal somewhere in South Africa, but had somehow stayed behind when the freighter had taken the others to their final fate. One was always fuelled to be used at the discretion of the Station and Squadron Commanders, and this was the one Dashwood was headed for now.
“You taking her up, Skipper?” a non-com asked. “Just for a quick spin.” Dashwood replied as he mounted the bi-plane and had the non-com bring the Kestrel Engine to live. It caught after the third try and after putting on his goggles, Dashwood taxied the plane out of the wide hangar, onto the tarmac of the base and took to the air. The Audax was slow and old, but that she was slow in comparison to the Spitfire made her a good observation plane and with the machine guns she carried she was not entirely toothless. Dashwood decided to fly at a medium altitude, a compromise between regulations and his mission and banked out towards the coast. RAF Tengah was to the south of the bunker, but Dashwood wanted to come in from the North, the most likely direction the Japanese would send their own aircraft from. While he flew up the coast he could see the most likely landing beaches were mined and had wire obstacles on them. These obstacles were more to act as a tripwire to alert the defending troops farther inland than to prevent any actual landings, as defending every inch of the coast would only tie up the troops. Slim believed in a flexible and mobile defence, and having his men sitting in dugouts at the coast was not helping that. At least he had more troops now, as the Hauraki Regiment of the New Zealand Army had recently been converted into a regular Army formation and instantly been sent to Singapore and at the old Naval Base the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, for some reason accompanied by three Squadrons of Cavalry, was unloading what vehicles it brought. IN the air the Defences were still slim, as the promised Canadian Squadron of Spitfires was delayed indefinitely for obvious reasons, and the RAAF was finding it difficult to part with it's precious locally built Spitfires.
Dashwood concentrated on his flying as he headed north and crossed the coast of the Malay Peninsula near Johore and the line of fortifications that protected the town and more importantly the causeway that was currently being widened by hundreds of payd Chinese workers and Royal Engineer Battalions that swarmed all over like ants. Somewhere to the north of it he turned around and headed back.
[Notes: Now hows about it? Is that enough Fortress porn for you? And is it not too ridiculous for you?]
[1] These are of course in reality the German Cross-Channel guns from the Batterie Todt from our own WW2. The guns in there were the same that armed Tirpitz and Bismarck. When I was plotting this chapter, I came across a picture of the Battery and decided that it was what I was looking for.
[2] Linky.
Chapter 160
29th March 1940
Singapore, British Malaya
No.1 Bunker, “A” Battery
“You know, I never thought I'd be glad that their Lordships cancelled a Battleship.” “I can imagine, Rear Admiral. But trust me, I like them better in here than out there. We can use them.” With that the Rear Admiral agreed to the fullest. He and General Slim, GOC Malaya were inspecting the guns of the 'Lion' Heavy artillery group, General Slim because they were the biggest guns on this island and, unlike the others, specifically meant to help in the defence of the main line of defence on the mainland, and the Rear Admiral because they were BL 16 inch Mark II guns, meant for the Lion Class that had been cancelled long ago. The Admiralty had been sitting on the guns for months until someone had decided that Singapore might need some additional heavy Artillery, so the nine guns already produced had found their way to Singapore, where they were now situated in heavily armoured turrets that were protected by massive rearward concrete bunkers. When Slim had first seen the completed bunker had been tempted to cable London and ask where the money for such a massive emplacement had been found, but as it turned out, much of the work had been done with cheap Chinese labour and to the detriment of the works on airfields and field fortifications. Slim would take properly protected heavy Artillery and hardened aircraft shelters here on Singapore Island over concrete trenches up at the Siamese border any day. Followed by his staff and by the Rear Admiral, Slim toured the rest of the massive bunker. Had work not started almost three years ago, it would not have been possible, and this was only one, with four of the others still under construction and slated to become operational over the next few weeks and months. From the outside it was most impressive. Hidden under a ghastly amount of camouflage netting was a concrete monstrosity with a diameter of roughly 131 feet, and a height of almost half that. The gun itself was placed in a traversing steel turret that allowed the gun to swing back and forth for roughly fifty degrees in both directions, protected against counter-battery fire and air attacks by an overhanging slab of concrete and several anti-aircraft guns in the area.
