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Lamps Before the Wind - A Japanese Revival

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Myth

Myth

Strategy Cognoscenti
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Jul 8, 2005
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Here it is, the (apparently) eagerly awaited sequel to Great Ambitions: Lamps Before the Wind! Just over three weeks have passed since the end of Great Ambitions (or, if we're talking about Real Life(TM), about two weeks) and the Japanese have begun their rebellion. I've edited the Chinese AI to make it more aggressive, and I've turned the AI settings up to furious as well. I'm hoping for a challenging game against the odds. I think I'll get it.

Also, for convenience, this time whenever I post a new update (which won't be anywhere as constant as for Ambitions, or as regular) I'll also post the link in this post as well (newcomers won't have to wade through pages and pages of stuff, yay!).

Chapters
Preface
Chapter I: Evolution of Rebellion
Chapter II: Immediate Developments
Chapter III: Tokugawa Sakusen
Chapter IV: A Short Quiet
Chapter V: Kabayama Sakusen
Chapter VI: Kuroki Sakusen
Chapter VII: A-Go Sakusen
Chapter VIII: Preparations for Return
Chapter IX: Ten-Go Sakusen
Chapter X: Ichi-Go Sakusen
Chapter XI: Post-Ichi-Go Developments
Chapter XII: Ha-Go Sakusen
Chapter XIII: Chi-Go Sakusen
Chapter XIV: Ke-Go Sakusen
Chapter XV: Peace Settlement
Chapter XVI: Search for the Emperor
Epilogue
 
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Preface​

Lamps Before the Wind takes up the task laid down by my previous work, the historical pseudo-novel Great Ambitions. I wrote Great Ambitions in such a manner, rather than the traditional style, as I had been fascinated with Li Jishen’s character ever since he caused our defeat in what is now known as the Second Sino-Japanese War, August 15 1936 to June 12, 1940. He had utterly defeated Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun, the Imperial Japanese Army, and Dai Nippon Teikoku Kaigun, Imperial Japanese Navy; both proved themselves to be only weak obstacles in the face of his massive ambition. Li Jishen had not only ejected us from the Asian mainland but had taken the war to the Home Islands of Japan, in the end annexing the Japanese Empire. He then moved on to other enemies, other campaigns; he moved further and further from China. He presided over the twin invasions of Indochina and Siam, he supervised the conquest of Siberia and took a direct hand in warring against the German war machine, and he personally dismembered the remaining European remnants of the Soviet Union. On the purported eve of his greatest war yet, he was assassinated by one who had once been his own ersatz spymaster, a man who happened to be the Japanese agent Toru Kioshi.

He was a fascinating man, a brilliant general and he lived in a world of his own with which reality only sometimes intersected. I would argue that this was the source of his brilliance, he refused to see that there were certain tasks he simply could not accomplish, that there were certain maneuvers that could lead to his own defeat. He believed firmly in his own destiny. The advice of his more cautious commanders never succeeded in dissuading him from doing potentially foolish things, yet in the end China was the better for it as he never failed. His death brought about the collapse of the Chinese hegemony over Eastern Europe, the vast expanses of Siberia and Central Asia, Southeast Asia as well as Japan. Against nearly all expectations, however, China did not dissolve and plummet back into the depths of multi-faceted civil war but remained unified, it remained monolithic. Li Jishen left a powerful, stable, legacy.

China, however, soon found itself embroiled in a war it did not want. Though a non-expansionist, perhaps even peaceful, faction had gained power in Guilin nearly immediately after Li Jishen’s death, China came under assault from all directions. Her client states did not simply break away; they were soon marching against her borders in a sort of union, or perhaps a sort of unison. The broadly Russian states—Georgia, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Siberia, Transural and Kazakhstan—represented one alliance bloc; Siam and Indochina another. Japan fought alone; this was how it should have been, none of the other belligerents had undergone that which Japan had experienced. So that my own personal stance is clearly understood: I was of the opinion that, in such a situation, with only a little more time China would have recalled her garrison army in Japan back to the mainland to partake in the battles that were to come. We would have gained our independence without any need to resort to the bloody war that indeed occurred. However, given that history cannot be changed save by a dishonest pen, I regret nothing.

