Chapter 14 – April 1945
AuthAAR’s Notes: Things are certainly livening up – and so I must further condense the presentation to keep it Quick and Dirty enough! I will only give battle details for the largest engagements, the rest are summarized on the sector maps. This would have been up earlier, but for the delay for the rather ugly new forum design, then my shocked reaction to it!
PS: Have fixed the broken image link and included an updated map legend on the first summary map as a 'hot fix'. Will think about how I might include an easy-reference cut down legend for subsequent maps on a future update.
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1. Far East – Northern Sector
No territory changed hand in the far North during April 1945. Vast distances and slow movement times kept things gradual. The one action of the month occurred in
Tomtor, where the previously retreating Japanese Sasebo Marine Division struck south to support an attack on
Jakutsk after the Soviets occupied it on 5 April. This attack from
Tomtor was soon spoiled by a Soviet assault from the west, with victory on 7 April.
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2. Far East – Central Sector
Operational summary, Far East – Central Sector, April 1945.
NB: in all these maps, small numbers in the battle icon represent the order of the battles in the province if there is more than one.
221 Mot Div in
Aldan came under heavy attack on 1 April. Two days later, (with no report received from the battle) the whole division apparently shattered, disappearing without a trace
[I assume they shattered anyway, but there was no message or screen, no sign of them after they were defeated]. The Japanese retook the province on 6 April.
Early in the month, Soviet tank divisions from 6th Army were racing towards
Jakutsk, the air base lost around a year ago while the Japanese were still on the offensive.
Tjung was liberated on 3 April and
Jakutsk two days later.
Jakutsk then came under concerted Japanese attack from
Tomtor and
Lazo between 5 and 16 April. After 7 April, as mentioned above, the attackers from
Tomtor were driven off by 6th Army forces in the north. The liberated air base was held after a bloody fight (Soviet 269 v 1,691 Japanese casualties).
Japanese-held
Torgo was attacked between 3-6 April and reoccupied on 13 April as the Soviets finally managed to breach the river defences that had held them up in March.
Japanese forces in
Mosgolloh were attacked on 11 April but retreated almost immediately, allowing the Soviets to eventually occupy it near the end of the month without further opposition.
15th Army was not willing to let the Japanese get comfortable in
Aldan for long: a counter-attack from
Olekminsk was organised for 15 April, with the Japanese defeated four days later with fairly heavy losses, the Soviets marching back in triumphantly on 27 April – the same day
Mosgolloh was taken to its immediate north.
A few probes on
Ust’ Nyukzha came to nothing in the days leading up to a major attack on 19 April. This time, the river was crossed successfully, with victory on 22 April and the province retaken on 25 April.
As that attack was unfolding, Soviet forces from
Torgo were striking south-east against
Nejungri on 20 April. After a sharp fight they won against light resistance, retaking the province on 27 April, just before
Aldan was reoccupied, meaning the Japanese lost a swathe of three provinces in the one day and just two days after
Ust’ Nyukzha had fallen. There were hopes the heart had been torn out of the Japanese line in this part of the sector, but only time would tell if the rate of advance could be sustained.
Indeed, a strong Japanese counter-attack had hit
Ust’ Nyukzha as soon as it was retaken on 25 April and was still going as the month ended, with the Soviet defenders in trouble.
But to the north, on 25 April 6th Army deployed two CAS wings into the recently liberated air base at
Jakutsk.
With
Mosgolloh taken on 27 April, 6th Army pushed forward in
Curapca, with an attack on 28 April still in progress by the end of 30 April (and 1,137 enemy already killed in air strikes), while a Soviet probe on
Tommot was repelled on 30 April. Then the Japanese in
Tommot launched their own counter-attack later that day on recently reoccupied
Nerjungri, which continued as the day ended.
Strong Soviet air support throughout the month caused heavy Japanese casualties, while no Japanese air missions were flown in the sector. The heaviest raids were in
Torgo (1-6 April, 2,749 casualties),
Aldan (15-19 April, 2,037 casualties),
Ust’ Nyukzha (19-22 April, 1,891 casualties) and
Erofej Pavlovic (1,694 casualties).