“Are you sure they are worth the expense?” the Rear Admiral asked, referring to the enormous costs, the long building time and the fact that the ingredients and the steel for reinforced concrete had been shipped in from as far as Auckland, never mind the fact that it took literally years to build and there was no keeping them secret. “Yes, yes I do. For one we needed additional land-facing Artillery, and second I think that these things will be a great boost in morale should we ever come under siege. The knowledge that one has the means to fight back does a lot to keep the spirits up, you know.” said the landlubber General to the sailor. Making the usual non-committing face that was so often found in the upper ranks of organized military forces the Rear Admiral followed Slim outside and back to his car. As they were driving back up the small rise out of the low and shallow artificial depression the bunker and the gun were located in, they could see the massive size of the bunker and the surrounding infrastructure despite the ongoing camouflage operations. The bunker was simply massive, and by the looks of it the gun would be even better protected than on any Battleship. Slim was driving himself, like he always did when he was out on these unofficial trips. Today he was here to witness the first test shot of these guns. It was merely meant to make sure that the foundations could take the strain and no real shell would be fired today. Normally this would have brought about a major social event to the Singapore calendar, but Slim had decided to do it all sort of hush-hush because he still felt not really at home in the upper crust of any Imperial city, and because he simply wanted the Japanese to have to actually work to find out that Fortress Singapore had gotten stronger and a harder nut to crack yet again. A small group of men had gathered nonetheless, and at the spot where they were waiting he could see Wing Commander Dashwood having an animated conversation with Air Marshal Browning. These two men had a healthy professional respect of each other, Browning liked Dashwood because he was an incredibly gifted pilot and leader of men along with being his second in Command, and Browing because the Air Marshal was as good a leader as Dashwood and had the uncanny ability to make materials appear out of seemingly thin air, and this was helped by the fact that the wives were good friends too, and had been since Browning's Chinese-born wife had offered to nanny Dashwoods son when his wife had had her appendicitis removed a few weeks after they had arrived.
Slim approached the small group, and with a quick salute broke up their conversation. Dashwood looked at his feet for a second and still asked himself why he was here, but then again, there little else he could do today since the Squadron was currently on stand down. He suddenly realized that Slim was talking and decided that it was best to listen to the General. “...metric tons of concrete. Today we will get to see the first test shot, and your reports, Gentlemen will be needed. Wing Commander Dashwood, you are here because later today you will be here in the air while we fire a second shot. There is no question of camouflaging it while shooting, but I want you to give me a report on how well it is camouflaged while firing.” “Yes Sir.” “Good.” No more words were exchanged as the men watched through binoculars as the gun was slowly elevated to firing position. The massive barrel then suddenly jerked back and huge jet of flame and smoke erupted from the muzzle. A second later the growling thunder of the shot reached the small hill the men were standing on as the shell made it's way into a hilltop somewhere on the peninsula. Dashwood was impressed. As an aviator he held some disdain for artillery and preferred arieal bombing, but if the flame and the noise were any indication then anyone being at the other end of these guns would be very sorry. Dashwood looked at the gun through his binoculars and observed how it was lowered and retracted a bit into the bunker for reload or something. “General, camouflaging that thing will be difficult at the best of times.” he said, totally forgetting that Browning was present. “Carry on then, Wing Commander.”
Dashwood saluted and excused himself before walking back to his own car. Slim glanced back at the bunker once more and wished he really felt the confidence that he put up and into his reports to London. If these bunkers were finished before the Japanese made their move, then he was more than confident that he could hold onto this island. Meanwhile Dashwood was sitting in the back of a pre-war Morris and wished he was back in the married Quarters with his family where his wife had probably just collected little Jonnie from school and was preparing lunch. But the flight he was about to embark on was the last for the day, and then he could look forward to a weekend of, which was more than his mates back in Blighty had. When he looked outside he saw that the car was pulling up in front of the gates of the airbase, and as he showed his papers, he could see that the last hardened aircraft shelter for his Spitfires was at last finished. Hardened might be a bit of a stretch, but the sturdy wooden shelters, to be reinforced by sandbags and camouflaged with netting in case of war were not meant to keep out any direct hits and more to protect the plans from splinters and near misses. He passed the shelter where his own Spit was parked, but she was not the kite he would take up today. Instead the car headed for a nearby hangar where the four co-operation planes, old Hawker Audaxes[2], were parked. Officially these aircraft were already scrap metal somewhere in South Africa, but had somehow stayed behind when the freighter had taken the others to their final fate. One was always fuelled to be used at the discretion of the Station and Squadron Commanders, and this was the one Dashwood was headed for now.
