May 1938 - All units make best speed!
A second battle to close the Nanjing pocket causes a few held breaths at IGHQ, but there's a good reason we're doing this within range of the coast. There is never any real danger.
Hangzhou was actually occupied by a single division, one of the Independent units under Mj. Gen. Kawabe (our one and only Engineer
). You can probably imagine he was forced to retreat pretty much instantly, but had time to lauch the flare which started Higashikuni's steamroller moving towards the city once more.
May, and still it's raining
Despite the disappointing weather and hilly terrain (hills! soon we will LONG to be attacking hills
) our troops easily defeat the Chinese. Without serious numbers on their side, they cannot stand up to our superior training and doctrine.
The army bombers continue their businesslike butchery on retreating Chinese divisions, and provide invaluable and highly detailed information on the forces they encounter. No intelligence report can equal the accuracy of having a good look at them through a bombsight!
Penetrating inland is the key to this campaign. Our ability to control the coastal regions was never in serious doubt. But out here the danger of being encircled makes commanders nervous, and not fire support from the fleet can reach. The hard fought and massive campaign to the east is being fought entirely to prevent as many Guomindang troops as possible from withdrawing into this mountainous hell-scape. As the IJA moves west into China it must do so in unassailable force!
Fuzhou was undefended, despite the presence of an easily practicable landing site, the presence of a massive Japanese fleet offshore and the fact that we've made landings twice before. This makes it look like the desperate Generalissimo may have robbed the coast of garrisons to hold the front line.
Interesting.