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3. Far East – Southern Sector
Operational summary, Far East – Southern Sector, April 1945.
7th Army became very active along the eastern shore of
Lake Baikal, both north and south, while 15th Army was engaged in heavy combat in and around the mountainous Japanese stronghold of
Mogoca. And 1st Army, with a new commander and stripped of many of its divisions, finally became engaged in combat as the month drew to a close.
The month began with a continuing Japanese attack on
Burjatija, which the Soviets had retaken in March. The attack would fail by 3 April (Soviet 306 v 1,388 Japanese ground and 1,767 air casualties in
Barguzin and 1,985 in
Bukacaca).
The Japanese attempted to intercept one of the damaging air raids on
Barguzin on the evening of 3 April (4 Zerosen, flying the Ki-88 Hayate), but was met with additional Soviet interceptors (Yak-3s) and a determined 36. IA-PVO, whose multi-role escort fighters (non-jet MiG-9 ‘Fargos’) took most of the damage defending the bombers.
The Japanese also made a determined but expensive attack on
Dronovskiy from 1-2 April, repelled with even heavier casualties (Soviet 231 v 1,728 Japanese ground casualties).
A series of four small Soviets probes against
Petropavlovsk Kamchatskiy from 2-6 April did little and were all quickly called off, while two more lighter Japanese attacks on
Dronvoskiy from 2-4 April were easily repelled.
Meanwhile, when Soviet cavalry probed
Barguzin on 3 April, resistance ceased almost immediately and they continued their advance. They would meet heavier resistance on 4 April, ultimately winning a tough battle by 8 April, aided by air support (Soviet 700 v Japanese 860 ground and 930 air casualties).
Barguzin was eventually occupied on 17 April.
Simultaneously, 7th Army was also attacking
Goryachinsk at the southern end of
Lake Baikal, that battle also extending from 4-8 April, when Soviet forces triumphed. While ground casualties were relatively moderate, devastating air raids from 5-8 April killed 2,585 enemy defenders. The province was liberated quickly, 7th Army lead elements marching in on 9 April.
With no action by 1st Army in the first week of the month (an earlier apparent attack on
Bukacaca on 31 March having been called off), 52nd Corps was transferred to 7th Army command, leaving 1st Army with just one corps under command. A day later, the
Mildigun depth objective was taken from 1st Army and given to General Rybak’s 7th. The diminished 1st Army was told to simply concentrate on attacking
Bukacaca.
Further east in
Mogoca, the largest ground battle of the month in any sector (other than perhaps the unknown losses suffered in
Aldan a few days before) was fought when 15th Army responded to the earlier series of three Japanese attacks on
Dronovskiy with a major attack on 7 April. The Soviets tasted victory on 13 April after six days of hard fighting in mountainous terrain (Soviet 608 v 1,560 Japanese ground and 1,101 air casualties).
A broadly simultaneous Soviet attack by the 7th Army was nearly as large a battle, as they exploited east from
Goryachinsk almost as soon as they had occupied it. The battle for
Petrovsk Zabaykal'skiy lasted from 9-14 April and resulted in another Soviet win (Soviet 667 v 1,264 Japanese ground and 2,658 air casualties).
The Japanese again slipped reinforcements into
Barguzin before advancing 7th Army units could secure it, with another sharp battle fought there from 13-17 April, ending in a final Soviet victory won without further air support (Soviet 506 v 1,144 Japanese ground casualties).
4 Zerosen attempted another intercept, this time on aircraft apparently returning to
Irkutsk from a mission further east. The TAC bombers of 2. BAD suffered some light damage, but 4 Zerosen ended the dogfight further damaged and badly disorganised.
Mogoca was liberated on 15 April,
Barguzin on 17 April and
Petrovsk Zabaykal'skiy on 19 April.