“You taking her up, Skipper?” a non-com asked. “Just for a quick spin.” Dashwood replied as he mounted the bi-plane and had the non-com bring the Kestrel Engine to live. It caught after the third try and after putting on his goggles, Dashwood taxied the plane out of the wide hangar, onto the tarmac of the base and took to the air. The Audax was slow and old, but that she was slow in comparison to the Spitfire made her a good observation plane and with the machine guns she carried she was not entirely toothless. Dashwood decided to fly at a medium altitude, a compromise between regulations and his mission and banked out towards the coast. RAF Tengah was to the south of the bunker, but Dashwood wanted to come in from the North, the most likely direction the Japanese would send their own aircraft from. While he flew up the coast he could see the most likely landing beaches were mined and had wire obstacles on them. These obstacles were more to act as a tripwire to alert the defending troops farther inland than to prevent any actual landings, as defending every inch of the coast would only tie up the troops. Slim believed in a flexible and mobile defence, and having his men sitting in dugouts at the coast was not helping that. At least he had more troops now, as the Hauraki Regiment of the New Zealand Army had recently been converted into a regular Army formation and instantly been sent to Singapore and at the old Naval Base the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, for some reason accompanied by three Squadrons of Cavalry, was unloading what vehicles it brought. IN the air the Defences were still slim, as the promised Canadian Squadron of Spitfires was delayed indefinitely for obvious reasons, and the RAAF was finding it difficult to part with it's precious locally built Spitfires.
Dashwood concentrated on his flying as he headed north and crossed the coast of the Malay Peninsula near Johore and the line of fortifications that protected the town and more importantly the causeway that was currently being widened by hundreds of payd Chinese workers and Royal Engineer Battalions that swarmed all over like ants. Somewhere to the north of it he turned around and headed back.
[Notes: Now hows about it? Is that enough Fortress porn for you? And is it not too ridiculous for you?]
[1] These are of course in reality the German Cross-Channel guns from the Batterie Todt from our own WW2. The guns in there were the same that armed Tirpitz and Bismarck. When I was plotting this chapter, I came across a picture of the Battery and decided that it was what I was looking for.
[2] Linky.
I hope that the Japs are kind enough to come through the right side of the front for you to use the guns...
lovely artillery porn. forgot to comment on the last canadian updates too, so i'll just say that i enjoyed them immensely, particularly as it featured the SAS and communists getting crushed.
Kurt_Steiner Remember, Singapore is an Island at the far end of a peninsula...
BritishImperial Thanks!
29th March 1941
Tokyo Bay
Any airborne observer that could have been over the bay on this day would have seen a magnificent sight. The entire Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy was there with everything from the Aircraft Carriers, Battleships and Cruisers down to Destroyers and base protection sloops was assembled there to honour the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. Men like General Tojo, now ruler of Japan in all but name, had originally been against accepting the Nanjing Republic as a full member, but the political advisers that sought to curb the General's ambition and promote them at the same time had pointed out that with the Chinese taking over their part of the land warfare the victory against the weak and decadent western powers that so long had occupied the soil of asia would just be so much quicker and at a lesser cost to Japanese resources. Admiral Yamamoto, hated by Tojo yet so desperately needed to control the Navy had pointed out that it would also help to reconcile the Chinese with their new Government and the long and bloody war that the old China had waged against Japan. Tojo knew that Yamamoto was simply anxious to end the war as fast as possible because he feared the combined industrial might of the British Empire and the godless communists in America. Looking at the most recent reports Tojo had to admit that the British were getting stronger and stronger and it was as clear as a day that they had pulled themselves out of the deep hole that had been the depression. However the Japanese Embassy in London reported that no one there wanted a war with Japan, even though they were clearly preparing for it, that much was clear. The exact warplans were shrouded in secrecy, but it did not take a great strategist to know that the British strategy would hinge upon Singapore and, by extent, at the Dutch East Indies. Yamaoto was correct when he said that there was a rapidly closing window of opportunity while the majority of the British ground and naval forces was in Europe.
