Josephe Makael's heritage - India continues

[Yumo]

03:00 pm 1st of May 1947 Delhi, Rashtrapati Bhavan

President Roy sits in his bureau. He is about to welcome his guest here, not in the lobby as it is usual. He just want this to go off without making a fuss. And since the Indian intervention in the Chinese Civil war, a Chinese looking man wasn't too unusual in the Presidential Palace. He has read all he got about his guest from his informant twice this morning and he only was interrupted by a message about the offensive on southern Shaanxi province, which wasn't planned, but the optimistic Nationalists launched an attack on Lt. General Srinagesh's forces, so that Long Yun in the north and Cariappa in the south counterattacked. Now it looks like Cariappa managed to break through, while Srinagesh has held the line.

Generally, the revolutionary forces are emerging as the superior ones. It began with the cut of the supply routes at the Mongolian border, which hit them totally surprisingly as there were still frost. Thereupon, General Rustam of Hyderabad and Lt. General Rama Varna II of Trevancore advanced from there stands around the Taklimakan desert. Now there were only some dispersed Nationalists in the northern Mountains, near the Russian border, with Rustam on his way to catch them.
One of his secretaries enters, to give notice that the guests is present. Roy calls him in.

Wang Jingwei enters with a self-confidence, the president hasn't seen often yet. He got a young looking face, but he should be around Roy's age. He smiles politely. Manabendra knew, that Wang has waited in Europe for the Civil War and now, where Chiang's loss is obvious, he has returned. He was one of Sun Yat-Sens best men during the Xinhai Revolution and had held some important posts in his Goungzhou Government afterwards. But when Sun died, Wang was no match for Chiang Kai-Shek in the inner Kuomintang battle for Sun's heritage. In his desperation, he allied with the Communists and tried to kidnap Chiang but failed, so his reputation was sinking.
Nevertheless, Wang had led the Kuomintang's left wing and kept being a thread for Chiang. Also the connection to the Communists and other important persons like Feng Yuxiang, has stayed strong and in 1930, he tried to organize a coup 'état with his support again, but failed in the Central Plains War.

From left to right: Sun Yat-Sen's son Sun Fo, Yu Youren, Feng Yuxiang, Tan Yankai, Wang Jingwei, Tang Shengzhi (1927)​

As a result of these struggles, Wang was exiled and traveled to Europe.
To this point, Wang seems to be the perfect candidate for the new Chinese president's post. But he was no communist, actually he did call himself an anti-communist in the past, because he thinks that communism and nationalism are incompatible ideals. Roy also worries about the meeting with National Socialist Hitler he had.
“President Roy” Wang bends forward a bit as a greeting gesture.
“Welcome to India Mr Wang.” Roy nods.
Wang smiles ingratiating.
“I like India's countryside, but, please pardon me, I like to see my parents' country again, well It's been a while, but I bet you know better than me how long exactly.” he sneers.
Roy grimaces, but Wang's face turned serious again.
“I want back to China – as it's rightful president. I may not be socialist, but you won't get a Chinese one! All of the already gathered around Mao and they see India more as a further enemy to fight after. I am still in contact with some of them – some with influence. With my help, you should be able to get their trust!”
Roy was surprised on the one hand and glad on the other, that his guest came to the point without circumlocution.
“And... what's about Long Yun, I mean...”
Wang smiles again.
“Long doesn't want to be president, he isn't a national politician, he is a warrior, ruling with the fist! And the northern provinces would accept him, you know that. I think he knows that too.”
But Roy got his doubts.
“We prepared a guest suite, here in the palace. You can live here until we'll find the best solution for the Chinese people.” But he already knows, like Wang already said, that there isn't a better choice. Wang only lost the struggles, because of his lack of military power, but with India backing him, he could unite China once again.
For now he could sleep calm again, but that was only a thought...

On the 4th of May, American troops landed near Karachi, at the Sindh coast and the Indian regional garrison was unable to repel them.

