Awaking from the Nightmare Years - USA '45 AAR

[Symmetry]

What does TBD stand for?

Probably To Be Decided

 

[SeanB]

To make Japan a Republic would be like making Americans not worship God almost. That would cause horrible unrest in Japan which is why they chose to preserve the Japanese Monarchy.

 

[Maximilliano]

To make Japan a Republic would be like making Americans not worship God almost. That would cause horrible unrest in Japan which is why they chose to preserve the Japanese Monarchy.

maybe then we could see someone rebeling against Tojo, but not the emperor; justifing it by saying that the rebellion is in the service of the emperor and that his advisors are leading him astray. Basically "The Last Samurai" with Less Crazy, i mean Tom Cruise

 

[noobermenschen]

Japan was merely the side show - now they have been demolished it only remains for you to keep a watching brief on the Japanese in China.

Concur! IRL Allied strategists considered German scientists by far the greater long term threat than Japanese Generals - and Germany was years from producing an A-bomb in 1945.

You know you've got an awesome AAR when the Mods are hooked...

 

[unmerged(10416)]

To make Japan a Republic would be like making Americans not worship God almost. That would cause horrible unrest in Japan which is why they chose to preserve the Japanese Monarchy.

Yep.

Also, you can't just tell a people: "Hey, forget about your emperor in Pusan and the two/three million sons and fathers of your country who are still in the army in China - we will found a new country right here and right now, and now please elect a president." That doesn't work.

Japan needs to stay occupied until the Japanese army and government surrender, or until an agreement between them and the USA has been worked out.

No one would have thought of setting up a German state in 1945 or 1946, when the country was in total chaos and millions of men were still in POW camps. The same applies to Japan, and it's even worse because millions of Japanese are still serving the emperor abroad. If you wanted to found a new country on the Japanese home islands, you would first have to declare the previous Japanese Empire to be dead (nullification). Then, consequently, all the soldiers and civilians still serving Hirohito would become stateless, their civil rights in Japan would be voided. The new state would take shape without them, unless they went through a process of repatriation (the terms of which would be dictated by the US occupation and their lackeys in the new republic). This would then raise the issue of how the USA could ever negotiate with them on any terms other than unconditional surrender.

(Well okay it's just a game, but still... modding a new country into the game so you can withdraw all your armies from Japan and be free of the need to occupy the country is cheap IMO. You took the home islands, but you haven't fully beaten Japan yet, that's the problem here!)

Anyways, you mentioned that you wouldn't want to land on the Asian mainland because the Axis have gigantic armies roaming the countryside. It's probably a good idea to avoid an overland campaign, but what about just a limited campaign from Shanghai due west until you link up with Chiang's armies? You would face only the undersupplied Japanese armies, and that shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? This would allow you to start trading with China again, and give China coastal provinces that they need to start pulling their weight against the Axis. Then they could wear down the Japanese by themselves.

 

[unmerged(58852)]

Any plan would require Hirohito's (or an alturnative Emporer's) involvement to work. I do not belive there were any other legitimate canidates for the throne. I don't know what effect the Emporer's departure in defeet form the home Islands would have had on the mindset of the man on the street.

 

[rich-love]

HQ, US Army Forces Europe (1st AG), London, United Kingdom
23 October 1946
0900Z

"General Eisenhower, it's good to see you back in London!"

"Brad, please, call me Ike. We're all friends here. Besides, this is supposed to be an informal meeting."

"Well, sit down then. Would you like a drink? I believe my ration card is around here somewhere..."

"No, that's ok."

Eisenhower sat down at the conference table and turned to see General Patton enter the room.

"Ike! How the hell are you? How's your foot?"

"Good, George, and fine. How have you been?"

"Cooped up and antsy!"

"Well, that's why were here, right? Brad, I understand that you've got reconaissance info to share."

General Bradley pulled out a binder. "Right, Ike. These were collected by P-59s and submarines over the last two weeks or so."

"West coast of France."

"The Dortmund area."

"Holland."

"Denmark."

"Portugal."

 

[Derek Pullem]

Hmmmm..............tempting. But remember the Iberian peninsula is a long way from Berlin. Trouble is that even if you were to feint at Portugal and Spain the AI has more than enough troops to respond and maintain the Atlantic Wall. Especially as it can use the Pyrannees as a shield against expansion into France.

Of course those mega stacks are juicy targets for your own nukes if you eventually research them. In the mean time you need to break those stacks up. So maybe a series of Dieppe raids (deliberately and more successfully this time) would be a good way to start to pull the AI around and to chip away at its IC / airforce / navy.

 

[unmerged(58852)]

HUM... Well, if you could use the Pyranes as a defencive wall you might be able to bleed the Nazi. Also if you can liberate Republican Spain they might make a nice addition to your Alliance.

Of cours takeing Gibralter and opening the Med would be good thing.

Logistics Strikes in France could slow down the german counter attack (like Bule Emu did in his Statigic bomber expariment)

 

[Michaeru]

The Dortmund area is well protected, so my Father is save for now. Please have mercy with him. I'd say you bomb the hell out of the Logistics in Spain and Southern France for some time, land in Portugal and then ... I dunno.