In Tokyo meanwhile the strengthening of the Japanese position went ahead as scheduled, and this day had been a long time in the making. The plan had first circulated around the Japanese Foreign and War Ministries after the fall of China when Tokyo had decided what to do with China now that they had it. The ongoing insurgencies in the rear of the frontlines made sure that full occupation was untenable at the very least, and slowly, in the face of growing costs in resources and precious soldiers it had been decided that a puppet government was needed, albeit under strict control from Tokyo. The Government of the puppet state in Manchuria was taken as the model, with much of the higher Officer Corps of the Army Japanese and the head of State who was currently walking through the streets of Tokyo past cheering crowds towards the Palace in front of which Tojo himself and the Prime Minister would sign the new alliance treaty for Japan. Selling this to the Japanese public where the Chinese were seen as inferior sub-humans had required a rapids shift in propaganda since the Chinese had been defeated. The shift was almost complete, and had been so subtle that no one wondered about it. The fleet in attendance was in a good state. Thirteen Carriers of various Classes were present, eight Battleships, fourty-one heavy and light Cruisers and almost thirty Destroyer Flotillas. It was an awesome display of Naval Power, and if one was inclined to listen to the planners of the Combined Fleet just about enough. Since the defeat of China most of the Japanese industrial resources, considerably strengthened by the influx of industry and cheap labour of the parts of China that had directly been annexed to Japan, a massive building programme had been enacted, concentrating on carriers and on the outdated and obsolescent Japanese Cruiser force. Some of the Carriers were old Battlecruisers rebuilt into Carriers, like the Americans had done with the APNS September the Ninth and her sistership that had both started out as Battlecruisers and had been converted to Carriers during construction. Two more purpose-built Carriers were under construction, and would join the fleet before the year was out. Normally the Combined Fleet was, as usual in peacetime, scattered at bases all over the Home Islands and would be so again once the treaty was signed.
The Japanese Army was much more scattered. Most of the standing Divisions guarded either the Manchurian border against the Soviets, occupied and pacified the newly annexed regions of China. The fact that the Japanese Army was spread thin and would need at least another year to strengthen it's numbers and by that time the Communists in America and the British in India and Malaya would simply be too strong to be defeated quickly and easily.[2] A part of that Army was lining the roads between the Hotel where the Asiatic leaders, their entourages and their 'advisers' stayed, the palace and along the route they were to drive along. One among them was Private First Class Saigo, 41st Regiment, 5th Infantry Division of the 25th Army. The army had been chosen for this duty as the Imperial Guards 2nd Division were part, and while they had the honour of guarding the last bits of the route and the bridge up to the palace itself, the 5th, 18th and 56th Divisions had each sent a regiment to guard the remainder of the route. He hated being in the Army and wished he was back in Hiroshima where he and his wife had run a bakery before she had died in a fire that had also destroyed what else remained of his life. Joining the Army, at a time of war, was the best possible choice for any Japanese male in his situation, so he had joined up. Right now he was grasping the but of his Arisaka rifle, holding it at present arms. He felt that it was a mistake to honour lowly Chinese like this, but it was what the Emporer had ordered, so it was what would be done. He had seen some combat in China during the later stages of the campaign, during the gruelling drive towards Chongquing in September 1939. The Chinese had all but given up, but the landscape and the long distances were probably even greater enemies than the dissolving Chinese regular Army. The Division had been low on ammunition, low on men and low on food, and constant fights against irregular units that had refused to give up. He inwardly shuddered when thinking of the things he had been forced to do during these days and decided best not to dwell on them today. The car carrying the nominal ruler of Manchuria, former Chinese Emporer was driving past, and it was interesting to note that the crowd greeted them not with real enthusiasm as it would have in a western country but more with polite respect. The Japanese people still had to swallow the about-face of the supposed Japanese attitude towards the Chinese that had started the long and bloody war in the first place, and now one was to see the Chinese more as a source of cheap labour that was waiting to be exploited? As Pu Yi passed in the limousine, Saigo supposed that the Asiatic races had to band together if one was to be strong and invincible against the foreign powers. He stood at attention as car after car passed and he watched as the flags of the various states and organizations under Japanese control in China rode past. He envied the Guards men a bit, but at the same time he was standing under the overhang of a shop and was therefore hidden from the torrent of rain that had been falling from the skies for the entire day, and which did their own to depress the mood. The streets were awash with water, and the drainage systems of the city could barely cope.