The liberation of Barguzin on 17 April re-established the lines of communication along the eastern shore of Lake Baikal, linking 7th Army units to its north and south.
Far from being subdued, the Japanese responded with a series of attacks to try to regain lost ground. An attack on
Petrovsk Zabaykal'skiy from 19-21 was beaten off but not on 21-23 April, with neither battle attracting Soviet air support. But reinforcements arrived to save the day on 26 April – the Japanese stopping their advance as soon as they bumped into the fresh Soviet troops.
A determined Japanese attack on
Burjatija began on 21 April. As a result,
Bukacaca was added as an objective for 15th Army, in the hope they and 1st Army might combine to send some of the heavy concentration of units sitting idly to its north-west against it.
It took eight days to defeat the attack on
Burjatija, which soaked up much of the sector's air support between 21-25 April. It was finally defeated after a spoiling attack began by 1st (finally!) and 7th Army divisions on
Bukacaca kicked off on 28 April.
1st Army – now only left with 15th Mech Corps and its assigned air support, finally stirred into action, joining with two divisions of 7th Army’s 60th Corps to assault Bukacaca on 28 September.
That attack was still going as the month finished
[77% progress], after the battle for
Burjatija itself was won on 29 April (Soviet 360 v Japanese 905 ground and 1,988 air casualties).
The quiet in
Mogoca was shattered on 26 April with a major Japanese attack from
Petropavlovsk Kamchatskiy and other surrounding provinces that saw the Soviet defence in some trouble by the end of 30 April, as the battle wore on
[84% Japanese progress]. A ground probe on 25 April and Soviet air strikes on
Petropavlovsk Kamchatskiy (27-30 April, 689 killed) failed to discourage the attack.
East of
Lake Baikal, a 7th Army probe on
Romanovka was turned back quickly on 27 April, but an attack on
Chita begun the same day was still being pressed by the end of the month
[45% progress].
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4. Far East – Mongolian Sector
Operational summary, Far East – Mongolian Sector, April 1945.
7th Army’s other (once primary, now lesser) responsibility was to team up with the Mongolians to retake lost Mongolian territory, especially the former capital of
Ulaanbaatar. But despite some early successes, progress proved elusive in April.
Major combat operations started on 6 April with a Soviet attack on
Khadasan fron
Muren and
Khantai, while 170 SD attempted to follow up its previous victory by advancing to secure
Tsetserlig.
The battle for
Khadasan was won on 9 April, but not before heavy casualties were sustained in the attack (Soviet 966 v Japanese 530 ground and 1,075 air casualties). The province was occupied later that day.
But six days later, a strong Japanese counter-attack from the north-east began and the weakened units trying to hold to
Khadasan, not given any air support to blunt the attack, were in turn defeated on 18 April (Soviet 533 v Japanese 381 killed).
Khadasan was lost again on 23 April.
The same day, forces advancing on
Tsetserlig ran into reinforcing Japanese units, with a fierce battle raging for the next five days. It ended in another expensive defeat for the Soviet attackers (Soviet 933 v 354 Japanese killed).
The weary troops pulled back to
Dzhirgalanta and were then attacked on 28 April by the Japanese who had re-secured
Khadasan, and were in some trouble by the end of the month
[66% Japanese progress].
Anecdotal evidence suggested the diversion of air support for most of the month had a negative effect on Soviet ground operations. The three battles which did not receive it were either lost or apparently being lost.
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5. Intelligence
In Japan, the Kempeitai had started and finished the month with one team, producing and losing the two during the month, but no Soviet agents were lost. Japanese national unity had decreased by 0.8% from 67.0% to 66.2%.
Manchukuo started the month with one agents at home, producing one and losing none to finish with two, with one Soviet spy neutralised on 26 April. This prompted a priority change with
all Soviet in-country effort being directed to counter-espionage to try to stamp out the local agents. Manchurian national unity had fallen by 0.5% from 68.5% to 68.0%.