After installing this bridgehead, General Patton moved his 9-division-strength-army to Sindh. Vice Admiral Dass Katari has been sent to secure the Gwatar Bay and General Ali Jah of Gwalior, who rather should lead the invasion on Tibet, moved to Hyderabad to engage Patton with the support of General Rustam of Hyderabad. Patton's forces, hopelessly outnumbered, were forced to capitulate.

While this battle happened, the Allies installed an base for further operations on Ceylon – unfortunately, all Indian transport fleets were sunken.

Aside that, the offensive in northern China, mostly in Shaanxi and Hubei provinces, went quite well. The end of Chiang's rule is only a matter of time

China on the 1st of August​

 

[unmerged(103362)]

Those Americans seem to be quite a nuisance, let's hope you can push 'em back into the mountains where Indian mountain divisions will show them how socialists fight.

 

[unmerged(92722)]

Oh dear the yanks coming after you does not look good.....

 

[Yumo]

6:00 am, 18th of August 1947 Administration Office, Bangalore
A young man, who hasn't reached the 20th year enters.
His boss, Lt. Faghandar stands in front of his file closet.
The young man salutes
“Sir, I've got an important message from Ceylon! The American Army moved a huge army there but we got no information about their use.”
Lt. Faghandar frowns. Then he bends over the files again.
“Ajunar, be kind and inform our boys in Couchin, yes?”
Lt. Faghandar got the disagreeable habit, to treat everybody like his nephew.
“Sir, don't you think that the Army HQ in Delhi should know that too?”
“Pah, please Ajunar, just do what I am saying! The people in Delhi got enough to handle with the Chinese War, why load their burden? Run, boy, there are more important things to do.”

Lt. Faghandar do not know at this point, that he will loose his job within the next few days.


It began in the night of the 22nd of August, when American troops engaged the stationed Indian troops in Cochin. They were forced to flee in the dawn already. Within a few days, the Western and eastern Ghats had been captured completely. Vice Admiral Dass Katari moved immediately and managed to engage the transport fleets, but unfortunately after they had already unloaded the invaders.

Indefatigable, he sought other transporters, but then was spotted by a bigger fleet which finally sank the Indian naval forces flag ship, the HMS Taragiri.

On their way to the last secure port in Bengal, they were spotted again, and completely destroyed (The last western port was captured on the 18th of September by Lt. General Schmidt.

The invasion of Tibet got to wait again, and Ali Jah of Gwalidor was ordered to repel the Americans again, this time from Nagpur in Central India. Some armies were moved from the Chinese front to support him.

General Cariappa and Lt. General Srinagesh were reasonable for most of the decisive victories​

Lt. General Srinagesh managed to capture Xi'an temporary, so that the Nationalist forces at Baoji were encircled. Long Yun got the honor to force them to surrender.

But no one was able to hold Xi'an, the old Chinese capital and the starting point of the ancient silk road. With the Americans in their back, the Chinese front had frozen, actually the Nationalists made some progress at some areas.

 

[unmerged(87183)]

Looks like you have a bit of trouble on your hands.

 

[Mico94]

looks like India will finish like camerun
i hope not!

 

[Yumo]

well, the problem is (well, was ) that the American forces were fast (mot mech and panzers), but outnumbered.

 

[Yumo]

Ali Jah's first efforts to recapture southern India failed. His exhausted men didn't manage to defend Hyderabad. He retreated to Nagpur and waited for the reinforcing Bengal coast guards.

Field Marshal Khalid Menad led the Indian armies that encountered the invaders from Pakistan.
He drove a wedge between the Pakistan – and the South Indian invaders, right before the Allies capture Delhi.
Some Americans tried to hold their last stand on the Kathiawar peninsula vainly, some were waiting in the Indus dale for reinforcements, where they got captured right after they were celebrating the New Year.

Ali Jah subdivided his army and systematically surrounded the American South India forces, marching along the coast line. Cut off from their supply beachheads, the American soldiers were forced to surrender on the first February days.

This disastrous defeat induced the American generals to concentrate on other enemies:
They started to engage Communist Formosa in December and achieve full control over the island on the 13th of January.