Tojo Hideki, however, was a man at least as disconnected with reality as Li Jishen. He was determined to avenge the 1940 defeat and annexation of Japan. He was also a very persuasive, or perhaps a very forceful, man. The officer corps of the Imperial Japanese Army was quick to respond to his suggestions, and the naval officers were soon to follow. He attempted to find a patron, as Japanese industry could not, under Chinese Imperial Law, produce armaments of any sort. His efforts were eventually successful and soon a small contingent of experienced Japanese soldiers was armed with American-made weaponry. Many of the important generals were also trained in American military doctrine, as Tojo had decided that our own had obviously been found wanting in the Second Sino-Japanese War. I was one of those lucky ones, who learned of American doctrine and understood how the Americans had been so successful against the Germans. I, and others, represented a new breed of Japanese general, successfully welding the ancient themes of Bushido to the concepts of technological wealth endorsed by the Americans.

Lamps Before the Wind, then, is partially a history of the Third Sino-Japanese War, set alongside the Russo-Chinese War and the Southeast Asian War. It is also partially a memoir, of my experiences as a general of the Imperial Japanese Army commanding units of various sizes during this war. As I write this nearly twenty years after the end of the war, my own recollections and reflections are supplemented by not only those of others, of all relevant warring powers, but also documents kindly lent to me by archivists in the governmental capitals of all the belligerents.

It is with great humility and, I hope, balance that I write this work. I sincerely wish to honor the copious bravery, the profuse death and abundant brilliance seen on every level of this great conflict. I believe there is a lesson to be learned; that all our lives are but lamps before the wind.

Sincerely,

栗林忠道
Chūjū Kuribayashi Tadamichi
 
I cannot miss this AAR!
 
And so it begins. Since you buttered me all up I guess I'll tag along for the ride. ;)
 
So THAT's what codename LBtW was! Deep in my heart I was still going with Lukas Broke the World. I hope you use the filter style we created in irfan because it was really cool.
 
Another great AAR best of luck
 
So what role are the allies actually going to play. Will they be fighting amongst themselves or are you going to try and take 1000IC on with your 100 "I just built this army 6 months ago" country :p
 
Subscribed!

BTW - If you play against yourself too often you could go blind! :rofl:
 
This look very good. I can't wait to see how the map looks with poor China being assaulted in so many directions.
 
Swollen Goat: I certainly hope it'll be good, but it'd be good in a different way, less reliance on screenies and more on actual storytelling

Kurt_Steiner: I like that attitude! :D

grayghost: buttered you up? buttered you up?! hah! I don't need to butter anyone up! ;)

Discomb: yep, though I now think of it as Lukas Broke the World too, really. besides, isn't that kind of what I've been doing all alone? :p
and yes, the filter style stuff has remained

Maximilliano: unfortunately updates won't come as fast as during Great Ambitions, but on the whole they should be (1) better written and (2) meatier, so I hope that's enough compensation

german general: thanks!

Tribolute: that will be revealed in one or two updates time :p

Llywelyn: well, not quite the next post as it is a post without screenies, but the one afterward, yeah :p

rcduggan: yes, it has begun! :D

Gaarq: yes it does! :D

chefportnen: utterly impossible? maaybe...interesting? I hope so!

Graymane: it goes to (desperate) war! I won't divulge all my AI changes for China, but among them I've changed their recklessness to 3 and their stance versus humans from op_defensive to offensive. quite fun

lifeless: a new beginning indeed. you'll see how much of a garrison China left in the third update.

Reado: yes, I'm back! :D

WhisperingDeath: that actually gives me an idea for an absolutely ridiculous game...though it would require me to have two computer...:p

GeneralHannibal: poor China? poor China? hah, China has more divisions than all her enemies combined by at least a factor of 2!

hito1: excellent, glad to see you with us! :D

I'll try to post updates every other day, so next update will be tomorrow.
 
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