The Soviets had lost one team in total for the month, adding five, and therefore finishing with eleven in reserve. A new mission to another country was still at least a month or more away.
There was a decrease in enemy agents were rounded up in the Soviet Union and overseas during April: 23 were apprehended, down from 30 in March and 35 each in January and February. This time Germany led the list with four agents neutralised, two each from Czechoslovakia and Japan (the latter probably both picked up in Japan itself), and one each from Belgium, Bhutan, Communist China (the class traitors!), Hungary, India, Lebanon, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Syria, the UK and the US. Of those, the Swedes were the only non-Allied country.
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6. Diplomacy
Tibet began aligning towards the Comintern on 5 April but had ceased doing so by the 29th. Sweden began aligning on 12 April and was still doing so as the month ended.
Despite having been called into the war and now given objectives in Mongolia, the army of Sinkiang had shown no eagerness to send forces east. An investigation that reported on 7 April showed this was probably due to their concerns about the threat of Xibei San Ma on their border.
The Ma Clique was very close to the Axis and under their continuing influence. Perhaps that problem would need to be suitably ‘rectified’ once the main front had been better secured and some troops could be spared to combine with Sinkiang to overthrow the Ma dictators and institute a Peoples’ Republic in Xibei San Ma.
As the month ended, Molotov reviewed war goals against various Axis minor powers. It was decided that Manchukuo and Mengukuo would both be puppeted after Communist governments (existing war goals) were installed. Finland’s ultimate fate had been neglected, so the first priority would be to bring the glories of Communism to the rebellious counter-revolutionaries, to be followed by puppeting subsequently (though their recalcitrant government-in-exile would delay that no doubt until the Axis was fully defeated).
7. Research
It was a busy month for Soviet researchers and academicians. It started on 3 April with the introduction of amphibious warfare equipment. With submarine designs being heavily researched, crew training was now also addressed.
With the USSR’s first nuclear reactor coming on line (see production below) a check of civil nuclear research showed it would achieve Level 3 in a month (2 May), with Level 4 required to begin producing an actual weapon. Nuclear physics was at 5.7 skill, giving a 7.8% research bonus. Practical nuclear bomb making skill was now at 6.0.
In other secret research, rocket engine research would be completed on 1 July 1945. After that, jet engines could be researched – and the Soviet ballistic rocket program would be a step closer to implementation.
The next level of single engine aircraft armament research was achieved on 7 April. Effort was now directed to continuing the medium tank upgrade program, with new sloped armour to be developed.
Two days later Level 4 aero engine design was attained, which brought all main fighter designs to that level (1945 standard). This allowed the new aircraft type of helicopters to be researched, with the aim to improve battlefield medical evacuation (and perhaps pilot rescue) in the future.
The latest round of heavy bomber pilot training improvement came on 13 April, with the doctrine researchers turning their attention to doing the some for the primitive ground crew training manuals.
Spearhead doctrine (Soviet officers would not use its German descriptor) reached Level 6 on 15 April, with effort then directed back to engine development for the medium tank upgrade.
With four-engine airframe development now beginning to approach contemporary standards, cargo capacity was finally addressed, with the niche paratroop capability being developed for future landing operations against Japan – and potentially in a later conflict with the West.
Fighter pilot training was improved on 25 April but it was still behind the times by contemporary standards. The doctrine program for it was continued.
With better large fuel tanks for heavy Soviet aircraft available from 29 April, researchers were finally set to improving defensive armament for the heavy aircraft arm
[even if the air defence element is bugged in HOI3].
Finally, with two engagements against the latest Japanese fighters during the month, a technical readout of the Nakajima Ki-84 ‘Hayate’ and the equivalent Soviet Yak-3 interceptor was made, to show where Soviet fighter technology still lagged (and noting a new Soviet model was now available for any new aircraft produced, while current wings were upgraded: more details on the new Soviet models are provided in the Production section below).