The occupants of the cars could see the rain but did not feel it. When they were driving convertibles, the roofs were up, and the insides were heated. They all made a show of ignoring the crowds that had gathered to instil both in the crowds and themselves a feeling of superiority that wouldn't come easily, considering how the propaganda coming out of Tokyo had demonized the Chinese. A feeling of inferiority on the other hand was something that the Chinese did not feel either, because China was the centre of the world after all, whatever the British or the Japanese thought of themselves. The Alliance was by all of them seen as a way to gain more independence from Tokyo and to make their countries trusted allies instead of the lakeys it wanted. That this would mean war with the western allies was none of their concern, they did not care if the faceless masses fought and died for their own, very personal gain. The road that took them to the palace was going around one last corner and then they could see the spiritual if not political centre of the Japanese nation, the Imperial Palace. True, they could only see the outer walls, but they were impressive, even for the former Chinese Emporer who had spent much of his childhood in the Forbidden City. The white walls easily repelled the pouring rain and channelled into the wide ditch in front, from where the water would eventually enter Tokyo bay. On the bridge that led over the ditch and through a massive wooden gate into the palace itself a tent had been put up. It was not the usual Japanese Army tent that all the Chinese leaders were familiar with, but rather one that told of the pomp and circumstance the Japanese were putting into this. The tent stretched from just in front of the palace gates up to the street that passed by. One after another the cars stopped and the leaders stepped out, bridging the small gap between the cars and the edge of the tent and went inside to connect the fate of their people even closer to that of Japan.
[Notes: Sorry for the shortness, but it didn't work out as I had planned.]
[1] Essentially OTL Lexington, but based on another ship.
[2] Read: Defeated at all.
BritishImperial Thanks!
Chapter 161
Tokyo Bay
Any airborne observer that could have been over the bay on this day would have seen a magnificent sight. The entire Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy was there with everything from the Aircraft Carriers, Battleships and Cruisers down to Destroyers and base protection sloops was assembled there to honour the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. Men like General Tojo, now ruler of Japan in all but name, had originally been against accepting the Nanjing Republic as a full member, but the political advisers that sought to curb the General's ambition and promote them at the same time had pointed out that with the Chinese taking over their part of the land warfare the victory against the weak and decadent western powers that so long had occupied the soil of asia would just be so much quicker and at a lesser cost to Japanese resources. Admiral Yamamoto, hated by Tojo yet so desperately needed to control the Navy had pointed out that it would also help to reconcile the Chinese with their new Government and the long and bloody war that the old China had waged against Japan. Tojo knew that Yamamoto was simply anxious to end the war as fast as possible because he feared the combined industrial might of the British Empire and the godless communists in America. Looking at the most recent reports Tojo had to admit that the British were getting stronger and stronger and it was as clear as a day that they had pulled themselves out of the deep hole that had been the depression. However the Japanese Embassy in London reported that no one there wanted a war with Japan, even though they were clearly preparing for it, that much was clear. The exact warplans were shrouded in secrecy, but it did not take a great strategist to know that the British strategy would hinge upon Singapore and, by extent, at the Dutch East Indies. Yamaoto was correct when he said that there was a rapidly closing window of opportunity while the majority of the British ground and naval forces was in Europe.