The Indian armies moved back to the Chinese front, apart from Ali Jah, who moved to the former capital of Bhutan, Punakha, to prepare the invasion of Tibet. The declaration of war followed on the 19th of March. Ali Jah's men braved the inhuman frost and reached the city of Lhasa on 24th of April, where Ali Jah forced the Dalai Lama to risgn immediately in the name of the people.
On the conference of Lhasa, Indian and revolutionary Chinese leaders, decided to made Tibet Chinese National territory, but give the royal treasure to the Indian government, as some kind of allowance.

Back at the Chinese front, the Indian army was now strong enough again, to finish the job. To break the Nationalists' economical back, the industrial center around Wuchang should be engaged. The problem was the pathless territory between it and the Indian forces.

The first offensive was launched on the 12th of May 1948
But neither Alenga, nor Cariappa were able to hold the mountainous territory.
The final offensive took place on the 16th of July, and this time Nationalists couldn't resist.

After the Yan Xishan was captured and killed by Chiangs forces and the Americans landed on Formosa, Mao finally signed a peace treaty with the Nationalists on the 15th of July, the same day American troops captured the historical Port Arthur

 

[unmerged(87183)]

Wow, alot happened. Good job though.

What happened to Wang Jingwei?

 

[Yumo]

Well, actually Wang Jingwei led the Nanjing-government installed by Imperial Japan - an interesting man to the core. He died in in 1944 on a desease, but I thought he would be the most interesting HoS and I bet this desease, I don't know which, would had been cured if he had stayed in Europe.

I forgot to write that he signed the Lhasa contract for the Indian-backed Chinese nation.

I am about to start the next post too

 

[Yumo]

The following month were shaped by senseless battles, as the Chiang reign had been pointed out as the conflict's loser long before. Obviously, he and his companions hope for a wonder – or for the US to intervene again. But with ebbing of the supply stream out of the states, the hope sneaked out and fear graped the Nationalist soldiers hearts. After the surrender of about 100,000 soldiers in the city of Luoyang on the 26th of August, a pamphlet written by Wang Jingwei had been spread over the Nationalists realm, which ordered the soldiers and citizens to surrender to avoid further blood. The deadliest battles were fought along the Yangtze river for the cities of Wuhan metropolitan region and Changsha. Awhile, the Americans turned themselves to challenge the Japanese Empire next, after two bitter losses against the Revolutionary Indian Forces.

With Thailand's pullout, the Japanese forces lost strength and ground in South East Asia and with Allies in Manchuria and Southern Japan, they got too much trouble to advance further in China.

As Revolutionary Chinese Forces enter Hebei city Handan on dawn of the 18th of October in 1948, the Nationalists used their full strength of 18 divisions in the area to get Handan back. Field Marshal Menad expected that, and ordered the Indian troops in Shaanxi and the Chinese forces in the southern mountains to attack Shanxi's capital Taiyuan (Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces aren't the same), while he launched an offensive against the port town of Yucheng to cut off the northern Nationalist armies from supply.
The battles end with a glorious victory of the Revolutionary forces.
Helplessly caged between the Imperial and the Revolutionary borders, the Nationalists surrendered. The Japanese were too busy to repel the Allies, so only Xilinhot got captured.

Only few hours later, Chiang begged for peace the first time, but his offer was that ridiculous that Roy didn't even answer.
With the end of 1948, the Far East looked like this:

With the announcing spring, the Revolutionary forces march from Beijing southwards along the coast to end the Civil war at Nanjing....

 

[Yumo]

Interludium
The Socialist Union of China


With the advancing of the Revolutionary Forces, the Nationalist soldiers and generals got a feeling of doom. They began to leave the sinking ship in droves.
The first attempt to occupy Nanjing was made before the arrival of the northern forces and was led by Lt. General Nabob Kureishi of Bhawalapur on the 20th of March. The defenders finally got annihilated after a long and hard battle. Chiang fled to the south, where he hopelessly was trying to avoid the cut off from supply of his last army concentration, apart from the scattered troops around Nanjing, in Guangdong region.
After the devastation of the city of Nanjing (three main battles were fought for it) and the surrender of the encircled forces in Guangdong, leaders of both Chinas met to end the Civil War.
As the main leaders left, Zhang Xueliang, Feng Yuxiang and He Yingqin signed the end of the Republic of China and the non-toleration of the Kuomintang, apart from the surrender of all Nationalist forces.