The Japanese aircraft, though small in number on the Far Eastern Front, were superior to their Soviet counterparts in many key aspects and especially at night, where the first generation of airborne search radars for small aircraft were still being researched and navigation radars were not yet even in blueprint form. At least speed and air attack factors were equivalent and Soviet aircraft had increased range with drop tank technology and were significantly more logistically efficient.
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8. Production
The USSR’s first nuclear reactor, located near the capital
[as with rocket research, for game physical security reasons only] came on line at midnight on 3 April 1945.
The practical knowledge gained led to an enormous reduction in the costs for the second reactor under construction, down from over 60 IC to just 35. The spare production capacity was channelled into building the
Mytishchi facility to Level 2, with enough left over for a new model five-brigade medium armoured division (which now cost almost as much as a new nuclear reactor) and two engineer brigades for reinforcing existing formations in the Far East. The medium armoured division would likely be deployed in the West when completed.
By 4 April, elevated reinforcement costs from fighting in the Far East led to a deficit in production (around 15 IC), slowing down the new projects at the bottom of the queue (though
not to the expansion of the
Mytishchi reactor).
On 5 April,
Mutina air base (Far East Central Sector) was improved to level 5, with production rolled over to developing level 6 facilities.
And by 10 April, while reinforcement costs had dramatically shrunk again, upgrade costs from recent technical developments rose to 73.8 IC, leaving the current production shortfall at around 25 IC (again, with no supplies being produced).
And on 10 April, the latest interceptor model had been upgraded to the Yak-15 ‘Feather’, though none had yet been put into operational service, meaning the Yak-3 was the front-line fighter until upgrades had been completed. The latest multi-role fighter was still the MiG-9 ‘Fargo’. There were plans for both designs to be equipped with jet engines, but these were not yet ready
[just me trying to gloss over the obvious Paradox discontinuity in the pictures/models ].
The largest Soviet air base in the east at
Irkutsk was upgraded to level 9 on 12 April, with expansion to the maximum level 10 facilities ordered to follow on. There were eleven wings of various types based there at that time.
A new engineer brigade was deployed to a (3xINF) rifle division in 15th Army on 13 April.
As at the end of the month, upgrade costs had decreased somewhat, but the IC saved had been fed into supply production as the stockpile had been run down in previous weeks and was still running at a modest daily deficit (-200). The production shortfall was about 10 IC.
9. Theatre Summaries
The Far Eastern Theatre had seen excellent gains in the Centre and Southern
(Lake Baikal) sectors. The Far North and Mongolia had seen no territory change hands.
Total recorded Soviet losses to land combat for battles were nominally less than March at 8,397 and none from Japanese air raids. But the apparent destruction of 221 Mech Div in Aldan had likely seen another 7,438 Soviet soldiers killed or taken into captivity.
The operational tempo had been even higher than in March, with the Japanese and their puppets losing 16,787 men (over 3,000 more than March) in ground combat and 26,645 to air strikes (about 600 fewer than March). Total Japanese/Axis casualties were therefore about 2,600 higher than in March at 43,432. But they had lost a good deal more territory.
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The Japanese had proved more resilient in South East Asia during April than expected. They hung on in their new lodgement in Indo-China, had lost most of Malaya and the key base of
Singapore, but had gained some ground in Borneo.
The Allies were closing in on the Japanese enclave around the port of Cam Rahn against stubborn Japanese resistance.
The Indian Army, which had been filing down to Malaya during April, was now returning to the sub-continent.
The Thais had ‘cleaned up’ most of Malaya, including Singapore, by themselves, while most of the Allied forces that had been heading there had back-tracked, apparently to deal with the new Japanese landings in Indo-China.
Allied forces in Borneo had retreated north, apparently not under pressure. It remained largely a side-show.
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With again no changes in the wider Pacific, the situation in Australia had remained largely static, with Japanese effort once again apparently swinging to the south, but with limited Allied progress in norther New south Wales.
The Caucasus Theatre had largely reconstituted its garrison along the border with neutral Turkey by the end of April.