In July of 1892, with Japan suddenly at war with both, Russia and China, something seemed as if it had to give. And yet the Emperor and all his staff had such determination not to let Russia get away with keeping territory, still, which was rightfully Japan’s. As soon as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in the Persian Gulf, fell, another envoy was sent to try to wrest a reasonable accommodation from them. Again, they refused.
Soon after, the rest of Sakhalin Island was secured by Japanese troops. Another attempt would be made, soon.
((An OOC to explain Inorganic Chemistry – obviously, this is going to help with our Attrition problems, since the supply limit goes up, but farming output and the other production improvements will help too. It’s also a recognition that we’ve been ignoring important industrial techs in favor of military techs, and maybe that’s, over time, had a negative effect even on our military performance.))
In the first test of arms against China in this new war, Japan’s Gen. Yasukata Okubo proved more than equal to the task. His troops were well dug in, in the Saghalian mountains, behind a river, and the Chinese were ineptly led. Once the Chinese crossed the river, Japanese cavalry savaged them (just LOOK at that battlefield arrangement!!! – if you’re familiar with the way combat goes in V2, that’s TEXTBOOK perfect, with die rolls, modifiers and regiment-to-regiment matchup, with the unengaged cavalry able to hit the flanks of the Chinese formation because of their maneuver ratings, and the artillery in the back rank to support… The Chinese have a modified die roll of 1 while Japan has a modified die roll of 12 – Wow!). Nearly 3,000 Chinese were dying daily, in the first two weeks of this conflict.
In light of this first batch of news from the Chinese front, immediately Japanese spirits were buoyed, and many began to hope that Japan was finally powerful enough to take on both of these enemy behemoths. ((OOC: Anyone notice another important item on the above screenshot? – it doesn’t mean anything yet, but it’s an important milestone))
On the 12th, Gen. Okubo soundly defeated the Chinese at Saghalian Oula, with the tatters of 10 Chinese regiments (30,000 troops) reduced to only 3,000 straggling survivors. Fewer than 700 Japanese had lost their lives, against 27,000 Chinese.
While the Chinese front warmed up, to the south, in the cooler northern reaches of Siberia, Gen. Aritomo Tokugawa was struggling against 70,000 Russians at Yakutsk. This was a battle preordained to be lost by Japan’s irresolute army – what remained to be seen was how many Russians would die before that happened. The battle coincided with yet another attempt to gain a peace, which was again refused.
The initial Chinese move in this new war was restricted to Saghalian Oula. They remained remarkably static along the Korean border, perhaps recognizing the tough road that represented. After Okubo’s victory, they might have been forgiven for thinking there were no “easy roads.” This allowed Japan to take the initiative and advance into Ninguta, where Gen. Iwao Kido struck 72,000 Chinese with a numerically inferior force, which nonetheless inflicted serious casualties upon their targets.
Spies, however, indicated that there was an army of no fewer than 160,000 Chinese en route to the battlefield. Could an army of that size blow open the Korean frontier? Or at least spell defeat for Kido’s army? Japanese confidence remained supreme – the superiority of the Japanese soldier would surely win the day against the likes of the Chinese.
In the continuing interest of seizing the initiative, Gen. Yoshida Oyama was also ordered north, into Mukden. His talent for defensive combat would serve him well when the Chinese counterattacked against his advance, which surely they must do. Aside from the reports of 160,000 Chinese moving into Manchuria from Peking, there didn’t seem to be that many Chinese armies near the theatre of combat. Could that be a sign that China had not fully recovered from earlier wars? Or perhaps they had simply mounted a disorganized war effort, which would pick up later on?
Ninguta seemed to offer the answer, where Gen. Kido was already fighting 112,000 – the Chinese having nearly doubled their force committed there, minus casualties already inflicted.
Against Russia, Gen. Tokugawa was ultimately defeated at Yakutsk. On the 27th, Gen. Hiroshi Ichinohe was finally forced to give way and retreat into Manchuria. This opened the gateway for a Russian invasion of Manchuria, for the first time this war, and a small conflict began at Utchan on the 3rd. By the 15th, that Russian probe was repulsed, but more might come. It seemed as if Japanese fortunes against the Russians might have reversed. The good news came from Chernomin, where Gen. Nire seemed to still have control of the situation.
Another of the consequences of the destabilizing Russian front was that Ayan was exposed, and came under attack on September 4. This was especially tragic as that province had been all but secured. Now, all that effort might be lost if Gen. Goro Okubo (a less-renowned relative of Yasukata Okubo) could not turn the Russians back.
On the 12th, Gen. Kido made a strategic withdrawal to the north from Ninguta – toward Qiqihar – when his forces became too exhausted to hold the line. But Kido had performed an astonishing service – killing nearly 42,000 Chinese, for the loss of only 9,000 of his own. And just two weeks later, Gen. Ichinohe, having been transferred to the Chinese front, attacked the Chinese at Ninguta before they could settle in.
Ichinohe also severely punished the Russians, with tremendous casualties, and not suffering very many himself.
By the middle of September, 1892, another poorly-led Russian army had penetrated to Utchan, and again they were repulsed (+.5).
Gen. Toshiyoshi Kamio, advancing into Aigun, utterly destroyed one of the Chinese armies which had dared to attack Japanese Manchuria, and lost. Not a man was left to retreat back to home base in China.
And Gen. Hiroshi Ichinohe was still extracting a high price from the more than 100,000 Chinese who had tried to defend Ninguta, and Gen. Yoshida Oyama left a siege force at Mukden, and advanced to Jinzhou to join occupation forces already there. Jinzhou was sure to become a serious battlefield by October, as 72,000 Chinese were en route there.
The war with China was already seeming to go well enough that the Emperor began discussing with his cabinet what Japan’s war aims should be. More territory in Manchuria was discussed, of course, as it would increase Japan’s buffer against attack, would potentially provide a yet more stable base from which to attack Russia, and would provide population that could swell Japan’s recruitment base. But Manchuria – the Aigun Region – was a large prize, and one the Chinese would surely not part with except in the most dire of situations.
A more reasonable demand was submitted. Formosa was defended with a relatively small Chinese army (as Chinese armies go), and there was no possibility of reinforcement due to the island’s isolated nature. Japanese steamships guarded the passage.
While the arguably more important war with Russia lingered, it was felt that widening the war with China too far could be a grave error. Caution ruled the Japanese aims this time. Russia remained Japan’s seemingly less dangerous, and yet more deeply felt mortal enemy.
, and now the Chinese in your flank as well...
