@TemplarComander: I have definitely underestimated just how ferocious the enemy resistance in outer Mongolia and Manchuria would be, but Japan will not waver and fight until final victory. As for contingencies: being a maritime power allows me to pretty much pull my entire army out of the mainland if I need to do so and simply try again at different locations. However, Japanese forces have made enough progress that for the enemy to push them out of the mainland would be a massive undertaking.
@Aliasing: It doesn't work that way. I only get MP from my "protectorates" during peacetime. Its the same for vanilla HOI2 as well. therefore, I only get MP from the home islands. Also, there are no regular militia units in MDS 1.6 (although I really wish there were, would make great insurgents for places like Iraq/Israel/Mexico/etc).
@Sumeragi: You shall see what gains they are if Japan wins.
@CylonAndrew: The USA is not coming. Everything they have is either still in Latin America or stuck in the middle east. It all lies on the shoulders of Japan, her allies, and the coalitions members in East Asia.
@hoi2geek: The Philippines are not Korea, that is why I am not changing my policy on the Philippines.
@Fenrir 1576: Yes, Japan is allied with the ROK now as part of the broader Coalition war effort.
@everyone else: thanks for the comments!
The war in mainland Asia is continuing to rage. In the northeast China front, just south of Beijing, the PLA seems to finally be getting into the action. Here, a very large PLA mechanized army, equipped with lots of tanks and artillery, attacks Japanese paratroopers holding the mountains of Datong. Lacking in large numbers of anti-tank weapons, they are forced to retreat, lest they be slaughtered by heavy Chinese firepower.
However, Japanese generals do not plan to make advances easy for the enemy. Adopting a strategy of elastic defense and maneuver warfare, Japanese troops try to roll with enemy attacks, luring the enemy in, and then counterattacking as soon as they gain ground. The large Chinese mechanized field army that had retaken Datong is given a rude awakening when they are hit by a very large Japanese counteroffensive. Unable to create suitable field fortifications, the enemy troops are forced to withdraw again, having lost lots of soldiers, equipment, and tanks to Japanese fire.
To the northeast, in the Manchurian front, enemy attacks are increasing heavily. Jiamsui, which had finally been successfully taken, is retaken by a massive combined SCO multinational field army, utilizing Chinese, Russian, Central Asian, and even Mongolian units. Japanese brigades are heavily mauled by heavy enemy firepower, and are unable to form any effective defensive lines. Once again, Japanese troops are forced to retreat.
While Northeast Asia is rocked by heavy fighting, in Southern Asia, a new war erupts. After many months of preparation, India's army invades Pakistan. Indian leaders proclaim that they will once and for all bring down the Pakistani regime, India's longtime rival, and fulfill Gandhi's vision of a unified Indian subcontinent. Massive battles are breaking out all along the Indo-Pakistani border, as Indian and Pakistani tanks and artillery smash each other to pieces. Pakistani appeals to China for help meanwhile, fall on deaf ears.
Back in China, Japanese marines, transported to the front several weeks ago from Sakhalin island, come under intense attack by Chinese forces. The PLA seems to be starting a general counteroffensive against Japanese troops, and is able to successfully force these Japanese marines to withdraw to secondary defensive positions set up in the city of Tianjin to the north.
Further east, Japanese government and military officials open up bilateral talks with the Republic of Korea. Japan promises the Korean's extensive assistance in rooting out the last remnants of the DPRK, still holding out in the mountains to the northeast despite all previous ROKA attacks. Korean generals agree to integrate their armed forces into the hands of Japanese command, hoping that with Japan's assistance, they can finally end the Korean war once and for all.
Back to the west, enemy pressure is mounting to dangerous levels. Recent Russian armoured attacks into Outer Mongolia have driven Japanese troops away from the Mongolian border. Combined with Chinese attacks to the south, Japan's entire front is straining. Japanese generals, alarmed at the situation, order their forces to fall back to secondary defensive positions along the entire front, with priority given to fortifying urban areas. Above all else, Japanese troops are given a very critical order: under no circumstances are they to allow the enemy to retake Beijing, a blow that could massively damage the Japanese war effort.
To the south, enemy activity against Taiwan has suddenly spiked dramatically. After months of quiet, it seems the Chinese and their Russian allies have finally worked up the courage to launch an attack across the strait into Taiwan, even without local naval superiority. Taiwanese defenses very quickly start to crumble away, and the ability of the RoC to hold its ground looks very unlikely. Fearing a collapse that could free thousands of soldiers to fight on the front further north, Japanese commanders order the navy to send the
Ryujo and its taskforce into the Taiwan strait. Very soon, they arrive to the area, a move that forces the SCO troops on the mainland to pull back, lest their small landing ships and coastal patrol vessels, and with them thousands of precious soldiers, be lost to Japanese naval power.
Back on the mainland, Japanese and Korean forces launch a joint offensive in southern Manchuria, so they can link up their armies, form a coherent frontline, and cut off the major city of Dalian from the rest of Manchuria. Attacking from two sides, combined Japanese/Korean troops are able to not only overwhelm the local SCO forces, which seem to include lots of North Korean troops, but literally wipe many of them out.
Further west, Japanese generals continue their strategy of elastic defense. After being driven out of outer Mongolia by the Russians, Japanese troops are ordered to counterattack the enemy forces as they trickle in to the region. First to arrive are a large number of Russian tanks, including highly advanced T-90 main battle tanks. Japanese mechanized and armoured forces drive ferociously into the enemy, destroying very large numbers of enemy tanks and forcing these units to retreat.
Further south, the enemy counteroffensive continues. After having now retaken Yucheng, Chinese forces converge on the major city of Tianjin. Japanese marines, having set up heavy defenses in the city, are ordered to hold their ground at all costs, no matter the odds. The marines, some of the toughest soldiers in the entire Japanese military, follow their orders to the letter. Chinese troops take huge losses, losing many tanks and armoured vehicles to ambushes by marine tank killer teams, and even losing many helicopters due to Japanese soldiers armed with shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles. Despite being hit by massive enemy attacks, the marines hold their ground and force the Chinese to withdraw from combat.
As fighting rages in mainland Asia, on the homefront, the Japanese army continues to muster more reinforcements. This time, the army finishes mobilization of a new airmobile infantry brigade group: infantry that ride into combat utilizing both transport and attack helicopters. These formations are very fast, and should allow for rapid conquest of enemy territory. They are soon sent to the front, to reinforce the marines in Tianjin.