He Yingqin signs the capitulation of the land forces​

Most of the military leaders went into exile, especially the higher ones. Some got were amnestied by Wang Jingwei and a fast arranged high court and stayed in China, laying down all their former military post, for example; He Yingqin. He swore, not to intervene in Chinese politics any longer too and went to Wuchang.
The ambitious young generals, who hadn't experienced the dramatical start of the Kuomintang and the fall of the Qing Empire were easy to convince to commit themselves to a socialist non-Mao government, which seemed to be the fresh breeze in Chinese politics and many climbed on the bandwagon. Feng Yuxiang, who has sympathized with socialism (well, more the Stalinist style) a long time ago, offered his services too and should later become the leader of the radical wing of the Marxist Party of China.
Zhang Xueliang, the “child general”, did a more special way: He offered services for the case, that the new government would declare war on the Japanese and the illegitimate Manchu Empire, to recover his homeland.

Zhang Xueliang, the KMT as well as the CCP regard him as a patriotic hero​

KMT leader Chiang Kai-Shek disappeared. Mao's intelligence discovered him on Formosa, where he is heavily guarded by American forces. The message was spread all over China, because Chiang's death has got in everyone's interest.
On the 1st of June, several regional and military leaders met in Xi'an, which has been be the prospective capital, to speak out on Wang's presidency with no dissentient.
Wang Jingwei started his speech thanking the Indian people for their support in overthrowing the KMT regime and enhanced the the strong connection between the peoples of China and India.
Considering the long-established strict hierarchical structure in the Chinese provinces, Wang decided to make China a Unionist state, leaving many old warlord structures intact. Each province is presided by a governor, while in former times there were two leaders, a military and a civil one. The army should be more in the hands of Xi'an.

The new president Wang Jingwei declares the Socialist Union of China

The provinces are:

Xinjiang
Along the SU border, Xinjiang is a place where dog eats dog. After some intrigues, Sheng Shicai, managed to become the mightiest warlord with doubtful aid: torture and raid, made him a wealthy man, who found his way to communism over the CPSU. Wang kept him in office, as he took part in fighting the KMT and there was simply no alternative. ((With the SU never intervene in the European War, Sheng never turned anti-Soviet and wouldn't join the KMT))

Shanxi-Suiyuan
After Yan Xishan's death, Shanxi lacked of significant leaders. Nearly all turned either to Mao or to Chiang, expect for Fu Zuoyi. He served as the chairman of Suiyuan's government for 15 years and as leading commander of Shanxi's forces even longer. After Yan decided to enter the war, Fu contacts the Revolutionary forces the first time.

Shaanxi
The former basis of Mao's forces, nominally had stayed a Nationalist province and its governor was a man named Li Genyuan, who was a respected administrator, who wasn't ever interested in a special political idea.

Gansu-Qinghai
In this territory, there mostly live Hui, Muslim Chinese. They were ruled by the Ma family for ages and Wang racked his brain, who to make governor. He finally chose Zhao Shoushan, a former KMT general, with great references, which will be needed to keep the Hui quiet.

Yunnan
Of course Long Yun stayed in power!

Sichuan
The warlords of the Sichuan province were hardly to be called a clique, but sometimes they had formed something like a loose band. With India's intervention, the power of the most famous warlord Liu Wenhui rose and he was the one to sign the contract for the Sichuan province. But he later will be chosen for the National Armaments Minister, so he handed over governorship to Deng Xihou, another warlord from Sichuan.

Tibet
After only a month of war, the Tibetan army surrendered in Lhasa. The general, who signed the annexation, a young aristocrat named Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, engaged in the new government afterwards and saved many rights for the Buddhists in Tibet. Wang chose him for his fame and his charisma.

Zhili State
The northern provinces stayed out of the civil war as far as possible. The borders of this province accord to the realm of influence of the Zhili clique through the warlord era. Wang chose Lu Zhonglin as it's governor, as he was before under KMT rule.