In Tokyo meanwhile the strengthening of the Japanese position went ahead as scheduled, and this day had been a long time in the making. The plan had first circulated around the Japanese Foreign and War Ministries after the fall of China when Tokyo had decided what to do with China now that they had it. The ongoing insurgencies in the rear of the frontlines made sure that full occupation was untenable at the very least, and slowly, in the face of growing costs in resources and precious soldiers it had been decided that a puppet government was needed, albeit under strict control from Tokyo. The Government of the puppet state in Manchuria was taken as the model, with much of the higher Officer Corps of the Army Japanese and the head of State who was currently walking through the streets of Tokyo past cheering crowds towards the Palace in front of which Tojo himself and the Prime Minister would sign the new alliance treaty for Japan. Selling this to the Japanese public where the Chinese were seen as inferior sub-humans had required a rapids shift in propaganda since the Chinese had been defeated. The shift was almost complete, and had been so subtle that no one wondered about it. The fleet in attendance was in a good state. Thirteen Carriers of various Classes were present, eight Battleships, fourty-one heavy and light Cruisers and almost thirty Destroyer Flotillas. It was an awesome display of Naval Power, and if one was inclined to listen to the planners of the Combined Fleet just about enough. Since the defeat of China most of the Japanese industrial resources, considerably strengthened by the influx of industry and cheap labour of the parts of China that had directly been annexed to Japan, a massive building programme had been enacted, concentrating on carriers and on the outdated and obsolescent Japanese Cruiser force. Some of the Carriers were old Battlecruisers rebuilt into Carriers, like the Americans had done with the APNS September the Ninth and her sistership that had both started out as Battlecruisers and had been converted to Carriers during construction. Two more purpose-built Carriers were under construction, and would join the fleet before the year was out. Normally the Combined Fleet was, as usual in peacetime, scattered at bases all over the Home Islands and would be so again once the treaty was signed.
The Japanese Army was much more scattered. Most of the standing Divisions guarded either the Manchurian border against the Soviets, occupied and pacified the newly annexed regions of China. The fact that the Japanese Army was spread thin and would need at least another year to strengthen it's numbers and by that time the Communists in America and the British in India and Malaya would simply be too strong to be defeated quickly and easily.[2] A part of that Army was lining the roads between the Hotel where the Asiatic leaders, their entourages and their 'advisers' stayed, the palace and along the route they were to drive along. One among them was Private First Class Saigo, 41st Regiment, 5th Infantry Division of the 25th Army. The army had been chosen for this duty as the Imperial Guards 2nd Division were part, and while they had the honour of guarding the last bits of the route and the bridge up to the palace itself, the 5th, 18th and 56th Divisions had each sent a regiment to guard the remainder of the route. He hated being in the Army and wished he was back in Hiroshima where he and his wife had run a bakery before she had died in a fire that had also destroyed what else remained of his life. Joining the Army, at a time of war, was the best possible choice for any Japanese male in his situation, so he had joined up. Right now he was grasping the but of his Arisaka rifle, holding it at present arms. He felt that it was a mistake to honour lowly Chinese like this, but it was what the Emporer had ordered, so it was what would be done. He had seen some combat in China during the later stages of the campaign, during the gruelling drive towards Chongquing in September 1939. The Chinese had all but given up, but the landscape and the long distances were probably even greater enemies than the dissolving Chinese regular Army. The Division had been low on ammunition, low on men and low on food, and constant fights against irregular units that had refused to give up. He inwardly shuddered when thinking of the things he had been forced to do during these days and decided best not to dwell on them today. The car carrying the nominal ruler of Manchuria, former Chinese Emporer was driving past, and it was interesting to note that the crowd greeted them not with real enthusiasm as it would have in a western country but more with polite respect. The Japanese people still had to swallow the about-face of the supposed Japanese attitude towards the Chinese that had started the long and bloody war in the first place, and now one was to see the Chinese more as a source of cheap labour that was waiting to be exploited? As Pu Yi passed in the limousine, Saigo supposed that the Asiatic races had to band together if one was to be strong and invincible against the foreign powers. He stood at attention as car after car passed and he watched as the flags of the various states and organizations under Japanese control in China rode past. He envied the Guards men a bit, but at the same time he was standing under the overhang of a shop and was therefore hidden from the torrent of rain that had been falling from the skies for the entire day, and which did their own to depress the mood. The streets were awash with water, and the drainage systems of the city could barely cope.