 

[Yoy21]

Don't attack portugal. The small, mountainy area to the north of Spain will keep you blocked. You'd probly have to attack somewhere else when you reached that point, but holding back all those troops would be a problem. Well, GL anyways.

 

[unmerged(10416)]

Hmm... maybe a blitz invasion of Denmark to force the Öresund, then a second invasion of the German baltic coast, and a dash for Berlin... quite promising, I'd say. Scandinavia seems to be very weak, and this could allow you to leave focus on the southern flank of this kind of thrust...

But German air power would pose the greatest threat to that kind of penetration/invasion, the Baltic sea is surrounded by German bases. And Denmark is far from an ideal defensive position.

Oh and regardless of where you invade... there's a good chance that the AI will auto-destruct its chances for victory by strat-redeploying its entire army all at once... that happened before. Maybe you could ask Kanitatlan about how to edit the AI file to prevent such a disappointment.

 

[dublish]

I say drop a few divisions in Iberia- not a real invasion force, just something big enough to get Germany's attention and keep it. The AI will try to counter whatever you have with equal strength in each province that borders yours, so you could end up diverting large numbers of Axis divisions to a front that you have no intention of exploiting. At that point, you make your main attack on Denmark and rush for Berlin. Then you evacuate Iberia and reinforce your main attack, eliminating German divisions as fast as possible. They'll outnumber you no matter what, so there's not much point in waiting.

 

[Maximilliano]

Yep.

Also, you can't just tell a people: "Hey, forget about your emperor in Pusan and the two/three million sons and fathers of your country who are still in the army in China - we will found a new country right here and right now, and now please elect a president." That doesn't work.

Japan needs to stay occupied until the Japanese army and government surrender, or until an agreement between them and the USA has been worked out.

No one would have thought of setting up a German state in 1945 or 1946, when the country was in total chaos and millions of men were still in POW camps. The same applies to Japan, and it's even worse because millions of Japanese are still serving the emperor abroad. If you wanted to found a new country on the Japanese home islands, you would first have to declare the previous Japanese Empire to be dead (nullification). Then, consequently, all the soldiers and civilians still serving Hirohito would become stateless, their civil rights in Japan would be voided. The new state would take shape without them, unless they went through a process of repatriation (the terms of which would be dictated by the US occupation and their lackeys in the new republic). This would then raise the issue of how the USA could ever negotiate with them on any terms other than unconditional surrender.

(Well okay it's just a game, but still... modding a new country into the game so you can withdraw all your armies from Japan and be free of the need to occupy the country is cheap IMO. You took the home islands, but you haven't fully beaten Japan yet, that's the problem here!)

Anyways, you mentioned that you wouldn't want to land on the Asian mainland because the Axis have gigantic armies roaming the countryside. It's probably a good idea to avoid an overland campaign, but what about just a limited campaign from Shanghai due west until you link up with Chiang's armies? You would face only the undersupplied Japanese armies, and that shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? This would allow you to start trading with China again, and give China coastal provinces that they need to start pulling their weight against the Axis. Then they could wear down the Japanese by themselves.

touche. I stand corrected sir

 

[rich-love]

HQ, US Army Forces Europe (1st AG), London, United Kingdom
23 October 1946
0910Z

"Wow. I've read Mr. Kaiser's intelligence reports, but seeing those troops on the ground... wow."

"Ike, when can we expect to be reinforced from the Pacific?"

"By spring, most likely. Transport capactity is short; we're trying to garrison Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, Formosa, clear out Micronesia and the South Pacific, and bring those troops half-way across the world."

"Ike, you left out the Marianas."

"Yeah, and we're staying in Vietnam?"

"The Marianas are ours. Spruance is keeping the Marines busy. Truscott is in Vietnam with six divisions, guarding the only entry into occupied Vietnam."

"Oh."

"He gets pulled out if there's any serious attempt by the Axis to get in there."

Patton paused. "How many divisions do you expect to be able to give to us by spring?"

Eisenhower answered instantly. "250 or so, given our recruiting, assuming that the Pacific deployment goes smoothly."

Bradley looked up from his notes. "Ike, what should we prioritize? Attrition of Axis forces, or Berlin's reactor?"

"Brad, I don't think we can do the second without the first. If you can figure out a way to rush Berlin that doesn't involve writing off entire divisions of troops, I'm all ears. Regardless. I'm locking the two of you in here; I'll be back in 24 hours, and I want ideas. Call your staffers if you need to."

 

[rich-love]

Aboard the USS Essex, 400km west of Ulithi
23 October 1946
2000Z

"Admiral? Message from Guam. Chennault's B-45s have found the remnants of the IJN."

"Good news. When will the Marine transports be in position?"

"A few days, Admiral."

"Send a word to TF Goalpost and the RAN elements - I want some help keeping these guys in port while Claire works them over."

 

[unmerged(58852)]

Got him!

Nice work Rich!

 

[Yoy21]

Take Yap! Then, attack the Jap's!...anese.

 

[stnylan]

Nice catching sight of the rest of the IJN.

I think I would just annex Portugal on general principles, even if I bugged out immediately thereafter.

 

[unmerged(47162)]

maybe you should land in portugal, stay as long as you can and then get the hell out of there