Anhui State
Named after the Anhui clique, who ruled this territory through the warlord era.
Huang Shaohong was the first KMT general who surrendered in North China and so he avoided bloodshed. Because he got experiences with political leadership too, Wang made him governor of the Anhui state.

Huguang
Wang decided to make Hunan and Hubei to one province once more and gave it the name it had in Qing times: Huguang.
He made Li Xiannian governor, a former fellow of Mao, a strict economical reformer, who is necessary for rebuilding the important regional industry.

Guizhou
In the face of the others, Guizhou province isn't that big and important. The province always leaned towards the political opinion of Yunnan or rather Guangxi clique, but their will to be an own state within the union was strong enough, so that Wang made Wang Jialie governor, who has commanded the Guizhou army for years. He had repelled Chiang's influence a long time and stayed his enemy till the end of his rule.

[just hadn't found a pic of him, sry]


The Japanese Empire still holds two cities in the south, Anshun und Wenshan. Another bone of contention is the Japanese support for Li Zongren, Pu Yi and Mao Zedong. Hopefully, the Americans' preasure on the Empire will loosen it's grip over Chinese territory, otherwise war will be unavoidable in the near future.

The more interesting question was: “Who will be prime minister?”
President Wang Jingwei's first choice has been expected by many political experts.
Li Zongren was a well-known leftist during the KMT regime. He often antagonized Chiang for his policy and was a fellow of Wang. Li is also the leader of the Guangxi clique, the Chinese ally of Japan. Making him Prime Minister would make Guangxi join the Union. Surprisingly, Li declined.
The Japanese promised to make him China's single ruler, so was content to be the clique's leader for now.
His next choice was a bit more unexpected:
Zhang Guotao was one of Mao's closest fellows, but within the last years, the differences between his and Mao's idea of communism broke out in an inner party conflict. So Zhang took the first opportunity to switch the sides.
From Wang's point of view, most of the candidates, were to Stalinistic or to influenced by India. So he chose Zhang as a lateral thinker and griper.

Zhang Guotao, the Union's Prime Minister​

Zhang cabinet beared some surprises for the observers:
He made Ren Yuandao and Qian Dajun Chief of Navy and Chief of Air Force, two of Wang's closest friends, who aren't staunch communists, like everybody knows.

 

[Enewald]

I do not know why I missed this aar.

Go India!

But why so few recruits?

 

[Yumo]

But why so few recruits?

I just don't know

what can I do to make this more popular?!
well, at least there are some views, but nearly nobody comments on this

btw: next campaign will be Africa for Indian forces, while China rocks Asia

 

[unmerged(56754)]

Hmmm ... the USA progresses deep into India ...

Go India!

 

[Yumo]

Hmmm ... the USA progresses deep into India ...

well, actually I already repelled the invasion two posts before...

 

[unmerged(110969)]

I just don't know

what can I do to make this more popular?!
well, at least there are some views, but nearly nobody comments on this

btw: next campaign will be Africa for Indian forces, while China rocks Asia

How cares what the view and comment rate is, you should continue to trug along with this AAR.

As for popularity: Advertise it in the inkwell? Otherwise what I seem to notice the more views go to the well decorated writAARs (those who have won multiple awards, etc.) and the other is the name given, a more pizaaz type of name, something that stands out or just looks interesting when you read. Other than this I have nothing else to give you. Good luck.

 

[unmerged(87183)]

I always read this AAR, your last one was quite good.

Just keep at it, your real fans will always thank you.


You are at War with Japan no?

 

[Yumo]

@TheEnlighted1
I'll continue anyways, got too much fun to stop = )
Yes, the Inkwell should be a start. I'll make a proper post within the next week.
Thanks for your encouragement anyway


@Maj. von Mauser
Yep, I am happy having kept you on this

I'll leave Japan as they are until, well let me call it "something", will happen
India's next aim is Africa for sure

 

[robw963]

I'd like to add my voice of encouragement for your AAR. I've never even attempted a game as India, so I'll be following with interest.