The occupants of the cars could see the rain but did not feel it. When they were driving convertibles, the roofs were up, and the insides were heated. They all made a show of ignoring the crowds that had gathered to instil both in the crowds and themselves a feeling of superiority that wouldn't come easily, considering how the propaganda coming out of Tokyo had demonized the Chinese. A feeling of inferiority on the other hand was something that the Chinese did not feel either, because China was the centre of the world after all, whatever the British or the Japanese thought of themselves. The Alliance was by all of them seen as a way to gain more independence from Tokyo and to make their countries trusted allies instead of the lakeys it wanted. That this would mean war with the western allies was none of their concern, they did not care if the faceless masses fought and died for their own, very personal gain. The road that took them to the palace was going around one last corner and then they could see the spiritual if not political centre of the Japanese nation, the Imperial Palace. True, they could only see the outer walls, but they were impressive, even for the former Chinese Emporer who had spent much of his childhood in the Forbidden City. The white walls easily repelled the pouring rain and channelled into the wide ditch in front, from where the water would eventually enter Tokyo bay. On the bridge that led over the ditch and through a massive wooden gate into the palace itself a tent had been put up. It was not the usual Japanese Army tent that all the Chinese leaders were familiar with, but rather one that told of the pomp and circumstance the Japanese were putting into this. The tent stretched from just in front of the palace gates up to the street that passed by. One after another the cars stopped and the leaders stepped out, bridging the small gap between the cars and the edge of the tent and went inside to connect the fate of their people even closer to that of Japan.
[Notes: Sorry for the shortness, but it didn't work out as I had planned.]
[1] Essentially OTL Lexington, but based on another ship.
[2] Read: Defeated at all.
Japanese build up eh? I don't think the Empire can disregard this.
Is Singapore one of the first Targets of the upcoming Pacific War (First being Hong Kong, of course)?
Is Singapore one of the first Targets of the upcoming Pacific War (First being Hong Kong, of course)?
Intersting, but will the Chinese remain loyal forever? If the Japanese attack the Brits, will the UAPR feel the need to join in and defeat a common menace?
Griffin.Gen They won't. Last time something like this happened the unholy alliance in Europe followed, and the Empire is stuck in a war there. Mind you, there is not much more they can send.
Lord Strange The Chinese will stay loyal as long as it suits them. The warplans for the Pacific are on the whole like OTL, the balance of power hasn't shifted that much ( yet ) in favour of the British, even though all sides are somewhat stronger. It suits the Chinese to have a strong Naval power protecting their coasts from the Communists and the British alike.
all How has the quality been lately? Even with HOI3 out this drop in comments is a bit dissapointing. ( I am looking at you, El Pip! )
Lord Strange The Chinese will stay loyal as long as it suits them. The warplans for the Pacific are on the whole like OTL, the balance of power hasn't shifted that much ( yet ) in favour of the British, even though all sides are somewhat stronger. It suits the Chinese to have a strong Naval power protecting their coasts from the Communists and the British alike.
all How has the quality been lately? Even with HOI3 out this drop in comments is a bit dissapointing. ( I am looking at you, El Pip! )
Things are looking ominous for the British possessions in the region, then. i see epic defensive battles approaching, and can't wait.
i don't think there's been a drop in quality. i've spotted a few mistakes in sentence structure the last few times, but that's just me being picky and doesn't affect how interesting it is to read. i can't see why HoI3 being out should be a factor unless people are playing it so much that there's literally no time to read aars - this aar could be based on any of the hearts of iron games, or none at all, as its pure narrative.
i don't think there's been a drop in quality. i've spotted a few mistakes in sentence structure the last few times, but that's just me being picky and doesn't affect how interesting it is to read. i can't see why HoI3 being out should be a factor unless people are playing it so much that there's literally no time to read aars - this aar could be based on any of the hearts of iron games, or none at all, as its pure narrative.
Glad to hear. Last few were rushed a bit, because I want a certain Naval Battle to happen very soon.
Anyhow, yes. The British are in for some more than difficult defensive battles, because while the British have technology and tactics on their side, the Asiatic Alliance has numbers.
Anyhow, yes. The British are in for some more than difficult defensive battles, because while the British have technology and tactics on their side, the Asiatic Alliance has numbers.
Please say we defend Singapore this time! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!! Don't let us fail against fewer troops attacking!
Trust me. The Siege of Leningrad can go and cry in a corner in the face of the awesomeness that will be the Siege of Singapore. It will be defended with everything the Empire can muster.
And yet, superior time-travelling Japanese Mecha shall prevail. Fortress Porn cannot compare against Mecha Porn.
And yet, superior time-travelling Japanese Mecha shall prevail. Fortress Porn cannot compare against Mecha Porn.
This ain't France. British Fortress Porn can.